will £500 be enough to fully overhaul dexta engine and new clutch

it is getting time I overhauled my dexta engine … there will be no scrimping or bodging at all and a new clutch will be fitted and I think £500 should be enough for everything... I will do all spanner work
 

Mursal

Member
It will be extremely tight, the overhaul kit is the cheap part, its all the other wee bits.
I see the 2 clutch disks over £100, so you're down to 400 without looking at release bearing, pressure plate etc. Obviously you might only need one disk (road gear clutch) but worth knowing before you start.
 
Might buy you the parts

But if you need a crank grind head skim, bore out
Fuel pump injector refurb filters oil, input seals etc etc water pump oil pump shells you can kiss good bye to best part of a grand

As said the overhaul kit is cheap but it doesn't stop there hopefully it might I do honest wish you all the best with it
But also it's best to budget for the worse inyour no scrimping bodging plan if you want to do it right
 
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thanks for replies
the tractor is very important to me because it is the first tractor I drove nearly 50 years and I have been driving it ever since, as I have said here before me and my brother are finishing farming but I am keeping the tractor and it will never be for sale at any price!!
in 1976 a new David Thomas roll bar was bought for it to comply with regulations but never fitted.. we are on all flat ground and the only time I have driven it on side ground was some years ago when I helped out a neighbour rowing up with our haybob and I was surprised how much more fuel it used
the starter needs some attention and I will do that myself to save a few quid and if it is sent to a specialist it will be returned painted black which I do not want
 

MrNoo

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Cirencester
I reckon you'll be nearer 1500 inc crank re grind, liners and any head work. I reckon mine Perkins 3.152 was well over a grand. The head, I was going to get the guides out and get seats re-cut and get it faced but the machining work alone was more than the £170 or so that a brand new head costs. So I bought a new head, fitted a treat and works fine with no issues at all (so far!!!). I did a Fergie Tef20 engine for a friend and he costed every item and think he ended up spending 1200 but we did go through it properly, pump was fine but crank regrind, pistons/liners/shells/oil pump/head/valves/guides etc his machining bill was circa 600, it soon adds up!
But I must be a glutton for punishment as have just got hold of a Mf35x Multi-Power to rebuild!!
 

Guy_Incognito

Member
Location
Herefordshire
I reckon you'll be nearer 1500 inc crank re grind, liners and any head work. I reckon mine Perkins 3.152 was well over a grand. The head, I was going to get the guides out and get seats re-cut and get it faced but the machining work alone was more than the £170 or so that a brand new head costs. So I bought a new head, fitted a treat and works fine with no issues at all (so far!!!). I did a Fergie Tef20 engine for a friend and he costed every item and think he ended up spending 1200 but we did go through it properly, pump was fine but crank regrind, pistons/liners/shells/oil pump/head/valves/guides etc his machining bill was circa 600, it soon adds up!
But I must be a glutton for punishment as have just got hold of a Mf35x Multi-Power to rebuild!!
What do you think a 35x multipower all done up on Goodyear tyres would be worth?
 

Ley253

Member
Location
Bath
I reckon you'll be nearer 1500 inc crank re grind, liners and any head work. I reckon mine Perkins 3.152 was well over a grand. The head, I was going to get the guides out and get seats re-cut and get it faced but the machining work alone was more than the £170 or so that a brand new head costs. So I bought a new head, fitted a treat and works fine with no issues at all (so far!!!). I did a Fergie Tef20 engine for a friend and he costed every item and think he ended up spending 1200 but we did go through it properly, pump was fine but crank regrind, pistons/liners/shells/oil pump/head/valves/guides etc his machining bill was circa 600, it soon adds up!
But I must be a glutton for punishment as have just got hold of a Mf35x Multi-Power to rebuild!!
Just a warning, should anyone be thinking of doing a 3AD152( 135, ley 253/245 etc) budget for a new head, Inserts cant be fitted to exhaust seats, and exhaust valves seem to burrow their way into the head with ease!
 
I reckon you'll be nearer 1500 inc crank re grind, liners and any head work. I reckon mine Perkins 3.152 was well over a grand. The head, I was going to get the guides out and get seats re-cut and get it faced but the machining work alone was more than the £170 or so that a brand new head costs. So I bought a new head, fitted a treat and works fine with no issues at all (so far!!!). I did a Fergie Tef20 engine for a friend and he costed every item and think he ended up spending 1200 but we did go through it properly, pump was fine but crank regrind, pistons/liners/shells/oil pump/head/valves/guides etc his machining bill was circa 600, it soon adds up!
But I must be a glutton for punishment as have just got hold of a Mf35x Multi-Power to rebuild!!
It's funny that I was just pricing it up the other day
Engine kit, new clutch, water pump,grand grind oil pump head skim valves lapping pump and injectors refurb
Inc labour and all the other little bits etc

A cimplete brandbnew engine seems attractive at the prices and less work

Not original I know but for a working tractor makes you think sometimes
 

MrNoo

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Cirencester
Yes, I have head varying reports about the new engines but unfortunately never spoken to someone who has had one. People's reports on the new heads weren't exactly glowing but I took the risk and actually the quality seemed spot on, with no issues with fit, injector seats were fine, valve seats perfect and very cheap in comparison to re-furbing the old head. I did notice that they go with just the single valve springs as opposed to double springs but then it's hardly going to be spinning more than 2 and half thousand, no issues with it.
I think the later are lip seal engines as opposed to rope seal, rope seal is not the best in my opinion and not easy to get spot on although mine isn't leaking yet, I was very careful to try and get it right but there is a lot of conflicting advice on fitting them, to trim or not to trim, I had to trim on mine as no way in hell was it going to go up as it was!
 
I should add that the dexta is single clutch and I will be doing all the dismantling and cleaning and assembly so there will be no labour cost and if anyone is thinking what do I know about engines from June 1976 to July 1980 I was working at main IH dealer and occasionally I do help out a rural garage up in the hills and all the parts will be at trade price
 

MrNoo

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Cirencester
I should add that the dexta is single clutch and I will be doing all the dismantling and cleaning and assembly so there will be no labour cost and if anyone is thinking what do I know about engines from June 1976 to July 1980 I was working at main IH dealer and occasionally I do help out a rural garage up in the hills and all the parts will be at trade price
Lol!!! That's what I did, disassembly and assembly all myself. I take the view that you've gone to the trouble of splitting it and stripping it all down, best go through it properly and then it should last another 40-50 years. And when you take that view you end up replacing quite a few parts while you're in there, e.g., trust bearing on clutch, input seals, spigot bearing and on and on. Oil pumps etc am sure you could get away with the old one but it'd be a shame to have a bearing pick up 40 hrs down the line due to a tired pump. I dare say you could rebuild it for 500 but, it'd be just a set of shells, rings, hone or glaze bust the bores, lap the existing valves in, clean up the head with some emery, fresh gasket and off you go. It is possible but is largely dictated by the state of the engine once you get it apart.
My 3.152 engine was outwardly fine, I did detect a very slight "knock" on start up which quickly went once pressure was up but when I stripped it down, the big ends were down to the copper/brass on two journals and had ever so slightly marked the crank, I dare say I would have got away with emery on the crank and some shells but we ended taking 10 though off the lot, job was then done right. Do it then forget about it!!
And one TEF rebuild I did, I didn't do the clutch input shaft seal (it costs circa £2-50 odd) and every time I use it, it weeps oil out the clutch bell housing hole, it pisses me off because i know I have to split the whole tractor just to replace a £2-50 seal that I stupidly didn't do when I had it apart originally!! But the I guess I am a bit OCD about my tractors!!!
 
Yes, I have head varying reports about the new engines but unfortunately never spoken to someone who has had one. People's reports on the new heads weren't exactly glowing but I took the risk and actually the quality seemed spot on, with no issues with fit, injector seats were fine, valve seats perfect and very cheap in comparison to re-furbing the old head. I did notice that they go with just the single valve springs as opposed to double springs but then it's hardly going to be spinning more than 2 and half thousand, no issues with it.
I think the later are lip seal engines as opposed to rope seal, rope seal is not the best in my opinion and not easy to get spot on although mine isn't leaking yet, I was very careful to try and get it right but there is a lot of conflicting advice on fitting them, to trim or not to trim, I had to trim on mine as no way in hell was it going to go up as it was!
I trim but leave them proud after rolling in
Then when you nip them they fit tight

I've just stripped a rope seal engine down with single springs I thought myself hmm someone's be arseing about but it runs well and to be fair it's not going to be worked in anger again


I'm not a fan of the new engine but everything to a price
And price is king apparently..... Not
I advise to rebuild every time but what do I know, the customer is paying :LOL:
 

Exfarmer

Member
Location
Bury St Edmunds
I should add that the dexta is single clutch and I will be doing all the dismantling and cleaning and assembly so there will be no labour cost and if anyone is thinking what do I know about engines from June 1976 to July 1980 I was working at main IH dealer and occasionally I do help out a rural garage up in the hills and all the parts will be at trade price
One thing you dont say is how many hours, if known, the engine has done. If it is only 2-3,000 and has had its oil changed regularly, you may be lucky. But if it is 10,000 plus and is breathing heavily with a little knock, I would prepare for £1,500 +
 

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