Ford 841

[tdow]

I bought a 841 ford last August. I recently had to replace the clutch. That all went well. I put the last bolts attaching the hood and i walked by and checked the oil. The oil level was at the proper level. I smelled the oil and tried to convince myself that I didnt smell gasoline in the oil. But it has gas in the oil. It runs good and has good oil pressure. Where do I go from here? Should I do a leak down test to see if it is getting past the rings? Thanks in advance for any helpful responses.

 

[DaveBN]

I would change the oil and filter and run it. Do keep an eye on it. If it has a sediment bowl or other means of shutting the gas off do shut it off after each run. Some times gravity flow fuel systems do that especially if the needle valve in the carburetor doesn't seat properly.
Dave.

 

[tdow]

Thanks. I changed all the oils after I bought the thing and the oil didnt have a gasoline smell. So hopefully it is just a fluke. I will change the oil again and see what happens. Ive been pretty careful about closing the sediment bowl after using it. Possibly there is enough fuel in the line to somehow flow into the intake if the needle isn't seating?

 

[used red MN]

How do you use the tractor, how long do you run it when you use it? Did you learn or did someone convince you that engine warm up on something with a manual choke means running it half choke for 3 to 5 minutes until heat builds in the engine? If so I would suggest you stop that practice. Use the choke to start it, then leave it open (pushed in) if the engine will run without it. Only apply choke momentarily to get the machine moving if needed when the engine isn’t completely warmed up. For gas to come past the rings as your suggesting would require a fuel mixture that would puff black out of the exhaust. That is the reason for my previous inquiry.
Put a drip of oil off the dipstick on the print side of your finger, if the oil has enough gas in it to possibly harm the engine it will spread out quickly on your finger. If needed compare it to a drip of oil from your car or trucks dipstick.
If it was mine I would pick a day where you can monitor it from time to time. Disconnect the air tube from the carburetor and place a drip pan under it. Leave the gas shut off valve open. If over the course of the day nothing more than drips fell into the pan there is nothing wrong with the ability of the float needle and seat to seal and function properly.
Lastly, unless the engine burns or leaks a lot of oil any appreciable amount of gas getting into the engine will raise the level of the oil. These types of episodes usually are caused by a leaky float needle. To get oil in the gas enough gas has to leak by to fill up the air intake tube, the carb airway and the intake manifold to the level it will run into the cylinder intake valve that is open when the engine stopped. This scenario is quite unlikely but does happen.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I bought a 841 ford last August. I recently had to replace the clutch. That all went well. I put the last bolts attaching the hood and i walked by and checked the oil. The oil level was at the proper level. I smelled the oil and tried to convince myself that I didnt smell gasoline in the oil. But it has gas in the oil. It runs good and has good oil pressure. Where do I go from here? Should I do a leak down test to see if it is getting past the rings? Thanks in advance for any helpful responses.

My thinking is that because that engine has an updraft carburator you would need to leak a couple quarts of gas to fill the carb, manifold, head and cylinders before it could get into the oil.
And/or... if the carb was so ill adjusted that the engine was running rich enough to get gas in the oil it would be blowing black smoke when you used it.
It's wise to monitor it but if the tractor runs good I don't think you have a problem.

 

[tdow]

How do you use the tractor, how long do you run it when you use it? Did you learn or did someone convince you that engine warm up on something with a manual choke means running it half choke for 3 to 5 minutes until heat builds in the engine? If so I would suggest you stop that practice. Use the choke to start it, then leave it open (pushed in) if the engine will run without it. Only apply choke momentarily to get the machine moving if needed when the engine isn’t completely warmed up. For gas to come past the rings as your suggesting would require a fuel mixture that would puff black out of the exhaust. That is the reason for my previous inquiry.
Put a drip of oil off the dipstick on the print side of your finger, if the oil has enough gas in it to possibly harm the engine it will spread out quickly on your finger. If needed compare it to a drip of oil from your car or trucks dipstick.
If it was mine I would pick a day where you can monitor it from time to time. Disconnect the air tube from the carburetor and place a drip pan under it. Leave the gas shut off valve open. If over the course of the day nothing more than drips fell into the pan there is nothing wrong with the ability of the float needle and seat to seal and function properly.
Lastly, unless the engine burns or leaks a lot of oil any appreciable amount of gas getting into the engine will raise the level of the oil. These types of episodes usually are caused by a leaky float needle. To get oil in the gas enough gas has to leak by to fill up the air intake tube, the carb airway and the intake manifold to the level it will run into the cylinder intake valve that is open when the engine stopped. This scenario is quite unlikely but does happen.

Thank you for the response. I have had the tractor since last August and I haven't used it much. The hydraulics didnt work when I got it and I spent some time fixing that. Since ive been using it I blade the road. I use the scoop bucket to bring road material to patch washouts in our road etc. That is most of what I have done with it since ive had it. I have only put about 8hrs on it. We plant a few acres of wheat and I would like to use it for doing some of that. I pull the choke to start it then push it back In once it starts. Usually I dont run it very long when I do use it, probably less than 30mins. But I have used it for longer stretches, 1.5 hrs at a time. It doesn't blow black smoke. On times when I have used it for an hour or so it does back fire out of the exhaust when I turn it off. One time it was at dusk and I saw a flash so it shot fire out of exhaust I guess. There is not enough gas in the oil to make it thin. It starts right up and runs good. It runs between 50 and 60 psi oil pressure.

 

[tdow]

My thinking is that because that engine has an updraft carburator you would need to leak a couple quarts of gas to fill the carb, manifold, head and cylinders before it could get into the oil.
And/or... if the carb was so ill adjusted that the engine was running rich enough to get gas in the oil it would be blowing black smoke when you used it.
It's wise to monitor it but if the tractor runs good I don't think you have a problem.

Ok, thanks for the response. I would think it would be nearly impossible to leak enough gas to get it into the cylinders but there is gas in it. If I had a bad spark plug or plug wire and it was just filling the cylinder with gas do you think that could cause it to leak into the crank case? Or just go out of the exhaust? Ive touched the head around each of the cylinders and haven't felt a temp difference. But I have never pulled the plugs and made sure they were all sparking.

 

[used red MN]

Thank you for the response. I have had the tractor since last August and I haven't used it much. The hydraulics didnt work when I got it and I spent some time fixing that. Since ive been using it I blade the road. I use the scoop bucket to bring road material to patch washouts in our road etc. That is most of what I have done with it since ive had it. I have only put about 8hrs on it. We plant a few acres of wheat and I would like to use it for doing some of that. I pull the choke to start it then push it back In once it starts. Usually I dont run it very long when I do use it, probably less than 30mins. But I have used it for longer stretches, 1.5 hrs at a time. It doesn't blow black smoke. On times when I have used it for an hour or so it does back fire out of the exhaust when I turn it off. One time it was at dusk and I saw a flash so it shot fire out of exhaust I guess. There is not enough gas in the oil to make it thin. It starts right up and runs good. It runs between 50 and 60 psi oil pressure.

Thanks for that additional information. Does it have a temperature gauge, does it come up to temp after you have ran it 10 minutes or so? If not I would check if a thermostat is installed. Especially in cooler weather, try avoiding running it 10 minutes or less on a start up would be something else I would suggest. How much have you been around and maintained old tractors like this? The oil definitely takes on a gassy odor in these older carbureted engines as compared to the newer fuel injected engines with much tighter fuel mixture control.

 

[tdow]

Thanks for that additional information. Does it have a temperature gauge, does it come up to temp after you have ran it 10 minutes or so? If not I would check if a thermostat is installed. Especially in cooler weather, try avoiding running it 10 minutes or less on a start up would be something else I would suggest. How much have you been around and maintained old tractors like this? The oil definitely takes on a gassy odor in these older carbureted engines as compared to the newer fuel injected engines with much tighter fuel mixture control.

I have thought about the temperature, I don't know if it does have a thermostat or maybe it is stuck open. It will just barely get into the green on the gauge. I have seen it get a little higher not to the middle of the gauge just into the green. I noticed that if I sped the engine up a little it would cool back down to the very edge of the operating temp. My mechanical abilities are pretty limited. Im not a mechanic. I do have a 9n that I fixed. I replaced the condenser adjusted and polished the points, replaced plugs and wires and took the carb apart and cleaned it several times and fixed the hydraulics. Other than that its just been lawnmowers and a four wheeler or two that I have worked on.

 

[showcrop]

I suggest going to your owner's manual and adjust your carburetor per the procedure detailed there.