Question About Lack of Power???

[Bigschuss]

After plowing snow all winter with no problems, I changed the oil this past weekend to get my 1958 ready for the fields. The oil came out kind of a watery greenish-brown. I plowed on Sunday decently enough, but thought the tractor felt a little sluggish on power. Today I used the disk harrows and the tractor was definitely lagging. Under load it just seemd to lack horsepower and I noticed white smoke belching from the oil filler.

I'm relatively new Cubs, and I just don't know them inside and out like many of the fine gentlemen on this board. I'm wondering if somehow over the winter coolant leaked into the crankcase, causing my coolant to be low (which I didn't check before I plowed, but which seems to be the case) and causing my Cub to overheat. If this is plausible, is lack of horsepower a symptom of an overheating engine?

Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated.

B. Mahar
Savoy, MA

[RAW in IA]

I think it would be very possible that the coolant in the oil is causing the problem, But from what I have been told, it is not just from getting hot, but the anti-freeze gums up things and doesn't do the bearings any good. Wouldn't hurt to drop the pan and check things out.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Drain the oil again, and if you have coolant in it, you have a serious problem. As RAW sugggested, pull the pain and start looking. Since a cub is a flat head engien the oil doesn't come up to the head, so the only way for cooant to get into the oil is an internal crack in the block. And as RAW said, coolant in the oil will defintely cause a loss of power.

[Patbretagne]

so the only way for cooant to get into the oil is an internal crack in the block. .

Or could just be a head gasket? Let's hope, it's easier than a crack!
Pat

[Bigschuss]

Thanks for the help everybody.

John, you mentioned the cub having a flat head. I don't have a lot of experience with engines, but I am trying to picture what you mean. Does this mean, as you stated, that a blown head gasket wouldn't allow coolant into the engine oil?

Do you have any idea why I'd be blowing white smoke out of the oil filler? Is that symptomatic of a crack in he block?

I just bought this Cub last summer and it did so well. I'd really be disappointed if it turns out to be a crack in the block heading into planting season, as I only have one tractor.

Regards,
Blair in Savoy, MA

[Bigdog]

Blair - there are 2 basic engine types, flathead and overhead valve found in older tractors. With the flathead (cub) engine, the valves are in the engine block and the head completes the top of the combustion chamber. The overhead valve engines have the valves in the head rather than in the block so it is necessary to lubricate valve components. Flatheads are an earlier, much simpler design but there are many advantages to the later overhead design.
The white smoke coming from the oil fill cap indicates there is pressure and moisture inside the engine crankcase. One thing that may help is to make sure that the vent tube that runs from the front of the block to the air cleaner is open and working. This will vent the pressure to the air cleaner where it is re-cycled as intake air. The white color indicates moisture or water vapor is in the crankcase with the oil. This could be from coolant leaking into the crankcase as mentioned or it could be from condensation from the cooler temperatures. Changing the oil and running the engine usually clears this up.
Now, another cause of the excess pressure in the crankcase is compressed air working it's way past the piston rings during the compression cycle. This would indicate worn piston rings / cylinder walls and might indicate the need for an overhaul. You could probably confirm this with a compression test.
In any case, try the simple things first. A lot of the time, they solve the problems.

[George Willer]

Bigschuss,

It sounds like you have coolant in your oil... not a good thing. Anti-freeze and bearings don't get along well together and the antifreeze causes the bearings to fail. I'm afraid you don't have a loss of power... just failing bearings that are robbing your power. I would plan on two things before using the tractor more: replace the head gasket and inspect and probably replace the rod and main bearings. Acting quickly may prevent damage to the crankshaft. There is one other bearing that I would just pray for, in the idler gear that drives the governor, its' bearing is also babbit.

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but someone had to do it.

It may not be a very good test with the engine cooled down, but you might try turning the engine with the hand crank to see if it turns harder.

We can also pray that I'm wrong.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

so the only way for cooant to get into the oil is an internal crack in the block. .

Or could just be a head gasket? Let's hope, it's easier than a crack!
Pat

A head gasket won't allow coolant to get into the oil in a cub engine unless it's leaking into a cylinder and running past the rings. If this were happening I would expect a miss, and possibly hydro locking. As I stated, oil in a cub engine doesn't come up to the head, or to the head gasket.

[George Willer]

If this were happening I would expect a miss, and possibly hydro locking. As I stated, oil in a cub engine doesn't come up to the head, or to the head gasket.

The coolant only has to seep through the head gasket very slowly while the tractor is idle to get a significant amount past the rings and into the oil. I agree that a large leak would affect how the tractor runs, but a small one may not.

[mike mix]

Try this before spending lots of money. The Nelco Company makes a kit to check for coolant in the oil .It's very accurate and simple to use only requires about 1 oz. of oil. The companys phone number is 651-738-2014 or web sire is http://www.Gly-Tek.com
Also if you must use the tractor with coolant in the oil switch to mobil 1 oil. For some reason mobil 1 still protects the engine & bearings with coolant present.
On my own Cub the oil always looks a funny color when I drain it. I've had it analyzed and it always shows no problems.

Mike

[Bigschuss]

Thanks to all for your help. This forum is priceless to beginners like me.

Looks like I've got some work to do.

Blair in Savoy, MA