So a little background about the cletrac...
My GPA has a 1953 oliver cletrac. DDH. SERIAL #2L5350 . Has a Hercules DRXB inline 6 Diesel engine.
He has used it for as long as I can remember to do his personal firewood etc... with little or no problems. (approx 30 years). And I'm sure long before I was around.
About 6 months ago he was using it and it made a loud pop and then died. It was very hard to start and wanted to die right out, even with starting fluid.
So he let it set for about 3 months without touching it.
When he went to attempt to start he first noticed that the radiator was very low. When he pushed the starter button he heard a gurgle, and the engine didn't want to cycle. Come to find out there was water in the cylinders.
So he had a mechanic come out and get the water out, pulled the heads and inspected for cracks etc...nothing found. The gaskets appeared to be in good condition. So the
mechanic put the heads back on (with original gaskets) and got it running. He tuned it up a bit and had it sounding great. Once the Cletrac sits over night..the cylinders fill back up
with water...
so he had the mechanic come back out, get the water out of the cylinders, and restart it. He did so and it fired up and ran great. If he doesn't drain the cooling system after running it,
the cylinders will get water in them. (haven't attempted after setting 1 night). So obviously GPA doesn't want to have to drain the cooling system after every use. He is debating having
the mechanic get a new set of head gaskets and have him install them. The mechanic is a little stumped at this point as to where the water is coming from if not the head gaskets...even though they appeared ok.
Was hoping someone has encountered this, or may have some advice on what the next step should be.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Was the head magna-fluxed or just visually inspected? Cracks can be very hard to see with an un-aided eye.
It was only visually inspected. We would take them to a machine shop if we decide to go the "new head gaskets" route.
Heads to be magnafluxed at the machine shop once I get it apart....I'll report back with findings.
Those gaskets should be solid copper. Just anneal them so hey are soft again. Check out annealing copper on youtube to see the best way to do it. Then use some aviation permatex on it. Good as new. That engine has dry sleeves. Probably a cracked head.
Bob
Those engines have two cylinder heads, Did you have water in all cylinders? I have never had any issue reusing those solid copper gaskets.
It sure sounds like (from the research I have done and input from others) that the head gaskets themselves wont be the issue. I will know more once I get the heads magnafluxed. As far as which/how many cylinders had water in them, im not sure because the "mechanic" who removed and reinstalled the heads didn't pass on that info; just that there was water in cylinders. I'm trying to get that info as well....before I take the heads back off and get magnafluxed. Otherwise I will have to let it set overnight again with water in the system and see for myself. I will post an update of findings asap. Thanks again!
If you have to fill it with water again and let it sit, before you take the heads off keep track of which valves are open. If say you had a cracked cylinder and water got in one cylinder, the water can go out an open valve into either the intake or exhaust manifold and travel to other cylinders with open valves. If you fill several cylinders over night you have a big crack that should be easy to find. When it was running did the exhaust look white like it was full of steam. If it was run low on water and overheated, you could have cracked a head or could be the block in the cylinder or combustion chamber areas.
Annealing copper is just the opposite of steel. Heat it and cool it quickly to soften.
Blake
So we finally got the head checked out and found a crack/hold in the #6 cyl area. So that is being repaired. But the exhaust valve for that same cyl looks pretty bad. Anyone have any suggestions on coming up with an exhaust valve??
I don't know an exact fit, but lots of times valve sizes are shared with many different engines. Get precise measurements and run around to some speed shops or good engine building machine shops and see what they have laying around. Also big truck and tractor dealer shops. If you find something, let us know. I've always wanted to compile a cross-reference listing of what parts will fit from other machines. Of course, time is always my issue.
I do know Mack V-8 engine valves (don't know which V-8) will fit a 28-50 Hart Parr. And John Deere M valves will fit a Caterpillar Ten. All from personal experience.
Blake
On that valve measure the head diameter, stem diameter and the length of the valve and post here. I have some herc valves laying around and may have one.