Good call! I hadn’t even thought of the big kerosene-burning prairie tractors! All the more relevant this being a distillate tractor. I was even thinking about running “distillate” at the shows this summer, now I have more likelihood to do so successfully.
If the coolant was getting into the engine oil, I figure the oil in the radiator system will now be what seeps into the crankcase/ engine oil. Would you mind telling me how you won't end up flooding your crankcase with engine oil? Occasionally drain some and dump it back into the radiator?
You’re exactly correct. All distillate tractors have a petcock on the side of the oil “pan” (or whatever acts as such), and is placed to drain the crankcase down to the “full” level on the dipstick (if it has one, most Deere 2 lungers do not). This feature was originally there because distillate would pollute the lube oil throughout the day of running, and then settle to the top at night and get drained off through the petcock. Effectively, I’ll do the same thing, but pour it back into the radiator instead of the distillate tank.
I have the same problem. I bought a NOS block to replace my original that was cracked. I replaced the head studs with new installed with thread sealant. I had the head rebuilt with everything new. The tubes were brass and in excellent condition. A gasket kit from Steiner. I torqued to proper spec. Filled with 7 quarts of oil and 5 gal of water. I ran it four times for a short period (5 minutes or less) then one day checked the oil and it was milky. It is not condensation so where is the water coming from? I have almost 1500,00 in the engine alone. Any ideas or suggestions on what to check and how to check it? This is on a 1939 B.
Gosh that’s the kind of story that hurts to hear… if it were me, I would probably rig up some way to put a very low pressure on the cooling system. Since it’s an open, thermal siphon system no more than say 5psi. Then, take off the valve cover and the crankcase top cover, and use a flashlight to see if you can find any seepage. I think UV dyes may also be available, but motor oil also highlights under UV, so make sure you get a different color dye than the oil. That way you can use a blacklight and maybe more easily see the leak source. If you don’t see the leak under pressure cold, get it up to operating temperature and try again. Just my thoughts and ideas how I’d approach it.
Thanks for the video. Wondering how it worked out? I'm suspecting my Ferguson TO20 has an internal crack somewhere. I'm low on funds at the moment and thinking of trying this out.
So far it’s still working well. The higher temperatures exposed some weaknesses in sealing the cooling system, which have since been repaired. For show and parade purposes I think it’ll stay this way. No fear of freezing, no fear of rust. And, I may well be able to easily run “distillate” whenever I want. The only thing about a TO20 doing this is I think those have water pumps and thermostats, right? Personally I’d be worried about the oil being too thick when cold and damaging the water pump.
@@firefly3333 glad to hear it's working out. Nice looking relic there. But yeah, the thick oil on the pump is a bit concerning. I'm only considering this as a last resort "fix" tho. Putting a new head gasket in and run block seal in it . Hopefully this fixes it. If I go the oil cooled route it'd be with the thinnest possible oil possible.
@@firefly3333 did you replace the water pump with an oil pump? If so, depending on temperature and oil density, the water pump would have a better flow rate. If you stuck with a water pump, when the oil is cool and dense the flow rate wouldn't matter so much any way. I'm not sure why someone would swap the water pump for an oil pump even if using oil for cooling
@@Dereks06 actually, it’s simpler than that! Before WWII, many tractors didn’t have water pumps at all, including John Deere. This machine uses convection (the marketeers called it “thermal siphon”). The science is, as long as the top radiator hose is the highest point in the system, then the heated liquid rises to the top of the radiator, then drops through the tubes as it cools, then back into the engine for another lap. More here -> mechdiesel.blogspot.com/2017/06/cooling-system-used-in-automobile.html?m=0
Two words: Advance Rumley.
Good call! I hadn’t even thought of the big kerosene-burning prairie tractors! All the more relevant this being a distillate tractor. I was even thinking about running “distillate” at the shows this summer, now I have more likelihood to do so successfully.
If the coolant was getting into the engine oil, I figure the oil in the radiator system will now be what seeps into the crankcase/ engine oil. Would you mind telling me how you won't end up flooding your crankcase with engine oil? Occasionally drain some and dump it back into the radiator?
You’re exactly correct. All distillate tractors have a petcock on the side of the oil “pan” (or whatever acts as such), and is placed to drain the crankcase down to the “full” level on the dipstick (if it has one, most Deere 2 lungers do not). This feature was originally there because distillate would pollute the lube oil throughout the day of running, and then settle to the top at night and get drained off through the petcock. Effectively, I’ll do the same thing, but pour it back into the radiator instead of the distillate tank.
I have the same problem. I bought a NOS block to replace my original that was cracked. I replaced the head studs with new installed with thread sealant. I had the head rebuilt with everything new. The tubes were brass and in excellent condition. A gasket kit from Steiner. I torqued to proper spec. Filled with 7 quarts of oil and 5 gal of water. I ran it four times for a short period (5 minutes or less) then one day checked the oil and it was milky. It is not condensation so where is the water coming from? I have almost 1500,00 in the engine alone. Any ideas or suggestions on what to check and how to check it? This is on a 1939 B.
Gosh that’s the kind of story that hurts to hear… if it were me, I would probably rig up some way to put a very low pressure on the cooling system. Since it’s an open, thermal siphon system no more than say 5psi. Then, take off the valve cover and the crankcase top cover, and use a flashlight to see if you can find any seepage. I think UV dyes may also be available, but motor oil also highlights under UV, so make sure you get a different color dye than the oil. That way you can use a blacklight and maybe more easily see the leak source. If you don’t see the leak under pressure cold, get it up to operating temperature and try again. Just my thoughts and ideas how I’d approach it.
Thanks for the video. Wondering how it worked out? I'm suspecting my Ferguson TO20 has an internal crack somewhere. I'm low on funds at the moment and thinking of trying this out.
So far it’s still working well. The higher temperatures exposed some weaknesses in sealing the cooling system, which have since been repaired. For show and parade purposes I think it’ll stay this way. No fear of freezing, no fear of rust. And, I may well be able to easily run “distillate” whenever I want.
The only thing about a TO20 doing this is I think those have water pumps and thermostats, right? Personally I’d be worried about the oil being too thick when cold and damaging the water pump.
@@firefly3333 glad to hear it's working out. Nice looking relic there. But yeah, the thick oil on the pump is a bit concerning. I'm only considering this as a last resort "fix" tho. Putting a new head gasket in and run block seal in it . Hopefully this fixes it. If I go the oil cooled route it'd be with the thinnest possible oil possible.
I think having a water pump would be better.
Go on? I’m not understanding what you’re trying to say.
@@firefly3333 did you replace the water pump with an oil pump? If so, depending on temperature and oil density, the water pump would have a better flow rate.
If you stuck with a water pump, when the oil is cool and dense the flow rate wouldn't matter so much any way. I'm not sure why someone would swap the water pump for an oil pump even if using oil for cooling
@@Dereks06 actually, it’s simpler than that! Before WWII, many tractors didn’t have water pumps at all, including John Deere. This machine uses convection (the marketeers called it “thermal siphon”). The science is, as long as the top radiator hose is the highest point in the system, then the heated liquid rises to the top of the radiator, then drops through the tubes as it cools, then back into the engine for another lap. More here -> mechdiesel.blogspot.com/2017/06/cooling-system-used-in-automobile.html?m=0