Engine overhaul or not?

[MT in Walford]

How do you tell if an engine needs overhauled? What criteria do you use?
Thanks for your opinions.
Pastor Mike

 

[K.B.-826]

How many hours since last overhaul, how much oil it burns. Compression test is a good one. If you have acess to a dyno, see what kind of power it has and how much blow-by it's putting out. Sometimes you tear into one just to do a head gasket and find you might as well just overhaul it because she's more worn out than you thought.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Compression check- is it within 20% of factory top? Oil use/smoking. Oil pressure, rod knock, piston slap. Pull head and oil pan- measure cylinder/piston clearance- .025 per inch of bore roughly/roundness of cylinder within .010/.020, can you wiggle piston sideways more than matchbook thicknes(.020/030) easily? Can you wiggle connecting rod/shake up and down?- plastigauge within specs? Does the 3 plow tractor have trouble with 2 now? Hard starting, backfires, worn valve guides (wiggle valves), cam worn down, valve- seats burned/recessed? Some things to check. What kind of engine/vehicle? RN.

 

[MT in Walford]

It is a Massey Harris 22 std. 1950. Continental F140 engine. It does not smoke. Oil does come out the vent tube onto the brace that holds the front end. It starts easy.I have not had the valve cover or pan off. Thank you for your input this is what I need to know.
Pastor Mike

 

[noncompos]

What led you to think overhaul?? Engine seemed low-powered or sluggish? You said didn"t smoke, so piston/ring/cyl wall wear sounds OK; you didn"t comment about any unusual noises(regular deep thumping sound pulling=mains; metallic clattery cycling sound when starting cold, letting off the gas after pulling=rod inserts, etc).
Oil coming out of vent pipe could just be dirty breather intake, letting normal blow-by accumulate in engine (if screen on oil filler cap, clean). Try to be a little more specific on why you thought of overhaul. Best Wishes.

 

[MT in Walford]

The symptom that alarmed me was-
Oil out the breather tube alarmed me. I had a 47 Allis WC and it did not do that. There is also an oil leak out the front of the engine. I just got the tractor. So far I have heard no funny noises. I have not run it over 1 hour yet.
Thanks for your input. It helps me.
Pastor Mike

 

[noncompos]

These are tricky cases to diagnose by long distance--depending on the ideosyncrasys of the engine, the front oil leak could just be a leaking seal, (relatively inexpensive, usually)or it could mean front main worn, wearing seal, and if front main worn, rest probably are, which usually means engine has enough wear to need overhaul. Same with the oil out the breather: could indicate minor fix or major problem(s) (overhaul).
If you work on your own engines, both KB and RN have excellent suggestions; if this would be your first teardown, don't, until you get advice from someone well experienced with engines (NOT a mechanic who might need work). Good luck.

 

[supergrumpy]

around here, it depends:

folks with thin wallets usually don't touch a bolt until it won't start or move under its own power

at other end, those folks with too much time or money get everything exactly in tip top condition

as a general rule: no bad smoke, no clanging or scary noises plus pulls good enuf works for most folks

 

[Anonymous-0]

And remember diesels slobber out the pipe when they're just idling - kind of normal for us olde codgers...

 

[buickanddeere]

Put her on a dyno and she what she does. You will find all the leaks, crankcase blowby hear any bad sounds and see excess smoke.
As previously stated many engine shave "cleaned up" with by removing the muddy oil from the intake stack/filter, cleaning out the PCV & an oil change.
As for overhaul, rebuild, recondition or restoration?
A set of rings, a tube of instant gasket and a stick/suction cup with a tub of lapping compound is a complete and total waste of time. Most cheapskates call that an rebuild. Add a spray can of paint and it's a complete restoration to factory specs.

 

[MT in Walford]

Thanks to all for the good advice!
Mike