Getting the moisture out

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 27, 2014
Messages
876
Location
SD - South Dakota
We just bought an old Allis-Chalmers B with a 6ft belly mower. Runs good, no smoke, but it has been mostly sitting in a shed for the Last 3 years or so.

When I pulled the dipstick, the oil was very cloudy and appeared to be very moisture laiden, so before even backing it off the trailer I decided to dump the oil and let it drain for a while.

What's the best way to get the moisture out of the crankcase? My plan right now was to just change the oil and hope for the best, but I got to wondering if there is a good way to flush the moisture out.

When I had this problem in the gearcase of my Massey Harris, I just filled the gearcase with diesel and let it soak. That worked well and got it pretty clean, but I'm hesitant to do that on an engine of unknown condition. I'm afraid of loosening up some crud and causing more problems.









thoughts?
 
Yikes. Id be concerned about a slow leak of coolant. I think you did right draining it, Id get the cheapest oil you can find, refill, turn the engine by hand (or crank with fuel rack shut off) then drain and refill again with the cheapest oil. Even used oil would be OK IMO for the first round.

Then Id pressure test the radiator and check for a leak of coolant via the HG or other path.
 
Perhaps half-fill it with the proper oil and crank it over for 20 seconds. Do that 3 or 4 times over 5 minutes and drain it.

See how foul it is. See what settles out. Otherwise just fill it up and fire it up.

Gunk in the fuel system is more what you have to fret.
 
I'd look carefully for an external path for water to get into the crankcase, and if none, I'd refill with any oil, used even, and run it and see if it clouds that oil up or the coolant level goes down.
Heat will get the remainder of the moisture out and I don't think the trace level will hurt anything compared to it sitting and running with the oil you got out.
 
That's not uncommon on older tractors-most of them have overbuilt cooling systems, so unless you take them out and get them good and hot (such as plowing for an hour or so) then they'll pick up condensation like that. It doesn't hurt anything.

On mine I just change the oil and be done with it. Those little Allis B-s are nice tractors.
 
Given the way you describe it runs, I too would drain and fill, work the machine until hot and check it again.
 
Thanks for the input.

I've got about a gallon of Mystic 10w30 (hdeo) that has maybe 10-15 hrs on it that I drained out of my 806 when I accidentally over filled it. I think ill use that first and see what it looks like after an hour or so using it.

I bought some supertech 15w40 tonight too which I might use if the oil gets real cloudy right away. If it stays clear from there, it will be drinking T5 10w30 like all the rest from here on out. Unless I get a better deal on the Mystik, then it will be 10w30 hdeo in that flavor.

What do you all think about the filter? When should I change that? It's a $25 filter, so I dont want to burn through them needlessly. Should I Change it now to get most of the yuck out, or wait until after the first change?
 
Go ahead and change the filter. If I remember correctly the Allis B bypass system used a Fram C159 which should be available for less than $10. There is a general consensus to stay away from the NAPA version (1101) because in some cases it fails to maintain proper pressure.




 
Thanks for posting the pic of the service manual! Looks like I need to get one. Many points of service which I'm sure have not been done for a long time, if ever.

Interesting about the oil filter. I ordered one from NAPA, which was $25. I would have never guessed that Fram gets the nod over NAPA/Wix ... I'm polar opposite. a litte more work for me to get the Fram, but if there's good enough reason, I guess it's not a big deal. (I usually get the good guy deal at the local NAPA).

Interested in opinions on the transmission too. It looks like they recommend 20W for all temperatures. To me that sounds like ATF would make a good substitute. I'm not even sure where I could get a 20W anymore. What have other's done? (perhaps Yesterday's tractor would be a better place to ask?)

Gear lube for the rear ... do I need to make sure it is GL1? I've got 90W GL1 that I used in the massey, but no 140W, and as far as I know, anything in the 140W will be a dual weight and GL4/5. this will be a summer tractor, but won't be working other than the mower.

I dropped the oil bath air cleaner too ... YUCK!
mostly full of grass seed since it has been a mower tractor since the 70's.





it's funny, I showed these pictures to my Father-in-law (standing president of the Isaac Walton League from whom we bough the tractor), and his comment was "I suppose, with something that old, you don't want to do anything more than what you have to" .... totally opposite way of thinking, but that's how he's trained himself to think. He's always treated his Cockshutt the same way. as the oil level slowly rises he's more inclined to just drain some out than he is to change it out. pretty sure he's changed it no more than 3 or 4 times in the 30 years he's owned it..... something about old tractors makes others afraid to maintain them.

thanks again for all the good input! keep it coming!!
 
regarding the transmission, it looks like Harvest King has a 20W-20 ND motor oil.

would this be appropriate for the transmission with their 20W recommendation?
this is a brand I have seen locally.

 
Last edited:
Did a little more research on the transmission oil and it appears that hytran makes a suitable replacement, so I drained the transmission too. The oil in the trans looked just like the pics above, except there couldn't have been more than a quart in the sump.

I had some cheap(ish) super trac 303 [URL]http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/super-s-supertrac-303-tractor-hydraulic-fluid-5-gal[/url] which I wont use in the 806 because its cold weather properties aren't very good, so I used it in the Allis. I figure it is not going to be used in the cold anyway so it wont matter. Plus I could run it for a year and put the better stuff in there and use this stuff as a flush.
 
Last edited:
I run Seafoam in these old engines along with cheap oil for several cycles to flush out the old sludge and water. For the gearboxes I use Redline's Shockproof gear oil. Works wonders on worn/abused gears. Flush the gearbox with some kerosene or motor flush to remove the crud in it.
 
New oil and put it to work. Anything left would burn off. Don't put any flush chemicals in it. Do a couple short interval changes. I have a Ford 9N which for the most part had non detergent oil in it until the early 80's and detergent oil thereafter. Never flushed it and never had any problems with this 76 year old gem.
 
Last edited:
So far so good. Did the oil change and put it to work pulling the disk in the dry lot to give it a good work out. Runs good with plenty of power (for what it is). Had lots of sparks flying from the manifold (cracked) when pulling up hill so it definitely got a work out it hasn't seen in a long time.

Oil stayed clear and didn't smoke. Engine temp was only 170 after pulling too.

The wife used it to mow the other day too, but I haven't checked it since then. Sure is a sweet running little tractor, though. Might replace the manifold this winter, but we will see. Still got to change the gear oil in the rear end and steering gear, bit it is in better shape than it was, thats for sure.

Edit: I should mention that the Napa gold filter I used was a PN 7101. They updated/changed the design from the 1101 back to the correct bypass design. Checking the pressure when running, it was on the high side of the normal range. Yo could clearly see the filter packing material and feel the filter tube push past the packing when installing the filter. I feel confident that the design is correct for the application and there is no longer a reason to shy away from the Napa filter.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top