[Farmall] Farmall Super A

[John Gustafson]

I had a similar experience with a  grey market tractor I bought a few years 
back. Essentially a MF 205 two cyl diesel. Kept getting coolant in the oil 
when the tractor satup for a few weeks.

Got lots of assurance  (Three different machine shops and the dealer) that 
the head and block were  flat and spent a bunch of time pressure testing 
looking for cracks or leaks. Finally took it to the best automotive machine 
shop in the area. He put a flat across the head and joined the chorus that 
said it's fine but yeah it's been leaking somewhere fecause of erosion spots 
in the combustion chamber. I told him to take .005 off of the surface 
anyway. "Don't need it" .  Me:  "It's my money, just do it anyway.

Two days later I get a call. Heads ready. You were right it was warped. One 
small area near and  it took about .008 to clean it up. Reassembled it and 
it's been tight ever since. Once in a while you just gotta go with your gut 
on these things

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Sloane" <mikesloane at verizon.net>
To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 10:34 AM
Subject: Re: [Farmall] Farmall Super A


> Just to add to Carl's excellent advise, after the initial setting, you
> should run the engine and let it come up to operating temperature, then
> shut it off and let it cool down. Then re-check the torque on all of the
> studs/bolts in the correct order once again. You would be surprised how
> much some of them change during this procedure. And, for an overhead
> valve engine, you should also check and re-set the rocker clearances.
>
> These instructions apply to *all* engines, from chain saws to diesel
> locomotives, not just the Super A. And many manuals recommend replacing
> the old studs/bolts with new, especially if there is any indication of
> stretching or erosion. (This is something I have learned from
> not-so-good experience, most recently in a Cub I worked on.
> <http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/1952-farmall-cub/theheadisfinallyon.html>)
>
> Mike
>
> On 10/29/2010 10:00 AM, szabelsk at gdls.com wrote:
>> I use the copper spray on head gaskets. It 's supposed to be better for
>> heat transmittal between the block and the head. It also give you a 
>> little
>> something extra that helps take care of any minor irregularities with the
>> block or the head. Make sure you torque the bolts in the correct order 
>> and
>> to the correct value. I usually torque the bolts in three steps so that I
>> get an even torque on all the bolts. On the first pass torque to about
>> half the value, on the second torque to some value just under the 
>> required
>> torque ( 5-10 ft-lbs less than required), on the third pass torque to the
>> required value.
>>
>> Before you do anything, use a flat edge to check the block and head for
>> any warpage. Place the straight edge in several locations and in multiple
>> directions on both. Try to slip a feeler gauge under the straight edge at
>> several points each time you put the straight edge against the block or
>> head to see if you have any problems to worry about. No amount of sealer
>> is going to work if there's too much warpage on either part. There may 
>> not
>> have been any leakage before you disassembled the engine, but that 
>> doesn't
>> mean everything is nice and flat. When you relieve the pressure on the
>> head by removing the head bolts, it can spring due to built up tensions
>> from all the heat that its seen during operation. It's nice if you can 
>> get
>> your hands on a flatness gauge like the pros use.
>>
>>
>> Carl Szabelski
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