FARMALL MD

[560Dennis]

Thank you for the information any extra I can get I appreciate ,but I got got the rest of the sleeves out yesterday and the bores look really good not even very rusty. How are those sleeves different?

Good question.

WHAT IS A CYLINDER SLEEVE?​

A cylinder sleeve (also called cylinder liners or engine sleeves) is a cylindrical metal engine component that protects an engine’s bore and can be used to create bore dimensions after an engine has been over-bored or modified. Cylinder sleeves also assist in transferring heat from the piston to the coolant (if you are running a wet sleeve). The standard material for a stock cylinder sleeve is Class 30 gray iron (ASTM A48). Class 30 gray iron is a highly versatile material with good hardness characteristics, but it lacks toughness and tensile strength.

Ductile iron is the preferred material for high-performance engine sleeve applications due to its improved tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation. We here at PowerBore produce high-performance cylinder sleeves to the 100-70-03 ductile iron specifications (ASTM A536). This material is made to withstand your highest horsepower and cylinder pressure applications.

We also have our own proprietary Power Ductile material, which exceeds even the material properties of 100-70-03 ductile iron.

Whatever your application and whatever your engine type, we can produce a custom cylinder sleeve that will put you in a position to get the best possible performance out of your engine.

 

[Farmall M 248]

If I was building a pulling tractor I would look in to it but I think the sleeves from like Bates Corp should suffice.

 

[Farmall M 248]

Today I got rest of the studs out,and the cam and tappets ,and I power washed the block and got it tucked away in barn till I can afford to start buying parts( pocket book is still recouping from the last tractor)!

 

[Farmall M 248]

Tried to post some more pictures but it wouldn’t let me.

 

[NormanSavesTractors]

Give Yesterday's Tractors a look too, since you're on this forum. When you need other hard to find parts we have a good selection, and we are tied to more than a dozen salvage yards across the US. We can help you every step of the way. We have 2 salvage locations in WI, one in Downing, and one in Black Creek.

https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/Farmall-MD-Tractor-Parts.html

 

[Farmall M 248]

Ok,thanks!

 

[Farmall M 248]

Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a while I’m still going to work on the MD but just been really busy with school and I got my first job working for a local farmer ,but just had a question about the serial number on the block because it’s FDBKM 18,259 which makes it a 1940 but the casting code on the block ends with a T but that letter only was used 1950 and 1973 and J was the one used in 1940??

 

[Farmall M 248]

Got the block on the stand so that I can look at it better looking into getting some main bearings and I think I know where some NOS bearings are. Then I can plastigauge them to check the clearances.
Also,I got the cam bearings out and going to source some new ones.

 

[560Dennis]

Check other castings , what are they on the tractor ? J ?

 

[Farmall M 248]

Here a pic of a rear end of M we have.

 

[Farmall M 248]

It was casted on 9-3-J(40).

 

[Farmall M 248]

Here’s a picture of one of the pistons and sleeves I got out of the block.

 

[rustred]

Got the block on the stand so that I can look at it better looking into getting some main bearings and I think I know where some NOS bearings are. Then I can plastigauge them to check the clearances.
Also,I got the cam bearings out and going to source some new ones.

How did u get them out. ? U need a cam bushing installer to install the new bushings. Or u just bash them out. Did u get the block hot tanked ? Would have been nice to see the old brgs. And can tell how bad they are. And if it has not been soaked no way I would be screwing up cam bushings before having new ones in my hand on this old hard to get stuff.

 

[rustred]

And them old mains and rods should have been plastiguaged and the number wrote down so you actually know and have a reference on the clearance. Rods still can be done. Just torque them rods up on the crank one at a time. Post pictures of all them brgs.

 

[Farmall M 248]

How did u get them out. ? U need a cam bushing installer to install the new bushings. Or u just bash them out. Did u get the block hot tanked ? Would have been nice to see the old brgs. And can tell how bad they are. And if it has not been soaked no way I would be screwing up cam bushings before having new ones in my hand on this old hard to get stuff.

The cam bearings were pretty rough one came out with the cam and the others came out pretty good and to reinstall them I’ll use a bushing driver and for sourcing new ones I found a couple places that have them it’s just try to find the cheapest. As for the mains I have them and I will post a picture of them, but for checking the clearances I have an International book for all the letter series.
As for the hot tanking goes we really don’t have a place that will do it but we have are own way of doing it ,we just get some rust remover and let it soak till the hole inside in bare metal and by that time you’ll know if it’s cracked or not.

 

[Farmall M 248]

Check other castings , what are they on the tractor ? J ?

Here’s some pics of the serial number and casting code of the block.

 

[Farmall M 248]

The casting code 10-11-T

 

[rustred]

The cam bearings were pretty rough one came out with the cam and the others came out pretty good and to reinstall them I’ll use a bushing driver and for sourcing new ones I found a couple places that have them it’s just try to find the cheapest. As for the mains I have them and I will post a picture of them, but for checking the clearances I have an International book for all the letter series.
As for the hot tanking goes we really don’t have a place that will do it but we have are own way of doing it ,we just get some rust remover and let it soak till the hole inside in bare metal and by that time you’ll know if it’s cracked or not.

Not sure what you’re getting at by using rust remover and soaking holes. The whole block gets a soaking overnight in a big tank. Plus never heard of a brg coming out with the cam. Them brg. oil holes must be lined up to the oil gallery holes. And brgs installed very carefully not to buggar up the edges. Better check that camshaft out good also and the tappets. Tappets must have a convex surface where the cam rides. If they are flat or dished they need to be reground also. I am a guy that has to see stuff in person or a picture to actually see if it’s ok , will work , or it’s junk. No way can I tell just from what a green person says.be nice to see all these little mishaps your having , as you said u would be posting pictures as you go.

 

[Powered By IH]

Here’s some pics of the serial number and casting code of the block.

Not sure if I can but I will try to explain your casting codes:

The “T” at the end of the engine casting code confirms the engine was cast in 1950, so that part is correct.

The confusion comes from comparing two different numbering systems. The charts you’re looking at are for tractor/chassis serial numbers, not engine serial numbers. International Harvester grouped the M, MD, MDV, and MV tractor serial numbers together to track overall tractor production.

Engine serial numbers were tracked separately by engine type. Gasoline Model M engines used the prefix FBKM, while diesel engines used FDBKM. IH did this so they could keep separate production records for gas and diesel engines. Because of that, the engine serial numbers will not match or closely follow the tractor serial numbers.

So if your tractor serial number indicates a 1950 production year, that would correctly match both the engine casting code and the engine serial number. Since only about 18,000 MD tractors were produced, the diesel engine serial numbers fall into a much smaller range than the overall tractor serial numbers, which is why you were getting 1940. BTW, MD's weren't in production until 1941.

I don't really know how to explain it otherwise, the internet helped me word this stuff above. It's just hard for me to explain over the internet, sorry. Maybe send me more messages if you don't understand.

Also FWIW casting codes on Farmall tractors weren't used extensively until 1942ish.

 

[Farmall M 248]

Not sure what you’re getting at by using rust remover and soaking holes. The whole block gets a soaking overnight in a big tank. Plus never heard of a brg coming out with the cam. Them brg. oil holes must be lined up to the oil gallery holes. And brgs installed very carefully not to buggar up the edges. Better check that camshaft out good also and the tappets. Tappets must have a convex surface where the cam rides. If they are flat or dished they need to be reground also. I am a guy that has to see stuff in person or a picture to actually see if it’s ok , will work , or it’s junk. No way can I tell just from what a green person says.be nice to see all these little mishaps your having , as you said u would be posting pictures as you go.

The only reason I would have it hot tanked would be to expose any cracks if any and the rust remover that we use does just that.
The cam was stuck pretty good in there and to remove it I had to take out the cam plug and use a big punch to get the cam out and that’s why the bearing came with it and yes I know that the holes are supposed to line up and that’s why they make cam bearing tools. I’ll try to take a picture of the crank,cam,tappets and bearings tomorrow if I have time.