4020 JD sleeves stuck

[Richard G.]

Son is going to rebuild one of his 4020's.
Got a real heavy puller and the first 2 sleeves he tried will not budge.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

 

[NY 986]

May have to cut them out with a torch but that should be a last resort. I've heard of sleeves being cut out but great care needs to be taken in terms of protecting vital areas on parts such as crankshaft journals. The problem with getting too vigorous with hitting or pulling is something might get broke which reduces the engine to scrap metal. Maybe somebody here will have a better idea.

 

[wore out]

Son is going to rebuild one of his 4020's.
Got a real heavy puller and the first 2 sleeves he tried will not budge.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

They WILL come out with a good HD sleeve puller.

 

[Dieseltech]

Wet type sleeves won't pull hard with a GOOD sleeve puller. Some older engines I've knocked them out with a hardwood block before. DRY sleeves are another story...

 

[rustred]

Son is going to rebuild one of his 4020's.
Got a real heavy puller and the first 2 sleeves he tried will not budge.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

lets see his set up, not the first time i heard that saying, like i cant get this to work,... then you see whats going on with your own eyes. just saying as we dont have eyes on the happenings there.

 

[matthies]

Since we don't know if this is his first JD, either the orings were hot and melted, or maybe top brace is sitting on the sleeve flange. Maybe puck is too big and binding in the bottom. Just thoughts, not being a smarta$$.

 

[Mcrafty1]

I can't imagine pulling wet sleeves being an insurmountable problem with the correct puller, As stated above it would be good to see what they are using for a puller....and how they were using it.

 

[cole in mo.]

Son is going to rebuild one of his 4020's.
Got a real heavy puller and the first 2 sleeves he tried will not budge.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

The john deere 4020 sleeves have the bottom 0 rings cut in the block, after years of coolant seeping, they will get really corroded and stuck. My brother in law, made a puller and pulled his, they came out hard, and on three of them, broke a part out of the top 0 ring groove, something to watch for when you pull them.

 

[redtom]

I pulled the wet sleeves on our W30 with two steel blocks set on opposite side of the top of block and a threaded rod. I ended up breaking the block web between cylinders before I went to a tall bushing bored oversized of the sleeve and placed on top of block to put forcea gainst the block ALL the way around the sleeve.

 

[miangus]

Should come right out, Maybe heat the bottom from the inside with a torch. Maybe someone filled the groove with something to stop it from leaking. Hopefully his O-ring grooves are good.

 

[buick8]

Best to machine them out rather than risk ruining the block. A good engine machine shop will know what to do.
You can try filling the block with hot water; once it’s hot, cool the liners some near the bottom then try pulling. The heat will expand the bore and some cooling will shrink the liner. Don’t get too rough.

 

[buickanddeere]

There is something to be said for having an expert with the proper tools to remove the sleeves . Cheaper than being frustrated , breaking something and then being really frustrated .

 

[Richard G.]

Son is going to rebuild one of his 4020's.
Got a real heavy puller and the first 2 sleeves he tried will not budge.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

We have a really good puller that is made for the job.
Just won't move them.

 

[EFV]

Thought the trick for difficult sleeves was to run beads of weld inside ?

 

[Fritz Maurer]

If the sleeve seals have vulcanized to both the block and the sleeve, you will literally have to shear off the rings as the sleeve is pulled out.

Hold a torch inside the sleeve down where the o-rings are, and heat the ID of the sleeve until you smell burning rubber, then wait for it to cool, and the sleeve shrinks a little bit. The rubber should now be deteriorated enough to let go.

 

[Tramway Guy]

And if someone used loctite on them, heat will break that bond as well.

 

[NY 986]

Thought the trick for difficult sleeves was to run beads of weld inside ?

Depends on how fouled up things are down at the base with the O-rings. If loctite was used then as said above the whole bottom will have to be heated and that might not be enough. Also, depends how much hard water including iron and calcium that engine has seen since the last time (if any) the sleeves were out. Just do not mess up the block because then the OP will be looking for another engine.

 

[Mcrafty1]

Just thinking out loud here...What would cause anyone to Lock-tite the liner seals in an engine when changing liners? I have never heard of doing that.

 

[NY 986]

Just thinking out loud here...What would cause anyone to Lock-tite the liner seals in an engine when changing liners? I have never heard of doing that.

Most likely due to the seat of the block being corroded meaning the seat is out of tolerance for a natural seal. Hard water with its minerals will corrode to the point where block material is eaten away and at the same time will "weld" the sleeve to the block. Guys using hard water because it is there on the farm versus using distilled water or factory blended anti-freeze is why these engines have the issues at rebuild time. This is why I have heard of sleeves having to be cut out of blocks. Not a pleasant prospect for the owner of such an engine but possible nonetheless.

 

[Mcrafty1]

Most likely due to the seat of the block being corroded meaning the seat is out of tolerance for a natural seal. Hard water with its minerals will corrode to the point where block material is eaten away and at the same time will "weld" the sleeve to the block. Guys using hard water because it is there on the farm versus using distilled water or factory blended anti-freeze is why these engines have the issues at rebuild time. This is why I have heard of sleeves having to be cut out of blocks. Not a pleasant prospect for the owner of such an engine but possible nonetheless.

I guess I was lucky enough to never encounter the problems that required that. Thanks for answering my question.