The engine in the F3's have been known to be a hard starter in cold weather however seems to be a solid little power house, by my experience.I do know if I was at the auction sale today that F3 would have been mine with out a doubt!!!!
I have had several Gleaner F's and F2's and those GM 292's are about as reliable as any gas out there (and this is coming from a Ford Man!). They start right up, run all day, plenty of power, although they do drink the gas but you can get parts anywhere and the motors last and last. I would not hesitate to have one of them, especially if the people who owned them had a good maintenance program!!!
I have a low hour f3 with the 4 cylinder, the symptoms are the same but what a great little engine. I am not sure why they went to the 4 cylinder but it does a good job.
We had an F3 with the 4 cyl. turbo. It was cold natured. When really cold, we would take the engine drive belt loose, let it warm up, cut it off and put it back on. It only took a couple of minutes. Great little engine. Plenty of power and burned less fuel than the neighbor's F2 with the 6 cyl. diesel.
We had an F3 once that had the 4 cyl. turbo and still have a One-Eighty with the 301. Both are great engines, but I'd sure like to equip the 180 with one of those 4 cyl. engines! They are a scrappy little motor that will run forever on a tank of fuel. My guess is that is one of the main reasons they went to the 4 banger - fuel economy, reduced weight, etc. Tom langan