engine overhaul

[oehrick]

Or if you didn't win it for a maiden bid Mathius, this chap has 3 at twice the price (each)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORDSON-MAJO ... 0037.m2107

'thinks' Are they the same tap Adrian ?

[AdrianNPMajor]

Yes, that's the one, Rick.
Best, Adrian.

[oehrick]

Surprises me they never had a short spigot on the end to slip a bit of hose on and get the coolant into a bucket Adrian, esp if anti freezed - cost ? little environmental awareness? couldn't be bothered?.......................

[AdrianNPMajor]

Bucket correctly placed under the tractor, Rick, and most of the coolant is captured when you open the tap.
I forget exactly what kind of tap the Diesel Major has, but it's larger, isn't it?
Best, Adrian.

[oehrick]

Not certain sizewise Adrian but it widdles at the side channel and goes anywhere but a bucket. NB having found the rad bottom tap hard to move and get decent hand purchase on I put a 90 degree bend in a bit of suitable dia ali tube which does the job a treat and lives on the tombstone under the rad behind the grilles.

I think my bore deglazing may now be bedding back in, it was warm yesterday and for the first time in ages I managed to get a from cold start without the assistance of either mind or combustion enhancing liquid

[AdrianNPMajor]

Sounds good, Rick. Did you make it work?
Thought I'd post this to give Mathias even more encouragement!
Best, Adrian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcPf9Xzu8So

[oehrick]

No not so far Adrian, our local farmer went in for some surgery and the estate he rents from plus a couple of mates (the MF combine boys from near Cromer) did some fieldwork for him including the stuff I was going to roll when he got home - nothing cat 2 left among his implements.

That Krone looks to be drawing some horses, of course Mathius may get 'the bug' and end up building a County : Major triple D combo, what is better than one Major bonnet in front when you drive ? why two of them What say Mathius ??

[SvendH]

Rick
Your bore-deglazing,would that be a hone-job and new rings or what?(my supers bores look like theyve been varnished)

[oehrick]

Svend, used a three legged hone with spring loaded arms with rectangular stones in a cordless drill, just need to remember not to straddle the ridge if reusing old liners (as I have done, mine was a head job not a full recondition) I greased the circumference of each piston crown to catch any abrasive and wiped it and the bores before bringing the piston to the top and then down again, wiping the bore each time.

I have a really good bore cleaning / honing tool like an oversized bottle brush with a small ball of abrasive on each of the 'bristles' which flex to accommodate a range of bore sizes, unfortunately with mine only up to about 2" / 50mm so no good on the major, they come in a range of sizes http://www.grumpysperformance.com/ballhone.jpg BRM Flex Hone is one make.

[Pavel]

Honing and de-glazing the old fashion way -- pistons removed.
Get a 12 inch [100mm] length of 1/2 inch [13mm] hardwood dowel and, using a hacksaw, make 2 cuts into the end to form a cross about 1 1/2inches [38mm] deep.
Into these slots insert 2 folded once strips of 400 grade wet & dry paper -- each length about 1 and a half times the diameter of the cylinder.
With the rod inserted into an electric drill place the paper flaps into the cylinder and start the drill -- but not too fast. Move the drill up and down continuously -- never in one place. The object is to de-glaze by leaving a cross-hatch surface -- not circular rings. After about 10 seconds remove drill and turn the paper flaps over and repeat the process. Two cylinders can be done this way before inserting new paper.
This whole process then needs to be repeated; but by using 800 wet and dry paper and the cylinder walls wiped over with a lint free cloth oiled with light machine oil before hand.
Whilst this might appear to be rather tedious it works well and costs virtually nothing.

The other thing that crosses my mind is why no mention is made of fitting stepped top compression rings to overcome cylinder ridges. Even though one would have to go to a specialist piston and ring supplier, it saves any unnecessary expense on new sleeves.
Pavel

[JC]

You could also use a ridge reamer to remove the the ridge a the top of the bores, then the new top compression ring won't break. If you have that big of a ridge, you should probably measure the bores. It may be time for new liners.

[SvendH]

Thats Great Stuff,cant wait to to try it! Rick-thats a cheeky way of doing it! reminds me of doing a scored bore in a longstroke marine diesel at sea with a large angle-grinder! standing on the piston-crown.Not time enough to haul the piston up.

[oehrick]

Ah, I hear the sound of grandmothers sucking eggs there, sorry My 'real' hobby is stationary steam engines, most of which have pistons of that size or larger (although I've never risked de glazing bores with an angle grinder !) Its fun seeing people struggle to visualise how big the bore must be if the piston rings will go over my head and shoulders and hit the floor with loads of clearance When we were putting an ex waterworks triple expansion together there were odd complaints from some about how difficult this or that was so I kept pointing out that the engine was on a concrete foundation, the chain blocks were hung from the roof steelwork, they should be glad we were not at sea with a force 9 blowing!

Had the second ether free cold start today so I think the deglazing has been beneficial, 3 or four hours mainly on tickover between pulling out some hedgerow tree stumps and clumps of bamboo and hazel, lots of wheel scrapes now, along with the oil spots

[mathias1]

Did some more work on the engine block this weekend. Looks much better now. Oil channels cleaned. Also tried to polish the crankshaft. Parts did arive already a2 weeks ago, so almost can't wait to start the rebuild.

[AdrianNPMajor]

Have you had the head skimmed, new valve guides pressed in, seats reground to mate with new valves?
Best, Adrian.

[mathias1]

Haven't done much on the engine lately.
Measured the camshaft, and probably will need a new one.
Started to dismantle the pistons to reassemble the new ones and found out the new bushes will need reaming. Did you put new bushes in yours Adrian?

I haven't started on the head yet, would like to get the bottom back together to keep the overview.

[mathias1]

There are 2 piston rings marked with top, the third one not.

found this:

Three compressionrings and two oiol rings are fitted. Top ring can be identified by the letters H en T on one side. It can be installed with either side up.The two lower compression rings have the mark TOP up The oil rings can be installed either face up.

Wonder why the third one isn't marked.

[JC]

It looks like the one with no markings would be the top compression ring, since it can be installed either side up.

[mathias1]

Just a quick question:
Are these repairable? Some are not that flat also.

Seems like the engine had bad lubrication or something.

[SvendH]

Show traktor ok,heavy Duty no-go IMO
How are the cam lobes

[mathias1]

Show traktor ok,heavy Duty no-go IMO
How are the cam lobes

cam shaft will be a new one, the old one has a lot of wear on some lobes (not all!)

[SvendH]

I think it would be a waste to use worn followers with a new camshaft,they will chew up the the new lobes

[Pavel]

Cam followers could be re-surfaced but: they are not meant to be flat; rather slightly concave to accommodate the lead in and out of the cam lobe.
Pavel

[SvendH]

Resurfacing is also a possibility although her in denmark that would cost as much or more than a new set.
What about going to a breaker? there is a good chance you could find a set of cam+followers in ok condition ,save money and still get a sweet running engine.
Alternativley you could just use the old followers, the engine will most likely run just fine with them (use running in paste) but if you end up keeping the engine you will keep thinking " how long to go"

[mathias1]

I've ordered some new camshaft followers over the weekend.
Meanwhile I've been puzzling with the new liners. I used a feelerblade of 0.004" next to the liner and feel if it's flush or not. Not that easy.







I haven't fit the seals yet, should i add extra sealant or just lubricate with engine oil?