CV15-41562 Ticking Noise?

cruzenmike

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2017
Threads
57
Messages
852
Another update on the engine. Box showed up a couple of weeks ago but have been too busy to work on getting it in the LT155. The other day I went to clean some stuff out of the garage so I figured I would pull the motor out of the box that it was shipped in and put it onto a stand and low and behold the engine is not the correct one. The seller sent me a CV13S and not a CV15S. I had peeked into the box when it arrived but never pulled it all the way out as I didn't have time. I contacted the seller and he is sending out the correct engine this week and providing a return label for the wrong one to be sent back. Its a good thing that I am not in a hurry to get this done, otherwise I think that all will work out in the end.
Well, the seller contacted me today and said that it is too much of a hassle to return set up a return of the CV13S and that I can keep just keep it. I am guessing that the engines are quite similar and that many of the parts are interchangeable. I do not think it would be fair to turn around and sell it so I think I will just put it up on the shelf to have some spare parts to pull off of in case I need them.
 

cruzenmike

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2017
Threads
57
Messages
852
After a long and troubling journey I have finally resurrected the LT155. The engine that I purchased on eBay a couple of months ago has finally been installed and the mower is running. The little bit of oil that came out of the bottom of the crankcase was quite dark so I ended up just filling and draining the engine a couple of times and then running/flushing the engine twice with a new filter before finally filling it up with John Deere 10w30 and putting it away until I need it. The engine seemed to run smooth without any issues. In the coming weeks I will get the deck cleaned up and the rest of the machine put back together. I still have dreams of getting a newer/bigger machine but if all else fails, this mower should be ready to go.
 

cruzenmike

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2017
Threads
57
Messages
852
I just thought that I would share some pictures from inside the engine as I took it apart last night. From what I can tell this engine needs a new connecting rod and camshaft. It would also need piston rings, new lifters and other miscellaneous gaskets required to put it back together.
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20210311_222956888.jpg
    PXL_20210311_222956888.jpg
    448.2 KB · Views: 15
  • PXL_20210311_223004538.jpg
    PXL_20210311_223004538.jpg
    437.2 KB · Views: 15
  • PXL_20210311_223014801.jpg
    PXL_20210311_223014801.jpg
    285.9 KB · Views: 17
  • PXL_20210311_223028390.jpg
    PXL_20210311_223028390.jpg
    367.8 KB · Views: 16
  • PXL_20210311_223509221.jpg
    PXL_20210311_223509221.jpg
    459 KB · Views: 16

cruzenmike

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2017
Threads
57
Messages
852
I just thought that I would share some pictures from inside the engine as I took it apart last night. From what I can tell this engine needs a new connecting rod and camshaft. It would also need piston rings, new lifters and other miscellaneous gaskets required to put it back together.
I did just notice in looking a bit closer at these pictures that the side of the cylinder wall appears to have a chunk taken out of it. i guess this engine is toast!
 

cruzenmike

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2017
Threads
57
Messages
852
I do have a question that maybe someone could answer. I have this CV13S that the seller of my replacement engine accidentally sent me. Obviously there are some differences in the CV13 and CV15 but I am wondering whether or not the short blocks are interchangeable? I do not want to necessarily junk the old, broken CV15 but I would rather rebuild the engine and have as a spare instead of putting the under-powered CV13 on the shelf.
 

Born2Mow

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2020
Threads
11
Messages
764
So the broken rod is most likely a "symptom" of a problem. It's not simply that the rod broke.. and that was the total issue. No, the oil pump stopped, the engine was over-reved, the oil wasn't changed regularly, fuel got into the engine oil and prevented lubrication, water got into the engine oil... something else made the rod break. My point is... rods simply don't break on their own.

Bottom line... if you simply replace the rod without finding and fixing the REAL problem, then the next rod will also break in a very short time. And all your work will be wasted.

You MUST do the "root cause analysis" first.
 

cruzenmike

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2017
Threads
57
Messages
852
So the broken rod is most likely a "symptom" of a problem. It's not simply that the rod broke.. and that was the total issue. No, the oil pump stopped, the engine was over-reved, the oil wasn't changed regularly, fuel got into the engine oil and prevented lubrication, water got into the engine oil... something else made the rod break. My point is... rods simply don't break on their own.

Bottom line... if you simply replace the rod without finding and fixing the REAL problem, then the next rod will also break in a very short time. And all your work will be wasted.

You MUST do the "root cause analysis" first.
If you read through the whole thread you will see that I was having an issue with a the lifters when all of this started happening. I am not certain as to what it was that lead to the final (catastrophic) failure, but I can say with 100% certainty that the engine was not over-revved, the oil was clean with no evidence of water or fuel in it. It is entirely possible that the collapsed lifter that I suspected was causing my "ticking" sound in the weeks prior to the failure lead to a more serious breakdown should the air/exhaust valves stopped functioning properly. What leads me to believe this is that just before the failure the engine started bogging down with a very noticeable sound in the exhaust note and when the engine was turned off it stopped with a loud "clank" or "clunk" which was likely the moment when the rod made contact with the cylinder wall and camshaft. Regardless, the failure was not a complete surprise as the engine was already exhibiting some issues that I was attempting to fix but was obviously not successful.

Anyway, I have a used, but running motor in the machine now and am looking for what to do with the old motor. Assuming that I replaced enough of the bad parts from the original engine, I could get a good running spare to keep on the shelf. I have a complete CV13S that is supposed to be in running condition, and this CV15S that has the broken cylinder wall, broken connecting rod and broken camshaft. If I rebuilt the CV15S I would replace the above-mentioned broken parts along with lifters, rods, oil pump, all new gaskets and rings for the piston. I would also replace any seals on the top and bottom of the crankshaft. I do not know if there is supposed to be any play in there but with the bottom end off the crankshaft does appear to move up and down slightly.

I am only looking to see if I would need to buy a new short block or if I could use the one from the CV13S to start the rebuild on the CV15S?
 
Top