# What would cause an engine to eat a bearing besides oil pressure ?



## Wayne prentice (Feb 25, 2018)

I bought my 1710 2 weeks ago with a bad rod knock.2 bearings barely showed any wear and one was dust in the oil pan. Got the journal for number 1 cleaned up put everything back together, started up but then the engine acted like someone had dumped the clutch stalling it. after i got it restarted, idled for about 5 minutes just fine until the rod started to knock again. Lowered the idle for a few minutes and the rod went through side of block. Talk about a vocabulary. In about 3 minutes the bearing is gone again, dust and past in the oil pan and rod is burnt like it never had a bearing. I double checked torque before putting it together. Now i need a block. What would cause this? Could the cylinder hydrauliced? There was allot of diesel vapor coming from vent.


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

Only thing I can think of is a bent rod, or blocked oil passage.


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2018)

You are much more in the know than I am. I must applaud your control in the face of this catastrophic event. This link has some good information though and possibly an idea why this happened after your initial repairs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolock#Symptoms_and_damage


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

If it was bad,before,it could have had a rod journal out of round,or tapered.
That would cause oil starvation,very quickly,as would a crankshaft journal out of round,or tapered.


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## thepumpguysc (Jan 25, 2015)

I feel your pain,!! especially after all the work that went into the initial repair..
Did you "plasti-gauge" the bearing clearance before final install/torque??
Like the others have said. bent rod.. out of round crank journal.
Slap a steel plate on it & weld'r-up..


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Howdy Wayne, welcome to the forum.

Tractorhouse.com has 49ea Ford 1710's listed in salvage in their "dismantled machine" section. These are Shibaura (Japanese) built tractors, and parts are very expensive. I suspect the reason that most of these tractors are in the boneyard is due to engine problems, and the cost to repair them is more than the tractor is worth.

Just my two cents worth to caution you.....evaluate the costs before getting deep into this project.


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## Wayne prentice (Feb 25, 2018)

Rods definitely bent now


thepumpguysc said:


> I feel your pain,!! especially after all the work that went into the initial repair..
> Did you "plasti-gauge" the bearing clearance before final install/torque??
> Like the others have said. bent rod.. out of round crank journal.
> Slap a steel plate on it & weld'r-up..


Didnt guage it. It looked pretty clean, no scars


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## Wayne prentice (Feb 25, 2018)

Definitely hydro lock. Top of piston has a shallow cup not from valve. But this is the first bearing i have ever seen disintegrate.


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## DBJR73 (Jan 23, 2013)

Wayne prentice said:


> I bought my 1710 2 weeks ago with a bad rod knock.2 bearings barely showed any wear and one was dust in the oil pan. Got the journal for number 1 cleaned up put everything back together, started up but then the engine acted like someone had dumped the clutch stalling it. after i got it restarted, idled for about 5 minutes just fine until the rod started to knock again. Lowered the idle for a few minutes and the rod went through side of block. Talk about a vocabulary. In about 3 minutes the bearing is gone again, dust and past in the oil pan and rod is burnt like it never had a bearing. I double checked torque before putting it together. Now i need a block. What would cause this? Could the cylinder hydrauliced? There was allot of diesel vapor coming from vent.
> View attachment 37161


any time a rod or main bearing is replaced, they should be miked and the clearance checked with plastic gauge,, always look on the back of the bearing to see if someone has replaced them with a over size bearing or had the shaft turned


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## Wayne prentice (Feb 25, 2018)

DBJR73 said:


> any time a rod or main bearing is replaced, they should be miked and the clearance checked with plastic gauge,, always look on the back of the bearing to see if someone has replaced them with a over size bearing or had the shaft turned


I knew better but trying to save time and money wound up costing more time and money


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## DBJR73 (Jan 23, 2013)

been there done that.


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## thepumpguysc (Jan 25, 2015)

A word of caution.. [like you haven't gotten enough already]
Get the injectors CHECKED.. if your going to put it back in service.


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## Aircommuter (Jun 12, 2016)

Maybe the main that feeds it has rotated and plugged the the hole? Like others said crank should be miked before proceeding last time.


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## DBJR73 (Jan 23, 2013)

been thinking about this engine, maybe someone put new bearings in the engine before you bought it just to raise the oil pressure and the some how turned the rod around and put in on the crank backwards, it would run for a while, enough to get it out of the auction barn or where ever you bought it. So you just dropped the pan, cleaned everything and put in new bearings, leaving the rods where they were and had the same problem that you started with.. thinking back , the numbers on the rod are most always opposite of the cam shaft. believe me, it can and has happened. I haven't done much engine work in yrs, but in the 60s, 70s and 80s, I always had a couple down and seen everything tried. even brass shims behind some rod bearings to tighten them up.


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## Aircommuter (Jun 12, 2016)

My old saying was look where the last person worked.


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## willys55 (Oct 13, 2016)

thepumpguysc said:


> A word of caution.. [like you haven't gotten enough already]
> Get the injectors CHECKED.. if your going to put it back in service.


exactly what I was thinking


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## Wayne prentice (Feb 25, 2018)

The bearing is fried, totally burnt. Both bolts were broke and all parts in the pan. waiting for engine stand to get all tore down. Working on this reminds me of why I liked it and why I stopped. I'm a autobody man and hate grease. Im going to so another forum with picks later. Too buzzed now.


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

Nothing really to get stoked about in working on that for sure. Just totally disheartening I'd imagine.


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## Wayne prentice (Feb 25, 2018)

#1 was shot #2 had some wear #3 barely any weare but they look like they were all spinning in the caps. Im already into this for 3000, for another 3000 I will have a decent tractor.


sixbales said:


> Howdy Wayne, welcome to the forum.
> 
> Tractorhouse.com has 49ea Ford 1710's listed in salvage in their "dismantled machine" section. These are Shibaura (Japanese) built tractors, and parts are very expensive. I suspect the reason that most of these tractors are in the boneyard is due to engine problems, and the cost to repair them is more than the tractor is worth.
> 
> Just my two cents worth to caution you.....evaluate the costs before getting deep into this project.


Right the parts are expensive and rare for this engine. Maybe because it was only used in this tractor and only a few years. The industrial n843 is real common but cant get any answers on interchange


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## Wayne prentice (Feb 25, 2018)

Found the cause. The head had been worked on before. The rocker shaft was loose at the front.Rocker arms were way out of adjustment in number 1, less at 2 and even less at 3 so number 2 and 3 were carrying 3 along washing the cylinder.


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