Making your own deck and cylinders.

[Steelburner]

Has anyone attempted making their own deck and cylinders? They look pretty simple to me and the tooling marks on mine indicate they are not made to nuclear power plant standards.

The hardest thing I can see would be acquiring the cast iron for the cylinder bores. I know you can get cast iron rod (or more correctly, round bar) but boring out that much material would be a total drag. I remember reading somewhere about someone using cast sewer pipe for the raw material for a sleeve. I suppose you would have to have a plumber snake out the pipe before machining LOL!

The deck looks like fly-cut mild steel plate. The holes in it look reamed, but wouldn't have to be. I wonder if it is hardened and why they would?

The cylinders and deck look like they are shrunk together like aircraft cylinder heads (heat the female, cool the male and assemble).

What about mild steel bores? I know this presents break-in problems, but aircraft use this style cylinder.

I know the manual says the cylinders are not machinable, but has anyone tried?

Just thinkin...............

[/img]

[gus]

You've already got the deck, Shelby tubing for the cylinders? If your pistons are no good, find pistons first and make the cylinders to fit.

[Lavoy]

The deck can be bored, factory oversize pistons were available.
Lavoy

[Steelburner]

I guess I was under the impression that the deck and cylinder assembly was NOT available at all. An internet search revealed that they are available, just expensive, around $1500. Then I still have to find pistons and rings. I'd rather replace cylinders and pistons if they are available. This tractor has sentimental value and I don't mind throwing a little money at it.

Knurling the pistons has also been suggested. I'm curios about this. Has anyone done it and can walk me through the procedure to knurl a piston. I have a lathe and mill and have knurled, but would like to know any specifics, precautions, etc. I would probably have to make a scissor knurler large enough to get around a piston. I would think a course knurl would be better than fine. I'll check youtube also.

The D&C from my tractor has pitting about 1" or so from the top of the cylinder on all bores. What puzzled me was why all cyinders had this damage at the same level across all the bores. I was thinking this was water damage, but that cannot be with the damage at the same level from cylinder to cylinder. A friend says that kind of damage is from ether and is detonation damage. Has anyone else heard of this? I always assumed ether burned the valves and did not realize that it damaged the cylinder walls in this way.

[Steelburner]

You've already got the deck, Shelby tubing for the cylinders? If your pistons are no good, find pistons first and make the cylinders to fit.

What is Shelby tubing? Welded seam tubing? I'm also trying to find a source for "durabar" which is cast iron bar stock. I wonder how a steel cylinder with a cast sleeve would work? Once again, just thinkin....

[Lavoy]

Ether will not erode metal, typically it will break top ring or maybe damage the ringlands.
Are you working on a gas or diesel?
Lavoy

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Ether explodes with high pressure just when there is no space for the resulting gases to expand, and it all happens way too fast to push the piston down. In fact, it usually explodes while the crank is still pushing the rod up at the top of the stroke. Anyway, the force has to go someplace and the compression rings are the weakest thing.

Every time this happens, the rings deform a little, so over time the engine becomes weaker. This is what we refer to as 'ether addiction', since they will get to the point where they will not start without the ether.

But, no. It does not pit the bores. That has to be from something else. Like oxygen, which is present in a higher concentration in water than in air....

Stan

[jtrichard]

its gas on his other pics you can see the intake/ex manifold

[Lavoy]

I might have a set of oversize gas pistons.
Lavoy

[gus]

What is Shelby tubing? Welded seam tubing? I'm also trying to find a source for "durabar" which is cast iron bar stock. I wonder how a steel cylinder with a cast sleeve would work? Once again, just thinkin....[/quote]

Shelby is seamless tubing. Available in just about any size and also in any wall thickness. Order by outside dimension and the how thick of a wall you want. Might take some looking to find exactly what you need.