Temperature Gauge is Running Hot after 30 Minutes

[LWR101]

I'm a new member. My BX2350 is one year old. Just had my BX23 in for the 50 hour service. The dealer replaced the instrument panel cluster for some kind of warranty recall. Tractor runs great except within 30 minutes of operating the temperature gauge starts running in the red. All the grilles / intakes are clean. This makes it hard to operate when I can only work for 30 minutes. Need some advice on what may be going on with the temperature???

[Shimon]

Well, since the instrument cluster was replaced, I would suspect a problem with the gauge but can't be 100% sure and you definitely don't want to overheat. Do you have an infrared thermometer or a contact thermometer? If so take a reading at the top of the rad or near the temp sensor on the engine and confirm that it is indeed overheating. If it is...how's the belt? Is the fan in good shape? Is it spinning? Is the coolant level ok? If it's not overheating then have the dealer replaced the temp gauge.

[hazmat]

Check the antifreeze level & fan tension. If both are OK, I'd next suspect a bum guage or bad connection. Could be the thermostat.

[irwin]

That ain't right! take it back to dealer if this situation began immediately after the 50 hour service, if it began some time after srvc and is still within warranty, again get it back to dealer.. If out of warranty find out what the actual engine temp is when guage gets close to red...do not allow it to get into red zone - heat is an engine killer!!
It is possible the sender is bad or the new I/P cluster is the problem, but not worth taking a chance.If you bring to dealer don't let the service dept. tell you" it didn't happen to them us, you go bring it home and let us know if it happens again" show up, and run it in the lot til it gets near hot, and show the mechanic.
If you want to fix yourself you need info. does the engine really get too hot? is the cooling system full? do the cooling system components work properly?

I see while I've been typing you've got some good advice..good luck.

[LWR101]

The fan is spinning and the coolant level is full. I will get a thermometer to check the temperature. Hopefully, its just a bad gauge / connection. In any case, I will send it back into the shop. Thanks for the advice. I will keep you posted.

[JeremyL]

When I first got my MX-5000 I was amazed at how much work it would do and not even break a sweat; the temperature gague would hardly get above the first quadrant. Just this month, doing some hard bushhogging in temperature in the low 90's, the gague climbed up almost to the red line. This concerned me. I realized that I was overdue to changing the antifreeze and figured it wouldn't hurt to do that. So I did. While doing so, having the hood up and running the engine, it seemed that the belt was loose so I tightened that, too. This evening I just did some bushhogging and, I am happy to report, the temp. never got beyond the old 1/4 mark in the operating range. So, was it the coolant flush and replacement? Was it the belt tightening? Was it the fact the I was cutting at a slower speed in less dense grass? Was it the fact that it was a delightfully cool evening? Or, most likely, a combination of these?

My advise it to make sure that coolant is kept fresh both for preventing over-heating as well as preventing freezing. Ofcourse on you 1 year old Kubota, the antifreeze is still well within it's life span. Let us know how your problem is solved. Good luck.

[Lockport]

Mine started doing that. I also noticed that the coolant seemed to be disappearing (overflow). Finally, when I removed the screen behind the rad under the hood, (the one one that slides up), I noticed the foam strip along the firewall that seals it had detached from its glue strip at one end. Long story short, with that out, removingthe screen that surrounds the battery n the BX, I discoverd a 'pad' of small particles completly sealing a large diameter area in the center of my radiater fins. Cleaning this with a toothbrush, and gluing the strip with epoxy, resolved my problem.

[LWR101]

Problem Solved!! I removed the screen and looked down into the 1" gap in front of the radiator and the fins were clogged full of dirt / grass. The screen is not catching all of this junk. I hosed out the fins and everything is running just fine. It is hard to see down into the gap where the screen goes. Also noticed the rubber seal on top of the screen has also come unglued. Battery cover is also not a good fit. Poor fitting features let a lot of debris get to the radiator fins. I know what to do next time. Thanks for all the advice.

[JeremyL]

[QUOTE=LWR101] Also noticed the rubber seal on top of the screen has also come unglued. QUOTE]

Mine, too. Seems to be a lot of that going around. What is the best way to reattach it? Is it really necessary? Is it for heat/air circulation control, sound dampaning or what?

[milkman]

[quote=JeremyL]

Also noticed the rubber seal on top of the screen has also come unglued. QUOTE]

Mine, too. Seems to be a lot of that going around. What is the best way to reattach it? Is it really necessary? Is it for heat/air circulation control, sound dampaning or what?

The foam strip down the side of the radiator on mine came loose also, I glued it back with Gorilla glue, has held ever since. The foam down both sides of the radiator is to keep air and debris from getting to the radiator around the screen. Several people have had their Kubota run warm and the screen and grill clean, it is hard to see, but if you get down and look through the radiator a lot of times there is dust and dirt that gets through the screen and gets into the radiator fins. I keep telling myself I need to make a blowgun with a right angle on the end to stick down in the fan side of the radiator to blow it out on a regular basis.