Hi all. I've gotta tell ya - I was pleased (not to mention surprised) to find a place devoted exclusively to the little orange tractor company. Especially since I was given the gift I have now - a well-used L1801.
My father-in-law gave this to me, and when we cranked it at his house, it seemed all I was going to need was the Water Cover. It had been broken and repaired a few times with epoxy and such, and I found a local guy who can weld aluminum, and all seemed well...til we got it to my house. It was leaking water and oil everywhere, and there was definitely water on the dipstick; typical indications that I needed a head gasket. FYI - my Father-in-law wasn't trying to push this off on me; he offered to haul it back home when we saw the problems.
So, I did some searching, and found a little tractor place in Louisiana (I'm in Florida) that could ship me the head gasket and the water cover gasket. So, all parts in hand, I began the repair. Now even though that was one sentence, it was about 2 months before I even pulled the head.
So, to shorten this up - I appears the head gasket is not quite the same - holes in the exhaust side are separated differently than my old gasket. I think I wound up with one from an L185. With the low price I paid, I figured it's just a few bucks and my time.
The tractor is back together now, but it won't fire up. I'm getting heat on the glow plugs, and everything is turning fine. The fuel lines have been bled (BTW, thanks for the video tip!), but no dice.
So, my question, dear readers, is this - Is it simply the wrong head gasket, and I'll get no fire until I get the right one? Or should I get the WSM that I found on eBay and run through the steps?
Hope this wasn't too long...
My father-in-law gave this to me, and when we cranked it at his house, it seemed all I was going to need was the Water Cover. It had been broken and repaired a few times with epoxy and such, and I found a local guy who can weld aluminum, and all seemed well...til we got it to my house. It was leaking water and oil everywhere, and there was definitely water on the dipstick; typical indications that I needed a head gasket. FYI - my Father-in-law wasn't trying to push this off on me; he offered to haul it back home when we saw the problems.
So, I did some searching, and found a little tractor place in Louisiana (I'm in Florida) that could ship me the head gasket and the water cover gasket. So, all parts in hand, I began the repair. Now even though that was one sentence, it was about 2 months before I even pulled the head.
So, to shorten this up - I appears the head gasket is not quite the same - holes in the exhaust side are separated differently than my old gasket. I think I wound up with one from an L185. With the low price I paid, I figured it's just a few bucks and my time.
The tractor is back together now, but it won't fire up. I'm getting heat on the glow plugs, and everything is turning fine. The fuel lines have been bled (BTW, thanks for the video tip!), but no dice.
So, my question, dear readers, is this - Is it simply the wrong head gasket, and I'll get no fire until I get the right one? Or should I get the WSM that I found on eBay and run through the steps? Hope this wasn't too long...