At a crossroads on my 805B, need advice

[MrShawn305]

So I've been messing with my 805B for a while now, and besides the cost of buying it, I've put money into other things on it to get it going well. Well, it started making a noise and I was speculating for a while on what to do, but today I finally pulled the valve cover to see what's going on as I thought maybe it was something in the valvetrain. Well, I found the valve train to appear just fine. I noticed that when we dead crank it, I get smoke coming from the #2 push tubes. So I'm thinking busted liner or piston.

Here's my question: Do I cut my losses and part it out? Then get something else? Or do I get an overhaul kit for it and try to save it? I know there are plenty of other issues that can go wrong, and the track record on this thing has been to fix one thing and IMMEDIATELY something else goes wrong with it.

That being said, does anyone have a good 4045t they are looking to sell?

 

[Light in the Dark]

One other avenue you might want to try is the wanted forum here: https://steelsoldiers.com/forums/parts-wanted.130/

 

[Ray70]

If you're mechanically inclined and would do the repairs yourself, why not tear into it and see what's wrong, then go from there?
If you find a bad piston etc. that's repairable, you're already half way to completion... if you find a cracked block etc. you are already part way disassembled to part it out if you choose to.
IMO there is no reason not to dig into it deeper and find the problem.
Don't order any parts until you find the issue, then evaluate the situation.

 

[MrShawn305]

If you're mechanically inclined and would do the repairs yourself, why not tear into it and see what's wrong, then go from there?
If you find a bad piston etc. that's repairable, you're already half way to completion... if you find a cracked block etc. you are already part way disassembled to part it out if you choose to.
IMO there is no reason not to dig into it deeper and find the problem.
Don't order any parts until you find the issue, then evaluate the situation.

#2 piston is chewed up, along with the head a little bit. Nicked the exhaust valve seat which is what triggered the miss. Turbine on the turbo is toast and it's leaking oil. Oil pressure was at 55 compared to other units in the 70's so bottom end is likely worn too, but may be a weak oil pump. I'm still pricing out parts, just got a quote for the turbo and it's $800, the overhaul kit is about 1600 before water and oil pumps. Local shop going through the head is another 600-700.

 

[loosegravel]

This is very unfortunate and I feel for you. Like me I'm sure that you're already into this unit for $7000 - $10,000 with the high prices at auction now. It would be interesting to know what the cause of failure was. It sounds like it began with the turbo, but what do you think caused the turbo compressor wheel to fail? It's usually some kind of foreign matter , missing/dirty air filter...maybe a mouse? So pieces of the turbo got into the #2 combustion chamber and started wrecking havoc there. But this unit would have to run for quite a while after this failure began to ruin the oil pump and lower end? I've been reading your forums and I don't think that this unit ran very long. I agree with Ray above. A complete reman will run about $8000 plus shipping, and that's with a good core engine. I know that it's time consuming to tear it down and you will need the right place to perform that task but we need to know what the condition of the block is. I've even seen blocks that were ventilated be brought back to life. With a liner engine (which I believe the 4045T is) it is probably very repairable. It's one of those "time versus money" things. But at the end of the day, if it's simply not practical for you to have the engine torn down at your location then that would also be a deterrent. This is a great place to share your experiences though and the feed back is valuable. I wish you well!

 

[MrShawn305]

This is very unfortunate and I feel for you. Like me I'm sure that you're already into this unit for $7000 - $10,000 with the high prices at auction now. It would be interesting to know what the cause of failure was. It sounds like it began with the turbo, but what do you think caused the turbo compressor wheel to fail? It's usually some kind of foreign matter , missing/dirty air filter...maybe a mouse? So pieces of the turbo got into the #2 combustion chamber and started wrecking havoc there. But this unit would have to run for quite a while after this failure began to ruin the oil pump and lower end? I've been reading your forums and I don't think that this unit ran very long. I agree with Ray above. A complete reman will run about $8000 plus shipping, and that's with a good core engine. I know that it's time consuming to tear it down and you will need the right place to perform that task but we need to know what the condition of the block is. I've even seen blocks that were ventilated be brought back to life. With a liner engine (which I believe the 4045T is) it is probably very repairable. It's one of those "time versus money" things. But at the end of the day, if it's simply not practical for you to have the engine torn down at your location then that would also be a deterrent. This is a great place to share your experiences though and the feed back is valuable. I wish you well!

Turbine wheel was bad, not compressor. I think a part of the crown came apart and chewed it up. The other 3 piston crowns were missing pieces but there was no sign of them coming apart while the engine was together. In other words: Piss poor overhaul. Actually know a guy in town (has a shop across the street from mine) that did exactly that as a contractor. I am hoping I can get it rebuilt. I'm still trying to price everything out and weigh my options.

 

[loosegravel]

Turbine wheel was bad, not compressor. I think a part of the crown came apart and chewed it up. The other 3 piston crowns were missing pieces but there was no sign of them coming apart while the engine was together. In other words: Piss poor overhaul. Actually know a guy in town (has a shop across the street from mine) that did exactly that as a contractor. I am hoping I can get it rebuilt. I'm still trying to price everything out and weigh my options.

That's right...you did mention piston crowns in one of your other posts. Why would they fail like that I wonder? If this was a gasoline engine I would say that the timing was way off or it was running way too lean causing severe detonation or preignition which is really hard on pistons. But this is a diesel engine. So you believe that this engine has already been into huh? Good luck man. Keep the info coming!

 

[MrShawn305]

That's right...you did mention piston crowns in one of your other posts. Why would they fail like that I wonder? If this was a gasoline engine I would say that the timing was way off or it was running way too lean causing severe detonation or preignition which is really hard on pistons. But this is a diesel engine. So you believe that this engine has already been into huh? Good luck man. Keep the info coming!

Oh yea, someone definitely had the engine out before I got the machine. The flex plate bolts were loose, the injection timing gear cover bolts are stripped out, the oil pan gasket was full of RTV, the block had been power washed. My buddy thinks they put mogas in it lol.

As soon as I have the time to pull the paneling off and get the engine out of it, I'll be able to pull the pistons and get the number off the skirt to see what overhaul kit I need. That will probably be the determining factor as to what I do with it.