M 18 hours and smoke question
 

Hi guys, I picked up a 1200 something (decal is gone), it's got the twin Kohler - stupid me used carb cleaner to wipe the grime off the engine decal, nice shiny foil now! I think it's a Magnum 18.

When I got it the crankcase was full of gas. Haven't fixed the needle and seat yet, just shutting the fuel off when not in use.

It smokes terrible at startup and even after it's been running for 30 minutes or so it will continue to smoke but not as bad.

It has 1014 hrs on it, the Left cyl head bolts weren't all torqued completely. Some oil seepage at the bolt head inspired me to re-torque to 20ft/lbs - some went a turn or so, others were tight.

Is 1000+ hours time for a rebuild/repower or could it be residual crud in the muffler burning off?

Well... either someone changed the hood, or decals, or motor.... or something because none of the 12XX anything had a Mag 18. Now you could have an 1812. It would have a Mag 18 in it. Better post a pic and the numbers on the serial tag.

As far as the engine goes, if you had gas in the oil, you likely need more than a needle valve and carb rebuild. Flush the entire fuel system and replace the lines. REPLACE THE FUEL PUMP. It is likely what is leaking. Very common.

If you had loose head bolts, tightening them is a waste of time. Pull BOTH heads and plane them and replace the head gaskets. Run the engine and retorque. Run it about 25 hours (work it, not just idling) and see if the smoke stops. It's likely someone was running it with gas in the oil and the rings aren't seated anymore. They will likely reseat themselves. I've seen Mag 18's that didn't make it to 1000 hours, and others that ran 2X that. So... depends on how it was treated as to how long it will last. Just like any other engine.

X-2, Listen to Jon, he knows as to what he speaks.:beerchug:

good thought on the vac fuel pump. Hadn't even thought of that.

Here's a pic if you guys can help me identify it - notebook with the frame numbers is out in the barn right now.

The Model/Serial is by the Left Brake Pedal. Copy the numbers down or snap a picture and post it.

I'm thinking it's an 1811, no hydraulics up front.

Model 147660100
Serial 760150

Yup, it is an 1811.

So is there a trick to converting it to an 1812 - ie, adding hydraulic remotes to power a rear 3point setup?

I was thinking of just routing the return from the deck hyd controls into another (open center) 2spool valve and then having that return to the rear sump.

Faulty thinking?

Fuel pump is coming off tonight to check for leaks, head gaskets getting ordered.

The leak on the fuel pump will be on the diaphragm. You can't get the parts to fix it, so just go ahead and order a new one. Don't bother trying to see if it leaks. It may or may not depending on the diaphragm position.


Adding more hydraulics doesn’t make it an 1812, but you can do it anyway. You can flow from one valve to another, but the first one will take priority. Just install a 2, or 3 spool valve on the dash instead.

If you don't have knowledge of hydraulics, and good fab skills, please don't butcher the tractor by putting some gaudy valve on the fender with hydraulic lines hanging all over the place.....

So before I commit to the fuel pump, will this thing run on gravity feed? I figured before I throw money at it I should see if the rings re-seat and the smoking abates.

I agree completely about not not hacking up a nice looking tractor.