I'm admitting defeat---- Last time on this...........

[the old grind]

I'm clutching at straws again, but not about to give up on this quest. Of course side screens are to keep chaff out of the radiator vs aiding cooling otherwise, but could a PO have left out a shroud (part mentioned but not verified) or a blade spacer long ago? That "15 min" of run time reminds me of situations where a blade was put back on sans shroud and/or too far from the radiator to pull good airflow. IMO a whole inch back would be max with a rigidly mounted engine. Could a fan blade have been replaced with one less adequate, say borrowed from a car and either smaller of with fewer blades? Wouldn't ask if re-reading the thread didn't leave me wondering.

I agree with B&D that we could be missing something completely, and hate to see the OP pulling the head with just everything not being considered/checked first & the burden of our OP's Mrs being so doggone far away. btw: I mentioned in another thread that a 'HD trans cooler' was in a radiator and frequently boiled coolant out when I towed. Is the JD hydro cooler in the radiator too, or external?

 

[SPYDERLK]

I dont think were missing anything except some systematic trouble shooting. Unfortunately OP has too much on his plate right now to give a chance to concentrate.

 

[SPYDERLK]

My guess is that spyderlk dude is a troll.. he was sending me messages as well..hence my post on my skills etc. Bottom line..end goal.. is to help our fellow farmer out and save the tractor..remove the stress and keep good vibes going to his missus

I have not sent you messages except by posting publicly on the thread.

,,,,The end goal is not served by shotgunning the OP with possibilities, but by asking him specifics as they relate to possibilities and then following up. This would quickly form some order of likelihood for the cause.
larry

 

[RitchElbe]

in ignoring the troll...
An ole timer I was helping on the farm today, asked this on the matter. Do you recall the weather conditions on the days it ran out.
Seems he had a old red belly. That when it reached 95f on summer days would over heat in an heart beat. They never figured out. instead had a bigger radiator made. Said it was the darnest thing he ever saw.

 

[buickanddeere]

,,,,The end goal is not served by shotgunning the OP with possibilities,

Being that replacing all the cooling system components again won't solve the problem. It's time to take the blinders off and consider everything. If that is shotgunning. Then more shotgunning is required.
We haven't heard a peep about ignition timing at slow idle and fast idle yet.

 

[rsallen]

Yes threads like this do seem to wander scatter shot all over the place. Let's start an honest systemic list for the op instead of just some wildly poorly thought out ideas because while sometimes those kinds of things do(?) happen they are usually one-off things that you'll never see or run into again. If one runs all over chasing those relatively far out there ideas BEFORE running through the standard operating procedures we might us well tell the op to use the tractor as a lawn ornament or boat anchor.

The op has a relatively straightforward problem. Tractor is running hot for unknown reasons and it seems likely this is the reason the last party sold the tractor.
Cooling system has been check with some parts renewed. And one must assume from our stand point those parts are correct.
So far we've heard of no classic symptoms of a blown head gasket, cracked head or block.

!. what is the temp the engine running at?
2. timing, check and adjust if necessary. If the ignition was too far outside of specs run tractor up to see if problem is solved.
Next.......
3. compression test, then pressurize and leak down test of cyl's..........watch for air bubbles in cooling system during pressurized tests.
Inconclusive? Scratch head, sit down and have a beer while going over in your head what you may have missed in the cooling system. Finish beer and double check cooling system.
Open another beer while heaving a big sign as you start the job of pulling the head off.

Now, if anyone else has something of value to add to the short list I'll use the edit function and insert it into the list for the op. (and give due credit)
Otherwise unless someone has some idea about this particular model that's little known about, let's keep those isolated one-offs to ourselves for the time being, it just confuses the matter for the op.

 

[Egon]

Skip the beer and start pulling the head. After that it may be beer time!

 

[the old grind]

As one of the 'shotgunners' my goal has been to start with the simplest things first.
Examples:
- Battery doesn't charge _ Belt tension, connection quality, output voltage test, battery test, new alternator.
- Brake pedal goes to the floor _ reservoir check, line inspection, cyl/caliper inspection with wheels, drums/rotors removed.

You get the idea. I would't suggest that the OP would do these bits in the wrong order but that's been done by others. If this job came to a shop for a bid it would be paramount to the shop & customer getting value for their cost in time or $$. I'm sure many of our scattered 'shots' are aimed at generating or adding to a list such as rsallen has started vs just suggesting a list of tasks to perform at random.

So far we've heard of no classic symptoms of a blown head gasket, cracked head or block. ..

I couldn't agree more that there is much to be done before removing the cyl head. If our list is to be thorough and systematic, I hope there will be some flexibility in the order of things. Unfortunately, in the internet age advice is always closer than a helping hand.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I have just read all the previous threads referring to this tractor. It enters the TBN picture in early 2013. The OP is working on it; alternator, gauges, hydraulics. He has an Owners and Shop Manual for the tractor. He buys a 6' finish mower for it in early '13 as well. He gets everything working. :confused3:
... There is no mention of use or overheating in Summer 2013. There is a single post about timing.
... This summer overheating comes up.
... There is some mention that the fan appears to be blowing forward. Not followed to resolution.

The info is sketchy and discontinuous - even disjoint - thruout.

There is no way to give information pertinent to the "problem" with this state of affairs. We need some quality attention from the OP 'til we have a clear picture. Then to proceed systematically.
larry

 

[rsallen]

It's much to easy to jump to conclusions via the internet.
Those of us that have diagnosed and torn apart way too many engines in our life time may well intuitively go directly to some outlier problem if we have the machine in front of us, but mostly we always systemically run through the common usual suspects first plodding along until the bugger show up. There is no feeling worse than tearing something apart only to find out it's not going to fix the problem.

While I think I covered the high points in the order I'd start if the machine were in front of me, there's a lot of things not mentioned (written out) like the check list for trouble shooting the cooling system, flow rate and the running temps of the engine.
Nope, if the one thinks the order of business should go another way I don't why that'd be a problem. For instance one could decide that opening the beer first is the right first step. LOL
But I'd strongly advise against pulling the head as the first or second step.