overheated and locked up

[brooksto]

Was using the rototiller on my t233 today on a small 75x75 area. Apparently the temp gauge spiked and before i noticed it i heard a loud noise around the engine and the tractor engine and tiller abruptly stopped. Heard hissing and Looked like steam coming out of exhaust pipe. I really thought I had locked the thing up but I waited a while and it started up with no smoke, i let it idle till the temp gauge went back down. Has a hum somtimes when working hydraulics but engine seems to run smooth.

My concerns are I may have permanently damaged somthing and I am afraid to continue. It is very odd the tractor would overheat with the small cat 0 tiller i was using. I have used it and a 5' bushog for long extended periods of time with no problems and the temp needle rarely gets over half no matter what i do (until today). What do i need to check over? What would have caused the engine to suddenly lock up but then restart fine later?

 

[flyerdan]

If steam came out the exhaust, chances are you blew a head gasket. Check to see if the radiator is empty and the dipstick looks like it has chocolate milkshake about two inches over the full mark.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Once cooled off, did you check ALL the fluids??

Hissing out of the exhaust, sounds like a blown head gasket or ??

SR

 

[brooksto]

Checked oil dipstick, level was ok and no sign of coolant in the oil there. I had to add about 1.5 quarts of coolant to top off the radiator. I am pretty sure it was steam coming from the exhaust pipe however the radiator overflow hose does terminate directly above the exhaust pipe end, and the end of that hose is wet. Maybe it was actually spray from that hose onto the exhaust that i thought was coolant blowing out.

I ran it at 3500 rpm for 10 minutes with radiator cap off. Engine temp got up to about 1/3 on gauge which i believe is normal for what its been in the past. No sign of oil in coolant. No bubbles rising from radiator. Is there anything else i should check before resuming with the tiller? Thank you for your help everyone.

 

[boomer1025]

Sounds like the thermostat stuck closed or the radiator cap went bad. I would replace both the radiator cap & the thermostat.

 

[topbuilder]

Make sure the radiator is blown/washed clean and flowing air. If you still have a problem,
it will raise it's ugly head when you go back to pto rpm's under a load. When trying to cool an engine
do not go down to an idle. You want to keep a good amount of airflow across the radiator.

 

[stuckmotor]

I'd check the engine oil for milkiness and, if anything in the tiller runs in oil, the lubrication level in the tiller.

 

[brooksto]

Update: The radiator did have a lot of thick dust build up. I have seen it a lot worse (like the whole thing packed with grass after bush hogging) but i sprayed air from the back side and cleaned a lot if it out.

I ran the rototiller again on the 75x75 area. No overheating at all however i did have another sudden screeching halt to everything. It turns out a rock got lodged in the tiller and apparently the slip clitch on the pto shaft is not adjusted properly so it abruptly stopped the whole tractor. I am thinking now that perhaps this is what happened earlier and the siezing up was not due to overheating. Granted still a potentially disastrous event to have the slip clutch sieze but i will try and adjust that and keep a close eye on all fluids for signs of blown head gasket.

Thank you for everyones help on this issue.

 

[Cranedaddy]

That's always a good discovery! In a way at least lol

 

[Btown]

Update: The radiator did have a lot of thick dust build up. I have seen it a lot worse (like the whole thing packed with grass after bush hogging) but i sprayed air from the back side and cleaned a lot if it out. I ran the rototiller again on the 75x75 area. No overheating at all however i did have another sudden screeching halt to everything. It turns out a rock got lodged in the tiller and apparently the slip clitch on the pto shaft is not adjusted properly so it abruptly stopped the whole tractor. I am thinking now that perhaps this is what happened earlier and the siezing up was not due to overheating. Granted still a potentially disastrous event to have the slip clutch sieze but i will try and adjust that and keep a close eye on all fluids for signs of blown head gasket. Thank you for everyones help on this issue.

You have to check those slip clutches at least yearly to make sure they are not locked up.