Engine knocking

Thanks Tommy,I will check that.  The hydraulics as best as i can recall, were working fine right up to when I parked it, but anything is possible.

The tractor was under cover so I doubt water got in, but I will check to be sure.  Stranger things have happened. The dribbling injector has always been a possibility, even thought I had replaced one or two of those I suspected (it's been a while so I don't remember for sure if it was one or two).  And yes, it had good antifreeze in it all along.  I'll start getting into it today and see what shows up, and then post the results.

Okay, update #1.  Good news is, the engine is not locked up.  I remembered there being an access cover on the left side that would give me access to the flywheel and ring gear.  tried moving it with the help of a screwdriver and it moved easily.  So I have an electrical issue to begin with.  Clean all battery posts and other similar contacts and see what that does for me.  However……….. checked the hydraulic level and it didn't register on the dipstick.  So I stuck a piece of hose down into it and it shows about an inch and a quarter of fluid on it.  Not good.  

Second however;, I checked the radiator and it showed low.  So I drained it at the lower petcock, and got maybe a quart out of it.  Second not good.  I don't see any signs yet of any external leakage, so I suppose next I pull the valve cover and look for signs of something unhappy in there.  And keep going untill I can identify where the antifreeze went.  Of course, I'm thinking how much this is gonna cost to get the tractor running, and how much a shortblock might cost, etc, etc, etc. 

Yes, fingers crossed.  I cleaned up all the battery connections, but still nothing when I hit the switch. I did get the starter to run by shorting across, but haven't tried to get the solenoid to engage by shorting across it.  Doesn't seem like the juice is getting to the solenoid to kick it, just yet.  Still pokin around.  Also took the valve cover off, no signs of any unhappiness in there yet.

I had a jumper wire on that interlock.  Still not certain that isn't an issue yet.  I'll do some electrical checks to make sure I know it's good.  The hydraulic tube I had on a long tme ago for just that reason. 

 I used to be a regular on the old forum and got lots of good tips like that back then.  That's why when I decided it was time to get the Jinma going,  I knew to come back here for the assistance. 

I have already drained the crankcase, got 2 gallons out of it, but no sign of water at all there.  Not milky, just dark oily, etc.  I'm thinking the hydraulic seal is the more likely culprit, because I still have well over a half tank of fuel in it.  Guessing it it was fuel leaking thru it would just keep leaking thru till the tank was empty.  We'll see.  Hope the fix, when I find it, isn't too spendy. 

Okay, I cleaned up my jumper wire for the cllutch interlock and got it to try to turn over.  So I pulled all 3 injectors, and it turns over freely now.  Got some vapor out of the holes, but no spray of liquid, so I am somewhat hopeful.  The injectors however I'm not so sure of.  The front one was sooty, the middle one was even sootier, and the back one was sooty and a bit wet.  I kept my grubby fingers off the nozzles and whatnot and just set the injectors aside for now.  I have two others I had pulled from the tractor before when I had began having the troubles, nd they are much cleaner.  I had stored them with the plastic covers in place so they may be usable for now.  Do I attempt to clean the sooty injectors?  Best method?  If I have to replace them what's the cost? 

I'm sure ready to accept “soot is normal”!  On that note I'm gonna put the injectors back in their holes.  Hmm….maybe not just yet.  There has to be a reason it wouldn't turn over until after I pulled the injectors.  But I don't want to pull the head unless I have to.  Recommendations?

Okay, put the injectors back in, after giving them a spray with carb clean and wiping the barrel of them off.  Didn't touch the little nozzles.  Did notice one injector….when I went to install it, there was no washer on it.  I looked around and down in the hole, but no washer.  No sign of it having fallen off either.  Couldn't get the washer off my extra injector, so I put that extra in, with it's own washer. 

Went to put the valve cover back on.  %#@^!!!  What's the magic trick to getting the de-compression coupling back in place while installing the valve cover???  Kept messing with it, put some heavy grease on it and tried again about 15 times.  The last time, I think, maybe, hopefully, I got it on and in place.  Didn't hear the dang thing drop off anyway.  Oh well, tomorrow gotta get some oil and some coolant and see what's what.   Bleed the injector lines etc. 

Had other things going on for the past few days, but yesterday i had a bit of time to spend on the tractor issues.  Got the coolant topped off and was looking things over, and discovered to my disgust, I had let that tractor sit all that time, with the fuel shut-off, in the ON position.  Further, when I pulled the dipstic on the injector pump, fluid (I presume a combination of oil and diesel fuel) ran out.  So I drained the oil from it and let is drip for about 30 minutes.  Forgot what a PITA it is to add oil to that thing.  Had to quit before I finished, so I'll get back to that today.  I'll roll the tractor out of the shop to start it, to avoid smoking up the place.  Will update once I have anything further to add.

Won't go into what-all I went thru, but I got it running this afternoon.   Lotsa pre-heat, and lotsa keep on trying, but I finaly got it to run and keep running.  Bled the lines and so on.  Still have the knocking.  Not 100% of the time, but 95% anyway.  I'm gonna take the valve cover off tomorrow and see what the valves are doing while it runs.  Just wondering if I have a bent pushrod, stuck lifter, something along those lines.  I know it's hitting on all 3 cylinders cuz when I crack each line, the rpm drops off.  But I can't yet pin down what is causing the knocking sound.  It seems to be about midway down the side of the block, but I can't even be sure of that. 

Thanks Dave.  I pulled the valve cover off again yesterday and all looked to be working as normal.  I did NOT see as much oil working up there as I had expected, but it was getting oil.  My pressure gauge now seems to be whacked out, had been sitting at 6, turn swithch on it'd go to zero than gradually back up to 6, and then after start, stay at 6.  Well, yesterday it's pretty much pegged at 10.  So when I go into town today, I'll get a mechanical pressure gauge. 

This all started when I was pushing snow down a hill.  All had been fine up to that point.  I thought it was a rather loud, bad injector, but after replacing 2 of them, there was no improvement.  When I crack the lines to each injector, I get a drop off for each cylinder indivdually. 

So far, no signs of oil in water, nor water in oil. 

It is starting much better now, even with the cooler weather.  I hit the glow plugs for about 30 seconds, and it'll crank a bit, and then pick up and start firing.  I hit the glow plugs while it's running, and it'll smooth out.  No white smoke now.  But I don't run it very much while troubleshooting cuz I just hate that knocking sound.  Had resolved to drain the oil again and pull the pan today, but I'll put a pressure gauge on it first and see what I see.  I don't want to have to tear that engine down, but it's sure looking like that's what it'll come to before this is over.  With luck, I'll have some more facts to ponder by the end of this day.

Okay, direct reading Oil Pressure gauge installed.  I put in a tee so I could still use the factory sending unit for the dash gauge.  New direct reading gauge reads 50 psi, give or take.  Dangit, the tractor starts good and runs decent and if I was deaf, I wouldn't know there was a thing wrong! 

Drained the oil, unbolted the oil pan.  Looks to em like th front driveshaft is gonna be in the way, especially if things look ugly with the pan off.  Other than taking out the 4 bolts on the front flange, and taking the hose clamps loose from the boot on the dr shaft halves, is there anything I should watch for at this point?  Do I just pry the flange away from the front diff to pull the drive shaft?  Do I have to take it lose from both ends?  I planned to just pull one end to move it over out of the way, but…..  There used to be more info like that in the old forum, but I guess I'm not smart enough to figure out how to get to those old posts, or at least the info.

The knock seems to be coming from the right hand side, about halfway up the block, and towards the front.  That's as much as I can narrow it down.  Occasionaly it'll skip a knock, but not with any regularity.  Every now and then, I can hear a faint squeak.  Only time I have ever heard something similar, was in my 83 Ford with 6.9 diesel, and 330,000 miles.  Took $2000, a re-ground crank and a new connecting rod to fix that.  And that was back in 92! 

Still waiting for info on removing the front drive shaft.  Any suggestions?

One rod bearing and cap.

I haven't popped the crank caps yet.  Once I saw that rod bearing and cap, I sorta knew I was in for the full teardown, like it or not.  It looks to me like the bearing may well have rotated in the cap, just from the roughness of the outside of the bearings and the cap. 

Thanks Tinbender, and yes I should have realized that's what he was asking.  The journal for that one looks rough to me as well.  I haven't looked at the rod itself too closely yet, kinda tough for an old man to crawl around under the tractor, lol.  I haven't yet determined for sure, what was doing the knocking, but I am hopeful by taking off the other rod caps I can pinpoint it.  I can hunt around and see if I can come up with a dial caliper, either from the parts house I use locally, or perhaps from a pawn shop. 

With the ground up bearing material floating around throughout the engine, isn't it gonna have to be taken completely apart to flush it out and make sure I have all the residue out?  I hate doing this job,and I'd doubly hate to have to do it again later.  Seeing the other two rod bearings and such should tell me a lot more, but that's gonna have to wait till tomorrow, and possibly longer.  I have a Christmas project for my granddaughters I need to get done, and I'm thinking I'll do that before I dig much deeper into this engine.  It's inside the garage.   and it ain't going anywhere.  Once I have those rod caps off, I'll post pics of those as well.

That's kinda what I thought Bob.  And I am also guessing most of the other journals will be comparably damaged, which begs the question, does it make sense to have it re-ground, or best to just get a new crank?  How far do ya go before replacement is wiser than re-conditioning?

Probably what annoys me the most about all this is, I should have followed my own gut instinct when the knock first appeared.  “They” kept telling me it had to be a bad injector, but I felt like the knock as too loud to be that simple.  “They” weren't there to actually hear the knock.  What's past is past, and I can't undo what's been done.  But knowing I probably could have saved myself a whole lot of money, time and trouble if I had followed my own suspicions just annoys the heck outta me. 

Wonder if any of the dealers sell a short-block for a Laidong KM 385 engine.  Or, if anybody knows of a good used engine to be had at a decent price. 

This is the main bearing, #2 from the front.  That journal doesn't look too bed.  Far better than the journal with the earlier rod bearing.

Pulled the other two rod caps, and they both look as good or better than the main!  Tempted at this point, to clean up the bad journal with emery cloth, and if it mics to within .0010 of spec, install a new rod and bearing, gaskets where needed, torque to specs, fresh oil and filter, and fire it up and see what it does.  It may not work out and I may have to tear it back down again for more extensive repairs, but if I can make it run right without knocking and avoid splitting the tractor…….. 

Bob I very much appreciate your input, and yes I will plasti-gauge each insert.  This tractor had been the dealer's own personal tractor for the first 60 hours, so I have to assume it was properly prepped and broken in before I got it.  The filter I use is the recommended NAPA filter.  As for cold oil, that could be a possibility, though I tried to always let the engine warm up before putting it to use, used a magnetic heater on the pan to prewarm the oil etc.  I now have a block-heater to install in it once I drain the coolant. 

What do you guys use for torque settings on the mains and on the rod-caps?  This is the KM385 BT series, Laidong engine.

It's been a while since I ran this tractor but as I recall, I'd take it pretty easy on it till the temp got up to 80c (assuming some degree of accuracy inherent in the temp gauge), and it'd go up to around 90c during normal working.  Now, I am old enough I never got the “c” to “f” conversion, but was told 80C is about normal. 

If the tractor requires more warm-up than that before moving it around the place, then I have to conclude, it's just too delicate for me to get much use of around here, and I'll fix it, sell it, and continue using my 640 Ford for my tractor needs.  The old Ford requires minimal warm-up before I start moving it, and it gets to about 190f getting to to where I will be wsorking it, and it stays there the whole time I'm using it.  Not as handy as the 4X4, ps and live power, but I've made do in the 3 years the diesel tractor has been parked to the side.  It has a Du-Al loader, runs my brush-hog mower, my back-fill blade, my box scraper and my LITW backhoe just fine. 

Anyway, nuff on that subject.  I need more coffee, and some shop time working on my Christmas gift to my granddaughters.  Ya'all have a great day!

Ben, I looked thru your site and found the individual bits and pieces, but I didn't see any reference to a short block.  Now, in my world, a short block is the block complete with sleeves, pistons, rings, rods and bearings, crank and bearings, cam and bearings, freezeplugs, oil pan,  and so on, all installed.  Not a complete engine, but one ready to install the head, lifters and pushrods, timing assembly, oil pump, injector pump, water pump, and so on.  Is that what you are referring to?

After giving the situation a lot of thought, and after  micing the rod journal and determining the wear is just too much, I am resigned to splitting the tractor and pulling the crank.  I don't know if an oversize rod bearing can be found for it or not, but if not, then of course I'm tapped for a new cranshaft.  And main bearings and rod bearings, and a new connecting rod.  I just don't see any other way around it.  So I have gotten a start on the job, pulled the hood off, pulled the loader off.  Drained the coolant.  Pulled the upper and lower rad hoses off.  (Note, need new rad hoses).  Tomorrow, will continue with the dismantle and on with splitting the case. 

Heh, yeah, I'll agree to that.  Same for the intake line from the air filter.  I will probably re-engineer that set-up to make the hose shorter and find some better hose for it asd well.  Once I get it all put back together.

Well, I have it split, the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel off, the adapter plate off, and the tools put away for the night.  Once I locate an engine stand to mount the engine to while I work it over, I'll get back at it.  For now, my big floor jack is holding the transmission up, my porta-crane is holding the engine up, and I have jack stands under both just in case. 

I live alone and am out in the country so if anything happened, I'm on my own.  Forces me to be a bit more cautious and think things thru carefully before I jump in. 

Anybody have ideas where a guy might be able to get oversize rod bearings for these tractors? 

Thanks Bob!  We used to have several good machine shops in town, in conjunction with parts houses, but they've pretty much all gone by the wayside.  However, there are a few good ones within 100 miles.  If I can make that work out, I'll do that rather than spring for the cost of a new crank.  We'll see just how much has to be taken off the one bad journal.  I don't think it's too bad, but that'll be up to the machinist. 

All I know so far is, one rod bearing spun.  I don't yet know why it would have yet.  Will be pulling the head and valve train off tonite.  Don't expect to see anything untoward there, but who knows.  With that off, I will then pull the crank off and get  a better look at that whole thing.  Do the measurements and so on.  Will post more pics once I have all that done.

Pulled the head off.  Pulled the timing gears and gearcase off.  Pulled the crank.  Found a plastic breadwrapper twisty tie stick in one of the oil holes of the crank.  The back cylinder had a lot more soot,and the cylinder liner looked cruddy inside.  Will take and post photos in the morning.  Tonite I'm gonna chat with my son who is in Afghanistan. 

Amazing.  Back when I was over in the land of jungles and Lil nasty folks, the only time I had a chance to talk with anybody stateside, was when we went back to re-supply and once a month we might get to call on a MARS line. courtesy of Barry Goldwater. 

Crank pulled out.

mic'd the “bad” rod journal.  Not terrible

Other rod journal.

mic'd the mains, all read the same.

front piston.  note the skirt scuffing.

middle piston.  Again, skirt scuffing.  This is the one with the spun rod bearing.

Back cylinder.  Again skirt scuffing AND rust staining noted on top!

next 2 photos show the erosion inside the back sleeve.

Top deck.  I see no signs of a head gasket leak.  But after sitting for almost 3 years, it was way low on coolant.

Okay, so after viewing the damage, I'm asking for expert advice, from someone who isn't gonna make money on the choice.  Is the piston scuffing significant enough to justify replacing the pistons?  Sleeves?  I know the back one has to be replaced. 

As for the moisture damage, I looked and don't see any signs of head gasket leakage, but I will certainly have the head checked for flatness when I take the crank and rod in for machine work.  It is possible some got in ther exhaust pipe during the time it was sitting (knew I shoulda bought and installed a rain cap when I first brought it home).

Sure wish I had a mechanic-type friend living close by, lol. 

Much as it pains me bob, I think I'm probably going to bite the bullet and spring for new liners, pistons, rings and bearings, as well as one new rod.  Oh, and a new crankshaft.  I have serious doubts as to the chances of regrinding the crank, reconditioning the rod and then finding a suitable bearing to fit it.  One piston and liner looks pretty good, but the other two I really don't want to re-use.  I don't know yet what caused all the damage, but when I put it back together, I want to know I have done all I could reasonably do to make sure things are right.  I haven't yet pulled the camshaft, but I certainly hope it will look as good out, and it seems to still in place. 

The hoped for “shortblock” isn't in stock and would likely take around 8 weeks to come in, so that's probably not gonna happen.  A replacement engine is over $3000, so that's not gonna happen either. 

I can't say for sure which journal it was in.  I was shocked to find it, and was absorbed in the process of figuring out how to get the crank out at that point (hadda pull the timing gears and gearcase off).  I agree, that could certainly have been the cause of the spun bearing.  I am also seeing signs of damage from what I think was either dirt in the engine, or casting sand left in the engine.  I know the oil and filter was changed out at around 120 hours, and was told it had been changed out sometime prior to me buying it with 60 hours on it.  Could be the air filter has been letting dirt or dust get past it, but don't yet know.  Still need to get the cam pulled to see if there is damage there, as well as ensuring the bearings are aligned to allow full oil flow.  I think it was okay cuz I do have oil to the valve train, but not as much as I had expected.

Bob, I can understand your reasoning, and if I was a spectator in all this, I might tend towards your line of thinking.  But I remember when I went looking for this tractor, I called the dealer and asked about a new machine.  At that time he didn't have one in stock and figured it would be a month or more before he'd have another in.  I asked him then if he had or knew of a used one available.  He said yes he had the one they had been using on the place, but his Father in law didn't get along well with the shuttle shift and he was gonna replace it.  Can't imagine there would ha ve been anything hinkey with it if he was using it as his own personal tractor, and he didn't offer it to me.  I asked him about it.  All of which satisfies me the deal was all on the up and up. 

Thanks for the kind words Larry.  Glad to see you're still around, and would enjoy chatting/writing with you again, now that I am back on-line here. 

We all knew, or should know, anytime you buy much of anything, it's a roll of the dice.  Most times you come out okay, but once in a while, ya don't.  In my lifetime, my wins have far outweighed the losses, so I figger the law of averages came to pay me a visit, lol.  And Larry did right by me by sending me a new injector, twice.  The second time was after the warranty period we had agreed on, had expired. 

Anyway, to the good, I am forging ahead on this thing, and have a fair bit of confidence in it turning out okay when I get it back together.  My only real trepidation involves making sure the timing is all correct.  I'm pretty syre I have a full grasp of how it all has to be set, with #1 piston at tdc, and everything else should fall into place as far as the timing marks.  The injector pump I am hoping, won't have changed it's setting with me unbolting the housing from the gearcase, and then realizing it didn't have to be.  Time will tell, and if that's gonna be a problem, I reckon I'll deal with it when that time comes.  Pulled the cam today, and to my untrained eye, it looks pretty good.  I will post some pics later. 

Larry, give me a shout on e-mail when ya get some time, let me know what ya been doing to keep from being bored!

Okay, first Iwent thru and measured all the bearing surfaces using the mm scale.  Then I went to the inch scale and did it again.  The last photo shows what I refer to as “the bread wrapper twisty-tie”.  Found another small piece of it when I pulled the cam out.  Anyway, to me the cam looks good, but if someone disagrees, I am anxious to hear your thoughts.

I hadn't gone into the history of the purchase and what-not before because it didn't seem relavent to what was going on with the tractor.  I still can't say for sure what caused the spun rod bearing, other than the “evidence” of dirt/sand/debris found in the lower parts of the engine.  The bad liner for the #3 cylinder I am real certain was caused by water/moisture getting in during it's long sleep (still need to get that rain cap bought for it).  The bad scuffing on the piston skirts and associated marks on the sleeve of both #2 and #3 are, I believe, caused by dirt.sand/debris.  Possibly getting in thru a defective air filter.  I'll be doing as someone suggested and replacing the filter with a Baldwin and re-configuring the mount and breather hose set-up.  I still need to take all my injectors to a good diesel shop and have them tested to ensure I have 3 good ones. 

 I will grit my teeth tomorrow and call in my parts order.  Then, after Christmas, I can get started cleaning all re-usable parts and cleaning old gasket material off. 

Yup, I had bought one for my old Oliver and it was reasonable.  Never seem to remember to measure the pipe size so I'll know for sure what size rain cap to buy, lol. 

Good point regarding the rod failure.  I figgered if I can't discover why, I can't do much to prevent it again, other than keep the air clean, keep the oil and filter changed and hope for the best. 

Lets have no more “heart-stop” episodes TB.  There's cheaper, better ways to get a “rest-up-vacation'.

Carl, I got me a brand new parts washer with a pump and everything. I'll wash everything thoroughly with that and use my air compressor to blow thru the passages to make sure the innards are all clean.  But you're right, I want it all as clean as it can be, prior to the rebuild.

Could be.  Wasn't aware there was a weep hole in it, but I will surely check for it. 

Nope, shouldn't hurt a thing.  I'll do that before I put mine back together, as well as putting the rain cap on.

Lol, thanks Bob, I knew what it was called, but the ole memory banks just wouldn't give it out!

Okay, UPS guy delivered the crankshaft this afternoon.  So the project is back in gear.  Got the mains installed and then the pistons, sleeves etc, installed and connected.  Was preparing to torque things to spec, but I discovered my torque wrench had been left set at about 140 ft/lbs from the last time it was used.  Annoys the crap outta me when I do something like that cuz I know better.  So tomorrow, I go to town and find a torque wrench I can rent, as well as finding out where I can send mine to be re-calibrated.  Oh well,

I could do that Dave, and I appreciate the suggestion.  However I'd rather have my torque wrench calibrated to do what it's supposed to do, with an acceptable degree of accuracy.  This is a long handled, ratcheting clicker type torque wrench, and I paid good money for it about 25 years ago.  So it doesn't owe me anything really, and I'd rather have it checked over professionally. 

Think that one thru.  If I set torque wrench 1 (tw1) to click at 100ft/lbs, and then check it with tw2, I only know tw2 clicks at some reading at or under 100ft/lbs.  Or, tw2 may click at a higher setting only because I inadvertantly, actually tightened it to a higher value.  But I have no way to be sure both set to 100 ft/lbs, and ONLY 100 ft/lbs.  I also don't know if tw1 and tw2 both set the same at 50 ft/lbs.  Or 150 ft/lbs.  I can guess and I can assume.  And that may be satisfactory, depending on your application.  I just prefer a bit higher degree of confidence in the accuracy of my torque setting tools.  Just one more step in stacking the odds in my favor, when I am doing a job I have never done before, and have had no special training for (right parts, right tools, right books-instructions, frequently will result in a right outcome).

Hit another stopping point.  To get right to the point, I ain't certain I put the new pistons in oriented the right way, with respect to the valve indent.  I thought I had made sure to assemble them the same way as the old ones, but once I set the head in place and looked it all over, I am not so sure.  In the attached photo, I am at the front of the block, looking towards the back, valve indent to the left, towards the exhaust side.  The engine manual talks about it, but with the chinglish, danged if i know up from down.  See attached photo

I looked at the head, and thought I was right since the valves seemed slightly closer to the exhaust side.  But once I put the head in place, I noted the head is also slightly offset to the exhaust side.  So I still am not sure.

Hmm…I went and looked at things again, and I'm thinking what I had called a valve indent, is maybe actually a space for the fuel to be squirted.  If so, then I have the pistons in 180 out.  The pisser is, I'm confident the rods are oriented right, so this means I will have to separate the rods from the pistons, etc, etc, etc. 

Thanks so much Tommy, at least I know now and can get back to making things right.  Dangit.

Tommy, on one side of the rod is some numbers/markings, on the other side, nothing.  Which side is oriented to the front, or does it matter.  I know the rod and it's cap can only go one way, but does it matter which way the assembly is oriented?

As you can tell, I am questioning my recollection on how it came apart, since it was several weeks ago.  Also, I'm gonna need another sump gasket cuz I can't salvage this one.  Oh, I probably could, but who wants to deal with leaks after all this.  You should have my card number.

Bob, I did make witness marks on the rods.  But that was several weeks ago, and at the time I had made them, I hadn't paid much attention to the markings on the main caps.  Once I got focussed on those main caps, i marked them as well, and thought I had marked them with the same orientation, and the arrows pointed towards the left side of the engine.  Well, my photos proved that to be mistaken so I put them back the way they were when I removed them.  Once I made that mistake, I began to question whether or not I had actually marked the rod caps on the same side as the mains were, and so on it goes. 

I had a series of strokes about 3 1/2 years back, and since then I've made a nearly full recovery.  However I have also experienced occasions when my memory isn't quite up to par.  More than once, something I was absolutely certain of, proved to be not the case, and this rebuild is a case in point.  And that's why I am pausing and asking a lot of questions as I go along here.  I had planned to have my replacement parts ordered and on hand before I did so much dismantling, but of course, that didn't work out quite that way.  It's okay, I'll muddle thru and get this tractor back together and running right.  I think I've now gotten past the point where my recollections will matter so much.  God gives us challenges to grow us and teach us, and so I press onward.

I do believe that whatever it was did play a big part in the bearing failure.  I also believe the original engine assembly process was less than ideal in that it seemed like a lot more dirt in that engine than the hours on it would cause. 

On a brighter note, I finally got it all back together today, checked everything over (no left-over hardware), and refilled the radiator and the crankcase.  I locked the engine kill with vice grips and spun the engine over long enough to build oil pressure and purge the fuel lines.  tightened the lines up again, released the engine kill, gave it about 10 second of pre-heat  and cranked it over.  3 time over it fired and then kept running.  Smoked like crazy for a minute or two then cleared and began running smoothly.  checked ot over and the only leak I have now is one up by the steering cylinder. I'll address that tomorrow, then take it outside so I can let it run a bit longer and check things over some more.  I also know it moves and the loader is working, so i am hopeful. 

I do believe that whatever it was did play a big part in the bearing failure.  I also believe the original engine assembly process was less than ideal in that it seemed like a lot more dirt in that engine than the hours on it would cause. 

On a brighter note, I finally got it all back together today, checked everything over (no left-over hardware), and refilled the radiator and the crankcase.  I locked the engine kill with vice grips and spun the engine over long enough to build oil pressure and purge the fuel lines.  tightened the lines up again, released the engine kill, gave it about 10 second of pre-heat  and cranked it over.  3 time over it fired and then kept running.  Smoked like crazy for a minute or two then cleared and began running smoothly.  checked ot over and the only leak I have now is one up by the steering cylinder. I'll address that tomorrow, then take it outside so I can let it run a bit longer and check things over some more.  I also know it moves and the loader is working, so i am hopeful.