[Farmall] Progress on my Int. 184 engine overhaul

[Mike Sloane]

I am sure that everyone has been holding their breath, waiting for the 
latest installment on the story of my engine overhaul on the 184. Maybe not.

Well, you're going to get it anyway, since the group seems a little slow.

When I took the pistons out of the bores, it was pretty obvious that the 
rings were badly worn. But when I "miked" the bores, they were nearly 
perfect. Also the pistons were in very good shape. In fact, they were 
marked .010" oversize, indicating that this was not the first time 
someone had been working on the engine. As it happens, the rings for 
standard and .010" over are the same size, so that's what I ordered. 
When I took the rod bearing caps off, they were marked "standard" and. 
looked really nice, but a glance at the tops showed definite wear. But 
the wear was just normal, no spalling or grooves, so I just ordered 
another set of standard bearings. I guess you can call me lazy, but with 
only slight wear on the rod bearings, I am assuming that the main 
bearings are fine - that is based on my personal experience with IH C-60 
engines; I have never had to replace main bearings yet. I also bought a 
new top hose from Case IH, as the one on there was original (it still 
had the old style clamp), so I replaced that and the fan/alternator belt 
too (it is very easy to get at while the engine area is open, not so 
easy when everything is buttoned up).

There was some discussion among some people familiar with engine repair 
as whether honing the cylinders was needed or not, and in the end I 
decided that I might as well just do it. For a little engine like this, 
it only takes a few minutes, and I already have a hone just sitting in 
the tool chest.

I removed all the valves, and they (and the seats) turned out to also be 
in excellent condition, although there was more lead deposits on the 
exhaust valves than I would have expected from an engine built in 1979 
(when lead was being phased out). I lapped the valves and seats and 
re-adjusted the gaps, as per the service manual.

Then I put the head back on and torqued it down in rotation "by the 
book", only going in 10 ft/lb steps to bring the pressure up as evenly 
as possible. The head is pretty heavy, but it is possible to crack it if 
you aren't careful. I put the manifold and muffler back on, and then I 
realized that the muffler blocked access to the remains of a screw in 
the frame rail that had broken off when I took the front left side plate 
off. So I had to pull the manifold off, drill out the screw, and then 
tap the hole for a new 10-24 screw. Then I could put the manifold and 
all the other pieces back up top.

For the last few days, the temperatures have been below 0°F at night and 
only in the single digits during the day - too cold to work comfortably 
in my barn with cold wind coming through the space between the doors and 
the floor. Today, it was finally warm enough to lie on the concrete 
floor (using an old blanket as a cushion and warmth for my old bones) 
and put the oil pan, flywheel shield, and steering cross member back on.

So now the tractor is complete except for the hood, mower frame, and 
rear tires. (I still need to put oil in the sump.) But the weather here 
in NJ won't be suitable for any kind of outdoor activity until maybe mid 
March. So everything will just have to sit until the next nice day, when 
I can put the tires on and roll the whole tractor outside to start it up.

Images of the progress can be seen at 
<http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/international_184/> and page 2 has 
the newest images.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me 
<mikesloane at verizon.net>, and I will do the best to reply.

Mike