Mf fe 35 1958 impulse buy.

[whindy]

My son wanted to do up a 35 so we bought a 1958 35 4 cylinder diesel.
It was running allegedly when parked up. The engine is solid now what is the best way forward to free it up?
Or should we cut our losses and sell it on?

 

[Kidds]

The four cylinder has a reputation for being a bad starter and is worth less.
I would advise cutting your losses based on the fact you had to ask.
A friend has a 4 cylinder and his starts very well. So reputation isn't 100% accurate.

 

[whindy]

Don't mind striping it down and working on
It. Sometimes it is nice to have advice and other opinions.

 

[gatepost]

I had a 4 cylinder, the previous owners had reamed out the port from the combustion chamber to the pot, that made starting ok, indirect injection, you could whip the head off and soak in diesel, some say gin is good, also helps the mechanic, tap with a lump of wood and see what happens.

 

[whindy]

I was thinking of doing that.
Talked to one guy who had heater plugs fitted for each cylinder started fine after that .

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Whip the head off it, and pour in fresh fizzy coke a cola, enough to cover the piston tops, even the cheap own brand stuff from supermarket will do,
Mop out every day and replace with new fizzy cola again, after about a week, try to move it, by rocking it back and forth with it in top gear,

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

No need for heater plugs in each cylinder, it spoils them doing that

 

[Daveh]

I'd probably whip the starter off and try it back and forewords with a bar on the ring gear first and see if it move either way.

 

[whindy]

Well we will give it ago..
The enjoyment whatever the outcome is doing the jobs with my 14yr old lad price less.
Thank you all for your input.

 

[Kidds]

Well we will give it ago..
The enjoyment whatever the outcome is doing the jobs with my 14yr old lad price less.
Thank you all for your input.

Best of luck.

 

[Goweresque]

I was thinking of doing that.
Talked to one guy who had heater plugs fitted for each cylinder started fine after that .

Thats what I had done when I had mine rebuilt. Combined with an Iskra/Mahle starter it starts on the button in coldest weather now.

 

[Ltec]

I would recommend this video.

MF35 (4 Cylinder, Diesel, 23C) Engine Rebuild Video

Full strip down, assessment and rebuild of this engine. 2 hours 3 minutes of video tuition.

vintage-tractor-engineer.teachable.com

Some other good ones on hydraulics etc.
I wasn't sure and thought it was sort of expensive but they were a deadly job for me.
To see someone going through it in picture is ten times what I could understand on a poorly worded manual.

 

[whindy]

Thank you for information.

 

[whindy]

Whip the head off it, and pour in fresh fizzy coke a cola, enough to cover the piston tops, even the cheap own brand stuff from supermarket will do,
Mop out every day and replace with new fizzy cola again, after about a week, try to move it, by rocking it back and forth with it in top gear,

Would decreasing fluid do the same job?

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Would decreasing fluid do the same job?

I find cola is best but needs to be fizzy, its eats the rust and carbon to free it off

 

[Sharpy]

Would decreasing fluid do the same job?

The acid in the coke eats the rust. So no, as I don't think the degreaser will do this.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Cola is as cheap as chip

 

[whindy]

Just a thought. Sainsbury best cola now in stock so hopefully get a chance to have ago later to day.

 

[X344chap]

Drain the oil first - if theres water present then go direct to stage 2 below. Injectors out , Have a look into the cylinders with a cheapy boroscope or camera attached to your mobile phone. If they are cleani(ish) then have a go with ATF fluid down the bores then a big bar on the crankshaft or rock it in high gear. Stage 2 - If the cylinders are rusty then go direct to taking the head off and giving the pistons a bit of a tap with a bit of wood and an hammer. You can also apply gentle heat. If no result then remove the sump pan, take the con rod end caps off and try and tap the pistons upwards with a hammer and long piece of wood - or brass rod if you have one. Once pistons are out you can asses the state of the piston, rings, bore and shells before re-assembling.

Edit - its a lovely job lying on your back trying to knock pistons up with old oil dripping on your face.

 

[Tha Ulsterscot]

Fit a high speed starter, and that makes a helluva difference to the starting.