hello. peps on mtf. i have a lil problem and need some help. i have a 54 gravely LI that is giving me problems. i think its over heating ive cleaned the carb and replaced the spark plug point and condenser . i think the timing is off. i restored it this past winter. it ran great for severl months. and now i can use it for about an hour and it will slowly start to slow down and then stop. i adjust the fuel mixture and everthing while its running with no luck. i used stainless steel head bolts and i noticed today that the ones on the exhaust side are starting to get a rainbow look to them. what do i do. thanks
54 Gravely LI Questions
allisman86
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hello. peps on mtf. i have a lil problem and need some help. i have a 54 gravely LI that is giving me problems. i think its over heating ive cleaned the carb and replaced the spark plug point and condenser . i think the timing is off. i restored it this past winter. it ran great for severl months. and now i can use it for about an hour and it will slowly start to slow down and then stop. i adjust the fuel mixture and everthing while its running with no luck. i used stainless steel head bolts and i noticed today that the ones on the exhaust side are starting to get a rainbow look to them. what do i do. thanks
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Re: What did you do to/with your Gravely today?
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The timing will not change over a few months, as log as you set it correctly this first time all should be good. You may want to check the following...
1- tightness and and or serviceability of the fan belt, if you have a governor DO NOT use it as a fan belt tensioner, adjust the fan up or down to adjust and or remove the belt.
2- is the fan turning when the engine is running?
3- are ALL the cylinder and head cooling fins clear and clean of dirt and debris?
3- often times people do not install and or remove the metal surrounding the cylinder, this metal, or cooling tin, directs cooling air around the cylinder and head and allow for better more efficient cooling. If you plan on using this tractor a lot and there is no cooling
tin installed I would suggest getting some.
4- air cleaner for serviceability
5- proper oil level
Also the main gravely board is a much better place to post these types of questions as more people will see it, this is a page located in the sticky section, so not everyone will see it.
Good luck!
Corey
The attached photo is of my early 50's L, notice the cooling tin on the head and around the cylinders. I use this tractor weekly with a 40" mower deck to cut 1.5 acres. I've set this tractor up for best performance, among other modifications I've advanced the timing a bit more than standard, I've never had any issues with loss of power throughout 2-3 hours of solid running.
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Don't worry about the head bolts changing color, the Exhaust side if the Gravely T-Head engine gets Very hot.
The timing will not change over a few months, as log as you set it correctly this first time all should be good. You may want to check the following...
1- tightness and and or serviceability of the fan belt, if you have a governor DO NOT use it as a fan belt tensioner, adjust the fan up or down to adjust and or remove the belt.
2- is the fan turning when the engine is running?
3- are ALL the cylinder and head cooling fins clear and clean of dirt and debris?
3- often times people do not install and or remove the metal surrounding the cylinder, this metal, or cooling tin, directs cooling air around the cylinder and head and allow for better more efficient cooling. If you plan on using this tractor a lot and there is no cooling
tin installed I would suggest getting some.
4- air cleaner for serviceability
5- proper oil level
Also the main gravely board is a much better place to post these types of questions as more people will see it, this is a page located in the sticky section, so not everyone will see it.
Good luck!
Corey
The attached photo is of my early 50's L, notice the cooling tin on the head and around the cylinders. I use this tractor weekly with a 40" mower deck to cut 1.5 acres. I've set this tractor up for best performance, among other modifications I've advanced the timing a bit more than standard, I've never had any issues with loss of power throughout 2-3 hours of solid running.
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Tell us about oil pressure when this problem occurs. Does the tractor have an oil pressure gage? If not, then is there a stream of oil coming from the relief valve under the oil filler cap when this problem occurs?
Considering the age of your tractor, and that it has a low pressure oil pump, you may be running out of oil pressure when your tractor warms up.
Tell us more, Roger
Considering the age of your tractor, and that it has a low pressure oil pump, you may be running out of oil pressure when your tractor warms up.
Tell us more, Roger
Cory,
Very strange tractor you have there. A rear facing carburetor, and a chassis with no provision for an old style air cleaner in front of the cylinder, but it has the low pressure oil pump set-up to lube the bottom, very one of a kind, but it has the protruding intake cam shaft.
Sorry, there is a plug in the hole for the old style air cleaner.
Roger,
Very strange tractor you have there. A rear facing carburetor, and a chassis with no provision for an old style air cleaner in front of the cylinder, but it has the low pressure oil pump set-up to lube the bottom, very one of a kind, but it has the protruding intake cam shaft.
Sorry, there is a plug in the hole for the old style air cleaner.
Roger,
Checking valve lash on an early, spring loaded valve cover, is a lot of fun, not. One big problem that can occur while checking valve lash is that the tappet adjusting screw/bolt has become 'dished' out a little. Then you can never adjust the clearance between valve stem and tappet adjusting bolt properly, the feeler gauge just does not fit into the dished out area of the adjuster.
The early specs for valve lash changed, Gravely finally settled for .015" on both intake and exhaust for all Gravely T head engines, old and new.
Octane additives and oil additives, your choice. Frequent oil changes and something like Ethanol Shield have been keep me running.
Plain and simple, if there is a problem with worn parts, then no additive on the market will fix it.
Roger,
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Roger,
This is my mystery tractor, I got it from Ron C years ago missing its serial tag, from all the singes me, Ron and Chip Old placed this tractor as an early 50's L. One of the neat parts is a gas tank with flat sides, this was one of the interim tanks when gravely was having leaking issues.
I had the cylinder refurbished by Todd White, while I was at it I converted it to a spin-on oil filter and installed a Gravely low pressure gauge. I got in a kick about carbs, having three different carbs I installed a later style carb that has the larger of the three ventures as well as the later air filter. I installed cooling tins around the cylinder and on top of the head. As you noticed the engine is still equipped with the low pressure oil system, it holds 8-10 PSI HOT at operating RPM. The non gravely muffler does help but it is still a bit loud. This old girl is a bit of a mutt but performs amazing, it powers a 40" deck in high gear with no problems. With out a doubt the best L I've ever used and owned. Oh and I have the original Bendix Mag, but as I quickly found out the coil is bad, the engine would loose power and cut out after about 30 min of use.
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Re: What did you do to/with your Gravely today?
its got good oil pressure i just rebuilt the carb. new plug. the fan is fine. i think the timing is very advanced. it tries to start backwards. im using the starter on my cub cadet to turn it over. i hate that rope. i have worked on allis chalmers with magnetos. so i kinda kno what im doing there. im a tech for a large auto maker. i advanced the timing to what i think is close. these thing are hard to time. no marks and no tool made for this. it seems like it starts to bog down and turn slower and slower. it has no torque except low rpm. i think it needs to be more advanced. what it the correct way for doing this. oh and my tractor dint have the heat sheilds when i bought the thing. but i ran it for 6 years without any problems
its got good oil pressure i just rebuilt the carb. new plug. the fan is fine. i think the timing is very advanced. it tries to start backwards. im using the starter on my cub cadet to turn it over. i hate that rope. i have worked on allis chalmers with magnetos. so i kinda kno what im doing there. im a tech for a large auto maker. i advanced the timing to what i think is close. these thing are hard to time. no marks and no tool made for this. it seems like it starts to bog down and turn slower and slower. it has no torque except low rpm. i think it needs to be more advanced. what it the correct way for doing this. oh and my tractor dint have the heat sheilds when i bought the thing. but i ran it for 6 years without any problems
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http://gravelytractorclub.org/images/PDFs/manuals/walk-behind/model-l/Model_L_Instruc_Man_1955.pdf
The above is a link to gravely Manuel's, specifically a model L, this will explain how to set the timing. Setting the timing is not hard, especially to a person of your skills. Setting the timing is the same for all model L engines regardless of HP.
Despite what others my say to do this correctly you MUST removed the head, this is done so to be sure that the listing is set correctly for the mag timing. Also replace the head gasket, so reuse the old ones, but once they been compressed they are done.
Good luck!
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The above is a link to gravely Manuel's, specifically a model L, this will explain how to set the timing. Setting the timing is not hard, especially to a person of your skills. Setting the timing is the same for all model L engines regardless of HP.
Despite what others my say to do this correctly you MUST removed the head, this is done so to be sure that the listing is set correctly for the mag timing. Also replace the head gasket, so reuse the old ones, but once they been compressed they are done.
Good luck!
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http://gravelytractorclub.org/
This is the link to the gravely tractor club, you will find an enormous collection of Gravely manuals, the are free. A lot of this was put together by a now departed, and personal friend of mine, Chip Old. Chippy was one of the biggest Gravely fans I ever knew, Gravely's were his passion.
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This is the link to the gravely tractor club, you will find an enormous collection of Gravely manuals, the are free. A lot of this was put together by a now departed, and personal friend of mine, Chip Old. Chippy was one of the biggest Gravely fans I ever knew, Gravely's were his passion.
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thanks guys ill try checking a few things when it dries up some.:00000060:.been storming everyday it seems like. i think ill re set the timing and go from there. ill let yall kno what i find
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well i checked the timing. it was on dead nuts. i let it idle for a few mins. then i reved on it a couple times and it died again. im thinking a fuel problem at this point.ill do some more checking tomorrow . and its storming again.:thSick:
.. i would like to have some diff attachments if anybody has some to sell. im located in NC.
.. i would like to have some diff attachments if anybody has some to sell. im located in NC.
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so yea i ran it today. made 11 laps then bogged down. guess what no oil pressure. im running 10w30 . is that ok
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10w-30 is ok, but is not the reason for lack of oil pressure, I hate to ask this but did you check the level? For best results people have suggested SAE40 weight oil, some feel the detergents in the multi weight oil affect the clutches, I did use 10W-30 but switched to SAE 40 weight under advisement of some Gravely experts.
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it was just rebuild. i took the regulator off when i restored it. is there a way of adjusting the pressure. this has been one learning experience let me tell ya. just keep learning new things.
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yes the oil level was ful. in fact i just replaced the filter and the oil. it has like two hours on it.
When you say 'regulator', do you mean governor?
If your oil pressure drops after the engine warms up, then you need a bottom end rebuild. You may have a worn drive pinion bushing, an old style drive pinion bushing, or you may have a worn connecting rod bushing/crank pin, maybe a worn sun gear bushing in the H/L, or a combination of the above. Take a look at the sticky "Have you ever wondered".
The drive pinion bushing on the left is an old style, it required a very tight fit into the forward bottom case because the oil inlet galley was on the outside of the bushing. Later Gravely cut that oil inlet galley in the bore of the bushing, like the one on the right. On the far right is a timing pinion shaft, timing pinion shafts have a ball bearing, not a bushing.
Click to enlarge
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Roger,
If your oil pressure drops after the engine warms up, then you need a bottom end rebuild. You may have a worn drive pinion bushing, an old style drive pinion bushing, or you may have a worn connecting rod bushing/crank pin, maybe a worn sun gear bushing in the H/L, or a combination of the above. Take a look at the sticky "Have you ever wondered".
The drive pinion bushing on the left is an old style, it required a very tight fit into the forward bottom case because the oil inlet galley was on the outside of the bushing. Later Gravely cut that oil inlet galley in the bore of the bushing, like the one on the right. On the far right is a timing pinion shaft, timing pinion shafts have a ball bearing, not a bushing.
Click to enlarge
Roger,
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If by regulator you are referring to the oil pressure regulator then there is an adjustment, if not adjusted properly then the oil pressure will be incorrect, too little or too much. The regulator can be adjusted while the engine is operating, as I've not had to do this I'm sure someone will chime in.
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With the tractor running remove the oil breather located at the front of the tractor, look down, a steady stream of oil should be seen coming from where the oil pressure relief valve enters the transmission. As a warning due to the back pressure created by the coffee can size piston there will be oil vapor/spray coming toward you as you loom down trying to verify oil return. If a steady stream is not seen adjust the oil pressure relief valve until a steady steam is observed. This is done with the tractor at idle.
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