[AT] Deere 303 engine

[john hall]

I've got a 303 gas engine in my Deere 55 combine. It has given me quite a fit with water leaks this year. A week before combining wheat I went to change the oil filter and found water in the oil. I changed the head gasket and cut the wheat without any further leaking. We left it sitting for 2 months, cracked the drain plug and no water so we filled it up with anti-freeze and began getting it ready to cut beans. Today we were making final preparations to cut and I found water in the oil (my guess is 1-2 quarts). I've flushed everything out and am going to treat the engine with some block sealant. If this works I'll worry about the leak this winter. Is there anyone on the list aware of these engines developing leaks or cracking heads? My guess is a sleeve o-ring. I've ran across some engines that had common problems of cracking the block between the sleeves or heads that just didn't hold up, wondering if this is one of those. If this were in a tractor, diagnosing the problem wouldn't be so bad. But when the engine is 8ft in the air, everything changes.

John Hall