[benn]

Day 1:

so i started tearing down Grandfather Case today. man! what a pain to get the engine out! i was expecting it to be easy as all four corners of the engine and block are exposed meaning the bolts wouldn't be difficult to reach. boy was i wrong! turns out the hydraulic cooler lines ran RIGHT underneath them! so next came the task of getting those lines outta the way. i removed the grill and the cooler, next i wanted to drain the rest of the hydraulic fluid before i went any further as removing the cooler resulted in a minor spill. i get out a good 5/8s box end and begin removing the drain plug, dang! some gorilla has really reefed that thing on there! try out my good pipe wrench, still nothing! just rounding off the plug. alright, time to get serious! i flipped the tractor on its side, put my good pipe wrench on the drain plug with a long breaker bar on the handle, notta! that plug aint budging! the same guy who used nails as cotter pins on this thing musta put that drain plug in there i'll just ignore that delema for now and try to get these lines outta the way. with the tractor on its side i found it fairly easy to excess the engine bolts, there was JUST enough give in those lines so i could be able to push them aside while removing the bolts. good news is, i got them all out! and with that i threw the towel in for the day, i'll remove the engine completely tomorow and assess its damage. some more good news is that the hydraulic oil that did come out was very clean! bad news? well all i can say is grandfather case had a pretty bad oil leak for a long time, pretty much every surface near the front end and below the oil pan had at least a good 1/16" of caked on oil,dirt,grass and sand. i managed to scrape most of it off, gonna get a good de-greasing when the engine gets pulled

heres a before and after shot of today, probably spent a good 3 hours on it today, and then another 1 hour+ cleaning up the infamous grandfather case oil spill. man i love this thing!! :thumbsup:

day 2:

got the engine out quickly and proceeded to soak the rest of the tractor in de-greaser followed by a good powerwash. i made sure to cap off the open hydraulic lines.

with the engine and hydraulic pump out i had a good chance to have a closer look at the pump. seller had told me it was rebuilt about 3 years ago, i believe him. the cast iron kohler, like my other cast iron engines, is HEAVY! decided not to tear my back up and used my 1 ton chain hoist to lift it out and on to my work bench. work smarter not harder!

i then went at it on the engine. removed the the oil pan releasing a small amount of oil blacker then sin and LOTS of little tiny bits and pieces of connecting rod the top of the piston is very scored and the crank journal is beyond a .10 turning, this engine shows signs of overheating and based on the thick oil/grunge that i power washed off the frame, i'd say lack of oil is what made it blow. based on the damage i'd say the engine was going wide open when the connecting rod let go, amazingly enough the block and the rest of the inards look alright! there might be hope for this engine yet!

Day 3:

didnt do a whole today on it, kinda stumped with this engine... the crank shaft is VERY scored past a .10" turning IMHO. so where the heck am i gonna find a replacement crank just like this one?

is the section i circled a removable adapter or is it all one piece with the crank??

any help on this would be great, im not really sure where im gonna go now with this project...

 

[Hydriv]

The part you have circled in red is the PTO clutch shaft and it is removable from the Kohler flywheel.

As for the crank, that needs to go to a machine shop and let them tell you if it will clean up at 10 thou or 20 thou. Used cranks that are still serviceable can be found on e-Bay. The machine shop will also assess the engine block so that you know if it can be rebuilt or not. Once they do all the machining work, then you can order the correct piston, rings, wrist pin and con rod for it.


I suggest that you go to our Tech Library here and bone up on a few things such as the Parts Manual and the Kohler manual which you will find in the Service Manual/Engines section. The parts book will give you exploded diagrams that will help explain how your tractor went together and therefore, how it can be dismantled.

 

[benn]

thanks Hydriv, got the parts manual for the tractor, i'll grab the one for the engine. :thumbsup: didnt know i could get a connecting rod for 20 thou crank...

 

[Hydriv]

Yes you can. I saw that one of the e-Bay Sellers listed one as special order for an additional twenty-bucks.

 

[Billygoat]

Back in the day, I've had V-8 cranks welded up and turned back down to standard. Machine shops "spray" weld to do this now. Not too sure about the cost. Other cranks (some more readably available) can be modified to work. Check out Kohler Crankshaft referance manual to find what will work.

 

[Hydriv]

BTW, the original paint colour was called Flambeau Red.

If you wish to perform a letter-perfect restoration, then the Flambeau would be correct. However, unless you have Flambeau and Power side by side, it is difficult to tell the difference. The Power Red can be sourced at any Case/IH dealer and also at Case/New Holland dealers. Getting some auto-body paint supplier to custom mix this colour will likely cost you double what the local Case dealer will charge. Messick's will ship you a quart of Power Red. Case has discontinued Flambeau but it is available from Van Sickle under their Custom Colours line.

The old, original Flambeau had a problem with fading and chalking after a few years in the sunlight. Whether the newer Flambeau still has that issue, I cannot say. Whichever paint you use, add a hardener to it.

 

[benn]

alright thanks for the input guys, i think I'll go with the power red over the flambeau red as my case dealer is close by. also, I'm still sorta evaluating where i should go with this project engine wise, I'd love to rebuild the old kohler k301 but money and experience (especially the money ) is in the way. I've found a running k341 for around 100 bucks. I'm certain the oil pan will be the same so bolting it to the frame shouldn't be a problem. my question is whether the PTO adapter will be able to bolt to it or not... did all kohler k's have the availability to attach an adapter to the flywheel???

the k341 is out of a JD 316

 

[Hydriv]

I think that the K-341 will prove to be a bad choice. Engines spec'd for Case tractors have a lip on the crank side of the block that the centres the pump mount. You will likely have to cut the crankshaft stub to the correct length and it may be the wrong diameter for the LoveJoy coupler. While the latter two issues can be overcome, the lip issue and possibly the mounting hole pattern are problematic. In addition to that, Case uses a special oil pan that is shallower because under-hood clearance is tight. That's why Case engines are spec'd as K-301 AS, instead of K-301. The Deere Kohler also uses a special pan but whether that pan is the same as the Case pan, I don't know. I doubt that your pan will bolt to the bigger block. The K-341's flywheel may be drilled but it may not be.

Lastly, the early Kohler engines that were hard mounted to the frames came with balance gears to reduce the engine vibration. It's hard to say if Deere asked for this option on engines that went into their tractors.

Perhaps I have it wrong but I was under the impression that it was your intent to restore this tractor because it held special memories. Restoration calls for returning the tractor to the way it was when it was new and a K-341 engine wasn't even available at the time this tractor was being manufactured. Secondly, Case never used this engine.... EVER. Staying with the ORIGINAL block keeps the tractor ORIGINAL. I'm guessing that the Deere used a starter motor plus an alternator whereas your Case uses a Start/Gen. So...not only would you be installing an incorrect engine but you would have to make substantial changes to the entire electrical system to accommodate this engine. Key switch, regulator, wiring harness etc. would all have to be replaced. Gone would be the charge light and the separate starter button on the dash.

If you found a decent 10, 12 or 14 HP engine out of another Case that used a start/gen, then all those things could remain in place. You could then rebuild the original engine as funds became available and install it when it was done.........thus keeping the tractor period CORRECT. Choosing Power Red over Flambeau is no big deal but what you are proposing with this engine IS. Think about it. Is this really what you want for your grandfather's pride and joy?

 

[benn]

thanks for the insight hydriv, guess i wont persue that 341 any further then.

i should correct you, its not my grandfather's tractor, i just nick named it "grandfather case" as it's looks sorta remind me of an old wise man. that being said, im not really looking to do a restore as it wont look the same it did when it was brand spankin new. more less im aiming for something that looks nice and "fresh" but not totally absolutely original. if i can find a proper replacement engine i'll buy it.

now then, back to the original k301. I think i'll still take it to my machinest and get his opinion. i do believe the crank is dented and scored beyond even .20" but i'll see what he says. i think welding and turning down the crank would really blow my budget more so and it would be easier, cheaper to buy a used crank. i have the oil pan off the engine and all the bits of connecting rod removed. when i rotate the engine by hand i hear several loud "clunks" as it spins. im thinking the bearings are probably shot but im not sure.

another reason why im hesitant is im worried i'll spend all this money on the rebuild only to have it blow up after a short run time.

 

[yalincoln]

go to ebay and type in case garden tractor. you'll find blocks and cranks.

 

[Hydriv]

go to ebay and type in case garden tractor. you'll find blocks and cranks.

While that will work, typing in "Case lawn mower" will yield far more items.