John,
When my buddy took the head off he said the notch on the #4 piston was facing the back of the motor and all the other pistons the notch is to the front. I guess the previous owner had done this and I got the tractor around 8 months ago and it smoked when cold but settled down when up to temp but ran good as I have been grading my road since I got the tractor. Also there is no water in the oil but my buddy did say the head gasket was pretty much new so he figures someone had it apart recently. He also sent it to the head shop and had the head magna-fluxed and it has a crack across the #4 combustion chamber he says. I don't know about pressure testing but I can ask him. Also he had sent it off to the head shop because they said they could fill and re-bore the head but since they found the crack they say the head is no good. I have read on other posts that cracks are pretty normal on these heads so I'm not sure but I will let him know this. Any advise would be helpful as this forum has been spot on so far. Thanks for your help.
Mike