M-18 in 1872 worth repairing??

[dschwandt]

Pulled the engine from the Super I picked up this spring after trying to start it.
Would run only on 1 cylinder however.
Sure enough, left side rod is broken.
First time I have been in one of these. Th K series are a piece of cake for me.
Question: Are these engines worth a full rebuild?
Anyone here done one?
The rest of the tractor appears to be in great shape.
Clock shed about 1900 hrs IIRC

Dave Schwandt

 

[jbaker]

how is the rest of the tractor

 

[Kittermankadets85]

The m18 is ( in my opinion) one of the best opposed twins you can have I would definitely go with a rebuild as long as the rod is the only damage

 

[dschwandt]

The rest of the reactor is in great shape as farv as I can tell.
Front end is a little shaky but nothing I cant fix. looks like the fore and aft front axle adjustments have never been kept up though.
I gave it a good bath w/the power washer yesterday.
Wheels are nice and the tires are decent.
Heck, even the little Tire PSI decals are still there!
Will have to disassemble it for a post mortem.

 

[jbaker]

sounds like its worth tearing in to both tractor and engine, let us know what you find inside,,

 

[dschwandt]

Well folks, read it and weep....sigh....
Looks like I have a boat anchor!!
Looks luke one of the rod nuts came off and it was only down hill from there
Both jugs are broken as is the rod and governor is in a million pieces.
Les has another that was in his 1872 and ran, albeit not well, when he removed it.
So, we will take a close look at is with an eye to overhaul as soon as we can disassemble.
Meanwhile, I got the lathe bed painted today.

 

[akiszka]

I have a running M18 from a 1872 you can have for free, don't know where you are located. I am in lower Michigan. It burned oil but ran okay. I am converting the tractor to a Kubota three cylinder diesel. You can everything gas motor related except the wire harness.

 

[dschwandt]

Heck of a deal!!
I'm in eastern, Iowa
About 38 miles west of Dubuque.
I do have trucker friends that do get over that way once in a while though.
I will keep your offer in mind should I find a ride for it this way.
Where at in lower MI?

 

[akiszka]

Heck of a deal!!
I'm in eastern, Iowa
About 38 miles west of Dubuque.
I do have trucker friends that do get over that way once in a while though.
I will keep your offer in mind should I find a ride for it this way.
Where at in lower MI?

I am in Jackson, MI, it sits right at the intersection of I94 and US127. I have some friends that do the farm progress show in Boone. They have big trailer. I might be able to get them haul out there.

 

[dschwandt]

Any known issues with this engine before you pulled it?

 

[akiszka]

Any known issues with this engine before you pulled it?

As I mentioned it burned oil, and likely needs a carb rebuild. Hard starting when cold, and burned oil when running. I used for a season to mow with and it seemed to work ok.

 

[Thomas]

For future reference, I have an 1811 with the M-18-S engine and i asked about the hard cold starting on here with these engines and one of the good ole boys said to put a block heater on the transmission, keep the oil warm and run a lighter weight oil in the the cold weather and i DID THAT AND THIS THING STARTS RIGHT UP IN THE COLD WEATHER NOW. Whoops I hit the caps lock.