A-C 180... Major Problem. Coolant in Oil. HELP!

I take the main hood off, drain the radiator,then roll the front end assembly forward.I'm talking about the whole front,axle ,wishbone,side rails,radiator.Now you can get at the pan decently.Drain oil and take the pan off.I always put some bolts back in where the side frames were fastened.I put the lower radiator hose back on the engine and then plug it with a sediment bowl and hose clamp.I take the upper radiator hose neck off of the thermostat housing and remove the thermostat.If the tractor has cab with a heater,I plug the heater hoses or route them together.I fill the block back up with water.I made a plate with a tire valve stem in it to bolt back on the thermostat housing.It doesn't take all that much air pressure to see where the water is coming from.--I can almost guarantee sleeve seal leakage.Probably a little wormy in the block area too.You just as well figure a complete overhaul if a sleeve seal is leaking. Good luck.

The white component in the exhaust is steam. Blue is oil. Think hole plugs in the head, head gasket, sleeve o-rings. Antifreeze isn't a good lubricant additive. It should be accumulated at the bottom of the pan, out of reach of the oil dip stick. It should come out first as you loosen the drain plug.

Gerald J.

When the pan is pulled you will see a white water stain under the cylinder-s that leaks on the inside of the block. I would either get a different -good running- engine or completely redo the one you have.

could very likely be head gasket. Look at it this way, if you were to find a pitted sleeve, you'll have to pull head off anyway.

 Only gonna say this once....get the oil pan off of it and pressurize the cooling system with anitfreeze in it. Pull the valve cover too. You go yanking off the head and you lose all diagnosing ability. ..end of story.

I cranked it tonight. Warmed it up. Un-hooked the bush hog. Then made some checks.

MACK. What is "all the way"? If I understand the 3rd o-ring part, it means chuck the sleeves in a lathe and cut another groove for another o-ring. Are you saying "all the way" means to remove and clean up??? Or is there more to it than that? Heck, I can get used engines that run for <$2800 + freight! D2800 and D2900. I'd be tempted to put a D2900 in there. Turbo up the 180!!!

Edited by nsula_country - 11 Jul 2012 at 12:11am

I woud bet on a sleeve oring. In frame means sleeve and piston kit with gaskets. Full kit has valves and parts to rebuild the head too. For what you paid for the tractor you can do it all and be good.

Great advice. If you remove the the engine from the tractor (out of frame) then I would strip the block and have it hot tanked at your local machine shop to clean the crud inside & out. Then you can have them magnuflux (sp?) the block to check for cracks you can't see with the naked eye. To be honest, for what you want to do to the rest of the tractor I would only consider doing a major (out of frame) overhaul. Then you know from the bottom end to the top end and everything in between is good.

If you could pull the engine yourself that would help you , its pretty simple , take it to a good mechanic to rebuild , there not that hard to do , if the fuel system was good , dont worry bout it ; the engines still running so there shouldnt be too many suprises , if you wanta sell it , id be interested !!!!!

Edited by DougG - 11 Jul 2012 at 2:27pm

Fuel system is ok. I think it could use a pump and injector job though. More or less for peace of mind and the injector pump drips diesel around the shut off shaft.

Hoses and thermostat are a given. The radiator appears to have been out at one time before I bought it. It still looks good, but I would probably have it checked out as well.

Edited by nsula_country - 12 Jul 2012 at 5:01pm

What are the differences? Seems most are Clevite brand?

CT

My 180(knock on my wooden head) is getting tired, it has considerable blowby and eats a quart of oil every few weeks of reasonable use but does me well.  When and IF I can get a shop up I want to do a full major OH with a full repaint and re-decal, catch the old girl up for longevity.  Just had the pump gone through, had a issue with rolling the seals but that was me re-installing it not the tractor, runs great, starts easy and still does a good days work.

I have changed the oil a couple of times since I bought it. I did not notice any water in the oil when I changed it. Last oil change was in May 2012.