John Deere LT 160 troubles,(Oil related

reedb66

reedb66

Tractorologist
Member
My LT 160 needed a new head gasket,,,Not a big deal really.Changed it out ,Did a valve job at the same time,Runs great,I have put about 60 hours on it since the replacement,It is one of my mowers in my commercial fleet.It primarily is useed for between headstones at the cemetery,In this 60 hrs I have redone the valve cover gasket 5 times......It will be dry and fine for about an hour then start dripping then work its way up to a quart of oil every 2 hrs or so,In other words oil everywhere!!!Did it again today I took it apart 4 days ago and cleaned it to death,Including the engine.(I had it on my lift so I could really eye ball things.I see no damage to any surface and the cover sits flat on a flat surface.It did not leak before I took it apart so it has to be something I am missing.It was originally sealed with a silicone type sealer and I have tried every sealer I can think of,John Deere says its just silicone?????I dont know what I am missing but it sure is a problem and seeing as I have no hair I cant even pull that out!I will get some pics tomorrow.Any help would be great!
 
Not knowing what engine it is, it sounds like you are building pressure there. I assume its a pressured oil system, not a splash. What about a clogged return?
 
If it’s a metal valve cover. You may need to tap the holes in the cover back out. As you tighten the valve cover on to the block squeezing the gasket or silicone tight you stretch the metal around the holes toward the block. If the metal in the valve cover is stretched the cover will bottom out before it puts any pull on the gasket/ silicone. So it won’t tighten. Take a ballpeen small hammer and tap the metal around the holes back out. This will help put pull back on the gasket. Hope fully I explained that right so you know what I mean.

Noel
 
Propane1 said:
If it’s a metal valve cover. You may need to tap the holes in the cover back out. As you tighten the valve cover on to the block squeezing the gasket or silicone tight you stretch the metal around the holes toward the block. If the metal in the valve cover is stretched the cover will bottom out before it puts any pull on the gasket/ silicone. So it won’t tighten. Take a ballpeen small hammer and tap the metal around the holes back out. This will help put pull back on the gasket. Hope fully I explained that right so you know what I mean.

Noel
Click to expand...
Oh you did a good job,I know exactly what you mean and I did the same,Thank you!
 
When you replaced the blown head gasket originally, did you plane the head so it isn`t warped anymore? I`ve seen this mostly on Briggs engines, but if a head gasket blows, there`s a reason, and usually it`s because of a mouse nest or some other reason as to why the head over-heated and warped. If the head is warped, it might be allowing combustion pressure to enter the crankcase, which will pressurize it and push oil out anyplace it can. I`ve found the easiest way to plane the head is to put a broken piece of marble countertop in a parts cleaner, put a piece of wet/dry sandpaper on it, and move the head around on the sandpaper while you have the cleaner fluid running onto it. You will be able to see where the paper is sanding down the high spots on the head, it might take a while doing this to get the entire head even, but it`s better than buying a new head!
 
Wondering if you got it fixed and what was wrong. I know your having a few bad days. Saw your other post.
Just interested , don’t mean to be rushing you.

Noel
 
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