Kama 554 Radiator Maintenance and Mods

[3RRL]

I am approaching the 400 hour mark on my Kama 554. I will be doing a semi-major maintenance on it including changing out all the oils and filters, setting valve lash and head bolt re-torque, and of course a general check over on the battery and all nuts and bolts, tires, belts, running gear etc. It is going to be a long weekend.

In addition to the above, one of the first things on my list is to change the radiator fluid because I have not done this since I got the tractor from the dealer 2 years ago. I have read some of the other threads regarding the correct anti-freeze for wet-sleeved engines and how to go about flushing out the gunk in the whole cooling system. I am also planning on replacing both upper and lower radiator hoses and finally add an Overflow Reservoir to it. To date, I have not had any trouble with the thermostat or any overheating problems due to the excellent suction (air flow) the fan and shroud produce through the radiator.

Here are the main ingredients I will be using:



Form left to right:
- Fleet Charge SCA Precharged heavy duty anti-freeze which provides optimum protection against freezing, boil over, cavitation erosion, corrosion and scale for all heavy duty cooling system applications.
- Zerex Radiator Super Flush with powerful cleaning agents restores system efficiency by removing rust, scale and oily residues. Can be used on all cooling system metals including aluminum.
-Zerex Water Pump Lubricant & Protector which prevents rust and corrosion while lubricating the water pump. Its powerful rust and corrosive inhibitors help prevent the accumulation of damaging radiator deposits that can cause boil overs, clogging and overheating.
- And finally a Coolant Return System designed for use where space is limited.

I got the additives at Napa and the coolant return system at PepBoys.
I know there are other threads on this topic already, but they have been done by the smarter and more studious members. I am sharing it to show how even a dim witted person like myself can do his own maintenance and mods. Not only that, you never know what you're going to run across when doing something like this. Each procedure is important to share for those purposes.

 

[greg_g]

I put identical little recovery containers on both the KM454 and TS354C. Gottem from JC Whitney, $10 each I think. Tricky part was finding somewhere to hang them other than in front of the radiators. Too much airflow disruption up there already. Oh, and don't lose that big round black spacer. Coolant won't return from the container to the radiator without it.

//greg//

 

[3RRL]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll post with pictures when I get it all done.

 

[RonMar]

The first mod I did to my 284 shortly after I got it was install a radiator catch tank and relocated the air filter back over the injector pump. There are pictures and a description of the modification on Johns Jinma site.

AirfilterCoolantRec

The original airfilter location was up in front of the top of the radiator screen with a long hose back to the intake manifold.

Good luck on your modifications.

 

[3RRL]

Great write up Ron,
My Kama has the same problem with the air cleaner right in front of the radiator. I have been thinking about moving it, as well as installing the overflow reservoir or quite some time now. Finding a spot for the overflow reservoir will be tricky on it. The hood is stuffed full of engine and room is at a premium.

You described the difficulty of cleaning the radiator after brush hogging exactly, with the air cleaner in the way like that. With the fan shroud on my Kama, the suction through the radiator is excellent, and I have not had any overheating problems at all, except when the radiator and air filter gets clogged from brush hogging. I guess there's no cure for that ... except it will be a lot easier to clean now.
Thanks for sharing the link.

 

[greg_g]

I guess there's no cure for that ...

Yes, there is. And I'm pretty sure I posted this at least once already. Go to Walmart and buy the fiber furnace filter. It's a big rectangle of blue (sometimes green) bio-degradable filter material. It's unframed, easily cut to fit with a scissors, and permits unrestricted passage of air through the radiator. It can also withstand cleaning with a hose or air compressor. I keep a piece over the front of my radiators as a year-round seed and chaff filter.

//greg//

 

[RonMar]

Great write up Ron,
I guess there's no cure for that ... except it will be a lot easier to clean now.
Thanks for sharing the link.

Thanks
As greg mentioned, a finer mesh pre filter keeps most of the debris out of the radiator. In the writeup I did on my mods, there is one pic showing the stock Jinma filter screen plate wrapped with several layers of aluminum window screen. this was the easiest way I found to do this and it keeps most of the debris out of the radiator passages, at least the pieces large enough that would get jammed into the air passages such as seeds and chaff. It also retained the rather heavy stock screen plate which will provide some protection to the radiator core if I should jam a stick up under the hood while busting brush.

 

[3RRL]

Yes, you are both right. I saw the screen on your tractor Ron, and I remember now Greg, that you posted about the furnace filter before. I remember wanting to do that, but forgot all about it. I will try to remember adding something like either of your screens while I'm at it. Oh Christ, another mod!
Thanks ...

 

[3RRL]

Although I didn't get around to adding the screen in front of the radiator, I finally completed my radiator and coolant change and added the overflow reservoir. Besides being time after nearly 400 hours, there was this lower radiator hose that started showing cracks in it. that also prompted to do something about it.



I started by draining the system of the old anti-freeze. You can see here by the color that the dealer put regular anti-freeze in it and not the specific wet sleeve type, which is either red or orange colored.



Nevertheless, it looked surprisingly super clean! I was starting to wonder why I was doing this?

 

[3RRL]

That is until I ran the flushing solution though. Then it all started to make more sense. Don't forget to drain the petcock on the right side of the engine block either.



I ran the engine for about 10 minutes after reaching operating temperature as suggested on the instructions. Even in need of an oil change and a valve lash adjustment, the 554 Kama ran smoothly at 2400rpm.



The more I drained out into the big container, the more I could see how much crud and rust had built up on the inside of the engine block and radiator. This had to affect the cooling ability of the system a little, I would presume.



After the first flushing, I re-filled the radiator and ran it for another 5 minutes or so before draining it again. This time most of the crud had been flushed out.



I did that one more time until the water coming out of the radiator and engine block petcock was very clear.