OH BOY!!!! My pl 20, which i have had for nearly ten years (got it when i was 16) has a major problem. This weekend I went to start the machine and I checked the oil and there is water in the oil. The rad was low on coolant, and i added a little more water to the rad and the crankcase filled up with more water! I drained the rad and the crankcase. There are too things which could of happened- Something frooze over this winter or the coolant was low last time i ran the machine and it overheated. I am inclined to say it may have overheated as i know the coolant was good. I can't explain why the coolant level would be low though. Regardless, I have a mess on my hands. It looks like this motor only has coolant going thru the head, and the cylynder jugs. How should I approach this problem? Should I just start tearing the top part of the motor apart until I find the problem? This really sucks because this is the best running machine i have. Does anyone have any cat pl 20 motor parts? Please advise!

Matt

Matt,if your lucky it may just be a bad head gasket.I had that same problem with my hi-ten.Good luck,Mike D. By the way I'm trying to buy a 20 from a fellow up near Wilkes-Barre,his wife says it for sale but the husband won't tell me how much he wants.

Not as a permanent fix---but may well be worth a try (don't know how much you intend to run the 20):

Liquid Glass (Sodium Silicate) as a "stop leak" additive will stop some pretty good leaks if the leak is not in a stress area. Will even work in areas exposed to compression from the engine if you relieve the compression for a short while, while operating the engine.

I stopped seepage through a "sand hole" in the cylinder wall of a 3208 once which was exposed to compression from the piston. I pulled the injector on this cylinder and ran for about an hour with no compression in that cylinder----then let set overnight. Ran engine for probably 300+ hours with no more leaks.

Warning----only add the Sodium Silicate to pure water----avoid adding into a mixture with antifreeze. It may react with the antifreeze and most likely stop up the cooling system passages. Once the leak is stopped----drain out and then it will be OK to run antifreeze.

Not many parts stores handle this----you are more likely to find it at country drug stores, hardware stores, etc. Its produced by Humko Products, used to be in Texarkana, Arkansas.

Otherwise---you might be able to pull the oil pan and visually inspect the underside of the block to see where the water is coming from.

Good luck---

Delta Dirt

Matt

I would suspect a leaking head gasket or cracked head, One way to test would be to bring each cylinder to top dead center and connect a compressed air hose to the spark plug hole (make adapter). Then look for bubbles in radiator. Is this the 20 with overhead valves? if so the oil drain holes make for a direct route to drain coolant to the pan. If its a flat head I would look directly into the cylinders to look for coolant.

Let us know what you find.