New RTV1100 Owner

All parts on order. Many were in stock at Messicks, but some needed to be ordered with a 5-7 day lead time so I'll have a bit of downtime to get the cylinder honed before I start reassembling.
 
That's fantastic!! Your gamble paid off!! Be sure to use a true hone, not a deglazer.


This...……https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-K0AAOSwX61ZCD3I/s-l300.jpg

Not this...http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/360851111029-0-1/s-l1000.jpg

Roger that. Should have my engine honing tool in by Friday along with the rest of my parts. Hoping to put it all back together this weekend.

In the meantime, I bought a Jensen JHD1630B heavy duty radio for the RTV. Comes with the NOAA weather band stations, which I think my Dad will get a kick out of. When me and brothers were younger and were looking for Dad we knew we could always find him passed out in his hammock or on his bed with his old grey weather radio sitting on his stomach still playing full blast. The radio came in yesterday and I got it wired up and installed only to find that both of the factory speakers were duds so I ordered up a new pair of those last night and they should be in tomorrow.
 

Keifer

Senior Member
Gold Site Supporter
Just a point of interest: You never know when your sharing of experiences with your RTV might be invaluable to someone in the future.
Your well thought out explanations and descriptions, along with your excellent photos, give us an 'over your shoulder' view of your work. Just wish we could be there to hand you a wrench or a cup of coffee as you proceed.
Can you tell, even with all it's shortcomings, we are a pretty loyal group when it comes to our RTV's.
 

v10rick

Active member
Site Supporter
Speaking from personal experience...

While you are in there with a gauge check the head for flatness. This engine is robust, if a cylinder is toast I suspect poor maintenance is likely the cause.

Engine temp can read normal, until its under load when it blows out the coolant.
 
Just a point of interest: You never know when your sharing of experiences with your RTV might be invaluable to someone in the future.
Your well thought out explanations and descriptions, along with your excellent photos, give us an 'over your shoulder' view of your work. Just wish we could be there to hand you a wrench or a cup of coffee as you proceed.
Can you tell, even with all it's shortcomings, we are a pretty loyal group when it comes to our RTV's.

I appreciate your comments. I have also noticed that this seems to be a small, but loyal, group of RTV owners and as I dive into this project I can absolutely see why. This machine is nothing like I imagined when I first picked it up - it's so much more. I've told my co-workers and friends about the RTV and they shrug it off like it's another side-by-side UTV and I have to correct them and explain that it's basically a small tractor...with a full hydraulic system...and an enclosed cab...and heat...and A/C...and a dump bed. It's only after I start listing off the standard features that they begin to understand that I didn't just buy another run-of-the-mill UTV. Given the very nature of these machines I don't find it one bit surprising that they have a very loyal following

As for sharing my experiences; I suspect some of you may have noticed various other vehicles in the background of my RTV photos. I have quite a few projects at my disposal...too many, to be honest. For every project I take on I make it a point to find the die-hard owners forums and get myself acquainted. Looks like I found the right one.

Speaking from personal experience...

While you are in there with a gauge check the head for flatness. This engine is robust, if a cylinder is toast I suspect poor maintenance is likely the cause.

Engine temp can read normal, until its under load when it blows out the coolant.

Will do. I believe we have a precision-machined (and calibrated) straight-edge at my office that is long enough to do the proper checks. I also have a great machine shop next to my office that can deck the head and do a full valve job on it for a very reasonable price as well.
 
Not much to update today. I get a ton of parts tomorrow and the balance should be here Friday and Saturday to put the engine back together. I'll be taking a bunch of measurements on the cylinders, block deck and head to make sure they're all in tolerance according to the factory repair manual.

As I mentioned yesterday I installed a Jensen JHC1630B head unit into the RTV. My speakers do not work, but I wired up an old shelf speaker I had lying around and the unit sounds pretty good. I think my Dad will like it and it might give him an excuse to sit in the cab with the A/C blasting and listen to the weather reports after a 14 hour day on the farm in the summer's heat and humidity. Still have no idea how he does it at 69 years old, but he's greatest role model I'll ever have.
 

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Just checked my front porch and had a surprise package from Messicks. Gaskets and bearings just came in.

Here's a picture showing old vs new rod bearings.
 

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Not much to update today. I thought I would have a bunch of engine parts delivered, but they got held up and will be in tomorrow. I did get a set of new speakers to replace the dead OEM units. They are Boss Audio BRS40 and they bolted in with no modifications. They were $11 each on Amazon and I think they sound just fine, but I'm no audiophile. The weather band stations come in just fine so I think my Dad will be more than satisfied. I did have some random issues with my new Jensen unit where it would randomly freeze and become completely unresponsive so I sent a message to their tech support about it. We'll see how good they are...

I also never showed any pictures of the floor rust/rot. It's bad. Very bad. Once the engine is running to my liking that will be my next project. Luckily I have a metal shear and brake at work I can use to fabricate new floor pans.
 

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New #3 piston, rings and connecting rod came in. New rod bearings installed. Tomorrow morning I'll hone the #3 cylinder out and start reassembling. Hoping to get everything back together by Sunday...
 

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Keifer

Senior Member
Gold Site Supporter
Looks like if you can't get the motor running you can propel your RTV like Fred Flintstone. Feet extended through the open floor pan and yaba daba do, away you go. LOL!!!
 

v10rick

Active member
Site Supporter
Not much to update today. I thought I would have a bunch of engine parts delivered, but they got held up and will be in tomorrow. I did get a set of new speakers to replace the dead OEM units. They are Boss Audio BRS40 and they bolted in with no modifications. They were $11 each on Amazon and I think they sound just fine, but I'm no audiophile. The weather band stations come in just fine so I think my Dad will be more than satisfied. I did have some random issues with my new Jensen unit where it would randomly freeze and become completely unresponsive so I sent a message to their tech support about it. We'll see how good they are...

I also never showed any pictures of the floor rust/rot. It's bad. Very bad. Once the engine is running to my liking that will be my next project. Luckily I have a metal shear and brake at work I can use to fabricate new floor pans.

Situation normal with RTVs used for winter parking lot maintenance.
Herc rental (Hertz) had several for sale that I passed on. Kubota seems to be a favorite with them.
 
I was feeling a little under the weather this morning so I didn't get to put in a full day like I had planned. I was able to get the #3 cylinder honed out and removed all of score marks that the old piston left behind. I cleaned up the engine block the best I could and began reassembling the engine. I had to stop early because it started to snow and it was a good time to break. Depending on the weather tomorrow I want to fill the engine will oil and coolant, install the fuel lines and fire it up, but we're looking at 3 straight days of snow/rain so I may have to alter my plans.
 

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Had an "oops" moment tonight. I installed the cylinder head yesterday but forgot to install the lower thermostat housing onto the head prior to installing it on the engine. Now I've got some clearance issues where I can't get to two of the bolts on the lower thermostat housing so I either need to 1) Remove the cylinder head or 2) remove the front gear housing. Leaning towards option 2 so I can inspect everything under there to make sure there are no issues. It'll be more work, but I like the peace of mind.
 

v10rick

Active member
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Had an "oops" moment tonight. I installed the cylinder head yesterday but forgot to install the lower thermostat housing onto the head prior to installing it on the engine. Now I've got some clearance issues where I can't get to two of the bolts on the lower thermostat housing so I either need to 1) Remove the cylinder head or 2) remove the front gear housing. Leaning towards option 2 so I can inspect everything under there to make sure there are no issues. It'll be more work, but I like the peace of mind.

Hold off on that...

If you cut the bolt for the T stat housing there are enough threads (4 or 5) to make a good seal. It is a PITA but it beats removing the head again or the chain cover.

I won't take credit for this suggestion, I found it here using the search feature.
 
Hold off on that...

If you cut the bolt for the T stat housing there are enough threads to make a good seal. It is a PITA but it beats removing the head again or the chain cover.

I won't take credit for this suggestion, I found it here using the search feature.

I'll have to get some better light in there and take a closer look but I couldn't see any easy way to get to the bolt on the bottom that is firmly behind the water pump housing that is oh-so conveniently molded into the gear case casting.
 
I'll take a look at this in the daylight, but I'm struggling to see how this was accomplished. I took several threads off one of the screws and I shaved down the hex portion of the screw by about 1/16". Even with that I don't think I can make this work, but I'll give it another go. Below is a picture of where my modified screw is at. I'd basically need to cut all the threads down to make this work.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KYrYLszTAP3Az3ZU6
 

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v10rick

Active member
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I'll take a look at this in the daylight, but I'm struggling to see how this was accomplished. I took several threads off one of the screws and I shaved down the hex portion of the screw by about 1/16". Even with that I don't think I can make this work, but I'll give it another go. Below is a picture of where my modified screw is at. I'd basically need to cut all the threads down to make this work.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KYrYLszTAP3Az3ZU6

That is about the number of threads I had exposed, did not shave anything from the bolt head.

A nut was threaded on the screw before cutting, to chase the threads.

A plastic shim was wedged between the screw head and casting behind it. Needle nose pliers were used to position the screw and get it started.

Pulling the head would probably be easier but the above did not require $$ for a new head gasket. Pulling the front cover looked like way too much work.

Its a poor design for servicing. Guess the engineers figured the T stat housing would last forever. My housing had a hairline crack.

If this was done in the driveway I could have been arrested. The foul language would have PO the neighbors. lol
 
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I'll definitely take another look at it later in the week when it's not 25 degrees and raining. It would be nice not to have to take off the timing gear cover, however, I'm not opposed to it. I don't need this thing done until the April/May time frame and there is A LOT of work I need to do to the frame in the area in front of the engine. There is a large metal perforated guard that is completed rotted out (already bought a brand new one) and needs to be replaced. I'm concerned that the bottom of the hydraulic oil tank may have rust and that could become a really big problem if that gets worse and rots out, so I'd like to inspect that. There is also small oil leak on the front cover as well as a coolant leak so I'd like to address both of those as well. I already went ahead and ordered the gear case gasket kit, but I would like to try your method to get the t-stat housing installed so I can fire up this engine and hear it run!
 
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