Chronic Kioti DK40 SE Overheating - Seeking Advice on Removing Thermostat

[dstig1]

Yeah i forgot about testing the Tstat on the stove. If you have a candy thermometer, put that in the water too and heat up slowly and watch it throughout. Good idea guys

 

[D&D]

I’m away for vacation. Anyone have a wiring diagram to see the engine temp sensor? Unplug it and check for continuity/voltage changes

 

[Rhino35]

Have you put your thermostat in a pan of water with a thermometer
to see if the stat is working? You should be able to check with the
temp of the stat with the meter

willy

I haven't gotten to that point yet, but it's a good idea. I did get an infrared thermometer gun last week and will trouble shoot in the next couple of weeks. I talked to the dealership and they reiterated taking the thermostat out completely and operating without one might actually lead to more overheating - saying the coolant needs to "be in the radiator" long enough for heat transfer to occur.

 

[Alan46]

I haven't gotten to that point yet, but it's a good idea. I did get an infrared thermometer gun last week and will trouble shoot in the next couple of weeks. I talked to the dealership and they reiterated taking the thermostat out completely and operating without one might actually lead to more overheating - saying the coolant needs to "be in the radiator" long enough for heat transfer to occur.

Have you tried just driving around without using any implements and see how the temperature does?

 

[Williy]

Have you tried at night with a bright light to see if your radiator is free
from dust all the way down to the bottom??
Have you taken the radiator cap off then start your tractor to see if coolant is free flowing??
Is your fan belt tight??
Plenty of coolant??

willy

 

[EddieWalker]

I've deal with overheating issues with some of my tractors. Is your fan belt tight and is your fan spinning properly? Does it continue to spin when you are at working RPM's?

Is the water pump turning at the same speed as the fan? Does it have a clutch that might not be engaging?

The temperature gun is a good idea. I had an issue that I couldn't find with hydraulic fluid being too hot. It was an idiot light that comes on at a random times. It might not come on all day, it might come on two minutes after starting the tractor. I used the temperature gun to see what the temps where on my lines, on my tank, and everywhere I could find, and it wasn't very hot at all.

On another tractor, I was overheating after running it all day. I blew it out with my air compressor, but that didn't seem to work. One day, my dad decided to soak it really, REALLY good with the hose. I was shocked how much dirt was in the radiator fins. I wasn't getting it cleaned very well at all with the air compressor. I now have one of those air wands that attach to the air compressor that gets in there really good. I haven't had an issue since then.

With water, if you run the engine for a little bit after washing out the fins, the water evaporates and the radiator is dry when you go back to into the field.

 

[Rhino35]

Great posts and thanks! Tomorrow it is going to be 80 degrees, low humidity, and I'm going to troubleshoot the tractor radiator. With the cleaning stuff I got, rinsing it, drying it, and checking the temperatures. I'll bush hog and see what the temps read with the IR gun showing "normal", and if it starts rising I'll read the engine and radiator again. I might even "gun" the PTO area and the top of the bush hog before and after. Hopefully I'll have something enlightening to share here.

 

[Rhino35]

Have you tried just driving around without using any implements and see how the temperature does?

Alan,

Ummmm, okay, I'll confess. Taking off the bushhog, or the FEL, that is easy I know for most people, but it is a real adventure for me. I won't if I can possibly avoid it. I do have neighbors who would help me so I'll keep your suggestion in mind. Thanks!

 

[garry1p]

I had the same problem on a 33 hp tractor when running the bush hog temp would creep up slowly started after 35 min to an hour to reach 220 I stopped the tractor at 230.

I finally gave up when I could not find the cause, so my solution was go to the junk yard and buy a 12VDC auto fan with a shroud (I think it came off and older Volvo). I mounted it in front of the radiator blowing through the radiator.
I wired it from the battery to a switch and when the temp started to creep up to 190 I switched on the fan
PROBLEM Solved I could run all day.

EDIT: I had been running it with the hood off so I could run it longer before shutting down and just left it off since the fan wouldn't fit with the hood mounted.

 

[EddieWalker]

Alan,

Ummmm, okay, I'll confess. Taking off the bushhog, or the FEL, that is easy I know for most people, but it is a real adventure for me. I won't if I can possibly avoid it. I do have neighbors who would help me so I'll keep your suggestion in mind. Thanks!

I absolutely hate attaching my mower to the tractor. It used to be a 6 foot cutter on a 37hp tractor, now it's a 12 foot batwing on a 70hp tractor. Once it's all hooked up, it's staying on there until everything stops growing in the Fall. I'll take it off then and do things with the loader, or just park it for months at a time.