1968 4500 tractor/backhoe engine problem

[copojo]

I've had this old hoe now for about 10 years, served me well, never any trouble.the other day noticed some steam while idling,sure enough there was oil leaking at the front of the head ,shut it off checked oil, pan full with coolant and oil.Having to many projects on the go and not being familiar with diesel's I hired a tractor mechanic,he pulled it apart, the head had to be machined 60 thou,put it back together, fired it up and there is still water getting into the oil.It's not leaking at the head gasket now so the issues in the block,i guess the next thing is to pull the pan and pressure test it and see where it's leaking.
Talking to people I've been getting different stories,the mechanic that did the work so far says my engine would have to come out and be decked also' i never saw what the deck looking like, also he's been told these 201 cid 3 cyl blocks are notorious for bad castings and they have a hard time getting them to seal and on and on . he says he can get me a running one for $1800,seams a lot .Myself I would rather spend the money and have my engine rebuilt. Looking for some advice from someone that is familiar with these engines. Thanks Joe

[Ecnerwal]

Nice looking 4500 - certainly nicer than either of mine.

The trouble with hiring help is you're never quite sure what you're hiring until it's too late...

I don't know anything about this from direct experience, but I think it is not uncommon to need to sleeve the cylinders due to perforation - hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. If that's the case, decking the top surface of the engine won't do a bit of good, as far as I understand it.

[Tractortech]

Joe, The 201 is a good engine and it is not likely that the deck needs to be resurfaced as that is fairly uncommon problem.
1-Was the head checked for cracks when it was surfaced?
2-Were the freeze plugs checked on top of the head for any problems?
3-Did the mechanic see where the water was coming from?
4-Does the water drain into the pan when the engine is off? (Check by filling cooling system with water and drain all oil. Watch for water coming out of oil drain. May have to pressurize the cooling system and/or turn the engine over by hand to move pistons)

Before getting too worried, those questions need to be answered. There could be a pin-hole in the cylinder wall and that can be answered by #4 above. This is common to ALL diesels, but at various degrees. (other diesels have corrosion in liners and liner seals). Ford blocks do have a problem, but more so with later blocks as they took some of the metal out of the blocks. A rebuild by boring the cylinders and installing sleeves will fix the problem.
At any case, when the current problem is solved, you should add New Holland FW15 coolant conditioner, $7.00/bottle to prevent cylinder cavitation in the future.
Ask the mechanic if he knows how old the engine/tractor is and ask him if you got your money's worth!

[copojo]

Thanks for the replies,to answer the questions
1- I was told the head was magged for cracks and tested OK.
2- can,t say the freeze plugs were checked,I would assume they would be.
3- No I don't believe he did,I think he saw where the head-gasket was leaking oil and the oil pan being full to the brim with coolant and oil and assumed that the problem was the head-gasket.
4- Yes ,that was easy,I drained the soup out of the pan , poured some water into th rad and sure enough ,out the pan drain she comes.
I got to say in hindsight I should of come here first and asked a few questions before just going out and hiring a mechanic.winters coming and I've got work to get done . any more advice would certainly be appreciated. Joe

[Tractortech]

I would also assume that the freeze plugs were checked, but....
You should remove the rocker cover and see if the plugs on top of the head aren't the culprit.
Doesn't explain the oil and steam, but it sounds like your head was warped. If so, then it must have overheated at some point which will stress old freeze plugs.