Here we go again!

squatch · #1 01-27-2011, 01:15 PM

We got about 3" of snow yesterday morning. By mid afternoon it was drizzling rain. When I got within about 3 miles of my house it started sleeting and was freezing up pretty quick by the time I got home at around 5pm.

I installed chains on my AG tires and jumped in the cab of my 1872 and had at cleaning our road. It's not quite a 1/2 mile long and serves 5 houses. I'm at the back. Steep hill at the beginning. The snow was water logged and freezing but I got to it in time. Took some doing but got most of the ice up and established the edges well with the 54" Haban blade. It was snowing hard when I came in. But the road was clear for the time being.

We got about 10" of snow last night and it stopped early in the AM. I got up at 4am. The plan was clear the road then go to work. So much for plans. I removed the blade and installed my 450 45" snow blower. Made a pass down the road and was coming back. I had to stop several times on the way back and remove some large tree limbs that had broken off the white pines lining the road on the hill.

I almost got to my drive and smoke started billowing out from the front of the tractor. My 1st thought was belt so I shut it off and got out and looked. I was losing OIL on the snow. I only had about 85' to the garage but had to run the blower to make it back in. I managed to get it in the garage and shut it off while I still had oil pressure. I was pretty disgusted to say the least. I called the boss and bailed out for the day. Took a break and got the walk behind snow blower running after daylight. I worked with a couple of neighbors and finished clearing the snow and my drive.

I got one of the side covers off and took a look. What a mess. I think I lost one of the main seals but I'm going to have to dis-assemble quite a bit more to know for sure which one and clean everything up. I'm thinking that having the crank case full of fuel after the carb leaked didn't help matters. I was hoping I might get a bit of a break after I went through everything over the summer. I guess not! I'm hoping it's the front seal and I wont have to remove the engine again to fix it. Of course it would be nice to have an impact wrench to remove the PTO but the motor just went up in my compressor a couple of weeks ago. I guess I'll get to it over the weekend. I've had enough for one day.

BThein · #2 01-27-2011, 01:53 PM

Oh Man! You sure have had your run of luck,hope it turns out to be an easy fix .Hang in there you'll get it .
Take Good Care, Bob

ACecil · #3 01-27-2011, 02:56 PM

Sorry to hear that, Squatch. Hope everything works out for you!

hydrocub · #4 01-27-2011, 03:43 PM

Hate thate for you .

Especially when we need our machines up and running .
Keep us posted .

MrGitrdone41 · #5 01-27-2011, 05:53 PM

OH man! What sucks! I bad for you. You will fix it. Good luck on it.

squatch · #6 02-15-2011, 10:09 AM

Just a quick update. I haven't got much done on this because of working so much lately. I did refill with oil and run it awhile and it had to get pretty hot to start leaking again. It wasn't on the PTO side. So I got the engine out again and on the work bench. I've pulled most of the sheet metal and it appears the main seal behind the flywheel let go. I haven't pulled the flywheel yet but hopefully in a few days. I just hope the oil hasn't ruined any of the electronics in there. The whole engine is an oily mess. I hpe to have pics up shortly.

ol'George · #7 02-15-2011, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squatch

Just a quick update. I haven't got much done on this because of working so much lately. I did refill with oil and run it awhile and it had to get pretty hot to start leaking again. It wasn't on the PTO side. So I got the engine out again and on the work bench. I've pulled most of the sheet metal and it appears the main seal behind the flywheel let go. I haven't pulled the flywheel yet but hopefully in a few days. I just hope the oil hasn't ruined any of the electronics in there. The whole engine is an oily mess. I hpe to have pics up shortly.

Oil don't usually hurt the stator wiring much, just wash it off with kerosine or gas if your outside and careful.
Make sure you get the correct seal as the early, series 1 motors have a smaller inside diameter and some parts people don't know their bottom from a hole in the ground, and second parts runs are a pain.
IIRR that is a 18 hp kohler and If so, while it is on the bench take a look @ the crankcase vent valve located in the valve lifter cover just to make sure all is well there and you are not building pressure that could cause the seal to have blown.

squatch · #8 03-06-2011, 11:14 PM

This has been on the back burner for a while but I finally got back to it. It seems the front main seal behind the flywheel pushed out of the block!!!!!!!!!!!
I installed a new one and it was a bear to get seated. I'm thinking the original one wasn't seated all the way when the engine was rebuilt. That and or it got pushed out when I started it not know the crank case was full of fuel after the carb float leaked. Probably just waited for a bad time to finish letting go. I got the engine back in the tractor this evening and hope to have it running again in the next day or 2. Cross your fingers.

Ol' George do you know the different part numbers? I just reread your post and wonder if I have the seal with the smaller diameter on a larger cranks and that is why it was difficult to install. I ordered the one for my tractor from the dealer by the CCC part#. This is a replacement motor from a rebuilder. How much difference is there in the inner size. I take it the outside diameter is the same? Is there an ID on the block that would tell me which I have?