Almost overheated 3710 today

[dgood1]

My new tractor allmost got overheated today. I was doing a fair amount of bush hogging today, about 4 hrs worth in the 95 - 98 deg. heat. When I started out the temp gauge stayed below the 1/4 mark for the first 3 hrs. When I got to the high stuff in my lower field I saw the temp guage start to go up slowly. I was running in 5th gear on the GST and was having to use the foot throttle from time to time to keep the RPM's up.

When the temp guage got up to the 3/4 mark I noticed slight smell of coolant. I then stopped the PTO, dropped the RPM's and headed to the house. When I got there I found that the grilles were all clogged with seeds and that the filter for the radiator was also clogged.

I cleaned all of the filters including the air filter. The air filter didn't have much dust in it. Checked the oil and went back to cutting. The temp guage stayed at or below the 1/4 mark.

The high weeds sure did clog everything up fast. The weeds were about 4 to 6' high.

The more that I use my "baby" the better I like it. I really like the GST when I'm out cutting as I can set the throtle lever and then all that I have to do is steer and keep my eyes open for any problems.

I used up 4 of my 5 shear pins on the RFM. Looks like I will have to buy another hand full. What a way to spend a vacation. Quality seat time! I am now up to 20 hrs. at this rate it won't be long before the 50 hr mark comes.

Well I have finnished my adult beverage and I need to get to bed so that I can start before the temp gets too high.

Don

 

[tugokc]

Yep I did the same thing last week. 6' tall johnson grass, not really much dirt, but the outer filter on the brand new 3000DT was pretty much coated within 2 hours and she nearly pegged out in the red. Cleaned the filter, and back to cool running.

 

[dgood1]

TugOkc,

I guess that because my machine is so new, that I was watching the temp guage fairly close.

My other tractor a 70 hp Leland never had this problem as it is a much taller ag style.

This was a lesson learned without learning "the hard way".

Don

 

[GarageSmoker]

Had the same problem with my 3010 last week. Was on day 4 of cutting down very tall weeds on my 5 acres and noticed I was running hot. Decided it was a good time for a break and parked it in the shade. Opened it up and found all kinds of crap in the screens. Easy to get them out and brush them off though and it went back to normal temp. Like you I didn't find much of anything in the air filter.

GS

 

[Anonymous Poster]

dgood1,
It is not unusual to have to clean out the screen and grill. That is common especially when the stuff is dry and frying everywhere. Also, 5th gear on a GST is usually considered to be a transport gear and not one normally used in working situations. The increased load on the engine would be considerable adding in the load of the bushhog in heavy growth. A word of caution, I know of at least 2 people that have overturned thier tractor in similar situations. One hit a fireant mound and turned the tractor over in a heartbeat. Be careful and enjoy your new tractor!! Maybe consider slowing down to 4th. On my 4310GST 4th is plenty fast and is safer!
Greg H

 

[dgood1]

GS,

I see that you have a FEL. Did you find it a bit of a pain to get the screen off/on for cleaning?

My oldest boy "helped" me by taking the screen off, but couldn't remember which side the thick rubber part went on. We made the "assumption" that it was on the trailing edge as it was the most simple way to install. The manual is not clear on this matter.

Been a long time since I lived down in your neck of the woods. I used to live S. of Miami, but got out of there in '79.

Don

 

[cisco]

3410 - been there, did same thing, kicked myself in the behind for almost frying my engine. Run of thumb - if the stuff you're cutting gets up to the height of the lower part of your front grill - you're going to clog the radiator screen quickly - no problem, just glance at the temp gauge every 5 minutes or so, and if it gets to 1/2 way between cold and overheated - time to stop and dust off the screen. I hose off the screen during the summer after every 3-4 hours on the tractor - easy, quick (yes, I have a FEL) and my tractor remains happy, and doesn't need anti-perspirant. The outer air filter on the carb intake takes a lot longer to foul, but shaking off the dust periodically seems a good idea.

 

[dgood1]

Cisco,

I guess that I should have been more alert to the overheating potential. I had put about 16 hrs on the machine without it going much over the 1/4 mark and was feeling like the thing would never have a problem with heating up. There you go with those assumtions.

Had I stopped during my cutting of the high stuff I would have seen that the grill work was all clogged with seeds. That would have made me look at the radiator screen. This is one of the learning expierences.

Don

 

[Alan L.]

The screen in front of the radiator on my 2710 doesn't do too good of a job of stopping crud from getting in the radiator. I find it pretty difficult to get to the crud on the radiator because it gets low on the front so that trying to hose it out from the inside is hard because the fan is in the way.

 

[dgood1]

Alan,

The screen on my 3710 seems to do a real good job on the the seeds. I used an air gun to blow out the dust and that seemed to work as my temp guage hasn't gone but about one needle width above the 1/4 mark since cleaning. I have worked the tractor fairly hard since the cleaning.

Don