There is a large back story to this tractor in regards to what I've replaced, etc, but I'll try and keep this a little shorter otherwise my post will run for pages. 1960 Massey Ferguson 35 tractor with the 3A.152 Perkins 3 cylinder diesel, obviously this is the indirect injection version, also naturally aspirated. Was purchased new by my grandfather and pretty much used and abused since then, no idea on the hours, except to say LOTS. This engine has removable precombustion chamber covers on the side of the head, one for each cylinder, on the same side there are two exhaust ports. The exhaust ports exit between cyl #1 &2 and then again behind #3. I've got what I believe to be a localised overheating issue caused by corrosion in the block leading to a coolant flow issue. The temperature gauge sender is at the thermostat housing off to the front of #1 cyl. Gauge won't read due to not getting hot enough. Infrared thermometer shows about 50c, therefore thermostat won't open, it is currently removed to allow coolant flow through radiator. 5 minutes at 1200 rpm from cold will show temps on the precombustion chamber covers of #1 45C #2 75C #3 95C. With thermostat removed coolant is flowing, with thermostat installed it's not opening and obviously bypassing. So my question is, Is the precombustion cover temp giving me a indication of cylinder temps or head coolant temps or a combination of both? I'm confused by the large variations in temps, there's not much free space to measure directly off the head, but in front of #1 is pretty much same as precomp temp whereas between #2 & #3 is in the 80C if run for longer. I measured under a load and got approx #1 55C #2 120C #3 140C. As stated I'm leaning towards blaming coolant flow through block for getting the rear two cylinders hot, but I've got a nagging little voice saying maybe I'm measuring combustion temps and it's a fuel issue. Head is new, waterpump is new, injectors rebuilt and pop-off pressure set, radiator is clean, hoses new, thermostat when installed was new and verified opening on stovetop. New fuel lift pump, filters, injector pump timing checked (was correct), #2 compression 360psi, other two 380-390ish. Good oil pressure I keep blowing head gaskets, on #3, where my heat appears to be. I haven't simply shotgunned the new parts, every time I done a head gasket I found what I thought was the problem and fixed it, and while each of those was definitely buggered, it appears that heat is the underlying issue. Just trying to figure out why. There is more, but as I said, trying to keep this a little bit shorter than war and peace. Thanks
Is it blowing the head gasket in the same spot each time?
How corroded were the head and block when you did the head gasket? Easy to see an abused tractor running on hard water and plugging up with scale, but you'd also see that pretty well if you had the head off.
You could pop out the core plugs on the side of the block and check for scale buildup. Then flush water down through and see what, if anything, comes out. I heard of a dead mouse once in an engine block causing an overheating issue
Yeah pretty much. First two photos are last replacement, appears #2 is gone as well as #3. 3rd photo was a previous time where only #3 has gone. I initially thought block deck mightn't be flat, but I can't get a 3 thou feeler gauge under a straight edge in the location it's blowing, or anywhere else for that matter. Copper head gasket, workshop manual calls for a coating of sealing compound, I have been using CopperCoat. Specs for torque is 60lb, shop I've been buying parts from said they use 70lb and don't coat gasket. It is currently back together at 70lb and dry gasket. Liners are polished, should probably rebuild bottom end, but oil pressure is good and compression acceptable.
This was the original head. You can also see the water galleries in the photos I posted above. The coolant drain tap in the block was clogged up and needed a bit of compressed air persuasion to get it to flow. Decent amount of fine sediment removed this way. Also flushed radiator/block, entire system til water running clean. On the last head gasket replacement I also got a bit caveman and got a long nose compressed air nozzle and spent about an hour blowing chunks out of the block through the water galleries. Mostly large sand size particles, but also some up to nearly fingernail size. So yes definitely internal corrosion of block, as above probably should be totally stripped and block acid bathed, but as stated I'm a little concerned that the temps I'm seeing on the precombustion chamber covers aren't due to coolant flow restriction. This tractor does have sentimental value and I will use it, but it's to small to "really" use and it's just about got to its time and money limit. I've found a product called Evaporust which isn't supposed to harm copper/brass etc, but still dissolve rust. I've had it in the cooling system for two days now so we'll see if that makes a difference. I've also had a copper washer soaking for the same time to monitor for corrosion and it is good so far, so this stuff might actually work.
Yeah I thought of that but I think I'd need to remove a fair bit of stuff, eg injector pump to be able to reinstall them. As above I blew the galleries "clean" and then flushed with water once head was back on. With the thermostat removed you can see the waterflow returning to the radiator aggessively, so obviously there is a flow path. My suspicion was that there is a massive restriction between #1 & #2, which is why #1 is running so cold and #3 so hot. #3 cylinder is definitely getting hot, you can see in the photo how it blued the precombustion chamber cover. This occurred on a previous head gasket replacement, on that occasion I put it down to bad injectors, upon testing they were gushing like a garden hose and pop off pressure was at 180 atmospheres, spec is 120. That was fuel coming out of front exhaust port. I think grandad got his monies worth out of those injectors. Also was running thermostat in that photo with the blued precomp cover. Was also running under heavy load, although not for long.
As an aside, in the last photo above with the blued precomp cover. The elbow housing you can see coming off below #1 precomp cover is actually the coolant feed into the block. The waterpump is divorced, the thermostat housing is just out of frame off the front of the head. So in my restricted block theory, this would allow coolant to enter at #1 and exit at #1 without getting back to #2 & #3. But as stated I'm just not sure what temperature I'm actually measuring on the precomp covers. Cylinder temps or coolant temps or a combination?
Evaporust does work, if kept totally submerged for 48 hrs and that depends on how thick the scale is. A rough idle temp for average diesel at idle on exhaust ports is 275 to 325F. That's a across the board temp for most engines without any load. For a 14L on road application once coming to a stand still and idled for three minutes a pyro will normally settle out at 300*F--that's average.
From memory, in current state, temp on external of exhaust manifold nearest #3 is about 10-20C above #3 precomp. I don't think I've ever compared the front exhaust port to the front two precomp temps. I'll go do that now and report back. It's not so much the actual temps I'm seeing on the precomps that are concerning me, it's the massive difference between them. With the fact #3 is the hottest and that's where I'm blowing the head gasket, something is obviously not happy. Well you've all seen the photos, a lot of things obviously weren't happy, but as I fixed one thing, it exposed the next weakest, and so on. But I think we're at a point where there isn't too much more left.
Does this engine smoke at idle--unburnt fuel smell?
Yes, big puff at start up and light haze at idle, I was putting that down to thermostat removed and front cylinder not getting up to temp? Run inside shop with doors/ windows open, makes your eyes water after a while.
Engine was run a couple of ago to circulate evaporust. Ambient temp 30C-86F Before starting Precomp all 36-97 Head all 38-100 Exhaust all 38-100 3 minutes 800rpm Precomp #1 50-122 Precomp #2 65-149 Precomp #3 80-176 Exhaust manifold front 74-165 Exhaust manifold rear 85-185 10 minutes 1200rpm Driven down hill and again up hill Precomp #1 51-124 Precomp #2 115-239 Precomp #3 143-289 Exhaust manifold front 127-260 Exhaust manifold rear 148-298 Head front 46-115 Head between #2/#3 Precomp 80-196 Thermostat housing 52-125 Btm radiator hose 40-104 No thermostat fitted.
I would say 2 & 3 close to normal 1 isn't firing--jmo.
Funny you say that, I had the same thoughts heading down the shed. Injector lines aren't real easy to get to with fuel tank on, but was able to crack #3 and #1 lines at rear of injector pump and did get a miss introduced. However did get the feeling that there was a "bigger" miss when #3 open than #1. Don't know if that is even possible or if I was imagining things. I installed new injector nozzles and had them spray pattern tested and pop off pressures set. When i removed them last, for head gasket replacement there was a light coating of carbon on all of them. If compression is sufficent, how can it not be going bang? Not doubting you, i genuinely don't know, how else can i confirm this apart from the what ive done cracking the line? Just got a call, I have to go up to my properties and sort some bulls out, so won't be able to do any immediate troubleshooting. But please keep the ideas coming I'll be in and out of service and respond when I can. Thanks for everyone's input.
I would love to do a leak down compression test but don't have the gauges and a set costs more than the tractor is worth. Could #1 have bad rings or similar and still show good compression?
At three minutes in at 800 rpm your temp is off by 50* from 1 to 3--that isn't a cooling issue, imo. Recheck your valve adjustments. It could have low compression on 1-just enough to cause a lazy cylinder, maybe a broke ring anything is possible setting where I am.
Yeah I can appreciate the difficulties troubleshooting from half a world away. Thanks again for your time. The last compression test I did was a couple of head gaskets ago, as stated #2 was lowest at 360, the other two were higher, BUT that was two head gaskets ago. I can do another test when I get back to see if anything has changed. Can also check valves then. Just in case, be advised I am using aftermaket parts, Sparex, Bepco, etc, so it certainly is possible that a new part I've fitted isn't good. I definitely fall into the trap of thinking that I've replaced it, therefore it's got to be good. Rightoh, big drive time. Thanks
Fuel delivery rate from number 1 on the injection pump may be low.
That engine has the Thermo-start heater plug in the inlet manifold, they do fail allowing raw fuel into the cylinders, number 3 would get a good thump of it, take the valve out and reconnect to the fuel pipe then start up the engine and see if it leaks put the wire on as well, on the block being full of crap just knock out the core plugs they are only low cost and easy to tackle, the engine has to have a regulator in the cooling system to work correctly, we used to put Wellseal on the head joint its brown gravy looking stuff, I think it might be called Permatex possibly in other locations, the engine parts are for buttons in the U.K. with engine rebuild kits to be found from many suppliers, the heads, blocks and cranks are also for just a few coins brand new, its possibly the most common engine ever built and with the highest reputation.
Where were you yesterday---could have saved allot of typing cut this thread down to one reply.
Thanks for your reply Tony. Unfortunately for your theory the thermo-start system is no longer fitted. At some stage the pipe from the small holding tank on the main fuel tank to the intake manifold must have broken and one of my ancestors redneck repaired it by squeezing the broken ends of the pipe closed with a pair of fencing pliers and called it fixed. I figured that it had survived for so many years without it, I might as well delete it properly. So I inserted a bung in the feed from the tank and also removed the ignitor assembly from the intake manifold. You're not to far out with prices of parts, although I think they may be a bit more expensive here. My closest place wanted $700 for the new head, I got it a few sheckles cheaper somewhere else. Individually the prices are good, it's just that I'm having to replace almost everything. Thanks again
That's good--takes care of one angle.
If the sealer used had been copper coat, here it is an antiseize and less of a sealer. As tctractors says the caramel Permatex on copper head gaskets may be used. In the real old days shellac was used on copper head gaskets. I don’t know if you can buy that type anymore
Indian Head--yes it's still available.
The stuff I had been using is a sealer, according to the blurb designed for what I was using it for. As stated upon advice this time its in dry, figured I had nothing to lose trying it that way. Also agree with Tony re thermostat, it's only out now to allow circulation of Evaporust. And also to confirm operation of new waterpump as thermostat doesn't get hot enough to open to allow circulation when fitted.
Oh it needs to be in there--yes it does.
Only area to use sealer is around the coolant openings, never in the 1/4 inch plus fire area. I'd like to see what the deck and head look like as far as clean before you put it together. You said deck was straight, how about the head? Is copper the factory head gasket? What diameter are the studs?
Thanks for the reply chidog, came back a bit early from the properties a bit early to try and sort this out. Deck and head surface both lightly wire brushed with a crimped wire brush on angle grinder, then cleaned with acetone prior to copper head gasket being put on dry, this time only. Both surfaces as clean and decreased as I can get them. Deck doesn't look pristine as you would probably expect being 60+ yr old, but not terrible. Head does look as you'd expect being new. 7/16 UNC head studs, copper gasket is factory and service manual does call for sealant. Head is new, previous photo shows condition of old head. Again, probably showing my inexperience, I have never checked the new head for flatness. Rookie mistake, if the head has to come off again, I will next time. Thanks
Rightoh, got back and did a bit more. Gave it a run down and up the hill, still getting roughly the same temp difference between front and back precomp covers. One thing i did notice that didn’t seem to make sense as nothing has been changed on the fuel side was that there was no big puff of smoke upon start up. I also sat and looked closely at the exhaust, there is definitely a slight miss, it corresponds with a slight puff of white smoke seems to go away or at least i can't really notice it at higher revs. At 1000rpm can't notice miss, cracking an injector line at these revs introduces a massive and even miss across all cylinders when individually tested. It is also starting to slobber again out the exhaust. Pre rebuilding the injectors, i was running it without the exhaust manifold so could easily see the slobber, mainly from the front exhaust port, this is a combination of #1 & #2 cylinders. Now the exhaust manifold is back on, but i can see a bit of wet carbon looking leaking from where the manifold meets the exhaust proper. Evaporust is black so is working, drained and got a bit more small sand size rust from system. Flushed very well, till system running clean, block coolant drain seems to drain better than before, I am in no way saying coolant galleries in block are rust free, but it's definitely better than it was. I haven't pulled a core plug ( we call them welsh plugs), because I can't do know parts availability til tomorrow and want to keep it able to be run on case I need to do something.
Checked valve clearances, spec is 12 thou cold which is what I set them to (I thought) upon re-torqueing head approx 2hrs running time ago. Now #1 in 12 thou #1 ex 9 thou #2 in 11 thou #2 ex 11 thou #3 in 13 thou #3 ex 15 thou Don't know if I did a ***** job of setting them or they have moved a bit (uneven head heating???) Did a compression test, left valve settings as read above. #1 first stroke 190psi #1 end reading 380 #2 first stroke 175 #2 end reading 360 #3 first stroke 240 #3 end reading 400 These haven't really changed since previous test, #2 was worst then, refer to previous old head photo will show why. Injectors all seem to have excessive amounts of carbon for running time, maybe and hour or two. I wiped them off with a carby cleaner when I installed them last head gasket replacement. So I'm a bit lost. It has a miss that seems to away, but #1 is running miles colder. #1 has acceptable compression and is getting some fuel, it has carbon deposits s it must be firing???? Can the injector pump be not injecting enough fuel to that cylinder??? It is a C.A.V. Distributor type DPA.3232038 with mechanical governor. That come from the manual, I know nothing about injector pumps.
Just to be thorough, also removed injector lines from pump and run carby cleaner and compressed air through them, all seem to flow OK. No kinks or other abnormalities noticed.
Oops, noticed a typo and thought I'd better correct it. Head studs are 7/16 UNF not UNC as incorrectly said above. I also installed new nuts, and replaced a few of the studs that looked a bit second-hand. Also chased a tap into the threads into the block. I think now I've established the differing temps across the precomps, that the head gasket has been letting go due to excessive temps in #2 & #3 rather than any difficecies in how it has been installed or mating surfaces. However I'm only a beginner, so maybe my dodgy install etc is creating a weak point which the higher temps are exploiting? I'm here asking for help, so hit me with whatever you got. Thanks
From your photos, the old girl looks like it’s been through hell and back. Water has sat in number 2 cylinder, pistons and injectors are black from possible over fueling. There is no cross hatching and marks on pistons. If it has sentimental value, pull her down, acid bath and deck block, full rebuild and rebuild injection pump.
just another thought. Is the hydraulics dead headed causing load on engine?Rear linkage all the way up or remotes on might cause load and over fueling but i still thinking your flogging a dead horse. And compression tests can be misleading if liquid is in cylinders. It gives a higher reading then a dry cylinder.
If I may butt in.. Are your injectors rebuilt.? The third pic shows a very wet nozzle/tip.. & I can’t tell because of the buildup but the very tip looks smashed down.?? At the very least, get them pop tested.. As far as the pump putting to much or not enough fuel to a cylinder, I’m not gonna say impossible, but it’s highly unlikely seeing it’s a distributor type pump.. there’s 1 rotating element that feeds all the cylinders.. If there were a problem in fuel delivery, it would be less fuel, not more. I hope this helped.
Thanks Cliffy. Unfortunately you only know half the story, as with the motor, the rest of the tractor is the same. At first inspection you find some issues, but it doesn't seem to bad, but as you fix those issues more and more keep being exposed. Maybe I'm being cheap, but I have really been trying to avoid simply rebuilding everything, if I don’t have to. Yes, hydraulic lever is up with 3PL arms right up. Didn't know this deadheaded the system, it's how I've run every tractor I've run, not that it makes it right. But still wouldn't this simply load the entire system, not one cylinder? Yes with the wet compression test, if it's slobbering out the exhaust, then yes it could be reading a bit higher than actually is. I'd love to do a compression leak down test but don't have the gauges. Thanks
Hey mate, I was hoping you'd chime in. I installed new nozzles and then had a shop set the pop-off pressure. I didn't notice a damaged tip, but I didn't really look, the point of the photo was to show what I thought was excessive carbon build up after 2 hrs running. I will have a better look tomorrow for any damage and give them a tidy up. So now I'm really confused. When I cracked each injector line at 1000rpm, each line seemed to "squirt" the same and now your saying that the pump should be providing the same fuel to each injector. Injectors "should" be good, pop-off set by a specialist diesel injector shop. Compression acceptable, #2 down but within 10%ish. What else can be wrong? Thanks
Just a comment-never use a wire brush or wire wheel on a head gasket contact surface or any gasket surface for that matter. It may make it too smooth or may leave grooves which will allow the gasket to leak. To a certain extent, the factory machining marks allow the gasket to seat and grip the surface without leaking under normal circumstances. A better method is to use some fine emery cloth stapled (on the ends)to a flat piece of wood approximately 25mm square and about 10” long and wet sand using solvent. Wipe off the surface periodically so the solvent doesn’t run down into the cylinders. Cleaning around the studs and liners can be done with a small piece of wet emery cloth and the end of your finger or thumb .Be careful not to sand too much in one place so as to not leave any grooves. You just want to clean the surface, not to remove any metal. I’ve been using this method for 40 years. Good preparation is essential for any gasket to seal properly-especially head gaskets
Copper head gaskets are prone to leakage. They are much less able to tolerate non-flat heads and blocks. The head gaskets can be reused if not damaged. Clean them well and anneal in an oven at maximum temperature.
Some new age info on deck surface. * Head and Block Surfacing Equipment Update - Engine Builder Magazine How smooth is smooth enough? You used to be able to tell by dragging your fingernail across the surface of a cylinder head or engine block. And besides, it didn’t really matter because the composite head gasket would fill any gaps that your equipment or technique left behind. Related Articles -... www.enginebuildermag.com
Running the linkage all the way up is fine if the quadrant leavers are adjusted correctly. With engine running there should be some play to the top of the travel of the arms. You will hear the engine load up if they come up too far.
Re wire brushing the block,. I guess it comes back to me not knowing any better. The shop I'm buying parts from specialises in fixing these old tractors. I've bought enough parts now, they know me a bit and have been giving me a bit of advice. Wire brushing the deck come from them, I figured they would know. I guess not.
There r different gauges of wire brushs.. I have friends that work with nothing but steel.. and if u get to close to their wheels, it’ll take your leg or finger off.. Me on the other hand, I work with aluminum and have wheels made specifically for that.. I can brush up against it and it only takes a layer or two of skin off.. lol
Its better than a scotch brite disk, as long as its not a stiff agressive wire like most of the cheap harbor freight ones are. In my younger days I wire brushed cast iron all the time, not aluminum, but way prefer to just scrape and the emery thing mentioned above. Did the shop check the pattern of your injectors?
Sorry been flat out. Yes wire brush was what we call over here, crimped wire. The aggressive ones are twisted wire. Also yes injectors we're supposed to be pattern tested when they set the pop-off pressures, but I'm not sure on whether the apprentice got my job and it may have been done or not. I may revisit this later. I did remove a welsh plug either side of the block and it was pretty nasty in there. I'm guessing it had been run with a blown head gasket for a long time. There wasn't so much actual rust on the internal walls (maybe Evaporust gave it a touch up?) as there was an inch or two of magnetic "mud/sludge" on the bottom of the coolant galleries. I realise that stripping the engine, hot tanking the block would be the ideal preferred way forward but as stated this machine has nearly reached its time and money allowance. So spent a couple of hours with a bent up bit of wire and a magnetic pick-up tools and got most of the "mud" out through the openings alongwith the coolant drain hole. Hit it with some degreaser and kept going, eventually ended up with a pressure washer blowing in. Yes, very primitive and I run the risk of blowing chunks of rubbish into the smaller galleries in the head and then onto the radiator, but I figured it needed to be stripped to fix it anyway, so the risk was worth it. At the end everything was clean to touch and being a 3 cylinder I could get to most of it from the plugs removed on each side. Flushed and flushed some more prior to filling the radiator and then flushed again multiple times with the entire cooling system involved. Finally fired it up to heat cycle it and low and behold, all precomp cover temps are no more than 80c under load and all within about 10%. Head temp is also same (80c) as is block temp. Temp gauge also reading as such. So it appears as if my initial suspicion was correct, no coolant flow, it enters at #1 and exits at #1 and wasn't going anywhere else. I had to leave at that point to go up and muster and pull the bulls out, so I gave it another dose of Evaporust and it's been sitting for a week now, we'll see if it's still good when I get home in a couple of days. I think the slobbering was a symptom of the very cold cylinder temps of #1, I'll put ut it under a sustained load if it all checks out good when I get home and see if that cleans up, if not I may get the injectors checked by a different shop to see if that could be an issue. Thanks for everyone's replies, especially the ones who suggested removing the welsh/core plugs. I had a remove a few ancillaries to get access, but looks like it was worth the effort.
Rightoh update time. Brought the slasher back down with me, hooked it up and gave it about 45 minutes under a decent load, in high/heavy grass. 2nd low gear 1400rpm, not lugging, but definitely working. It appears as if everything to do with the cooling system is good, precomp cover temps are pretty even. Block and head temps match, it appears radiator is too efficient as bottom radiator hose is well under top hose temp, but thermostat is doing its job and keeping everything at working temp. However the slobbering out the exhaust port is still significant, it has lessened after its first hit out at operating temp for who knows how long, but it's still enough that I'd like to find out why it's doing it. The head only has two exhaust ports, the front one is fed by #1 cylinder, this is the port that has been constantly slobbering throughout. The rear one is dry. When I cleaned the block I had the fuel tank, etc off so thought I would swap #1 & #3 injector to see if that changed anything, it did not, however it could still be #2 injector at fault as it feeds the same port. However my question is now, am I right in thinking its an injector? I installed new nozzles and had the pop-off pressure set by a shop, so I should probably assume they are good, but I don't know where else to point the finger. If I understand the pump guy correctly, the injector pump either works or it doesn't, it shouldn't inject different rates to each injector. Injector lines aren't kinked and I have "cleaned" them with compressed air and carby cleaner. All cylinders are above 360psi and head and valves are new. There's not much left is there? I've got it completely back together now, bonnet etc. So pulling everything off I need to get to the injectors to swap #2 & #3 is a bit of work. Don't know if I'm better off just talking them all to another shop to re-check pop-off and spray pattern while I've got it apart. But don't want to waste more time and money if someone can suggest something other than injector. I've been running it without the exhaust manifold and muffler to better see where and when it's slobbering If that makes a difference to anyone's thinking. Thanks
Would the shop charge you to just test them? I gave the injectors out of our ford tractor to our local injector shop to rebuild as we had just had the pump done and had not touched them in near thirty years.. When I went to collect them, they said they tested them, they were fine and needed no work. I said how much and they said nothing. Testing them is quick and easy they said.
I've been getting my parts from a tractor joint in Logan Village and he's giving me trade pricing so I've been giving him all my business so far. However his pop-off tester was broken when I fitted my nozzles and he was in the process of importing a flash one from abroad. So I ended up going to a well known diesel injection company in Toowoomba, they charged me nothing to quickly check the pop-off, said it was way to high. Come back in 2 days well have them set, $170 please. Not really whinging about the price, if it was done correctly. From memory the new nozzles only cost me $180. If I do go the rechecking route, I'll go back to the tractor-shop, they should have their new tester by now. They will look after me, just don't want to go to the labour to pull them out plus the drive, if I'm wrong and it's something completely different. Hence asking the brains trust. I forgot to mention in my previous post, the miss is still there, comes with a puff of smoke. Either goes away at higher revs or I'm not good enough to pick it up.
Ended up just swapping the injectors, slobber stayed in the front exhaust port. So best guess it's just normal slobbering from cold cylinder temps on #1. I'll give it some more work, try and find something productive for it to do where I can load it up for an extended period and see if that does the trick. Thanks again to everyone who replied.
Pic of this slobbering you are referring to?
Sorry to say I don't have any, I thought I did but nothing on phone. It's now totally together and I degreased the side of the block where it was dribbling down with the exhaust manifold was removed. I'll be trucking it up to my properties in a few days, I have a bit of slashing that needs doing so we'll see how it goes. I'll report back.
Got the flu, so haven't left yet. Cleaning up all the parts I removed to see if anything is worth saving, didn't really look at this when I pulled it off other than it was broken. I'm guessing even though the last readable number is white, that because there is another "dial" to the left of it then that would be the tenths of an hour number. So it is showing 31353.? hrs? I'd love to know the actual hours on the machine. It's looks to have been broken for a while. The flexible drive shaft from the cam was broken as us the pointer on the gauge. Definitely bottom end of the motor untouched, injector pump still original, injectors we're I believe untouched till I replaced the nozzles.
Just thinking I've never seen an hour metre read more than 10000hrs, but if the 3 in the first white "dial" is tenths of an hour, what's the far right dial? I've also never seen an hour metre read less than tenths of an hour either.
Pretty sure the white numbered one will be tenths. I have seen one somewhere on some old tractor I was driving at the time(probably an old fordson power major), where the last one was just a back and white dial. It would just flick black to white all the time. Probably just to let you know the hourmeter is still working.
I would say 3135.3.