Ford Tw-15 engine possibly seized

Mccloy_Farms · Oct 17, 2022

I have a Ford Tw-15 turbo, which I don't know the year. It has been siting for about 16 years. It was parked because it needed a new front mfwd hub. Ive found a used hub online and want to throw it back together. I had interest in bringing it back to life, pulled the drain plug, and theirs at least 4 quarts of water in the oil. I was thinking about dumping marvel mystery oil into the exhaust and hoping that gets down into the cylinders, and then try to tow it with another tractor to see if it turns over. Anyone got ideas that could help me out?

BarnyardEngineering · Oct 17, 2022

Sounds like you're putting the cart before the horse here. Have you even tried to turn the engine over by hand yet?

mudcreek183 · Oct 17, 2022

(quoted from post at 07:21:53 10/17/22) Sounds like you're putting the cart before the horse here. Have you even tried to turn the engine over by hand yet?

My thought exactly do the simple things first the go from there.

Mccloy_Farms · Oct 17, 2022

(quoted from post at 11:21:53 10/17/22) Sounds like you're putting the cart before the horse here. Have you even tried to turn the engine over by hand yet?

I always thought the compression would be too high to crank over by hand, unless you pulled the injectors.

rustred · Oct 17, 2022

was the exhaust pipe cover during this sitting. if not your looking at an engine job. towing it is the last thing you want to do. at least
try the starter with a battery as i am sure you will only get a click if yu have no other way to try to turn it.

rustred · Oct 17, 2022

and you did say water so i did not say to check the antifreeze.

Steve@Advance · Oct 17, 2022

Don't want to be the bad news bear here, but this does not sound good.

Sounds like rain water has filled the cylinders. The water has to come out before oil will get down to the
stuck rings. You can try pulling the injectors and vacuuming it out with a piece of plastic tubing duct taped
to the shop vac. Then blow out the rest, get some oil in and soaking.

But if it's a rusted, stuck mess, it will have to come apart. Even if you manage to pry the engine loose,
good chance the rings are stuck in the ring lands and the cylinder walls are pitted. There may even be freeze
damage depending on how full it got.

560Dennis · Oct 17, 2022

Dont tow it .

Just guessing costs ,better be sure of what will happen

used red MN · Oct 17, 2022

Hello McCloy welcome to YT! Oh boy 16 years, sorry to
say this but if I was a betting man I will say if you want
to have it running again you are probably going to see
the pistons and rods up close and personal before you
get to that point. What drained out was clear water or
was it coolant? If water came in through the exhaust I
wonder what the turbo looks like?

INCase · Oct 17, 2022

I presume you mean water as in rain water and not water as in Antifreeze?? neither are good for an engine but the later is better than the 1st.

if rain water we (others commented) presume that the exhaust was uncovered and the rain got in that way? if so you'll definatly have to pull the engine apart.

the Case 730 i had was that situation, uncovered for years and rain in #2 and #3 cylinders. I had to drill and chisel the pistons out and they didn't break loose until i got down below the pin into the piston skirts they were stuck so bad. for my situation it was less $ to part out the tractor i had and buy another running model for about what i would have had in the rebuild.

my FIL and i were able to unstick a tractor engine once by bumping it with the starter and it eventually came loose but it did not have water in the oil

so with a bad MFWD and a bad engine you may want to look for another tractor????? how is the rest of it? 16 years sitting out isn't kind to them. dry rot tires? faded/rusty paint?? mice in cab? ect ect

good luck

RodinNS · Oct 17, 2022

Water, or antifreeze? If its water, through the exhaust.... drain it all out. Pull the injectors. Pull the intake off the turbo.
See if it's free... Spray some COMBUSTION CHAMBER CLEANER into the cylinders directly and the turbo if it's stuck. That stuff
will usually free anything stuck with rust/corrosion IF you work at it gently. Try rolling it over by the crank bolt. If it
doesn't move but the bolt is torquing up... pull the starter and get a bar on the ring gear and try that... back and forth.
The TW likely has dual power so there won't be any drive connection without transmission oil pressure...

Just make sure you pull the injectors and get any water out the top so it doesn't hydro lock supposing it is free.

If it has antifreeze in the bottom... just walk away... or go find an engine.

Rod

Mccloy_Farms · Oct 17, 2022

(reply to post at 11:44:13 10/17/22)

The exhaust was not covered hence the water

Mccloy_Farms · Oct 17, 2022

(reply to post at 13:07:56 10/17/22)

It isn't coolant. Turbo looks good

old · Oct 17, 2022

Good chance you have 1 or more cylinders full of water or at least have a good bit of water in them and only way to free it up is to open it up. Cylinders will be rusty and rings stuck to the cylinder walls

dhermesc · Oct 17, 2022

16 years of uncovered exhaust? At minimum you are looking at pulling the head. Even if you somehow gut it unstuck without pulling the head I wouldn't want to rely on the mystery of what happened inside
that engine to start and run every time you needed it. You literally have rust coming at those piston sleeves from both sides with the porous Ford blocks.

rustred · Oct 17, 2022

its either another engine transplant or rebuild that one for 3 times the money. its something not to think of a rain cap or can, which
would have saved you this problem.

showcrop · Oct 17, 2022

It costs very little to pull the head, and pan to assess damage, but after 16 years you are certainly looking at sleeving it and most likely plenty of bottom end damage. An alternative is a "running used engine".

Fritz Maurer · Oct 17, 2022

If it has dual power you cant tow it

Fritz Maurer · Oct 17, 2022

what sleeves?

ss55 · Oct 17, 2022

Besides the possible damage in the engine, are there any wet clutches or wet brakes in the transmission that could have been harmed by too much moisture in the hydraulic oil for over a decade?

Mccloy_Farms · Oct 18, 2022

Why would that be?

Mccloy_Farms · Oct 18, 2022

(reply to post at 23:13:08 10/17/22)

I have no clue... I will check hydraulic oil for water

Mccloy_Farms · Oct 18, 2022

(reply to post at 13:08:43 10/17/22)

The tractor is in good shape, interior is still very clean. It was parket in a spot were it did get rained on, but it is aside a building so not as harsh. Everything was parket in working order, just I assume its seized.

Mccloy_Farms · Oct 18, 2022

(reply to post at 18:20:11 10/17/22)

It wasnt my tractor, it was my great uncles. I know nothing about the tractor. Is their any bigger ford engines that would slide into this modle?

RodinNS · Oct 19, 2022

Any TW engine should fit from a physical standpoint, although a 30/35 engine will have an intercooler that you need to deal with,
or eliminate and make fuel alterations and turbo swap.
Id' strongly suggest that before you get too far along... just see what is going on with this one first. For all you know at this
point, it may be free.... Even if it isn't... it may not take much to pull the head and pan and clean things up.
You can either spend the minimum and get it running and see what else is going on... or start buying big parts and be prepared to
keep digging... because once you've spent so much you have to keep going.

Rod

BarnyardEngineering · Oct 19, 2022

I don't understand all this doom and gloom. Is there something special about the Ford engines that make them so delicate?

People regularly post about IH 56 and 66 series tractors that have been sitting for years and years. Fresh fuel, fresh battery, hit the starter, and take them to the field.

We are STILL only ASSUMING that it is stuck. OP has not tried to turn the engine over yet.

This post was edited by BarnyardEngineering on 10/19/2022 at 08:15 am.

RodinNS · Oct 19, 2022

Exactly... there's nothing particularly delicate about them. Quite the opposite.

Somewhat off topic, but I have a 4B Cummins that filled with water, to be truthful, a few times. Not a couple quarts... Filled a
BUCKET after flowing out the dipstick once. The cover/bucket got blown off the exhaust... and sometimes just got left open
because I wasn't expecting rain.. On one occasion it froze with water in the cylinder and turbo. It took several hours with a
salamander to thaw. It ran out. Changed the oil... a few times. It survived fine. It has a 90 on the exhaust now and a drill
hole in the bottom elbow. I was very, very lucky. Someday it will blow up... but at 10k hours in a porter, someday it will blow
up anyway.
However, that stuff is a lot tougher than people assume.... as long as you recognize whats going on and don't crank on an engine
that is hydro locked, make sure it has oil pressure etc. you can get away with a lot.

Rod

Ford Tw-15 engine possibly seized

New User

Well-known Member

Member

New User

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

New User

New User

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

New User

New User

New User

New User

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Similar threads