Melroe repower options

I acquired an old Melroe M-440x with an Onan CCK-MS engine, which I was hoping to rebuild and bring back to service. Upon opening up the valve covers and taking off the heads, I discovered that the engine was completely rusted out inside, which all but destroyed my hopes of rebuilding it. I'm now in the process of removing the old engine from the bobcat to salvage some of the pieces I'll need. Once it's out of the unit, I'll make the final decision - I want to see what's inside the crank case. It probably won't be great.

I realize the repower options for these bobcats are vast, so hoping to avoid an explosion of complexity in the discussion that follows, but I'd like to ask about an engine that I just came across as a possible candidate - I'm hoping that members here can give me the good and the bad for that specific model first and we'll go from there.

The engine I came across is: Onan BF-MS/2666C - I believe this is a 16hp motor that appears to be in good running order. I believe it has more than the original Onan CCK (12hp?!). Not sure what the operating rpms are on it or if it would be a good fit. It is available locally for a good price and it seems that it 'might' be a fit.

Attaching some pics of what I found inside the cylinder heads below.

Providing a quick pic of the potential candidate

I would look around for the same engine as you already have a parts engine, it looks complete . have you checked around to see if oversized pistons are still available.

The current engine is complete, but it's rusted shut at all the valves, tappets, springs. There was a 1/2 gallon of water in the oil pan. Looking into the crank case thorugh a viewing port I can see all the rust on the cam lobes. The pistons on there are already .020 over - so I was thinking it may not be worth pursuing because the machining work would probably cost more than a replacement engine.

There is another engine like this one on Craigslist - it comes with a generator head. I'm working that angle too - trying to contact the seller. Thing is, the CCK is only 12hp, and the BF is 16 hp so a bit of upgrade in power for about the same price.

@foton - so you don't think that FB engine would be a good fit for this application?

the first thing to check is the crank ,is it the same size , some gen.sets use a tapered crank which might be a issue, and how is it keyed , how long, is that compatable with what you are trying to drive. might get the generators name and model and see if you can find out that info. before buying.

Which way does the Onan CCW crank rotate as viewed from the side that drives the wheels (with the double-sheaf)? Does it spin CCW?

I looked at my onan 14 hp and from the pto side of the engine it does rotate counter clock wise

foton said:

the first thing to check is the crank ,is it the same size , some gen.sets use a tapered crank which might be a issue, and how is it keyed , how long, is that compatable with what you are trying to drive. might get the generators name and model and see if you can find out that info. before buying.

Click to expand...

Here is the info on that Onan CCK attached to the genset that that I found, in case someone can chime in with info about the crank shaft size and shape:

4.0 CCK . 3CR / 12016R and the serial number is 0874 841105

I believe 0874 indicates August 1974...