BigNotEasyGuy
New member
I have a JD 755 that I bought off of craigslist a year ago. I have the manuals and started trying to learn how to do maintenance as this is my first tractor. I changed the coolant and the old drain valve broke, or was already broke, it had a frozen plug inside that I cleared out. After the coolant flush the valve leaked which I didn't see until later. I didn't check the coolant level one day when I was trying to till my garden and it led to a stalling problem that I posted here: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/j...lling-all.html
Well after that post I went out and checked the coolant and the oil level and they were both very low, almost gone. That left me with the impression that I had overheated and possibly damaged the engine. I figured out the valve was broken and got a new one ($3), then the fluid never leaked out again. During colder months I can run it ok (I also added a block heater). But this summer during hot days I can only run it for 10 minutes or less and the temp gets up near 190 which is the overheat point I've learned. The previous owner had installed a temp guage (which I wasn't paying attention too during the tilling day).
I suspect I may have warped the head maybe? I don't see anything milky in the oil. But maybe the head gasket is leaking and causing the overheating? Or maybe even something far worse. I'm no expert and I don't have a lot of time. My work schedule is demanding and we have a small 36 acre farm. I do what I can on weekends. I only mention that to say that if I can spend a few dollars to buy time I will make that choice otherwise I'm pretty frugal and like to do things myself.
What would you do? I think I have 3 options:
1) replace the motor
cost = highest
time = medium?
difficulty = ? (the tech manual makes it sound easy actually, but I've been fooled before...)
2) rebuild the current motor
cost = medium?
time = high?
difficulty = high?
3) continue debugging everything (like mystery air pockets, thermostat, etc.)
cost = small to medium
time = unknown, maybe high unless you're lucky
difficulty = relatively easy
Do you think my assumptions on cost/time/difficulty are correct? After reading posts about mystery overheating I was wondering if I shouldn't just go with the new engine although maybe that's way too expensive? Has anyone ever bought a new or rebuilt engine? If so where would I go (besides a dealer) to get something like that?
I'll make sure the thermostat is working at a minimum but when the engine gets hot and close to overheating it will spit out a ton of black smoke and it will start lugging like it's going to stall. I just shut it off and wait for an hour and go back and do another 10 minutes of work. In the evenings I can make it last longer, also if I just sit with the hood cracked and turn the throttle all the way down I can watch it slowly cool itself down. I assume that means the pump is working and that the thermostat is opening assuming that cooling itself while running and not moving means it's cycling coolant.
One last update, yesterday while trying to lift a 750lb hay bale I appear to have pushed the radiator into the fan and now the radiator is leaking coolant. So, I'm probably replacing the radiator soon if that alters the answers to the above questions...
Thanks for any thoughts and advice.
Well after that post I went out and checked the coolant and the oil level and they were both very low, almost gone. That left me with the impression that I had overheated and possibly damaged the engine. I figured out the valve was broken and got a new one ($3), then the fluid never leaked out again. During colder months I can run it ok (I also added a block heater). But this summer during hot days I can only run it for 10 minutes or less and the temp gets up near 190 which is the overheat point I've learned. The previous owner had installed a temp guage (which I wasn't paying attention too during the tilling day).
I suspect I may have warped the head maybe? I don't see anything milky in the oil. But maybe the head gasket is leaking and causing the overheating? Or maybe even something far worse. I'm no expert and I don't have a lot of time. My work schedule is demanding and we have a small 36 acre farm. I do what I can on weekends. I only mention that to say that if I can spend a few dollars to buy time I will make that choice otherwise I'm pretty frugal and like to do things myself.
What would you do? I think I have 3 options:
1) replace the motor
cost = highest
time = medium?
difficulty = ? (the tech manual makes it sound easy actually, but I've been fooled before...)
2) rebuild the current motor
cost = medium?
time = high?
difficulty = high?
3) continue debugging everything (like mystery air pockets, thermostat, etc.)
cost = small to medium
time = unknown, maybe high unless you're lucky
difficulty = relatively easy
Do you think my assumptions on cost/time/difficulty are correct? After reading posts about mystery overheating I was wondering if I shouldn't just go with the new engine although maybe that's way too expensive? Has anyone ever bought a new or rebuilt engine? If so where would I go (besides a dealer) to get something like that?
I'll make sure the thermostat is working at a minimum but when the engine gets hot and close to overheating it will spit out a ton of black smoke and it will start lugging like it's going to stall. I just shut it off and wait for an hour and go back and do another 10 minutes of work. In the evenings I can make it last longer, also if I just sit with the hood cracked and turn the throttle all the way down I can watch it slowly cool itself down. I assume that means the pump is working and that the thermostat is opening assuming that cooling itself while running and not moving means it's cycling coolant.
One last update, yesterday while trying to lift a 750lb hay bale I appear to have pushed the radiator into the fan and now the radiator is leaking coolant. So, I'm probably replacing the radiator soon if that alters the answers to the above questions...
Thanks for any thoughts and advice.
