I spent most of the day out in the garage. I continued to strip items off the engine block in preparation of removing the engine. I removed the wiring harness, grill, radiator, throttle rod, distributor, governor, oil filter mount, generator bracket, steering rod... I loosened the front axle mounting bolts and mounted the wood braces that will support the other half of the tractor once the engine is off. My buddy John made a couple of nifty aluminum plates that I screwed to some sections of 2 x 4s. Then the whole thing gets bolted to the clutch housing.
The last thing I did tonight was drain the engine oil. That was interesting! I knew there was going to be water in the oil, but I had no idea how much! I used the standard oil drain pan, and when I pulled the plug, clear water ran out first. When the oil started, I quickly put the plug back in. I had 1½ inches of water in my drain pan! The oil that I drained had an unusual look to it, almost caramel colored.
It will be good to finally get a look inside.
Maybe I'll have the engine off the tractor and mounted on an engine stand by the weekend...
