Engine Overhaul Kama 554

[Rich Waugh]

Hell Ray, Rob just daydreams about the next opportunity to split that tractor - he's no virgin at splitting tractors and, in fact, makes it look almost easy judging from the pictures he posts here. :-)

If Rob pulls that crank to have it ground, I can assure you that by the time he's done that engine will not only be pretty much blueprinted, it will also magically have received three or four engineering upgrades along the way that will result in better performance, greater longevity and probably a nicer appearance, too. I mean, we're talking about the guy who re-designs drive shaft couplings for vastly improved strength, makes self-propelled chicken coops that get 4-star Michelin ratings and machines the hardware for grapples to tolerances measurable only with an optical comparator - that sort of thing. (GRIN)

In other words, if the thing can be made better, stronger, faster, Rob will figure out how and then go it one better from that. I almost hope he does have to pull the crank, just so I can see the resulting photo tutorial on blueprinting a Chinese tractor engine.

Not that I'm wishing anything bad for ya Rob, but man, you do have a way of teaching us a helluva lot with your adventures!

Rich

[FlyHiFlyLo]

Wow Rob, want to do mine next? LOL

[curthibbert]

Hi Rob
My KAMA with a TY395 runs 50 psi hot at 1600 RPM. I Hardly ever run more RPM than that. Gets around 75-80 psi cold at idle. It has ran this since I bought it from Chip new. I don't think you should sweat turning the pressure up a little.
Great write up! Wish I had half your talent.
Curt

[3RRL]

LOL thanks guys,
Rich, you kill me man! Right now I'd settle for just "good" if I can get it that way.
Scott, hey man, I was hoping you'd come over to help with mine?

Curt, you are right about the oil pressure.
Before all this happened, I got the same psi as you did on start up. When my 554 got hot, the psi would dip down to 30psi, but rarely any lower than that. I mean hot ... you saw the thermometer, right?

Well, I talked to Chip and as always, he gave me more insight.
He said he's not sure about the heat treat on those Chinese crankshafts. He says they don't re-grind and that's why he doesn't have under size connecting rod journal bearings. He would be afraid because he doesn't know how deep the case hardening is and it could be a problem. The good news is he has a new crank in stock. I've decided to buy it plus all new main and rod bearings too.
The good news for me is that the whole shebang is
1) reasonable enough in price for everything (under $700 for everything including a new oil pump and ALL new gaskets)
2) I don't have to worry about finding a place around Visalia to get it done
3) I don't have to worry about that case hardening
4) I can do all the installation myself
5) It gives me another opportunity to bore the shit out of you guys again. ;D

So I don't have to rely on any outside service or guys bitching and moaning about my Chinese crankshaft. This is a big farming region (Central California agricultural green belt) and there are nothing but JD dealers around that I've seen. There are also 2 big Caterpillar dealers within 20 miles of each other ... no Kubota and only one New Holland dealer that I've seen. I'm sure there are more, but not anywhere in the places I've visited in town.

Since the top end rebuild went pretty good, I'm thrilled at the opportunity to match up the bottom end.
I'll also have a chance to balance the piston and connecting rods in weight. Plus, I'll have all new bearings ... a complete rebuild and a brand new engine. Maybe I can take all the old spare parts and buy a block to make a spare engine? I could run my log splitter with it...or stick it in the Ferguson TO35.

I imagine the stuff will arrive in a week or so and I can start tearing the Kama apart again. In the meantime, before I tear it down I will adjust the oil pump up to see what that does. I have an after market oil filter unit which takes a spin-on Baldwin filter. It was a "bolt on" unit. any idea if I can adjust the oil pressure using that? Here's a photo of it.
Rob-

[GuglioLS]

Hi Rob,
I've been following all along as you posted and I must say this is a great engine rebuild documentary. Too bad it had to happen. I think finding the problem where unfiltered air was getting past the filter will prolong the life of your new engine to many thousands of hours.

Curious about the oil pressure loss, what did it do before the rebuild?
The oil pressure loss on my Jinma is similar but maybe not as pronounced? On mine the cold oil pressure at just about any RPM is in the neighborhood of 70 PSI. After archiving full operating temp the pressure will drop to about 60 PSI (~ 900 to 2300 RPM's). As I lower the RPM's to idle (about 600 RPM's) the pressure will quickly drop to 25 PSI or so. If I get the RPM's back up, the pressure quickly goes back to 60 PSI and stays there rock steady throughout a large range of RPM's

My gut feeling is the spring used to "regulate" oil pressure (the spring located in the filter housing unit) are not well tempered and sensitive to temperature variations. Perhaps playing with the pressure adjustment spring tension might be a good idea. Perhaps even replace that spring with a higher quality tempered spring.

Maybe try getting it up to temp, lower the RPM's, then screw in the pressure adjustment screw located on the filter housing to see if the pressure goes up at the lower RPM's?

Good job and good luck!

Larry

[3RRL]

Thanks Larry, I agree the air filter problem was definitely the culprit.
Both you and Curt have higher oil pressure than I ever did. I believe mine used to go up to 60 psi (or even past 60psi) at start up. Then it acted much like yours...going up and down with rpm. But I distinctly remember before that loud "bang" that the oil pressure would rise accordingly when increasing rpm. In running the tractor after the rebuild (about two hours now), when it gets hot, the pressure drops down low. Even worse,increasing the rpm does not increase the oil pressure.

I guess I was wrong about the higher oil pressure.
I found an old photo of before when there were 467 hours on the clock.
It was before I put the mechanical oil pressure gauge on and it looks like the OEM gage is probably around 60/65 psi. Then the second photo is when I first put the mechanical oil gage on. I couldn't read the hours but It was earlier this year so there had to be 500 or 600 hours. That second photo shows even at low rpm (950rpm when cold) the oil pressure is near 55/60psi.
So I guess you guys are right about the higher oil pressure after all.



Having seen that, it makes think the problem really lies in losing oil pressure through that scored rod journal...not so much the oil pump. Especially given the 2 facts, that even now when it's cold, the oil pressure is initially high (indicates pump is OK). Then as it warms up, the pressure goes way down and won't come up even at high rpm. I did buy a new oil pump so that too will be out of the equation when I install it. I thought it was a good idea while I had it apart to go ahead and put a new one in. It was only $109 and Chip is going to give me a break on it since I'm buying all that other stuff. I sure don't want to take the 4wd shaft and oil pan off to change it out later.
Rob-

[3RRL]

I picked up a couple of new tools for the rest of this project.
An engine hoist and also an engine stand. It will be a lot easier to work on instead of being upside down.



lol ... with all the tools I have I might as well go into business.
Or at least tear down every engine I have. But you know what, it falls into place with us moving out here to nowhere. One of the things I wanted was to be able to be self sufficient, like living completely off grid and even growing our own food. Anyway, as long as I have good health, I don't mind doing most everything myself that I can reasonably do.

[bracabric]

Good sense Rob, being of similar age to you, removing unnecessary harassments is definitely the way to go. One crushed toe would convince all who disagree !
As always, really like your posts and find them very informative.
I seem to have spent the last six months stuck up the back of a Motorbike ( could be worse though). Finding parts here in Chile can be a long winded job !! By the time I have located/imported them , I have forgotten what I needed them for !!
Happy new year

Dick

[FlyHiFlyLo]

Jan 1, 2010 20:59:48 GMT -5 3RRL said:

I picked up a couple of new tools for the rest of this project.
An engine hoist and also an engine stand. It will be a lot easier to work on instead of being upside down.



lol ... with all the tools I have I might as well go into business.
Or at least tear down every engine I have. But you know what, it falls into place with us moving out here to nowhere. One of the things I wanted was to be able to be self sufficient, like living completely off grid and even growing our own food. Anyway, as long as I have good health, I don't mind doing most everything myself that I can reasonably do.

Rob, both those items are a very smart choice to have at the ready. That hoist will be used for other stuff.... For sure.

[3RRL]

Thanks guys,
Yeah, I figured they would come in handy for other stuff too.

I started draining the fluids out of the tractor this afternoon.
Then I got as far as removing/disconnecting a bunch of electrical and hydraulic lines, the battery, and finally the air filter and radiator.



Next week I'll be taking it apart further.
Taking all the geared and timed stuff off the front of the engine will be new to me. I suppose I will mark the mating gears tooth for tooth how it sat together before removing them completely. I'm not so much worried about the rear of the engine, because I had it split to replace a throw out bearing and set the clutch pack.

[rayh]

Good luck...this is a BIG job. I generally find the timing gears well marked. Match the numbers when reassembling and you are back in business!!! Replacing crankshafts is the biggest job you can do on an engine.

[GuglioLS]

E gads Rob, what a project this is turning out to be. I'm afraid I would forget about half of where everything came from and where it all goes back. No doubt you must be taking good notes and of course lots of pictures. I wish I was there to "help" LOL. Just like when we hooked up your BH after getting the beast running again. Remember with my "help" it only took an hour to connect instead of 10 minutes

With all the new engine hoist and support rigging I suppose your planning on completely removing the engine then? Will you have to take apart the top end again too? Man it's going to wear out just taking it apart and putting it back together. Hopefully this will be the last time.

The air filtration system is bullet proof now correct? I wouldn't take any chances with the extreme conditions you operate in.

As with all your projects this is going to be a good one to follow for sure. Hope your keeping warm in the shop.

Larry

[3RRL]

Ray,
I have read several threads about the injector pump timing and also talked to Chip about it. He said as long as I mark (exactly) how it was assembled before, where the gears line up, and if I put it back together the exact same way, I should have no problems. So that's what I plan to do.
Yes, it's a big job I see.

Larry,
I remember the fun we had and you calling me a "hack" because you got your end of the sub-frame on in 1 minute and I struggled with mine for an hour! Shees, did you really have to remind of that?
Those memories put a big smile on my face...
OAN, I got a nice "thank you" card and Christmas card from your newly wed daughter. Please tell her how much I appreciate it.

I will be removing the engine completely and putting it on the stand.
I plan to keep it assembled with hydraulic pumps, fuel injector pump, water pump etc on. After it's on the stand, I can take off everything at that point and mark everything. And I presume will need to take the head off again to clear the connecting rod journals. Not only that, but I plan to weight balance the pistons and connecting rods so they need to come out again. The guys on TBN posted some videos of how to do that, and I will be taking some photos of the process later.

Maybe, after I get the front and rear components off, I can tell whether or not I can "lift" the crankshaft out or not? Maybe it has to "slide out" one end or the other ... I just don't know at this point. I have no real "engine manual" with exploded parts views. So, since I don't know yet, I will be exploring, searching how/what I need to do. With that in mind, the biggest thing is being able to work on the block in a decent position with no obstructions to swing a wrench when doing all that.

At this point, I don't know if I could slide the crankshaft out from the front only or if I have to remove the flywheel. I suppose so, right? Which means if I remove the crank from the rear I'd need to do that anyway. That means not only will I be taking everything off the front (like you saw in the last photos), but I will also need to split the tractor again. Just like I did last year when I replaced the clutch, throw out bearing, and modified the greasing ability. Lining up all the timing gears in the front side would be hit and miss if I couldn't see what I was doing. Not only that, but there might be some pulleys and gears I may have to pry off? So doing it all on that new engine stand will be comfortable. Re-assembly of the engine on the stand will be a snap compared to doing it "in-frame".

Picture this in your mind just for the oil pan (let alone all the journals):
Instead of working lying on your back, trying to install 18 bolts, a gasket and sealer for the oil pan, while holding the oil pan up to locate it etc. Then reaching around the floor for you wrenches and bolts. All the while oil and other crap is falling in your eyes. Then, if you see a Tarantula or rattle snake coming up to you (this happened to me!) It is a bitch to try to get my fat ass out of there from under the tractor. You drop everything and try not to shit your pants. Then of course, you get to do it over again when you sweep the intruders out. But first you have to find all the bolts and tools that were scattered during the hasty exit.
lol ... after that, you are always looking over your shoulder from then on!

Now envision this:
To do the same, you flip the engine over with the bottom up.
You can see clearly and move freely with nothing falling down on you. Gently lay the sealer and gasket on the engine and easily screw all 18 bolts in place. You could stop to have a sip of coffee and smoke a Pall Mall if you wanted (life is good again . If the intruders came, you could reach over for your handy shot gun and blow them away ... out of the barn threshold so you don't even have to sweep them up.
Rob-

[3RRL]

DANG, yes it's gonna be a BIG job!!!

[jeep]

Rob I don't know much about your motor but if it has a cam put new cam bearings in I know most of the time when you louse oil pressure it's the cam bearings, you do have one hell of job ahead of you but we all know you can do it with all your toys you have in your shop be careful the crank will be heavy. you have to split it so you can take the fly wheel off the crank .Jeep