440 ICD questions

[BKahler]

Ok, now that the crawler is finally parked next to my shop I've had a chance to start looking it over. First, the front idler (AT10046T) on the right front seems to have some side to side wobble as if the bushings were wollowed out. The other side doesn't seem to do this. Also I noticed that the whole idler (both sides) assembly seems to slide side to side a fair amount. I'm not sure if this is normal or not. The previous owner told me he never had troubles with the tracks in any way. He said before he got it that there was about $2400 worth of track work done.

Next, some time ago it was down on power so he took it to someone to check it out. Supposedly the injectors were replaced but when the service mechanic got it back together the only way he could get it started was to pull start it. I don't know if that means the starter is bad or not. But the worst part is he said there was now water in the oil. This problem didn't exist before the injector work was done. At this point he told the mechanic to stop working on it and he brought it home, drained the oil and water out and parked it. Thats how I bought it.

I did find that the valve cover wasn't bolted down and it appears he didn't have a gasket on there at all, just a bunch of blue RTV. I'm speculating but I'm betting the mechanic didn't use a new head gasket and rings (?) thus not getting a good seal.

The question is, should I put water and oil in it and try to start it or immediately pull the head and start from that point and reassemble properly?

The next question is what would be an appropriate size battery? Anyone use the Optima Gel Cells? If so which one? This crawler has the battery mounted on the rear of the right fender. All the documentation I have shows it mounted on the front of the left fender. So whats correct?

As near as I can tell there are only two filters (other than air) on the crawler. The engine oil filter and the fuel filter. Would anyone have part numbers for say Fram or Wix?

Well that should be enough questions for the night!

Thanks,

Brad

[CCWKen]

I can't help you with the other questions but as far as the engine work, the water in the oil could be a pre-existing condition. (Before the injectors were replaced.) It could be a blown head gasket, cracked block or intercooler problem (if equiped).

If the mechanic didn't bleed the air from the fuel line (after replacing injectors), it will be hard to start. If the engine is sucking water, it won't start either. To be on the safe side, I'd pull the engine and give it a good once over. Pull the head and see if there's water (coolant) in the cylinders. The problem could have been what lead the mechanic to suspect injector problems in the first place.

[Lavoy]

Are you sure he pulled the head? No need to pull the head to do injector work.
Either way, water in the oil is not good, and it is a wet sleeve engine so there is another potential leak spot there too.
At the very least, I would pull the pan before putting water in, and then lay underneath with a light and see if you can see the sleeve seals leaking.
Lavoy

[BKahler]

Thanks for the replies. Stupid me didn't even think about the fact you could replace the injectors without pulling the head. No one told me the head had been pulled, just an ASSumption on my part.

A little more info that I gleened today was the fact that the previous owner had owned it for 8 to 10 years and it never did have a lot of power. He said it would start on one cylinder and then after a while the second one would kickoff and it would finally start running on both cylinders. So he took it to someone to have them fix it and they supposedly replaced the injectors, had to pull start it to get it going and then called and said there was water in the oil. Apparently the cost in parts was something like $420 plus labor brought it to $1000.

Sounds like the most probable problems are worn piston rings and faulty o-rings on the liners.

If that turns out to be the case then the engine is definitely due for a rebuild.

I did notice that instead of a 4 PSI cap on the radiator they had a 16 PSI cap. That couldn't have been helping things.

Lavoy's suggestion about pulling the pan and looking for leaks is probably the best approach I have at the moment. Without walking down to look at the crawler, can the oil pan be pulled without removing the belly pans? Or am I going to have to figure out a way to get the belly pans off before I proceed any further?

Thanks,

Brad

[Lavoy]

You will have to pull the belly pan to get to the engine pan.
If you end up going through the engine, I think you will be suprised at the results. The replacement pistons for the 2-53 are about 4 points higher compression, and the injectors you use with the new pistons are different as well. With the new "N" series parts in them, they start like a dream, no more ether unless really, really cold.
Lavoy

[BKahler]

At least there is an upside to all the work! I had read in one of the earlier messages (on the previous forum site) about higher compression pistons. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Unless something really unexpected turns up I'm guessing there is an engine pull/rebuild in my future for this crawler.

Oh well, I had hoped to not have to pull the engine but I want to do it right also.

Oh yeah, as far as cold weather starting goes, I live in Arkansas where the typical winter temperature is around 35 degrees on a cold day! We do get down in the teens for a short period but thats about it. Heck, our water pipes are only about 8" deep in the ground! I was born and raised in Lincoln NE and know a lot about how cold it does get up your way! Coldest day I ever experienced was in an open field near Brookings SD (still south of you) pulling an engine from a VW bug. My fingers kept sticking to the wrenches!

Brad