2554 heat shields and underhood temps.

[Dascro]

Thanks for the info JSharp.

I agree with Fordlords and JSharp in that I just can't reason why these Kohlers run at the hot temperatures they seem to run at, but they do. The intake air flow pattern pulling in cooler ambient air should exist to the same extent it does in other similarly designed "open hood" lawn and garden tractors including the old Cub Cadets.

Something just doesn't make sense. Also, as I mentioned before, maybe these are the design temperatures for these engines and everything is normal and fine. It would be interesting to know what the actual design parameters and operating (normal and otherwise) temperature boundry conditions are for these engines.

Dave

 

[CCinCT]

After 90 minutes of mowing this afternoon in about 75+, I got 201 on the oil filter and 189 on the heat shield (actually measured in three places, but 186 was the hottest I got). I can't measure air temp, so that's all I got for ya.

Has anyone run these with the center louvers open?

 

[JSharp]

After 90 minutes of mowing this afternoon in about 75+, I got 201 on the oil filter and 189 on the heat shield (actually measured in three places, but 186 was the hottest I got). I can't measure air temp, so that's all I got for ya.

Has anyone run these with the center louvers open?

The last temps I posted were taken with the center louver cover removed.

A couple of questions -

How many hours do you have on your engine? The Kohler support guy did say my oil temps should come down a bit with some hours. Which I already knew.

Was the grass heavy?

Did you use a contact type thermometer to take the measurements?

And last, what kind of oil and filter are you using right now?

The reason to wonder is the varied numbers we've seen between all our tractors and also Fordlords Honda. It's perplexing and there has to be a way to explain these things...

 

[Fordlords]

Just for reference, the oil I use in my Honda engine is Wal-Mart Super-Tech 10W30 dinosaur oil, and the filter is a Fram PH3593A, it's a car sized oil filter that is the cross reference to the Honda OEM filter.

You might want to see if dropping down to a 10W30 will keep the oil a bit cooler.

-Fordlords-

 

[CCinCT]

I have 43.5 hours on the mower now.

The grass was heavy in the last section I cut (about 15-20 minutes worth), but medium everywhere else.

I used a k-type thermometer that came with my Craftsman multimeter.

My dealer used Cub oil and filter when he did his service at 25 hours in January. I'm not using synthetic oil yet, but I plan on switching to synth at my next oil change @ 50 hours.

I do know that this time was NOT the hottest that I've gotten the engine. I generally don't mow in temps over 80 because I personally hate the heat. But I have when I didn't have a choice. I've done so once this year and the engine was a bit hotter than this time (based on non-scientific "feel").

I'm wondering if this could possibly be a problem with the Command 22 and 23's that are in the 2550 and 2554. I don't know what the differences are between the 4 Command variants that were in the Cub 2006 lineup. But it seems like only those with 2550's (Command 22) and 2554's (Command 23) are having the hood problem. Considering the 2542 is the best seller by quite a margin, you'd think we'd be seeing the most problems on that model.

 

[JTKub]

The only thoughts I have on the kohler command cooling in this layout is the way the flywheel has to pull air in behind and around the dash. Maybe it's too restrictive? It's mostly enclosed with the mesh screens on the kick panel and sides of the hood. Maybe that's not enough? I know the liquid cooled kubota diesel powered cub GT's of the late 80's to mid 90's were an absolute nightmare to keep cool. The radiator was packed in the area between the firewall and the engine. The radiator would constantly plug with mowing debris and the engine would quickly overheat. The new 2K series have the muffler right up on the engine that can only make the heat load worse. I've always liked the side mounted vertical engines where the flywheel screen sticks out the side of the hood, like on MrWiggles, WH GT or on the old kohler K powered JD's. That way you can keep it clear and see what's going on.

Joel

 

[JSharp]

JTK, we're talking about the newer plastic hooded models. They appear to be very open to fresh cooling air yet run quite hot. Not to mention the hood problems we've seen... I'd love to see some engine temp numbers from the old metal hooded setup to compare to the new models.

We don't really know the differences between engines on the various models either. A couple reasons we may be seeing these problems on more 2550's and 2554's are - Higher HP engines and higher loads because of the larger decks. But, I bought a large deck to use it. If I have to slow down because of it I might as well have saved the $

I hate mowing when it's hot too. But it has to be done sometimes. And if you mow when it's upper 80's or even in the 90's you'll notice the difference from a day with temps of 75. I know I can tell just like CC stated.

I have thicker oil in mine than I started out with. I broke it in on one of the thicker 10W-30 petroleum oils, then went to a low viscosity ( for a 40 weight ) 10W-40 synthetic. I may try the thinner 0W-30 I have around and see if it makes any difference. I'm also going to use a longer filter the next time I change it. More oil capacity is a good thing IMO. I've been using Wix filters. I think they're good filters and my son works at a parts store that stocks them so my cost is reasonable.

 

[JTKub]

JTK, we're talking about the newer plastic hooded models. .

Thanks JS. I had assumed the new hood design still was fairly enclosed around the engine flywheel screen. I still don't like the 'close-coupled' exhaust on the new models. At least the muffler is somewhat remote mounted on the <2005's.

Joel

 

[jay25rs]

Thanks JS. I still don't like the 'close-coupled' exhaust on the new models. At least the muffler is somewhat remote mounted on the <2005's.

Joel

Any chance you could snap some photos of the exhaust on your machine? I would be interested in trying to retrofit the remote located exhaust from the <2005's.

 

[JSharp]

The earlier 2000 series used a rectangular can muffler and different header pipe. They exit low out the side as I recall. My guess is you'd still need some kind of heatshield to protect the hood and you're looking at $200+ for parts.

Go to the Cub site or Partstree.com and you can see a drawing and diagram of the parts involved.

I bought some fiberglass header tape I'm considering using on my muffler. I also snagged a 10" cooling fan from my kid's pile of derby car parts...