Got my DC engine tore down

I bet the guy who sold it to me 20 some years ago laughed all the way to the bank. its got a 10in sq plate over the block in back of the manifold and carb where I couldnt see it, and a hole in the head you could almost stick a pencil through but i havnt got quite all the JB weld off of it yet. when it crashed, it bent a connecting rod and broke it at the top.
QUESTIONS, which is the best way to take the piston out of the head, through the top of bottom?
Where can I get just one connecting rod and piston?
IF I get them used, will the connecting rod down at the crank fit the crank alright?
The head gasket looks good, can I reuse it or should I get a new one?
Thanks guys for all the answers I got from my former post.

you need to tear the engine down, piston comes out the top. that engine has babbit brgs. and shims pretty sure of. you do the measuring and will find out on what needs to be done. those head gaskets can be reused, just spray them with Permatex high tack sealer. plus there is the crankshaft that is probably toast also. sounds like its cheaper to find a doner tractor.

The crankshaft seems fine

If your rod went through the water jacket as you posted before you had better take a close look at your camshaft. It could be broken also. To find a piston to replace yours we need to know what size and compression you have. You need to measure your crankshaft to see if it is round, and if it is standard size, or ground down. The babbit rod needs to fit the crankshaft.

If the head is off it is easier to take the Piston out the top, but they can come out the bottom. That way you can fix a bearing or rings without a tear down.

I have new and used DC Case parts. 507 433 0073
Don L.
Austin Mn

DCase, If I posted that a connecting rod went through the engine, I appologize. I suppose that was just guessing.The head has a small hole in it you cant but stick a pencil in plus a couple cracks. The block has a plate around 10in dia on its side that would be behind the manifold/carb. It MIGHT need welding around its edges. Im going to drop the pan so as to clean it, and be then I might as well take the block off and take the block and head to my boy who is a excellent welder. The CC ran for 20yrs therebouts without me knowing bout all this, so im pretty sure I can make it run another 20

Dave will I have any trouble connecting a used connecting rod to the crank. Im talking about possible wear/slop/ect.?

Im Okla

All things are possible.
Don L.

That plate was installed because hard water pushed the side of the block out. That is the place they always go. If it is not leaking DO NOT mess with it. If you weld around that plate it WILL leak!! Cast iron does not swell and shrink at the same rate as steel so if you weld around the plate there will be cracks in the cast going out from the plate that will leak.

Thanks pard. Saved me ALOT of work and worry lol

Im going to pull the oil pan so as to clean it good so ill be able to go either way with the piston.

Decided against pulling the oil pan. What is the amount of tourque for the connecting rods, and for the head bolts?

I thought they always broke behind the carb. also. Got a 120 combine engine here I worked a year to get loose. Happened to look down the pushrod side and saw it was wrecked. Never cracked on the left side at all. The model C I worked on a year ago had a patch bolted on the magneto side. Someone used a 1/4" drill bit to drill a bunch of holes side by side till the outer block slab came off. They welded the block on the pushrod side and bolted a patch over the hole they made. Ingenious farmer trying to make do. Still running also...no leak.

as I said before you need to do the measurements, how are we to know??? we are not there so there is no way someone can tell you it will fit on the first bolt up. you need help by a qualified person who has done this before. plastiguage would be your friend.

My 39 DC pushed out the pushrod wall like you have. I welded it up through the push rod space from the top. I pitched the cast iron part that broke out, and welded a steel piece in with nickle rod. As the weld cools the steel stretches, and the cast iron does not crack. It has run that way for 20 years.

I have put 3 engines in this tractor in the last 50yrs, Surely someone can tell me the torque requirements on the head bolts and conneting rod bolts on a DC engine

My service manual says 70 foot pounds for the connecting rod and 75 foot pounds for the head bolts.

Plastigage will indeed be your friend to attach the connecting rod to the crankshaft.

Does the rod and other damaged parts show signs of multiple hits? i.e. more that one revolution of the crankshaft during the crash. Where is the rod broken at--- top, bottom, or center?

Which direction did the rod bend in order to break? If it bent front-to-back to break, that would have put both a prying force and also an impact force on on the crankshaft connecting rod bearing.

If the connecting rod bent sideways left-to-right, that would have put mostly only an impact load on the crankshaft rod bearing. Personally, I would not worry much about the crankshaft condition if the failure was caused by only an impact force on the bearing.

A prying force could cause non-uniform, very high contact forces at both ends of the bearing. Does the crankshaft journal look good from a visual inspection? If smooth and shiny, time to use a plastigage kit. If not familiar with using the stuff study the instructions for using it.

If familiar with using plastigage,ignore a lot of what I write below. I don't wish to insult anyone's mechanical abilities.

Using plastigage is a little tedious if done right. As mentioned elsewhere, the bearing material is Babbitt. It is soft and tends to not score the crankshaft. However, the crankshaft can become "flat" i.e. out-of-round with years of use.

To check for out-of-roundness first, I always put the plastigage at the bottom of the rod cap to squeeze it orienting the crankshaft positioned at top-dead center. This flattens the plastigage a certain amount and the included chart tells the rod clearance. Next, I rotate the crankshaft about 90 degree to were the connecting rod is at right angle to the radius of the crankshaft rod bearing. Repeat the squeezing process and if there is a different of clearance, that is the amount of flatness of the crankshaft. Clear as mud!!!
LOL

The DC Case uses two shim packs to adjust the rod bearing clearance. My service manual says .0015 to .003 running clearance. I would use which ever location the flatness test shows the lesser clearance.

The tedious part includes one must start with thick shims and gradually reduce the shim thickness. Each time checking the clearance with more plastigage. I usually just snug up the rod bolts to about half tight during the process. This is enough to insure no gap at the shims.

If one starts with too few shim and tightens the bolts too tight this can deform the rod cap.

The rod was bent near the top to the front. I havnt taken off the pan as yet. Wasnt going to as I didnt want to break down the tractor so that it couldnt be moved. As it is tho, Ill start taking it apart tomorrow if it isnt raining, get the piston out of the barrel then clean the pan, and maybe put it back on so as to put it back together enough so that I can get it into town to a real mechanic , IF I cant get one to come out here to rering all of them and replace the connecting rod and piston. Although I have put in 3 engines, this is the first time I have torn one down, and I am NO mechanic. I can replace the head, ive done that before, and put the rest back together.
QUESTION, Can I use a DC flywheel in the engine considering its going back into a CC tractor. For whatever reason, when I put this engine in, and it may be because it didnt come with a flywheel, I put the old CC flywheel in causing me not to be able to use a starter, BUT at 71, Im more interested in having a starter on her now. Thanks for your reply.

All the D series that I acquired had "an inch of crud" in the bottom of the oil pan. I have never taken the oil pan off to clean out the crud. The crud can be removed thru the four side plates. Also the oil pump intake pipe and screen always needed to be cleaned.

I always first scraped out most of the curd with a putty knife working thru the side openings. Next, replace the drain plug and pour in a quart of gas or other suitable cleaner thru one of the side openings. I used an old paint brush and scrubbed the inside of the pan working thru all four of the side openings. Drain out the dirty cleaner and repeat the process if necessary.

The oil pump suction line with screen can be removed thru the rear left side cover opening.

PS I don't know all the answers to your flywheel question. I suspect you will have one or more serious glitches. Others will know. I have understood the need for a starter for a long time. I am pushing 81. Lifting 40 pound bags now feels like lifting 80 pound hay bales use to.

the bottom of my pan is relatively clean. no built up crud of any kind. I was just wanting to get out any particles of the crashed piston and rod so that they wouldnt get sucked up in the oil.

IF I take out the piston from the bottom, will it fit through the hand holes?

As your saying dont weld around the plate as that will cause it to leak, How did they put the plate on in the first place??