950, 5ft bushhog overheating

[DK35vince]

A 950 should handle a 5' cutter under those conditions without overheating.
Check the fan blades and belt.
If they are OK the radiator most likely needs cleaned.
My JD 850 was having overheat problems. I took the radiator to repair shop and had it cleaned inside and out. The overheat problem went away

 

[JohnDeereHere]

The 950 and 1050 have the same CID.The turbo is the only difference.The 950 has 27.4hp at the PTO,the 1050 has 33.4hp.Per John Deere specs the 950 can handle the 6ft. 606 rotary cutter.I don't think you need a bigger tractor.Maybe a cooling system flush,and a coolant temp gauge could narrow down the issue.A friend of mine has a 955 that keeps activating the idiot light under hard use,but the tractor has no other signs of overheating.

 

[stuckmotor]

are we talking a jd950? if so i had the same prob once with my 950 5foot brushhog i mow on steap side hills, also grass about nee high and it was 90 degrees. i really didnt solve the prob i just mow when its cool in the evning never in 4weel.and havent had a prob so far.

I've been trying to figure out what make tractor it is too.

 

[farmgirl19]

I "assumed" a JD, because it is under the JD owning/operating section.

 

[JerryG]

The front of the mower needs to be adjusted about 1" lower than a back. That will decrease the amount of work on the engine.

 

[RoyJackson]

Your 950 should easily handle a 5' cutter.

As others have written, ensure that radiator is clean as well as the grill and side panels. I keep and old 2" paint brush (with the bristles cut down to about 1") in the tool compartment to clean those grills fairly frequently.

Since the 950 was used when you bought it, I suggest it wouldn't hurt to flush the radiator and check the hoses. You may know that coolant hoses have a reinforcement molded into them...and when the hose gets old, those reinforcement don't work as well. That can result in the hose collapsing and reduced coolant flow.
And, of course, check the thermostat...

 

[dmrp6510]

Take a look at the brush hog do you have anything wrapped up in it and is it spinning freely if your binding or have something in it it would cause it to over heat from being over worked.

 

[chriswheeler]

I can run my 950 4wd all day long with a 5' brushog with little or no effort on the tractor in 90 degrees +. Most likely you have a thermostat problem, radiator needs flushing, or some other cooling system problem. This thing could run a 6' hog just as easy. What and how you are mowing makes a big difference, but not enough to explain what is happening to you. I dumped the lights on mine and have gages. Tractor runs 175-180 all day long and never moves no matter what. Also, if you are still running the warning lights, could be the sender is bad. You got some sort of cooling system problem, you might check that out.
Chris

 

[Anomic]

Well i got the infeared theomometer and here is what i got

Manifold 325
Block 210
Thermostat housing 220
Radiator (fins) 135
Top of radiator 210
I was only mowing the yard which is 1acre and i do it every week so its not that hard compared to the meadow. The idiot light did not come on.

 

[JimRB]

My JD870 was loading up pretty hard mowing 1.5' tall wet weeds today. Mowing in 6th gear. I would not mow that fast if I was going to be loading up my engine that much. Weeds got thinner after a minute. I would guess there is a fair chance you are loading up the tractor too much. On my tractor you can hear it load up and you can look at the exhaust changing colors as it tries to dump more fuel in to keep up the speed. Note that if your fuel filter and strainer are clogged your engine may run lean which means it will run hotter than normal. I have never overheated my 870 but my grass on my property never gets super thick as horse eat it down. Across the street nothing eating the grass so it could get thick and tall with enough rain.

My 870 has 1 more horsepower, or maybe a lot more as it only has 545 hours on it.