[AT] combine engine update

[john hall]

 Been awful quiet lately so I thought I'd share an update on my combine engine. Last spring, I found water in the oil on the engine on my John Deere 55 combine. We pulled the head and changed the gasket and all appeared well. Cut the wheat crop with no problems. Last fall we again found water in the oil--2 weeks before cutting soybeans. I mentioned it on the list here and inquired about block seal. I decided to try some K&W Block Seal. It appeared to work as we cut the beans with no problems. I put anti-freeze in for the winter and pretty much forgot about it. Then in late winter I went to crank it up one day only to find it was way low on water and way too full of "oil". I looked around for high-tech block sealers and found a couple that cost over $100, but they would not guarantee a repair. Nothing else to do but pull the engine. Got a fellow that lives nearby with a track-hoe to do the lifting for us and set it in the shop. When I dropped the pan I saw water leaking on 4 sleeves. The engine had been rebuilt before I got it using Clevite parts. It took a little doing but everything was converted over to new Clevite numbers and we installed rings, rod bearings and sleeve seals. The sleeve seals in this engine leave a little to be desired. Only one seal is used and the sleeve compresses it when the head is installed, like a metal oil filter canister. The current theory is when we pulled the head to change the gasket, we released the pressure on all the sleeves causing them to start leaking. Anyway, we just finished cutting wheat with no engine troubles. Matter of fact the only trouble we had with the combine was a leaking fuel bowl. Not bad for a machine that is older than its owner!

John Hall