[Aircomet]

Well, I got the engine installed today and everything buttoned up nicely. Worst part was getting those front motor mounting bolts in. But I got it. I checked everything over once more and attempted the first start. It actually fired right up and after some carb adjustments it runs really well. Pto clutch works as it should as well as the hydraulic lift.

I took it for its first test drive and the hydro seems strong on it. But I definitely need to get that plastic bushing installed on the hydro lever as it is very tricky to hold the lever stable without any dampening right now. Now here is the bad news.

First up the my brand new cooling fan for the hydro has become a 10 piece design again. I believe a stick got up in it on the ride. Second, the hydro seems slower than my 147 does. It is plenty strong uphill and maintains speed fine but seems like it is a few mph slower than I’m used to. I was wondering if this could be intentional by IH since it is newer than my 147 or if I need to do some linkage adjustments?

Finally, the motor has a bad knock coming from it. It sounds very much like rod knock and I’ve eliminated the hood, pto, grill and other external parts. Only thing I haven’t checked is the muffler to see if a baffle is broken out. Could it be the balance gears causing this knock? I guess either way I am destined to pull this motor out again and tear it apart. It smokes anyways so I will probably go ahead and hone the cylinder and buy a rebuild kit.