1505 Diesel Running Hot(er)

[Rip]

The 1505 engine in my F-3680 (3000 hrs) running hotter than it used to with new t-stat, cap, clean rad, coolant, oil & fuel filters, etc. Not really 'over heating' as such, but concerned. Runs well with good power but wondering about injector timing/spray pattern (have no experience with injectors)? Wondering if any had similar experience with this engine & problem?

Have another 1105 engine in similar machine (2000 hrs) and at idle it shows about 30 deg F cooler block and rad tank (per infrared temp gun) than the 1505 under same conditions. Dash temp gauge also about 30% vs 45% on the 1505 engine at warm idle.

Cheers, Rip

 

[m5guy]

I had a grasshopper mower with a Kubota diesel started running hotter and hotter... Had a screen to keep grass out of the rad... It will also trap the grass in rad. Had to pull the rad and pressure wash it out. It was plugged solid

 

[Hay Dude]

The 1505 engine in my F-3680 (3000 hrs) running hotter than it used to with new t-stat, cap, clean rad, coolant, oil & fuel filters, etc. Not really 'over heating' as such, but concerned. Runs well with good power but wondering about injector timing/spray pattern (have no experience with injectors)? Wondering if any had similar experience with this engine & problem?

Have another 1105 engine in similar machine (2000 hrs) and at idle it shows about 30 deg F cooler block and rad tank (per infrared temp gun) than the 1505 under same conditions. Dash temp gauge also about 30% vs 45% on the 1505 engine at warm idle.

Cheers, Rip

Carefully Power wash the radiator with hot water and maybe some soap for 20-30 minutes until nothing but clean water comes out. Pressurized air cleaning works only for so long. Then a “deep cleaning” has to be done with hot water.

 

[Rip]

I do clean screen and radiator after EVERY mow with air and/water, but no hot water at my shed. Would be difficult to use pressure washer and could damage the soft aluminium fins, but may have to pull the whole thing and have a go at it.... inside & out.

 

[JWR]

I do clean screen and radiator after EVERY mow with air and/water, but no hot water at my shed. Would be difficult to use pressure washer and could damage the soft aluminium fins, but may have to pull the whole thing and have a go at it.... inside & out.

Yeah, if you clean it the way you described regularly it is probably not the external radiator cleanliness. And I doubt injectors have anything to do with it. I've had a couple Kubota small 3 cyl diesels that tended to run hot and eventually close to the red line when mowing in hot weather. One of them was found to have an internally clogged radiator which was the main problem. Simple flushing did not fix it. I replaced thermostat and radiator cap and all that to no avail. At least on the BX2200 I was working on, the radiator was not very expensive. Also depending on your nearby service shops you may be able to get your radiator cleaned out internally for reasonable costs.

The radiator for the BX2200 was $120USD on Amazon. Hard to get much done at a shop for $120. May be cheaper to replace than to have it worked on, esp if you can do that yourself.

 

[Rip]

Thanks JWR.... my next step is to use a cooling system flush product to better clean the insides and see what it does. As I said, not actually overheating at this point, just noticeably running hotter than used to and my other nearly identical 1105 engine. Will check out new rad cost just in case need to go the 'final' step.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and Everyone !!!

 

[SirMaxwell]

RIP, I know it's been a little while, but have you ever solved your issue with heating?

 

[Rip]

SirMaxwell, Was near end of heavy mowing season and with what I had done, the machine finished up with no real overheating issues. I did discover the (not original) water pump had a leaky seal, so replaced it.... a tight squeeze but no drama.... but sure it was not causing the hot-running. No internal engine corrosion evident, but no good look at radiator internal. Be a while before back into the heavy mowing... will keep close eye on it.
I am pushing the large 72" deck at about 4" high and keep blades sharp.... but with mostly steep terrain (made chains for the very steepest parts!) the machine is working pretty hard. Still nothing better for this property!
Cheers, Rip

 

[SirMaxwell]

SirMaxwell, Was near end of heavy mowing season and with what I had done, the machine finished up with no real overheating issues. I did discover the (not original) water pump had a leaky seal, so replaced it.... a tight squeeze but no drama.... but sure it was not causing the hot-running. No internal engine corrosion evident, but no good look at radiator internal. Be a while before back into the heavy mowing... will keep close eye on it.
I am pushing the large 72" deck at about 4" high and keep blades sharp.... but with mostly steep terrain (made chains for the very steepest parts!) the machine is working pretty hard. Still nothing better for this property!
Cheers, Rip

Rip, Thanks for the reply. I was having a heating issue myself for a bit. Not over heating, but higher than what I have found to be normal. Pop open the hood, wait a view minutes and it would go right back to normal in a few minutes. As I always try and keep my screens and radiators (water and hydraulic) flushed and cleaned, I was a bit concerned about the heat. I even considered putting in hood vents during some particular sessions and frustration! . Finally I said screw it, pulled the radiators and found a couple of small clogs that I was missing during normal cleaning, but still maybe only 10%. But after a thorough cleaning, I noticed what I now believe was the real issue.

Clay!

A very thin layer on all the fins, that had been deposited and heat cycled over time and was nearly tough as ceramic. Like Space Shuttle stuff. It did not come off during regular cleaning.

A couple days of heated water and heavy soap soaking, then careful pressure washing and it appears cleaned. Haven't seen the issue return in two weeks now, and will keep an eye on it. I've also become much more diligent at using my Radiator Genie set to air blow and wash those rad's.

Of course, now my OCD kicks in everytime the temp needle flickers ..

So far so good. Good luck to you.

Max

 

[Rip]

These helpful tid-bits are what user forums like this are good for Max! Rich clay soil is what we are known for even though most of my drier season dust is grass chaff, the nearby agricultural paddocks can produce fair bit of clay dust at times.

Will keep close eye out for such problem with this machine when back into regular mowing season. Seems we are in a bit of drought period again, so could be a while.

Had pretty severe drought in '15-'16 when were in dire straits regarding the (usually quite reliable) island hydro electric supply, coincident with 6 month outage of the under-sea power cable. Down to 12-13% reservoir capacity and brought in dozens of shipping-container-size diesel generators to augment the system.... then the rains slowly came around again and the cable got repaired (but old and not deemed reliable these days), so crisis averted!! Overall hydro dam capacity around 30% at moment versus 40% +/- that would be 'normal' this time of year. Will keep fingers crossed and see how rest of the 'rainy' season goes!!

Thanks and Good Luck to all!! Cheers, Rip