Works were delayed by the need to remove the clutch plate and housing which required a 46mm socket and breaker bar. The local tractor dealer "Dijeau" kindly lent me one overnight and the following day I was finally able to remove the engine from the tractor, move it into the shed and open the crankcase.
On inspecting the crankshaft, the damage doesn't seem as bad as I had at first feared, with only one of the connecting rod journals affected. The inner lining of the shell had melted over it and a few lumps were stuck to it. The material is much softer than the crankshaft and once the lumps had been removed I was able to re-polish the journal back to the original metal by using some 400 grit emery cloth, a flat shoelace wrapped around that to even the pressure and plenty of WD40. A bit of 600 cloth and it has a mirror finish.
Asvarta in Spain hold all the spares for ruggerini engines so I've been able to get a full gasket and seals set, filters, shell bearings, oil pressure sensor, injector seat washers and crank shaft seals (the one facing the clutch had failed). All for under 200 euros, so I'm feeling more hopeful of a positive outcome.
Spent the morning cleaning everything, so now I must wait for the parts before reassembling and calibrating the engine.
The clutch disc central friction plate is partially broken, I found parts of it in the bottom of the clutch housing, which explains the vicious clutch and stiff gears I've always had on the tractor. Valeo no longer make the clutch disc (the tractor is 34 years old) but amazingly I just found one on ebay still in its vacuum sealed wrapper!
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