Many years ago I was driving a Ford Econoline van that had the engine in between the front seats. I had owned more than one of these vans and loved them. Anyway, I was driving out of Seattle on Hwy. 520. There is one exit after leaving I-5 before the bridge going over Lake Washington. Just as I left I-5 and drove onto 520 I smelled a hot engine. I looked at the temp gauge and it read fine. Nevertheless I took the one exit before the bridge and pulled into a gas station right at the exit. I shut off the engine and it stopped instantly. Lifting the hood, which is inside the van, let a bunch of steam into the van. I had it towed home and discovered that the lower radiator hose had blown off. I never found out how this happened. I also don't know how long I had been driving with no water. The only clue was the "hot" smell. And in that van I was sitting right next to the engine. I thought that the engine was toast but decided to try starting it just for kicks. It almost started. It kinda coughed a bit and tried to fire. About a week after my poor van decided that it was gonna need a new engine I was telling the guy behind the parts counter at a local NAPA store about what happened to my van. I was in the store buying parts for another car and was just passing time telling the guy about my van. He told me that maybe the engine was not history, that maybe it had stuck valves because it was running so hot that the oil in the valve guides had carbonized and this was causing the valves to stick. He talked me into buying a can of some sort of moose pee called "Valve Tune". To use it you pour 1/2 half of the can into the motor oil. Then, as you attempt to start the engine you slowly pour the rest of the can into the carb throat. I did this. The engine at first just coughed as before but then it started to smooth out some. It would not run without the starter cranking it so I let the starter cool off and then tried again. The second effort at starting worked. The engine kept running, albeit poorly. But I kept pouring the Valve Tune down the carb throat and the engine started running better. With lots of pumping of the gas pedal I kept the engine running and eventually it started running normally. I drove that van for about 4 more years and then sold it. It still was running well when I sold it. Maybe the tractor in question here is also suffering from sticky valves. I have always been dubious of "Tune Up In A Can" products but I did luck out just the one time. If I had not pulled off of the freeway and shut off the engine when I did I am sure the engine would have been overheated to such an extent that it would have required a rebuild. I am pretty sure that the head had gotten so hot that the oil in the valve guides did start to carbonize and the valves were sticking. Diesel engines are different from gasoline engines and I don't know enough about them if they could suffer from sticky valves after overheating. If it was my engine I might be tempted to risk 10 bucks or whatever it costs now on a can of Valve Tune. If it is still available. Though it can't be poured down a carb throat and I wouldn't risk pouring it into a diesel intake manifold.
Eric
