1862 Oil Usage

[ol'George]

Originally Posted by Mr Bob

Thanks to all that replied. All very helpful. I do have a printed copy of service manual. Thanks for the advise to squirt oil in cyls. before compression test. I knew to do that at one time but had just forgotten. George, I do have a chain pulley and steel beam running across ceiling of my garage. I know this project will take me months to complete. I don't see where any oil has leaked from the front or back of engine. Governor seems to be working fine. Will know more about oil leakage when engine is sitting on work bench. I need to start reading the service manual and hope I can remember what I read. Thanks to all and have a great day.
Bob

A lift of sorts helps, Last one I did, i just muscled it out, Next one I might give in to Arther-rights-us.
Doing things one enjoys keeps the mind sharp.
Now if I just can remember what I wanted to do, it would help.
But it beats living in an assisted place watching reruns of Green Acres, knowing they are all long gone.

Hard to believe it has problems with as good as the plugs look.
Might want to compare the compression gauge with a pressure gauge on your air compressor

[Mr Bob]

George. Thanks for the advise. I do not have an air compressor. My compression gauge is very old made in the 70's by sears craftsman brand. Hadn't been used in a long time. Will try to borrow or rent a good one to double check. May be able to do this Friday. Thanks again and have a great day.
Bob

[Mr Bob]

Got a loaner compression gauge from NAPA. It was within 5 pounds reading of what my gauge showed. So low compression it must have. Does this engine have an automatic compression release? I could not find any where that it does. Took some pictures for the members in the know. I know it is hard to tell any thing from pictures. Look at the picture that shows what look likes piston ring impressions. There does not seem to be any ridge formed by rings at top of cylinder wall. Haven't seen any thing like that before. Seating valve rings on jug looks OK. Can't tell about seating on valves themselves. Does this look like the correct carburetor? A place on the carburetor has been ground down to give room for the governor linkage to fully operate. Also, it looks like it had a electronic choke at one time. 4 of the head bolts were too easy to break loose. Could it have a blown head gasket? Will try to attach 6 pictures. Thanks for looking and have a great day.
Bob

[1711Cub]

If you had squirted oil in the cylinders and retested, it would have narrowed down the low readings. Hopefully the test was done when engine was at operating temp.

It DOES need a head and piston clean at the very minimum. That is a normal maintenance chore. The bolts will need to be retightened after 15 hours of use after the heads are reinstalled and torqued to spec and in the proper sequence.

[Mr Bob]

1711CUB, I did squirt oil in spark plug holes while warm and it did not change readings. Thanks for looking and I appreciate your help. Have a great day.
Bob

[1711Cub]

Sounds like valvetrain sealing.

[Oak]

Do you have a air compressor? If so, maybe do a leak down test to see where the issue is.

[jsoluna]

Looking at the pictures, I'd say a bad head gasket seal on the exhaust side of that jug. This won't cause oil consumption on a flathead like this but will cause low compression. You can see the black sooty marks on that side. I bet when you crank this engine over you could have heard it puffing compression out that cylinder.

What does the breather look like? If it hasn't been updated with the newer reed-style plate, it probably has a bad umbrella seal/valve.

I would suspect this situation has multiple factors. Low compression, poor crankcase sealing, high hours on the bores/rings/pistons.

With limited tools at your disposal, you could reseal the engine and reinstall/retest. I would be surprised if you pulled the flywheel and that front main seal wasn't at least somewhat compromised. It's hard to tell by the pics, but it certainly looks to me like there is an external oil leak in the engine bay somewhere. The grass and debris may be soaking it up so it doesn't show as much as it should. Still, at the rate you claim it consumed oil it should be giving a sign somewhere.

[Mr Bob]

Thank you jsoluna for taking the time to look at my post and offering good advise. It does not have an updated reed valve. There was very little oil in the filter screen that the vacuum line fits over. It could be that the person I bought it from had changed the oil and used 10w30 oil and put new spark plugs in it. They are the correct spark plugs that the book calls for. You may be correct on a blown head gasket. I am old and have a lot of hearing loss. Going to clean the head and jug and install new head gasket. Change the oil to 30 wt. After getting it warm will let cool down and re torque the head. If the compression raises to at least 90 psi I will pull the engine and start on the other side. Thanks so much for all your help and have a great day.
Bob

[Mr Bob]

Well its been a little over a month since I last posted. Had a change of mind in that time period. Not going to tear it down yet. Filled it with 30 wt. oil and new cub cadet filter. Put the head back on with a new gasket after cleaning both the head and combustion chamber. Torqued the head down and ran engine for about 10 min. Re-torqued the head the next day. Got a real bargain on a pair of 75# (each weight) wheel weights and my friend helped me put them on the tractor. Tried to put them on by myself but just couldn't do it. Will be taking it to my friend's farm maybe next week. He has a lot more grass to cut than me I adjusted the carburetor and it was adjusted way to lean. Engine ran a lot cooler. after my adjustment. Hope it will correct the oil usage. Will tell him to keep close check on the oil. Do not run more than 45 min. without stopping to check. Will let you know the outcome in a few weeks. Sorry for the long post. Got carried away. Have a great day.
Bob