Help with oil in radiator on a 47 8N

When I stuck my finger in the radiator I was able to lift a finger full of oil like sludge. The guy who is selling it tells me he has owned it for 22 years and because of his age he could no longer mow with it because he was banged around too much driving it. He has a brand new John Deere sitting next to it. He also told me he has been driving the tractor with the oil in radiator for over two years?

I recently looked at a 1947 8N that is in decent shape but with one thing. There is oil in the radiator. The engine has good oil pressure and it runs really well.

When I stuck my finger in the radiator I was able to lift a finger full of oil like sludge. The guy who is selling it tells me he has owned it for 22 years and because of his age he could no longer mow with it because he was banged around too much driving it. He has a brand new John Deere sitting next to it. He also told me he has been driving the tractor with the oil in radiator for over two years?

Do you think this is most likely a cracked block or are the odds it is a head gasket?

If it is a cracked blocked could it be repaired for a reasonable amount?

He also has an extra carb and manual for the tractor

The guy wants $800.00 for it do you think it's worth it?

Heck , 800 bucks , you should hurry & haul it away for that . It could be something minor . They are a great little tractor & fun to restore /rebuild .God bless, Ken

yes its worth it the most likly cause is the head gasket and on those old N series its not a big deal to change it is there bubbled in the radiator when its running with the cap off?

I'd vote head gasket. Is their water in the oil? If it is then I'd be more inclinded to go with a cracked block. I'd offer $500, if the tin is straight and tires decent I'd probably take it home up to $800.

Absolutely!! As one just stated, the most likely case is a head gasket. Even if it is a crack along the top surface of the block (a distant secnd most likely), it is a relatively low compression engine, which means that welding the crack is very doable. I doubt that you would find Nickle 97 rod, but I'm sure that a local weld shop would be very affordable.

I didn't take the cap off when it was running but when I did look in the cap with the engine there were bubbles in the oil sludge that I pulled out.

When I pulled the dip stick out the oil was coal black and not milky at all. Some one told me there was no way to know if there was water in the oil because it would sink to the bottom of the pan and not show?

The front tires are brand new, the back tires have been used but there is tons of tread left. The back fenders and seat is all good. The engine cover has some puddy on the bottom corners and it is missing the grill. The owner thinks he has it somewhere.

No it's not worth it. It's not a tractor.

Different tractor, but I had oil in the water w/ no water in the oil. It was the head gasket.

Dave

any internal combustion engine, if it has water in the oil, the oil will be the color of choclate milk, uhhh dont taste it, lol,, 95% probability its a head gasket not hard, if youll click on the tractor parts in the upper left you'll find virtualy every part for the little N is available right here, including the owners and service manuels [ strongly recomend you invest in these if you buy the tractor, these are real simple tractors and easy to work on if you just read the manuel, if you just need a small chore tractor there hard to beat for the very few parts not offered the great folks over on the N board here can usually scratch up what you need as well as answer all your questions, this one doesnt have a sherman aux transmission it it does it [ shift handel comming out of the bell housing left side if it does thats worth the price of the tractor right there if you absolutly cant fix it, [ virtually impossible for it to be unfixable] you can part her and get more than your money back, for 800 you cant lose

I had the opposite: water in the oil pan, no oil in the radiator. It was a bad head gasket. I bet that's your problem.