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Check your cylinder walls, particularly the area where the rings travel. If you have any scratches or non-circular wear, it will need to be bored over-size and that requires a  special machine 'cause you need to end up with an exact diameter (usually 25, 50, or 75 thou over) to match new pistons and rings.

15 years ago I found an automotive shop who  was willing (and excited!) to do my 3 cylinder Hercules.

... how far from the seat and how far from the valve stem is the hole?

The hole is about half way between the  valve stem and the manifold mounting face but it is 1/4" wide and 1/2" long. It also includes a radius where the more-or-less round passage transitions to rectangular  so a threaded in plug would have to be pretty large.

I was also concerned that if I had one spot that corroded, gawd knows what other flaws there might be!

A replacement head seemed like a good idea under the circumstances.

Found my problem! A piece of  cast is  completely broken out on the #3 exhaust port directly into the coolant passage. Still haven't heard from my welder. I wonder if I could sleeve the exhaust port with some stainless steel and high temperate adhesive? Wonder if anybody makes an adhesive that holds up to exhaust temperatures right next to the valve?

I would hate to have to  change heads. This one has less than  50 hours on it since a complete rebuild!

It has been a long time since I have been here - back in about 2005 when I was rebuilding my 1952 OC-46 with the 3 cylinder Hercules engine. I rebuilt it from a pile of scrap, used it for a few years for some major work around the property, and then  it has been parked for quite a few years.

I needed it again this summer so I got some fresh gas, topped up the fluids but, when I did I had coolant coming out of the exhaust manifold  My friend came over with his big Case tractor and helped me get the loader off and this afternoon I pulled the cylinder head. I can't SEE a hole between the coolant passage and the cylinder but the way the coolant came pouring through, there has got to be one there somewhere!

The cylinders look okay but I need to get a valve spring compressor and take the valves out to get a good look in the head. I suspect a cracked head. A good friend is an excellent welder so I have asked him  to have a look at it. I hope to gawd that I can fix this head! There is probably less than 50 hours on it since new valves, guides, seats, and springs! If it can't be fixed, I am going to be on the hunt for another head 

Thankfully it cranked okay once I got the head off (after I gave it a little "encouragement" with two 12 volt batteries in parallel ROFL!)

Anyway, just thought I would drop in and share my misery LOL!

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Thought I would pass this along in case it is of interest to anyone in the future.

I started having problems with my OC-46 last week. I went to start it last week, it ran for a few seconds and then died - sounded like fuel starvation. When I rebuilt it, I added an electric fuel pump and I know the 6 volt charging system doesn't charge so I figured the battery was too low (it uses a 12 volt battery to crank). After charging for a day, it started and ran fine yesterday for awhile and then died in the excavation - again, just like the fuel had been switched off. I managed to get it started again and got it back to the shop by running with the choke full on. At the shop I went thru the fuel system from tank to carb checking flow rate and everything was fine. In the end I found a tiny piece of silicon "gasket in a tube" stuck in the main needle valve (high speed mixture).

I have never been a fan of "gasket in a tube" and rarely use it so I know exactly where it came from! When I added the electric fuel pump, I gutted the mechanical pump and replaced the rubber diaphram with a metal plate - that was where I used silicon gasket material. (I left the mechanical pump and fuel lines in place so the crawler looked original but I don't have to crank the heck out of it if it has been sitting for months.)

I have never experienced silicon gasket material shedding thin whisps of material before but it is this time. I had the crawler quit once more in yesterday's work but, knowing the problem, all I had to do was pull the needle and blow it out - then it ran fine for the rest of the day.

If you use silicon, be aware that it can come back to bite you!

(BTW: I LOVE[/i] my little Oliver - what a SWEET tractor! I can see why they were so popular for "general work" and are still so much in demand by landscapers.)

Maybe I have the date wrong but that list looks like the one from the Crestline book and I did find that book to be in error - well, "superficial" really. I did a lot of research to date my crawler and did determine it was from the first year gas tractors were built and that the gas serial numbers started at 1WR700 or 1WR701. The vintage of the serial number of the crawler also matched the vintage of the engine serial number.

Fact remains, it IS an OC-46 with a 3 cylinder Hercules, and a 2-disk clutch.

Sorry about the small pictures but I had to take the large ones off my Web page due to space limitations.

Dianne

[know]

John: It's an OC-46, serial 1WR712, with a double disk clutch and a Ware loader. (As near as I could figure, it was 1952, the first year they produced a gas version - gas serial numbers started at 1WR700 or 701.)

Walter: Free-travel is good and the (external) linkage is loose with the pedal up so I am sure the problem is inside the bell housing  I seem to remember this clutch having lots of "grab" when I first rebuilt it. I'm afraid I may have damaged it working that one BIG rock. I know you are not supposed to ride the clutch but the only way I could move that xxxxx rock was by "bumping it".

(Almost buried the little Ollie in the mud in the bottom of a hole yesterday! Had to use my bucket to work my way out of the mud. Must pay more attention to what's under the tracks instead of being totally focused on what's in front of the bucket!)

Hi ya'll!

I restored a 1952 OC-46 with the 3 cylinder Herc gas engine a few years ago but it hadn't seen much use until the past week. The clutch looked good so I didn't replace the disks when I restored it.

Last weekend I was working it pretty hard, digging up a rock that was really too big for it and the clutch started slipping a bit. Now it seems the clutch is weak. I should be able to slip the tracks in 1st gear or pull the engine down off the governor but it seems the clutch is slipping under heavy load.

I checked the pedal linkage and it's fine but it seems like as soon as I put a bit of pressure on the pedal/linkage, the clutch starts to disengage.

I checked my service manual but the illustrations aren't very clear and I honestly can't remember the internal arrangement of the clutch operating linkages. So, before I go to all the work of pulling the floorboards, aux. transmission, and bell housing, is there something inside the bell housing that may need adjustment or had I better order new disks and pressure springs before I pull it apart?

I have a fair amount of excavating and grading to do in the next 8 weeks so I need my little Ollie running RIGHT!

Thanks gang!

Dianne
The crazy old woman with a crawler