-= Li'l Red =-

Not sure.  If I was guessing, possibly a casting flaw.  Engine is on its last go round so I'm going to send it for now.  The 21hp is looking mighty inviting.

New monolink built.  No pix yet.  This one has some gussets as well on it.  Engine is really dripping I see.  Not happy about that.

OK, all done!  Changed the geometry, added gussets to the new geometry, and moved the axle back by 3/4 of an inch.


Pic 1 the monolink.  Used 1/4-inch flat stock to add way more bracing than needed at the junction point near the top.... perfect!  Used scraps from said plate on the axle as gussets since I moved the junction to the top of the axle.  Less likely now to bend backward and the gusset will help keep it from going forward.  Used heavier duty square tube for the runners.




Here is showing I moved the axle back a bit.  Also swapped the panhard bar to the other side of the mount, same on the other side so it does not interfere with the hood/grill mount.  Also in this pic you can see heavier spacers on the shock mount and they no longer touch the axle.




Closing shot for the night!  All buttoned back up!  I didn't mention, but one of the front wheels was also loose before teardown.  That would not have been fun.



Right now, if timing is good, I plan on testing this out Sunday.  If not, then Monday or Tues.

Oh, and I found some black trim for the back of the hood.  Much better!

Good work! It will be nice to see this rig back in action!

Murraymountain wrote:

HA! I just knew that would be happening. I don’t know how or why but I’m not at all surprised lol.

Also, did you combine all 3 or 4 threads you had on Lil Red? I don’t ever remember this thread being 43 pages long.

MightyRaze wrote:

Shh....  

Actually I did.  If AK was around or Rich, I'd probably do theirs as well or anyone actually.  More I think of it, best to keep the builds coherent.

It was Doug's idea to break them up.

I decided to go back on that.  I read somewhere that there is a limit to number of pages per host system.  I decided to go ahead and split it in half.

Brianator wrote:

Good work! It will be nice to see this rig back in action!

Thanks man! I hope to test it out tomorrow.

Did not get to test it.  Ran into an issue with the new monolink.  The steering shaft runs into the monolink back side when I am on the tractor.  Does not when I am not on the tractor.  I'm certain I can make a new joint location on my bracket that will resolve the issue.  Drilling it will be the hard part.

Bummer! You'll get it all sorted though, I have faith in a fella!

Adjusted and now fixed!  Made a new mount location on my belly bracket.  Good half to 3/4-inch clearance now.  It's going to be hot, but I will try again Wednesday!  Now I have a new issue.  The engine is really starting to drip.  Shall I send it full or go easy change it out and possibly use it for parts.

What do you mean by send it? Run er till she blows? I'd personally get a gasket kit and freshen it up considering (you said) it's running well.

Problem is, I have done 2 gasket refreshes to fix the issue.  It continues to leak oil from the same spot. Last time I even dropped some $$$ to get a "Briggs" gasket last time.  At a little loss here.  The 17hp on the tractor is the original to the tractor.  It's had issues with power off and on.  Other engine options I have, the 18hp that is a torque monster from Kal, or the 21HP that I have sitting on a test stand.

I just don't understand the new leak. (in same place) It is much worse than before.

Maybe the sump and or block have warped, other than that it would have to be fractured is my guess. Prussian Blue (machinists blue) in a squeeze tube would be a great way to check and see if the surfaces are warped.

OK, I had some time before bed tonight and checked the oil and it was a little over full.  I did change the oil recently.  It looks like the oil is coming out a bolt hole.  I did decide to go ahead with draining some out.  Wasn't happy with what I saw.  There was a small amount of glitters in the new oil.  Honestly, I didn't even look at the old oil the other day to see if it had any glitters.

Dangit... I took some pix and found a blown-out gasket on the sump.  Appears the "briggs" gasket is no better than the chicken chow mien one...  This gasket isn't even a year old yet.






So.. at this point I can either..

a) Fix it again as I have a small handful of the chow mien ones around.  Also maybe put a square on it and make sure there isn't a taper on it of some sort causing these blow outs.

b) Upgrade to Kal's 18hp engine and put this one on the shelf until I feel like working on it.  No exhaust rework would be needed.  No throttle rework needed.

c) upgrade to the 21 hp, rework required (throttle/exhaust).


Plan is to go ahead and send it some Wednesday if I get the chance to test the new front.  Then I'll figure decide after that.

Even with that small blowout, the amount of oil coming out is ridiculous.  I can see the top of the engine pulley and it does not appear to have oil on it, so the bottom seal is more than likely OK.

I think I am going to grab the engine off Kal and put on Red later this month.  I'll test out the new front end first.  Kal is pretty much retired at this point.  I'll be going up a HP plus Kal has the cast flywheel which seems to give more torque than the plastic finned one.

This will either allow me to work on the 17hp at my leisure and/or look into the V-twin replacement.

I pulled the engine pulley off to be 100% the bottom seal is not leaking.  Didn't appear to be leaking.  While I had the pulley off, I went ahead and did the holey pulley mod on it.  I also removed the shifter brackets to remove the trans pulley and did the same there.





It's now back together.  While there, I also tightened up the clutch spring a bit too.

So... I have been dragging my feet on this engine stuff.  Not really in the mood to pull it right now as we are in the miserable season now.  102 today. 

It was still a tickle over full of oil so I let a dribble out.  Something I realize the first time was the drain tube was loose.  Hoping the sudden increase of leakage is due to that.  Also, the glitters must have still been in the bucket as the dribble out had no sprinkles.  Got the oil level where I needed it.  I ran it for about 10 minutes 3/4 throttle to full in the 102 heat.  I cleaned most of the oil off the tractor and off the floor.  I'll see how much it drains in the next couple hours.  I'm hoping not much and this was all for a loose tube.

<fingers crossed>

I know my last post was 7:08, but it has been about 1 hour and not a single drop as of this time.  Here is to hoping.

Hey that would be awesome of that's the bulk of the leak! I like the new profile pic too!

Just thinking out loud... did you put hi-tack on the sump gasket? They can be prone to blowing out like that.

It was dry on both sides.  If it comes from the factory without goop or gasket adhesive.  It goes on dry for me too.  Only parts I put anything on is the valve covers.  I'll stick those on with silicone.

OK, over three hours and I had to do a lawn mower recovery with it too.   Not a drop.  Also, that was not a piece of gasket.  It was dirt "magnified".  HAHA....
Looks like this may have turned out to be a big over reaction to a rushed oil change.  

5 hours!  NO DRIPS!  I think the drain tube was the issue!  Even got the engine warm and hot at least 2 times!

Still dry on the frame and on the floor 13 hours.  It should get a workout later today.

Decided to take the tractor over tomorrow morning.  Just too hot for me today.  101 and rising.  Got a late start to the day today.  I have tomorrow off anyway.  Don't have to rush around.

I went ahead and took the tractor out this evening.  Temp came down quite a bit.  Left it at my in-laws as I am going over again tomorrow.  Wasn't rolling when I popped a wheelie.  Figures.  May try it again tomorrow.  Here are a couple shots of the frame twisting area of the property.  I'll shoot some more tomorrow.