350C Crawler Loader Engine Issue

[amoskevitz]

I have a 350CB (crawler loader) serial number 329326T (which according to a post on this forum puts it as a 1979 model) with engine model 3164DF 01 serial number 461445T which is having some issues.

I will recount the events as they happened in order, not as I learned them, so some of my diagnostic steps may not make sense given what has happened so far.

I was attempting to remove a stump to expand my vegetable garden I gave up at the end of the first day because I was having issues with power, I assumed it was due to the fact that the clay soil I was working with was becoming heavily packed into the tracks. I was occasionally noticing whiffs of white steam/smoke/dust coming from the front of the tractor. Upon investigation I found nothing, so I assumed it was dust. I now know that this was coolant

Later the crawler began rapidly losing power. when attempting to back up the incline created around the stump, she would stall. after spending some time trying to get out, I gave up for the night. The next morning, I checked all the fluids, added about 1 gallon of coolant, 1/2-quart oil, I also installed the new air filter and fuel filter I already had as I was planning on doing some pm over the summer after I finished the garden project. At this point I tried again, this time I was able to get out of the ditch and about 40 feet back toward where I hoped to park her to check her out more thoroughly, at this point it stalled again, and I was unable to get it to run for more that 2-10 seconds without stalling.
This is the location I had to perform the rest of my work, no access to power without bringing out my generator, dirt ground all around.
At this point in time, the coolant was over two gallons low, and that after the few seconds the engine would run you could hear bubbling int the radiator.
I only had the tractor technical manual (TM-1115) at this point, and the diagnostic step for low engine power suggested checking compression (didn't have a tester yet) and checking fuel injection timing. upon opening the side panel into the Roosa Master JDB331MD2797 fuel injector and getting the engine to TDC, I observed the timing line was very slightly off. The manual described how to adjust the timing by rotating the pump, but I had fixated on a part labeled "Cam Advance Mechanism" which seemed obvious to me at the time would move the lines around. When turning this stud, it did nothing to the timing lines, so I tried to put it back where I found it, not sure how successful I was. (I later learned this is actually the hydraulic automatic speed advance and is not meant to be adjusted.)
At the same time, I chased down the coolant issue, and when opening the thermostat housing discovered that over 50% of the gasket there was gone, which is where the coolant was going (hence the occasional steam, as the gasket was after the thermostat).

Having determined the likely cause of the overheating I now needed to determine and fix whatever damage it had caused.
I this point I got the engine technical manual (CTM-4) and order some tools based on what I read in there. The first to arrive was the coolant system pressure tester. with the new gasket installed in the thermostat housing, the system seemed to hold the specified 5psi fine, but the more significant finding was that on starting the engine, the pressure in the coolant system immediately jumped to 15PSI. The manual and my (albeit limited) knowledge of engines, pointed to a head gasket compression leak.

Got a new gasket, removed the head, the old gasket was a mess. there were surface irregularities in a few spots where the gasket probably was not adhered properly. tried my best to clean with nonmetallic, and nonabrasive tools, but some of the stuff would not clean off, internet suggested razor blade, which made me uncomfortable, but I couldn't see any other way of cleaning the surface. I don't think I had any slips, and there were no visible scratches when i was done.

Some of the old head bolts were in rough shape and were out of spec, so I put in the head and gasket on with the old bolts finger tight in a few holes and waited for the new bolts to arrive. they came about a week later, so installed and torqued them according to the manual, then reinstalled the rest (intake, exhaust, lifters, bleeding fuel lines, etc.)
hoping for the engine to roar to life, I started it, and was met with a sputtering, tried several more times, the most it ran was about 30-40 seconds of sputtering. It was encouraging that the coolant system was no longer being pressurized by a compression leak. and maybe it was just in my brain, but the sound of the engine was less an engine trying to die and more an engine failing to run.

I had been unable to replace the gaskets and seals on the injection nozzles due to them being lost the day before I needed them, so I decided that it couldn't hurt to order new nozzles and install them, and at the same time I could do a compression test on the engine, as the adaptor I needed for my compression tester had finally shipped.

compression test was 290,240,290 on a cold engine, repeated after putting some oil into the cylinder as suggested by the manual and got 480,290,500. I also checked the clearances on the valve lifters and found them all to be high, with some over double the specification.
The middle cylinder looks like an issue, but it is above the 264psi that apparently is when diesel will ignite, so not knowing what to do to fix the issue anyways, I installed the new nozzles and tried to start it up. I was greeted for the first time with an engine that sounded alive maybe missing a fire on one cylinder, but all in all sounded much better than it had since it dies, I let it run for 2 minutes which it did for the first time, and then throttled it up as little, for once it actually responded to the changed throttle by actually revving up, I was excited, I then let it run for a while, when all of a sudden, it started sputtering, and then stalled. since then, it has not run for more than 10-20 seconds.

so, my questions are,

could I have messed up the injector timing by screwing with the automatic advance adjustment, if so any resources on how to adjust that correctly? the tech manual doesn't cover it.

how likely is it I damaged the head gasket surfaces, and any suggestions on correcting that?

the tech manual tells you to check for a 119mm vs 120mm I neglected to check this AS I Didn't read that bit until I had everything installed, is it possible I got the wrong one?

If the next step is replacing a piston and liner, can that be done with the engine still in the crawler, I have no way to remove it.

any suggestions on next steps?

[dtoots1]

I am just a bit curious....have you checked on the fuel injector pump for failure of the pentane gasket ( pellets) that have been discussed on this forum ??? this is usually a problem with the roosa master pump. interferes with fuel to cylinders and dies from build up of pellets

[amoskevitz]

I am just a bit curious....have you checked on the fuel injector pump for failure of the pentane gasket ( pellets) that have been discussed on this forum ??? this is usually a problem with the roosa master pump. interferes with fuel to cylinders and dies from build up of pellets

I was not checking for it specifically at the time, but when I had the cover off the pump, it was clean, no pellets as far as I can remember.
Edit: just went and double checked, all I get out of the timing window is clean fuel.

[dtoots1]

latience...we have lots of experienced folk on this board ..s/b checking in to advise.. my experience is with the 440s, but have read quite a bit about the 350s....you seem to have checked everything that i would suspect..will read post again

[77 Ford]

I still suspect the return check valve is plugged and you're pressurizing the injection pump. Pull the 90 degree elbow and clean that out real well and install and see if it will run better for a bit.

[LeonardL]

I agree with 77Ford on this and would add checking the fuel vent in the tank. Either one or both could be causing you your issue.

[Al Swearengen]

compression test was 290,240,290 on a cold engine, repeated after putting some oil into the cylinder as suggested by the manual and got 480,290,500.
The middle cylinder looks like an issue, but it is above the 264psi that apparently is when diesel will ignite,

It was above 264 when oil was added. Wouldn't that indicate a 'no fire' for normal conditions?

[amoskevitz]

I still suspect the return check valve is plugged and you're pressurizing the injection pump. Pull the 90 degree elbow and clean that out real well and install and see if it will run better for a bit.

Thanks for the advice, the ball check valve was packed solid, cleaned it out and it fired right up!

[amoskevitz]

edit: removed accidental duplicate post

[LeonardL]

Not to be the Debbie Downer on you but there is usually a problem inside the IP if your check valve is plugged up. Don't be surprised if your problem doesn't reappear and or your IP will need to have a new governor ring installed. It's usually little bits of this ring that plugs the check valve.

[amoskevitz]

Never posted the conclusion to this.
LeonardL was correct, the problem did reappear after about 2 hours running.
The ring was toast, but after replacing it the dozer is back up and running.
My (belated) thanks to those that guided me through this issue, you guys are awesome.