[AT] More on the 184 mystery

[Mike Sloane]

I don't know if anyone cares about my International 184 engine rebuild, 
but I am going to tell you anyway. :-) (You can always just hit the 
"delete" key and dump the message.)

The first thing I did when I went out to the barn was pull the oil 
pressure relief spring out of the 184 engine. As you can see at 
<http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/international_184/comparison-with-oil.html#media>, 
the larger spring is the one from the relief valve and the smaller one 
is what I found in the oil pan. So that will have to remain a mystery.

The next thing I did was remove piston no. 4 from the engine. (On an 
in-line 4 cylinder engine, no. 4 is usually the one that gets the 
hottest, so I always start there - to get the Bad News over first.) The 
bearings and journals are in fine shape, and the shells are marked 
"STD". The pistons themselves are also fine. I removed a couple of rings 
and placed them into the bore, and, as expected, the gap at the end is 
(relatively) huge. The manual says anything over .017 is too large, and 
it didn't take a feeler gauge to see that these rings are really worn. 
<http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/international_184/piston-ring-gap.html#media>

I removed pistons no. 2 and 3, and they were the same as no. 4. 
Unfortunately, I somehow managed to drop one of the bolts that holds the 
bottom of the connecting rod in one piston. I looked around but still 
haven't found it.

After I gave up looking for the bolt (I am sure it will turn up 
eventually), I set up a bore gauge and checked the bores for wear and 
those three cylinders showed almost no wear, certainly not enough to 
justify boring. The most reading I got was 2 or 3 thousandths, which 
(for me) is virtually nothing.

Aside from the worn rings and the one tired radiator hose, I really 
don't see anything that needs immediate attention. But I still haven't 
solved the mystery of the engine quitting after 30-45 minutes of hard 
running. The coil is brand new, but I suppose it could be defective. I 
do have another new coil, although it doesn't have an internal resistor, 
so I would have to add one of my ballast resistors in-line if I tried it 
out. I think I will wait until Spring to do that, as there is no way I 
could use the tractor hard outside for 45 minutes this time of year!

I am going to look over the tractor very carefully before I order the 
replacement parts and gasket set to see if there is anything else that 
needs attention, but, aside from the mystery of the spring in the oil 
pan, everything is going pretty much according to plan. I am debating 
about whether to pull the valves and touch them up, but I am not 
inclined to "fix what ain't broke". Of course I will clean up the head 
and top of the block and other similar stuff before putting the tractor 
back together. And one of the front tires has a slow leak that should be 
remedied before I put the tractor back outside.

You might notice that I didn't mention honing the cylinder bores. I have 
been doing some reading on the subject, and the consensus among engine 
rebuilders today is that it is no longer necessary, so I haven't been 
doing it. If anyone has any thoughts on the subject, I would like to 
hear them.

It was OK working in the barn with a sweater over a couple of shirts (I 
have one of those oil filled electric radiators set fairly low - it 
keeps the bay at about 55°), but it was damn cold outside when I walked 
back to the house at 5:00 - 19° with a 10 mph wind. Tomorrow is supposed 
to be slightly warmer, but I think I will wear a heavier jacket when I 
go outside.

Mike