BSD 444 in frame help Ford 5500

motard

Member
So I made a huge mistake and ran my 5500 out of oil. Makes me sick.
Smoke came out of the breather. I figure that was any remaining oil on the bearings being cooked off. I replaced the oil praying it would help. It didn’t. The damage had been done. I had a load of logs that I needed to get off a trailer.
Im obviously not running it anymore but it was struggling to run. I assume the crank bearings are tightening? Or it’s lost compression on a cylinder or two. Its got a loud knock from the top end. Would top end knock be bad rings or wrist pin? What damages first with no oil?
I’m in the process of taking the pan off, which I’m not sure I have the clearance. But I want to see if I can take the rod caps off and pull the pistons out of the top. I was hoping just to do the lower bearings from underneath but I fear I’ve damaged the rings or pistons also. I plan on taking a peek with a borescope this weekend. The pan is super stuck on and I need to make a puller to try and yank it down.
I’ve got about 1-1/4” between the engine mounts and the front of pan. I’m hoping it will lower enough to drop down. I don’t have the shop space yet or a gantry to split the tractor. I’m hoping I don’t have to set this aside for a few years.
I know. I messed up big time.
 

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The knocking up high suggests a failed rod bearing; the piston is hitting the head. Getting that pan off with the motor in place is going be tough... that thick paper gasket is glued on really good , and with limited front-rear clearance the pan will have to be pulled straight down and rip the gasket in two , lengthwise. Maybe slip a bolt into the drain hole and pry down with a long bar against the loader frame.

As far as whether it can be successfully repaired, will have to wait until you get the pan off and survey the extent of the damage.
 
Put a couple bolts that are about 1 inch longer on each side of the pan to keep it from dropping when it comes loose
That pan weighs around 50-75 lbs and you don’t want to be under it when it comes lose
 
Thanks for the replies.
I made a puller jig to block down from the frame and pull on the 3/4” holes on the back of the pan. Bad news is the flat on the back of the pan is too tall and it wedges between the front mounts.
I have a jack holding the pan as well. I’d really love to just sneak some bearings in the bottom and bring her back to life.
So…hear me out. I may cut the lower ear off the mounts and weld them back so I can drop the pan. The upper part of the mount would stay in tact. I know I’m gonna hear it for that, but thoughts?
 

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I was wondering about that previous comment about having the 1-1/4 inch of clearance. I thought you had already unbolted the front booster.

If you cut the mounting off the bottom, you're gonna wish you hadn't. There's shims under some of those bolts, and there's no way you can reattach that piece accurately short of taking it off and putting it on a milling machine, even if you CAN weld cast iron. Soon as you tighten it up it will crack.

Screw 3/4 inch bolts in the top 4 holes, long enough to roll the front end forward for clearance to let the pan down.

That puller looks like a good idea! I just never had the opportunity for an in-frame, I'm usually dealing with rusted out cylinder walls.
 
I guess it’s worth a shot. Seems like a daunting task. The whole front frame and loader has to move forward. I guess I can winch it forward.
Four giant 2-1/4” bolts (it looks like) and a few bolts on the saddles to frame to undo.
Manual calls for 8” bolts so it can slide. Not sure I can even get them in there. I’ll need sufficient blocking under the transmission.
Has anyone split one of these before? Do the big bolts thread out far enough to stay in? Guess I’ll be finding out soon. Picture of when I had the fuel tank out. You can see two of the large bolts to undo to roll frame forward.
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Sorry, gave you bad advice. I didn't know that the front bolster was part of the side rails . Dyslexic me saw a 4500 instead of a 5500 , in spite of all the pictures you posted. Sorry for the confusion.
 
Made an executive decision…Found the culprit. That black one got smoked pretty well.
Found a good amount of metal in the sump. I guess I’ll go ahead and do all rod and main bearings. Should I go ahead and do rings as well? I feel like I should atleast pull the pistons and inspect. Especially the one that has the damaged bearings and got so hot. Camshaft lobes and what I can see of the cylinders all look perfect.

The engine mount I cut has three bolt locations on each side. I cut the lower one that attached to the pan. Nice clean cut. I’ll need to spark test the cut to see if it’s cast iron or cast steel. If anything I can have a neighbor laser cut me a bracket that I can bolt back onto the mounts.
 

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I’m afraid once you remove the cap from the rod that got hot you’ll find a damaged journal on the crank that will require a machine shop to grind the crank before it can be used again
 
Yeah…it’s toast.
We’ll see if I can get some help splitting and getting the engine out.
 

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Good eye. Yeah I was told it was an 86. I plan on replacing the rod. I can tell the wrist pin is tight by comparing with another. I’ll try and update when I get the engine out. Thanks.
 
Got the engine out. Man that was tough. Barely any clearance. I had to remove radiator and lean the radiator cover forward. Chain fall from the top of the fork attachment did well for fine tuning adjustment. Got it home and in the tent. I’ll be doing repairs laying the engine down on its side.
adding a notch in my belt after this one.
 

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