John Deere 5055E and other E series radiators

[fieldman12]

I have had several radiator hoses I have had to tighten up on my new tractor that I found leaking in the first 18 hrs of owning. I noticed the other day the inside of the radiator neck is made different than any other type of radiator I have seen before. Inside radiator in the center about 2 inches down from top is a small hole the coolant feeds into the radiator in center. I noticed when I had the radiator cap off and I just started the engine that I would get a bubble come up and out this hole in radiator and the coolant would slowly rise to top that almost led me to beleive that I had a head gasket issue. I got to thinkig though that maybe this design possible traps some air. Anyone else notcie this? My operating temperature is perfectly normal but I have noticed my over flow tank a little lower each time when operating and hope that it has just not settled yet. As you can tell with only 18 hours I have not really got to use tractor yet and have had to fight several coolant issues and because of these leaks it has been hard to gauge coolant issue.

 

[MattLynch]

When I first bough my E series just about everything was leaking within 20 hours and the coolant did get pretty low. I got pissed off and told the dealer that if I wanted a tractor that leaked everywhere I would have kept my old one. They tightend all of the clamps and fittings that were leaking, topped up some fluids and its been fine since.

 

[vtsnowedin]

I had to snug up all the radiator hose clamps at fifty hours like the manual says to do. Some took a full turn or more. No problem sence then and I think it just takes a while for the hoses to mold themselves around the fittings. Kind of like breaking in a new pair of work boots.

 

[theSeb]

I have 37 hours on my 5065e and have the same issues as the topic starter. It was leaking during operation initially, especially when using PTO, but the operating temps are staying where I would expect them to. I have tightened 3 clamps, which did feel a bit loose, and I don't see any more visible leaks during operation, but the level in the overflow bottle does move down slightly the next day after use. I am topping up a little bit with JD coolant each morning to get it to "Cool Full" and monitoring the situation. I have spoken to my dealer about it. If it continues, I will get them to come out and take a look.

 

[Notforhire]

Add my tractor to the leaking coolant list. Loose hose clamps are common, from what my dealer told me.

Best, Bill

 

[fieldman12]

I had to snug up all the radiator hose clamps at fifty hours like the manual says to do. Some took a full turn or more. No problem sence then and I think it just takes a while for the hoses to mold themselves around the fittings. Kind of like breaking in a new pair of work boots.

Where in your coolant recovery tank has yours stabilized at? Is it at, above, or below the Full Cold mark??

 

[vtsnowedin]

I topped it up to a bit above the full cold mark to replace what I had lost. I haven't lost any after that.

 

[fieldman12]

I have notcied on mine on a few occasions if I touch the very bottom of the over flow bottle hose that is designed to dump the coolant on ground if over flow bottle is too full that I can get a drop on my finger of coolant. I notcied this once while running the tractor and several other times only after the tractor has sit over night and was cold when I checked. I am not sure if when the radiator releases fluid in the coolant tank that it shoots enought coolant up to the lid on the bottle and some goes out whole or if at times some gets sloshed out and the fan catches it before it hits the black shield and it sits in hose and eventually flows out overnight. I called my dealer today and they was not sure. My fluid is slighty below the full cold mark in the bottle. He is going to send someone out later this week to look at it and a few other small issues. If it is just sloshing out I am not worried but I just want to make sure there is not some other issue I do not know about.

 

[Rmd8136]

I have new 5065e - 9 hrs. My coolant level came new with level about 1 inch above Cold line. Even after running for 2 hours I saw no increase in coolant level in overflow bottle. Temps running in the center of Green region on 86 deg F day here in SC. I expected to see a rise in overflow during warm steady state operation. No leaks and no change next day . Apparently not hit enough to cause expansion that would lead to tank rise ? The radiator cap level seemed a little low so I topped it off while Cold. Probably added 10 -15 ounces of coolant. I also increased tank level and marked it. I should be able to see expansion rise now when operating.

 

[fieldman12]

I have new 5065e - 9 hrs. My coolant level came new with level about 1 inch above Cold line. Even after running for 2 hours I saw no increase in coolant level in overflow bottle. Temps running in the center of Green region on 86 deg F day here in SC. I expected to see a rise in overflow during warm steady state operation. No leaks and no change next day . Apparently not hit enough to cause expansion that would lead to tank rise ? The radiator cap level seemed a little low so I topped it off while Cold. Probably added 10 -15 ounces of coolant. I also increased tank level and marked it. I should be able to see expansion rise now when operating.

Mine will raise about a half inch above cold mark in about 20 min. Is your hose to recovery pinched off by one of the tie straps they used from factory? Does your top radiator hose get hot? If so that means thermostat is opening as it should.