Jinma 254 Losing AntiFreeze from Overflow Tube

[mitchash]

I was using my Jinma 254 cutting fields with a 5' Brush Hog and it started dumping antifreeze out the radiator overflow tube. I parked it immediately. The temp gauge was still reading normal temp, after it cooled I opened the radiator cap and could still see the antifreeze level about inch and a half down. The grass screen and radiator are still clean. Where should I start looking for a problem (water pump)?

 

[Jinma284]

Is the fan belt slipping? At night can you shine a flash light through the radiator from the motor side and see the light? Is the water pump leaking? I assume the top water hose would be hot but was the bottom hose hot? If not it may be the thermostat.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Mine likes to puke out anti freeze till its about 1" down then it stays there. If I add coolant it pukes it out to 1" low and stays. Its a 2003 with 900 plus hours and no issues so I figured it's just happy 1" low.

Chris

 

[RonMar]

That is what overflow cans are for. The jinma dosn't come with one standard, so when it gets hot, it is perfectly normal for it to push fluid out the overflow when the system reaches the relief pressure of the radiator cap. This is true for all pressurized cooling systems. With an overflow can, the fluid goes there when the radiator vents, and is sucked back into the radiator when the system cools. That way the radiator is always full. Adding a overflow tank was one of the first things I did to my tractor. You can see how I did it here...
AirfilterCoolantRec

 

[Bob Rooks]

RonMar is correct. The actual name for it is a coolant recovery system (CRS). It's found on almost ALL post '70's vehicles.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

As far as I can tell the only practical advantage from a coolant recovery container as opposed to just having an air bubble in the top of your radiator is that you can check the coolant level visually without opening the radiator cap. Once you've gone through a few heat-up/cool-down cycles the size of the bubble should stabilize and if you lose coolant there is something wrong with your cooling system. I had a coolant tank for a while, but it was a pain because there isn't a good place to fasten it under my hood and it kept coming off.

 

[Bob Rooks]

As far as I can tell the only practical advantage from a coolant recovery container as opposed to just having an air bubble in the top of your radiator is that you can check the coolant level visually without opening the radiator cap. Once you've gone through a few heat-up/cool-down cycles the size of the bubble should stabilize and if you lose coolant there is something wrong with your cooling system. I had a coolant tank for a while, but it was a pain because there isn't a good place to fasten it under my hood and it kept coming off.

The main reason for having a CRS is to keep the cooling system completely full and free from air pockets. Whether you know it or not, the air space in the top tank will allow air into the coolant if it's not kept full, and we all know that aerated coolant doesn't do a very good job. Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong. It's your call. The point is, the CRS reservoir doesn't have to be located near the radiator. It can be anywhere on the tractor you can run a 1/4" tube to, and it doesn't matter if it's above or below the radiator, just so the tube is constantly flooded. The tube can even enter through the top as long as it extends to the bottom of the CRS reservoir and the tube is full.

 

[Rich Waugh]

I'm with Bob on this one - coolant recovery systems are better for your antifreeze, too. Air, particularly hot air, entrained in antifreeze makes it break down more quickly than in a closed system. My coolant recovery system is nothing more than a one-liter soda bottle but it works fine and mounts with a couple of zip ties. Us poor folks gots poor ways, but we make things work. (grin)

 

[mitchash]

I ordered the coolant tank from NAPA like RonMar suggested and will relocate the air box and mount the coolant tank the same way. Thanks for the help!