K301 oil pan question

[Allenpatterson]

Maybe someone has ran into this issue at some point. My 129's k301 oil pan front left engine mount hole has a crack in the cast aluminum on the inside of the pan like someone at one time has ran and over torqued too long of an engine mount bolt in it at some point in it's lifetime. This is the last leak I'm trying to combat on this tractor and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions or experience with a type of silicone or sealant that I may have good luck using on the engine mount bolt or up in the hole to prevent the little bit of oil I get seeping down through the threads of the bolt and onto the pan/cradle between the frame rails and eventually the few drips down to the concrete? I have tried permatex ultra black silicone on the bolt threads after draining the oil and cleaning the hole and threads out with brake cleaner and letting it cure for a couple days before refilling with oil and I seem to be back to the same oil leak already. Any suggestions/ideas welcomed! Just trying to prevent pulling this engine yet another time after the multiple times already and I finally have the oil pan gasket to where it doesn't seem to be seeping anymore oil so I would like to leave it all intact. I'm sure I'll get the answer to just do it correctly and try finding a replacement/donor oil pan but that's what I was trying to prevent, lol. Hopefully I can find a remedy to my issue and that the next time I'm pulling this engine is to swap it out with a 14hp k321 if I can come across a good one for a decent price in my area.

 

[mgonitzke]

Your only realistic option is to replace the pan. Sealant will not work because you will never be able to get the bolt hole clean enough for it to adhere to the surfaces in there. Depending on where the crack is, the pan could be welded to repair it, but that also means it has to come off.

 

[hdeloach]

Find you a cast iron pan. They are available from time to time. Charlie might be able to help find one. Have to be aware that the pan must be straight sided. Can't use the ones that have the mounting flange on the sides.

 

[dschwandt]

If you can have it welded, assuming you can even see the crack, it will more than likely need to be resurfaced afterwards it insure flatness for the mating surface or it will likely crack again.

 

[Allenpatterson]

I'll have to keep an eye out for one and start checking on ebay.

 

[dschwandt]

I'll have to keep an eye out for one and start checking on ebay.

You need a flat pan or one with a basement??
Lots of cast iron flat pans available

 

[Allenpatterson]

I believe they consider this pan to be the deep sump oil pan.

 

[dschwandt]

Yes, and they are a little harder to come by and more pricey to boot.
Be sure to check closely for cracks in those as well if you do find one
The last one I bought off e-bay was cracked and the seller refunded my money.
I had installed it on my newly restored 149 just prior to a show and......
You guessed it, it started showing the leak at the show for everyone to see!!

 

[Allenpatterson]

Yes, and they are a little harder to come by and more pricey to boot.
Be sure to check closely for cracks in those as well if you do find one
The last one I bought off e-bay was cracked and the seller refunded my money.
I had installed it on my newly restored 149 just prior to a show and......
You guessed it, it started showing the leak at the show for everyone to see!!

Thank you for all the advise, I really don't want to be dealing with the same leak after pulling the engine again and swapping out oil pans!

 

[gary noblit]

Allen,I have a 321.It has very good comp.cleaned and set points so good spark.carb untouched.I'm 95% sure it came out of a 149..I'm in So. Mi. 20 mi. from Ohio line.Obviously not in a machine.Contact me if interested.Too heavy to ship...

 

[Allenpatterson]

Allen,I have a 321.It has very good comp.cleaned and set points so good spark.carb untouched.I'm 95% sure it came out of a 149..I'm in So. Mi. 20 mi. from Ohio line.Obviously not in a machine.Contact me if interested.Too heavy to ship...

I will definitely keep that in mind too! Always wanted a 149 but figured with the 129 being in pretty nice condition and now having hydraulic lift that I could just swap the engine out and have that extra 2 horsepower. Thank you for letting me know and I will see what I come up with! Is that extra 2 horsepower of the k321's a night and day difference over k301 engines?

 

[gary noblit]

no knowledge whatsoever....you might want to ask others if the 321 mounts the same ???

 

[eweiss]

Maybe someone has ran into this issue at some point. My 129's k301 oil pan front left engine mount hole has a crack in the cast aluminum on the inside of the pan like someone at one time has ran and over torqued too long of an engine mount bolt in it at some point in it's lifetime. This is the last leak I'm trying to combat on this tractor and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions or experience with a type of silicone or sealant that I may have good luck using on the engine mount bolt or up in the hole to prevent the little bit of oil I get seeping down through the threads of the bolt and onto the pan/cradle between the frame rails and eventually the few drips down to the concrete? I have tried permatex ultra black silicone on the bolt threads after draining the oil and cleaning the hole and threads out with brake cleaner and letting it cure for a couple days before refilling with oil and I seem to be back to the same oil leak already. Any suggestions/ideas welcomed! Just trying to prevent pulling this engine yet another time after the multiple times already and I finally have the oil pan gasket to where it doesn't seem to be seeping anymore oil so I would like to leave it all intact. I'm sure I'll get the answer to just do it correctly and try finding a replacement/donor oil pan but that's what I was trying to prevent, lol. Hopefully I can find a remedy to my issue and that the next time I'm pulling this engine is to swap it out with a 14hp k321 if I can come across a good one for a decent price in my area.

If you have just a little oil follow the threads use plumbers tape. It seals water, oil, gas, etc. in most engines small to v12's

 

[Allenpatterson]

If you have just a little oil follow the threads use plumbers tape. It seals water, oil, gas, etc. in most engines small to v12's

Thank you for the suggestion! Two of my brothers are mechanics, one works on cement mixer and gravel trucks and the other working on anything from fleet vehicles to heavy equipment and one suggested I try that and or a product called "seal all." He swears that when he was in high school and had hardly enough money to scrape by he used the product to fix gas lines off of his vehicle's sending unit and said it held up just fine but the thing that has me worried about a product like that is I would be worried about it setting up in the hole and threads and being a problem in the future when the engine has to be pulled. It is just a little bit of oil I get seeping down past the threads and maybe the plumbers tape can at least be a temporary stop to the leak until warmer weather for working in my uninsulated shop and until I get a different pan.

 

[dschwandt]

That might work IF the crack is in the bolt hole area only and not extending into the pan proper but I would not be too optimistic.
Other than that, all bets are off but It's worth a shot, Ya might just get lucky!
This may have been caused by loose engine mount bolts

 

[Allenpatterson]

That might work IF the crack is in the bolt hole area only and not extending into the pan proper but I would not be too optimistic.
Other than that, all bets are off but It's worth a shot, Ya might just get lucky!
This may have been caused by loose engine mount bolts