Pulled the oil pan due to leaks and noticed grey gunk on the bottom some was gooey the rest was hardened i got it cleaned out and it was chore some of it was really on there. Is this sludge or combustion by products of the gasoline used in the early years of this tractors life.
ford 8n grey gooey gunk in the oil pan.
- Thread starter jakewells
- Start date
- Status
Originally Posted by jakewells
Is this sludge or combustion by products of the gasoline used in the early years of this tractors life.
A combination of all of the above. Those old tractors were used in some of the worst environments, and to top it off they had overly robust cooling systems, and it's not uncommon for people to completely remove the thermostat. That really never allows the engine to fully warm up unless it's out plowing for a few hours. Decades of vintage oils, a vintage filtering system, and an old flathead engine design all contribute to the problem. The kicker is that those old engines still perform just fine despite all that.
If you want an eye opener, pull the side covers off the valves and give that area a good cleaning.
Is this sludge or combustion by products of the gasoline used in the early years of this tractors life.
A combination of all of the above. Those old tractors were used in some of the worst environments, and to top it off they had overly robust cooling systems, and it's not uncommon for people to completely remove the thermostat. That really never allows the engine to fully warm up unless it's out plowing for a few hours. Decades of vintage oils, a vintage filtering system, and an old flathead engine design all contribute to the problem. The kicker is that those old engines still perform just fine despite all that.
If you want an eye opener, pull the side covers off the valves and give that area a good cleaning.
If that pan has never been off, I suppose that layer could be from the old days of low/no detergent oil that allowed contaminants to settle out, unlike today's oils that keep contaminants suspended and they exit the engine with an oil change. Just a hunch.
Lead from leaded gas.
Originally Posted by Fawteen
Originally Posted by jakewells
Is this sludge or combustion by products of the gasoline used in the early years of this tractors life.
A combination of all of the above. Those old tractors were used in some of the worst environments, and to top it off they had overly robust cooling systems, and it's not uncommon for people to completely remove the thermostat. That really never allows the engine to fully warm up unless it's out plowing for a few hours. Decades of vintage oils, a vintage filtering system, and an old flathead engine design all contribute to the problem. The kicker is that those old engines still perform just fine despite all that.
If you want an eye opener, pull the side covers off the valves and give that area a good cleaning.
Side cover is clean i have owned it for a little over 4 years and i adjust valves yearly during normal maintenance it has been always clean every time i have been in there. I run a 192 thermostat in my tractor because the prev thermostat was a 160 from the original owner and that is not hot enough. I use harvest king sae 30 in the pan but previous years i used delo sae 30 CF/SL .
Originally Posted by jakewells
Is this sludge or combustion by products of the gasoline used in the early years of this tractors life.
A combination of all of the above. Those old tractors were used in some of the worst environments, and to top it off they had overly robust cooling systems, and it's not uncommon for people to completely remove the thermostat. That really never allows the engine to fully warm up unless it's out plowing for a few hours. Decades of vintage oils, a vintage filtering system, and an old flathead engine design all contribute to the problem. The kicker is that those old engines still perform just fine despite all that.
If you want an eye opener, pull the side covers off the valves and give that area a good cleaning.
Side cover is clean i have owned it for a little over 4 years and i adjust valves yearly during normal maintenance it has been always clean every time i have been in there. I run a 192 thermostat in my tractor because the prev thermostat was a 160 from the original owner and that is not hot enough. I use harvest king sae 30 in the pan but previous years i used delo sae 30 CF/SL .
Running a 192 thermostat may be a bit much. The OEM thermostat was likely a 150 or 160 and that's where Ford designed it to run. Maybe use a 180. Is the radiator pressurized? 4psi maybe? A 192 thermostat puts it too close to the boiling point imo.
Originally Posted by Chris142
Running a 192 thermostat may be a bit much. The OEM thermostat was likely a 150 or 160 and that's where Ford designed it to run. Maybe use a 180. Is the radiator pressurized? 4psi maybe? A 192 thermostat puts it too close to the boiling point imo.
slight pressure in the radiator but i noticed with a higher thermostat the oil has no condensation or water. before switching i never could get the engine hot enough to get rid of the moisture in the oil.
Running a 192 thermostat may be a bit much. The OEM thermostat was likely a 150 or 160 and that's where Ford designed it to run. Maybe use a 180. Is the radiator pressurized? 4psi maybe? A 192 thermostat puts it too close to the boiling point imo.
slight pressure in the radiator but i noticed with a higher thermostat the oil has no condensation or water. before switching i never could get the engine hot enough to get rid of the moisture in the oil.
Originally Posted by Chris142
Lead from leaded gas.
+1
All I/C engines prior to the introduction of unleaded gas had the same gunk in the pans & valley covers, and any other place oil would sit. I've cleaned up a number of of them in my day.
Nasty stuff.
Lead from leaded gas.
+1
All I/C engines prior to the introduction of unleaded gas had the same gunk in the pans & valley covers, and any other place oil would sit. I've cleaned up a number of of them in my day.
Nasty stuff.
The grey colored paste is very likely to be lead deposits from the past use of leaded fuels.
People really don't understand how much fuel bypasses the rings, evaporates and leaves deposits. Not to mention the blow-by of combustion.
People really don't understand how much fuel bypasses the rings, evaporates and leaves deposits. Not to mention the blow-by of combustion.
Originally Posted by Chris142
Running a 192 thermostat may be a bit much. The OEM thermostat was likely a 150 or 160 and that's where Ford designed it to run. Maybe use a 180. Is the radiator pressurized? 4psi maybe? A 192 thermostat puts it too close to the boiling point imo.
The cooling system in those old N- tractors were over engineered. It took something serious to boil them over. My 9N (which is older than an 8N)uses a stock 180 stat and a non pressurized system. That gunk on the bottom of the pan is accumulated debris by using non detergent oil of that time which could be dating back as far as 1948 and who knows if one of the past owners may have removed the thermostat at some point contributing to the sludge...
Running a 192 thermostat may be a bit much. The OEM thermostat was likely a 150 or 160 and that's where Ford designed it to run. Maybe use a 180. Is the radiator pressurized? 4psi maybe? A 192 thermostat puts it too close to the boiling point imo.
The cooling system in those old N- tractors were over engineered. It took something serious to boil them over. My 9N (which is older than an 8N)uses a stock 180 stat and a non pressurized system. That gunk on the bottom of the pan is accumulated debris by using non detergent oil of that time which could be dating back as far as 1948 and who knows if one of the past owners may have removed the thermostat at some point contributing to the sludge...
Last edited:
- Status
