tractor locked up.?

[ely]

had a buddys MF 231 over at the house. used it for digging tators this year. it leake water and was in need of new water pump but otherwise ran fine.
a couple weeks ago me and dad replaced the water pump and refilled the radiator. when we started it , the temperature outside was about 18 degrees. the tractor started initially and ran maybe 2 minutes before dieing. dad reached over and restarted it. it fired right up and ran for maybe 3 minutes before it seemed to just power down and die.

now the tractor will now not even try to turn over. seems like it is locked up. we are under the impression that the filthy oil was more of a sludge in the crankcase and it starved the bearings for oil and maybe stacked the bearings on the crank.

i have heard of this happening to a ford tractor one other time, just want to hear from some of you more wise and experienced folks here, before we begin the job of tearing into the tractor.

ps. the starter runs fine when we take it off to test it. and the battery tests fine also.

[ARKANSAWYER]

  Remove the belts to the new water pump.  Then see if the engine will turn over.  I once had a new pump have the bearing seize up right after install on a car.

[tractormanNwv]

Did You pull the Dipstick? Oil black, gray, white? You Said it Powered down and quit, that sounds like a crank locking up on the main or a rod due to lack of Oil. Keep Us Informed.

  Jim

[timberfaller390]

Hook the tractor and try to pull start it. If it turns over try to start it with the starter. Also drain the oil and check for metal in the old oil. The oil will more than likely tell the tale.