DaveNay
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2003
- Messages
- 811
- Location
- Waterman, DeKalb County, Illinois
- Tractor
- John Deere 855 MFWD; Oliver 1850 Gas
My JD855 has had an overheating problem since I bought it a year ago. I have read of several other people having similar problems with the x55 line, so I sort of chalked it up to a design issue, and I regularly kept topping of the radiator (first clue!). Well, this weekend it was worse. I started to mow, and after about 5 minutes noticed a different odor, and there seemed to be steam coming from the vent hose of the breather cap on the valve cover. I immediately stopped mowing, let it idle for a minute and shut it down to cool. Checked the radiator, and I couldn't see any coolant! I added about a pint and a half to top it off again, and started mowing again. I was able to mow for about 45 minutes when the temp light came on again. I let her cool down again, and added about another pint or more of coolant.
Time to investigate deeper /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
My first diagnosis was possibly a blown head gasket, so I started it up with the pressure cap off on the radiator and let it warm up.....no back pressure from the cyliders in the radiator. Nothing was coming out the cap except the bit of splashing you would expect.
Next, I checked the thermostat. Take apart the thermostat housing, and what do you know? No thermostat! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I know that no thermostat will usually let an engine run cooler, but a thermostat is also a flow restricting device, so coolant may be passing through the engine too fast to work properly. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
I put the thermostat housing back together, and checked all of the hoses and the water pump for leaks....no problems there.
So here I am:
<ul type="square"> [*]I am experiencing frequent overheating [*]I am consuming coolant when I overheat [*]I have no thermostat [*]I have a new thermostat on order [*]I have a new pressure cap on order [*]I am seeing white "smoke" from the breather drain hose [*]I do not believe there is any drainage from the cap overpressure hose [*]I do my best to keep the radiator clean, so there should be adequate air flow [/list]
Any insight that anyone can lend will be greatly appreciated. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Dave
Time to investigate deeper /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
My first diagnosis was possibly a blown head gasket, so I started it up with the pressure cap off on the radiator and let it warm up.....no back pressure from the cyliders in the radiator. Nothing was coming out the cap except the bit of splashing you would expect.
Next, I checked the thermostat. Take apart the thermostat housing, and what do you know? No thermostat! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I know that no thermostat will usually let an engine run cooler, but a thermostat is also a flow restricting device, so coolant may be passing through the engine too fast to work properly. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
I put the thermostat housing back together, and checked all of the hoses and the water pump for leaks....no problems there.
So here I am:
<ul type="square"> [*]I am experiencing frequent overheating [*]I am consuming coolant when I overheat [*]I have no thermostat [*]I have a new thermostat on order [*]I have a new pressure cap on order [*]I am seeing white "smoke" from the breather drain hose [*]I do not believe there is any drainage from the cap overpressure hose [*]I do my best to keep the radiator clean, so there should be adequate air flow [/list]
Any insight that anyone can lend will be greatly appreciated. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Dave