544 gas low/no oil pressure

[farmerben]

Hi folks,
I'm sitting here in the middle of a blizzard in SE North Dakota- glad to not be outdoors. I'm researching an issue I'm having with my gas Farmall 544. I have done more snow removal this winter than ever before in my life I swear- the little tractor is on a two stage snow blower and I know I've worked it hard this winter. I'm running 5w30 oil in it. I have noticed that there was a little oil blowing through the breather when the tractor was under heavy load- and I just assumed that it was normal for the hours (about 6500). I have great compression- it fires right up even now.

A couple of days ago I was moving hay and removing snow in preparation for this blizzard and all of a sudden white/gray smoke started billowing from under the front of the engine- I noted that I had no oil pressure and promptly shut the tractor down. I had that same white/gray smoke coming from the dip stick and breather. The coolant temp was not elevated.

I let it cool completely and I had a normal amount of oil in the pan, and there was no discoloration or bad smell. I started the tractor and noted that the oil pressure gauge showed about 5-10) and drove to the shop- pulled the pan off to check the oil pump since I've read that the cover for the body of the oil pump can wharp under heavy load conditions and the gasket can fail.

I found that there was a 1/2 inch defect in the seal when I removed the cover. I sanded down the cover on a bit of 220grit on a sheet of glass. I made a gasket out of some cork I had laying around, put everything back together- put fresh oil in. No improvement, in fact it didn't register any pressure on the gauge. And the lifters were making quite a racket- but no smoke. Shut it down, pulled the pan again- the homemade gasket was still intact but it dawned on me that the gasket I'd made was much thicker than the original. Rookie mistake I suppose.

So now I'm looking for a replacement gasket- and it looks like it's kind of hard to source. I know this is a C-200 engine. Can I still make a gasket out of the roll paper stuff? Or does anyone else have a good source to point me to? I searched the YT store- but they don't list 544 in the fit list for the gasket they sell. I can't find a spec for how thick to make it if I do purchase the paper from napa or something. Am I missing another obvious reason why my tractor would be doing this?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Ben

 

[wore out]

(I have a 544 gas hydro.)

The oil pump gasket needs to be REALLY thin for the pump to work properly, probably in the 0.005'' to 0.010'' range.

The gears should have just enough endplay so they don't bind and turn freely.

CIH gasket part number is 69607R1, and still available.

 

[Janicholson]

Agree. The CaseIH gaskets can be had as thin as .001 (maybe less) the pump cover should be very flat, with no gear marks. Flat sanding on flat glass in random directions with 250 or 350 grit carbide paper. I use a .001 shim between the gear and cover, then begin with a single gasket. I turn the s haft as I tighten down the cover (on the bench), when I can feel it touch the shim when snug, I have the clearance correct. Take out the shim of course! Plastigauge is also OK. A soda can is usually in the shim thickness range.
I would use 15 40 oil in the engine. While it will start easily with lighter oil, it has hours on it and the diesel grade oil is more appropriate for older engines. Jim

 

[farmerben]

Thanks, I appreciate this! I'll call my local dealer again tomorrow- funny they told me that CIH didn't make the gasket for my tractor. The part number will certainly help.
Ben

 

[farmerben]

Thanks, I appreciate this! I'll call my local dealer again tomorrow- funny they told me that CIH didn't make the gasket for my tractor. The part number will certainly help.
Ben

 

[farmerben]

Thanks so much for the advice Jim,
Regarding oil- I think 15w40 will work fine and then I can use the same oil for my 4020 diesel. You guys are great!

Ben

 

[gene bender]

the gasket is paper thin and you used ciork so there is too much dlearence between the pump and the cover make a new one with as
thin of a piece of paper you can find or get a new gasket

 

[caterpillar guy]

I'd use a paper grocery sack for the gasket to start then check like Jim says.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Hope you mean C-200 as in engine model, and not tractor model. Because the engine in the 504 is a C-200 (c through 200) engine, but the 544 is a C-200 (200 cubic inch gasoline) engine, a completely different animal.

Your dealer probably doesn't deal with the old stuff much and doesn't understand that they need to look up the engine separately. It's in its own parts book under C-200, and indeed the part number for the oil pump cover gasket is 69607R1, right there in the parts book, available, for $9.50.

This post was edited by BarnyardEngineering on 04/06/2023 at 05:31 am.