L 3010 Head gasket issues/ Broken piston

[Wolfgang3648]

The other day my tractor started spewing coolant out of the overflow so I shut it off. After letting it sit a while I started it again to move it and saw a puff of white smoke. At this point I basically knew it was a head gasket issue of some sort so I removed the loader and drove it into the shop. Finally today i was able to tear it down and get a look at it and found this damage. Small piece of the top of the piston is damaged and the head gasket is shot. What I'm trying to figure out is what order the things likely happened and what is the root problem of everything. Also what the chance is of this piston being fine to keep using with just a head gasket replacement.
Other info
1800 Hours
D1503-E Motor
Coolant gauge seemed to be working fine and it was showing normal temp the whole time.

 

[Wolfgang3648]

The cylinder walls seem fine

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Better pictures of the head, I think I see a crack in it.
The piston is shot, and very possibly the rod is bent, run it around to top and then do it to others and compare the height.

 

[lugbolt]

need to check the air intake for restriction. restricted air intake can cause engine heating

also do you get any black smoke when the engine is loaded? If heavy, that's overfueling-and can cause heating and/or piston breakage

starting fluid can lead to what you see as well. Might not have happened right away, could have been years ago, but I've seen it a few times.

I see some cylinder wall scuffing, indicative of engine running hot. It might not have happened recently either, could've been years ago just now showing up. That's happened a bunch of times.

If it's been as hot as I think it has, I'd suggest replacing the radiator as well. The plastic tank usually gets deformed and the pressure cap will no longer seal properly, leading to further overheating in the future, then you get to do it all over again.

Yes check the rods for bend.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

I wouldn't spend a ton of time trying to figure out the order of events. Head gaskets do fail. Spray an ounce of coolant into a cylinder, bring that piston up with the valves closed, and something is going to break.

Whatever the reason, you have a full tear-down and rebuild in front of you. Might as well go through the cooling system at the same time. Make sure you aren't over-fueling, and then get back to tractor work.