boomer1025
Platinum Member
Win some lose some, not my tractor. But I would bet good money that wasn't dust in the bottom of the surge tank. Hopefully everything will turn out ok for her.
Overheated Briefly, Now Discolored Coolant... Flush Radiator?
- Thread starter RanchGirl
- Start date
- Views: 16110
Win some lose some, not my tractor. But I would bet good money that wasn't dust in the bottom of the surge tank. Hopefully everything will turn out ok for her.
boomer1025
Platinum Member
That's because the safety police are hiding in the bushes.
No place to hide around here, bushes get trimmed about 1/2" above the ground, and the safety police get shown where the doughnut shop is located.:thumbsup:
boomer1025
Platinum Member
When she cooked it, it loosen all the scale & rust in the block. Which made the coolant look dark. Then it settled out. Now that all the gunk has been loosen up is the time to drain and give the system a good flush. As for the oil, might still look okay, but how hot was it. Did the oil get hot enough to cause the additives to drop out? Oil and coolant is cheap, why take a chance.
Ummm "cooked it"? And "scale and rust"? With a high temp light that came on for 3 to 5 minutes (there's no guage on the 3038e, just a warning light) when I reduced the throttle and disengaged the PTO. The oil is still gold! If the additives "dropped out" wouldn't there be some indication? Separation on the stick, odd odor, something? Also, the tractor has 210 hours on it, 100 of which were put on in the last 2 months by me. It seems unlikely that it has that much scale and rust in the radiator. No decrease in the coolant volume since the top off, and no oil in it. Also, when coolant is heated, does it stay bright green, or does darken or change color?
Also, as for stopping immediately, do you really want to just shut down an over-hot engine? Wouldn't it do more damage that way? I was always taught to run them if you can until they were back in proper temp range before shutting down, once you've fixed the problem that's causing the overheat. Which is correct?
greg_g
Super Member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2003
- Messages
- 6,126
- Location
- Western Kentucky
- Tractor
- JD3720 Cab, 300X loader with 4-in-1 bucket
Coolant only changes color when something is added to it to enact the change. It's not reversible, it the sense it's not one color when cold - then another when hot. If your coolant is not the same color as when it came out of the bottle, the color change was caused by some form of contamination. Drain/flush/refill should follow.
If you have a turbocharger - especially one that's not oil cooled - it's a good idea to let the engine idle briefly before shutting down. Turbos operate at much higher than engine temperature. When so equipped, it's the turbo that benefits from a cool-down period, not the engine. Other than the turbo, the internals are designed for efficiency and longevity based upon a specified operating temperature. Allowing them to move/mesh above that threshold does more harm than good. Since the 3038E is turbo-charged, it doesn't hurt to let an engine at normal operating temperature idle for a few moments before shutting down.
But your engine was operating above normal operating temperature, which is even harder on the turbo. It should have been shut down as soon as it indicated an overheat condition. That's why they installed a red light, and not a blue or pink or purple one. There are a number of causes for over-heating, some of which can make the problem worse at idle than at speed. All you had was a warning that an over-heat condition was present. But that was the extent of your understanding at the time.
My 3720 has a temp gauge rather than an idiot light, but it also has a very loud and annoying alarm for certain engine codes; one of them is over-heating. The only way to silence the alarm is to shut down the engine. So while your intentions were good, your science was wrong. In my book, the correct procedure would have been to shut down the engine - then find out and fix what caused the warning light to come on in the first place.
//greg//
If you have a turbocharger - especially one that's not oil cooled - it's a good idea to let the engine idle briefly before shutting down. Turbos operate at much higher than engine temperature. When so equipped, it's the turbo that benefits from a cool-down period, not the engine. Other than the turbo, the internals are designed for efficiency and longevity based upon a specified operating temperature. Allowing them to move/mesh above that threshold does more harm than good. Since the 3038E is turbo-charged, it doesn't hurt to let an engine at normal operating temperature idle for a few moments before shutting down.
But your engine was operating above normal operating temperature, which is even harder on the turbo. It should have been shut down as soon as it indicated an overheat condition. That's why they installed a red light, and not a blue or pink or purple one. There are a number of causes for over-heating, some of which can make the problem worse at idle than at speed. All you had was a warning that an over-heat condition was present. But that was the extent of your understanding at the time.
My 3720 has a temp gauge rather than an idiot light, but it also has a very loud and annoying alarm for certain engine codes; one of them is over-heating. The only way to silence the alarm is to shut down the engine. So while your intentions were good, your science was wrong. In my book, the correct procedure would have been to shut down the engine - then find out and fix what caused the warning light to come on in the first place.
//greg//
boomer1025
Platinum Member
AutoEducation.com - Motor Oil Breakdown, What really causes it?
I wander how hot the oil gets at the wrist pin & bushing ?
If you know that your coolant is still up then yes you are correct to keep it running. Removing the load and letting it run at an elevated idle speed is best. On the other hand if loss of coolant is suspected then no amount of idling will cool the engine and shut down is the only option.
greg_g
Super Member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2003
- Messages
- 6,126
- Location
- Western Kentucky
- Tractor
- JD3720 Cab, 300X loader with 4-in-1 bucket
But sitting on the seat of a 3038E, there's no way to determine the cause of the illuminated idiot light. Hence, shut it down without hesitation and determine the cause.
//greg//
Any operator worth his/her salt will know if the antifreeze has been lost. If it is a slow leak then the op should be keeping track, a major leak will be obvious, at least to an observant operator.:thumbsup:
megaboz
Platinum Member
Different oils break down at different temps. Additives could cook up quicker possibly. Personally fluids are cheap (in comparison to parts and labor) , so when it doubt change it out.
If a crack head or head gasket happened on such a young tractor wth a mild over heating problem, then I would sell the POJ as soon as I could.
As for running it without a load was probably the best thing to do to it. I noticed when brush hogging that my temps would get up to about 160 and as soon as I would get rolling forward for a short way the temp would drop 30 degrees.
If a crack head or head gasket happened on such a young tractor wth a mild over heating problem, then I would sell the POJ as soon as I could.
As for running it without a load was probably the best thing to do to it. I noticed when brush hogging that my temps would get up to about 160 and as soon as I would get rolling forward for a short way the temp would drop 30 degrees.
