2003 GC2300 broken radiator.

[MattB4]

Well..... This is new OEM...

AGCO 4264836M91 RADIATOR/ASSEMBLY

Lindstrom Equipment provides AGCO ag parts such as the AGCO 4264836M91 RADIATOR/ASSEMBLY.

www.lindstromequipment.com

Yeah at $755 it is a bit beyond worth it for a 20yr old lawn mower that I now use just a few hours a year. I would probably just part out or junk the tractor and buy a zero turn for cutting the lawn.

 

[ray66v]

The aluminum of these radiators is about the thickness of a soda pop can. Unlike the copper radiators that could be soldered I am not sure that how a welding repair could be made.

That's why they braze them.

If you watch the demo's for the aluminum brazing rod, they repair holes in pop cans with it.

 

[MattB4]

I got the first two layers of epoxy on. Tomorrow I will put another 1 or 2. It takes a full 24 hours to cure and though it says it sets in 1 hour I found that 2 hours between coats still found the first coat soft. Maybe by Sunday I can do a water test to see if the leaks have been plugged.

 

[WranglerX]

I got the first two layers of epoxy on. Tomorrow I will put another 1 or 2. It takes a full 24 hours to cure and though it says it sets in 1 hour I found that 2 hours between coats still found the first coat soft. Maybe by Sunday I can do a water test to see if the leaks have been plugged.

Takes about 24 hours to achieve full hardness...... A gentile application of heat (just warm to the touch) will sometime speed up hardening process .... But don't get it "HOT"....

 

[JWR]

I got the first two layers of epoxy on. Tomorrow I will put another 1 or 2. It takes a full 24 hours to cure and though it says it sets in 1 hour I found that 2 hours between coats still found the first coat soft. Maybe by Sunday I can do a water test to see if the leaks have been plugged.

Water tests (?? not sure what that is) don't count. It is Pressure that matters. One can borrow a radiator pressure test kit from most any friendly repair shop OR they can be had under $50 from Amazon. I got one myself, they are easy to use, come with a variety of adapters to match most if not all common radiators, etc. Easily matched both the Kubotas I own and my MF 2660.

The way these work (if you have not already used them) is you use a small hand pump that is part of the kit to pressurize the cooling system including of course the radiator. Run it up to typical pressure (e.g. around 15 psi above ambient; exact pressure not critical) and watch the gauge to see if it stays steady meaning no leaks. Go off and eat your lunch or read your emails and come back and see if the pressure held steady or dropped. Drop means a leak of course.

In Amazon enter

"Coolant Pressure Tester Kit, Manual Pump Radiator Pressure Tester and Adapters" and it will cover you up with selections of them. ​

 

[MattB4]

Water tests (?? not sure what that is) don't count. It is Pressure that matters. ...

If JB Weld is to be believed it claims a rating 4730psi. Since most coolant systems have a pressure relief at 15psi this should be sufficient if a good bond is made. I cleaned the area ahead of time with Throttle body cleaning solution. So if it holds water it will be worth putting back into the tractor and seeing what happens.

One advantage I have is the tractor will not be driving off away from home so if the repair fails it is simply a "Oh Dang!" situation and not a major inconvenience.

 

[5030]

All I can say is good luck with the repair. I have a feeling that in the end, you'll be buying a new radiator anyway....

 

[MattB4]

All I can say is good luck with the repair. I have a feeling that in the end, you'll be buying a new radiator anyway....

Oh I agree is is a long shot but a new radiator at around $1000 delivered is simply not going to happen.

 

[dieselscout80]

If JB Weld is to be believed it claims a rating 4730psi. Since most coolant systems have a pressure relief at 15psi this should be sufficient if a good bond is made. I cleaned the area ahead of time with Throttle body cleaning solution. So if it holds water it will be worth putting back into the tractor and seeing what happens.

One advantage I have is the tractor will not be driving off away from home so if the repair fails it is simply a "Oh Dang!" situation and not a major inconvenience.

I JB Welded a truck ac condenser once after a weld repair was still leaking and it lasted for more than 10 years.

 

[ray66v]

I wouldn't have done it. But I hope it works out for you.

 

[5030]

Kind of curious, did you peruse the tractor salvage yards for a radiator?

Modern radiators are a lot different than old ones. Usually, the top and bottom tanks are plastic and sonic welded to the tubes and really cannot repaired. Kind of planned obsolescence and really not repairable. If it still leaks slightly, I believe I'd add some stop leak as well. Back in the day, we used an egg white as stop leak. Works pretty well actually.

 

[ray66v]

Kind of curious, did you peruse the tractor salvage yards for a radiator?

Modern radiators are a lot different than old ones. Usually, the top and bottom tanks are plastic and sonic welded to the tubes and really cannot repaired. Kind of planned obsolescence and really not repairable. If it still leaks slightly, I believe I'd add some stop leak as well. Back in the day, we used an egg white as stop leak. Works pretty well actually.

I dealt with salvage yards, and buying used parts in my trade, since the 1980's. You probably have a much better chance of being hit by lightning, than finding a used radiator. These tractors, aren't like cars, there aren't salvage yards full of them.

If it's damaged from some sort of accident, they are valuable enough that the chances are it's going to be rebuilt and sold, not parted out. The only common way one would be sold for salvage and parted out, is if it was in a fire. A plastic and aluminum radiator, from a tractor that's a total loss from a fire, is probably not any good. And, I would bet they have people already looking for it, if they did get one in.

They also aren't stupid. They are not going to sell it, for peanuts. They have the internet too. They can look it up to see what a new one costs. When we bought a used part that was rare, we usually paid a high price for it. Buying a used radiator for a GC, to save $200, is not worth it. And, I would bet, that's around where you would be.

 

[MattB4]

It held water so I went ahead and put it back into the tractor. I ran it for a some time until warmed up and noticed no leaking so I buttoned everything up. I then went out and mowed some lawn for little more than 1/2 hour with the Temperature near 80F outdoors. Tractor got plenty warm but not overheated. After parking back on the concrete in front of my shop I looked all over for signs of leakage. Could not find any. So for the moment the repair is holding.

Yeah the tank has the blow molded plastic top and bottom. It really is not designed for repair. But if they wanted to sell replacements for something that has maybe $5 worth of material in it they should set the price more reasonable. Like $200-$300.

How long it will last is anyone's guess but for now it is working. Thanks everyone for your advice and help.

 

[ray66v]

I don't know of a single part on these that's "reasonable", as far as price goes.

If you haven't replaced the rubber washers that mount the steering controller, you haven't seen anything.

Last time I got them, was before Covid. It was $64 then, for some rubber washers, and 4 small steel bushings. Easily, less than $2 worth of stuff.

I'm going to make my own washers next time. I only bought the bushings because they were redesigned, slightly shorter.

 

[JWR]

It held water so I went ahead and put it back into the tractor. I ran it for a some time until warmed up and noticed no leaking so I buttoned everything up. I then went out and mowed some lawn for little more than 1/2 hour with the Temperature near 80F outdoors. Tractor got plenty warm but not overheated. After parking back on the concrete in front of my shop I looked all over for signs of leakage. Could not find any. So for the moment the repair is holding.

Yeah the tank has the blow molded plastic top and bottom. It really is not designed for repair. But if they wanted to sell replacements for something that has maybe $5 worth of material in it they should set the price more reasonable. Like $200-$300.

How long it will last is anyone's guess but for now it is working. Thanks everyone for your advice and help.

I really hope it holds and you solved your problem. These incidents are always at least somewhat educational for all of us ...similar to a bunch of old men sitting on a sagging bench in front of the Post Office porch in a country town solving world politics...
What puzzles me is that I bought a radiator off Amazon last year for a similar sized Kubota compact. Brand new, though aftermarket, & not Kubota branded. I paid $124.43 for it, delivered. What on earth causes such huge price differences?

 

[MattB4]

I don't know of a single part on these that's "reasonable", as far as price goes.

If you haven't replaced the rubber washers that mount the steering controller, you haven't seen anything.

Last time I got them, was before Covid. It was $64 then, for some rubber washers, and 4 small steel bushings. Easily, less than $2 worth of stuff.

I'm going to make my own washers next time. I only bought the bushings because they were redesigned, slightly shorter.

The hydraulic cylinder seals on the loader were like that. IIRC it was over $50 for a couple of nylon bushings and rubber O-rings.

 

[ray66v]

What puzzles me is that I bought a radiator off Amazon last year for a similar sized Kubota compact. Brand new, though aftermarket, & not Kubota branded. I paid $124.43 for it, delivered. What on earth causes such huge price differences?

Simple, one is OEM qualtiy, and there are several people handling it, who all mark it up, including the dealer.

The other is an aftermarket, low end, Chinese copy, bought almost directly from the company who made it.

There are a lot more Kubota's, so there is enough of a market for them to chose to invest in making aftermarket parts, because there is a good chance of recovering their investment.

We can't even get Fram to make an oil filter for us. And, I'm not kidding, I asked them.

 

[MattB4]

Just in case you need an oil filter Wix 51360 works good.

 

[etpm]

Simple, one is OEM qualtiy, and there are several people handling it, who all mark it up, including the dealer.

The other is an aftermarket, low end, Chinese copy, bought almost directly from the company who made it.

There are a lot more Kubota's, so there is enough of a market for them to chose to invest in making aftermarket parts, because there is a good chance of recovering their investment.

We can't even get Fram to make an oil filter for us. And, I'm not kidding, I asked them.

Much of the stuff made today is only made in China or Taiwan or India or etc. What finally made me go directly to the Chinese suppliers was when I was buying German tooling for my CNC machines. I was talking to a fellow machine shop owner and he showed me some Chinese ER collets he had just received. They were in the exact same packaging as the German collets I was buying for 6 times the price. It turned out that the German company had moved all their production to China. Moved all their machines. I checked the accuracy of my "German" collets and my friend's Chinese collets. No difference. WTF? Anyway, I just gave up and bought Chinese. Because the OEM stuff was made in China but priced like it was made in Germany. I am finally retired and no longer need to make these decisions. Good thing too. For my mental health.
Eric

 

[ray66v]

Much of the stuff made today is only made in China or Taiwan or India or etc. What finally made me go directly to the Chinese suppliers was when I was buying German tooling for my CNC machines. I was talking to a fellow machine shop owner and he showed me some Chinese ER collets he had just received. They were in the exact same packaging as the German collets I was buying for 6 times the price. It turned out that the German company had moved all their production to China. Moved all their machines. I checked the accuracy of my "German" collets and my friend's Chinese collets. No difference. WTF? Anyway, I just gave up and bought Chinese. Because the OEM stuff was made in China but priced like it was made in Germany. I am finally retired and no longer need to make these decisions. Good thing too. For my mental health.
Eric

While it is true a lot of the production is done in china, Kubota has standards that they require that manufacturer to meet.

A knock off generator, has NO standards whatsoever.

I had to work with aftermarket crap all my life. Radiators, condensers, Bumpers, sheet metal parts, headlights, taillights, all inferior. And, ridiculously poor tolerances.

A lot of the time, it didn't fit at all, or required modification to use, if you could at all.

There is a definite difference in quality of aftermarket parts. It's just that most people don't have enough experience with the stuff to see it. They used this, or that, and think they can make conclusions from it.

If your vehicle is 12-15 years old, there can be times where it makes sense.

The exception to all this is, sometimes, the same company that made the OEM part, will sell it direct. It doesn't happen a lot, but it can. The thing is, you don't always know if it is genuine, or not, when you buy it. They aren't always completely honest.