Class 3 Radiator Screen

[MODiesel]

OK..

I know somehow out there has grumbled about this before but I couldn't find a reference. Upgrading from a TC29D which had a nice, easily removed & cleaned radiator screen, I'm a bit miffed that my new TC40 doesn't have anything similar. Mowing in 3-4ft tall grass, I get tons of chaff and dust in the radiator. I've brought along a 5-gal compressor tank to blow it out, but that gives me one good cleaning, and on a long day of mowing, the engine gets pretty warm by the end of the day when the radiator is again plugged up with dust/chaff.

So, has anyone figured out a way to rig a field-removable screen? Any ideas would be great as we're getting to the hotter part of the summer and I know my tractor is going to need a clean, free-flowing radiator to stay cool.

Thanx & Best Regards,
Jay

 

[djradz]

Jay, I bought a section of fine stainless steel screen from McMaster-Carr and cut it to fit (with each edge rolled over about 1/2" inside the radiator frame so it's tight against the coils. I did the same with the hydro cooler but had to have it slide in behind the plates on the front of the cooler and then attach it to the cooler inlet and outlet lines at the top by using a couple of short lengths of wire. It's not as nice as a screen with a frame you can slide in and out of, but since the mesh is finer that a standard window screen, it filters just about everything out. You just have to be careful to check and clean them as necessary to prevent blocking flow. I'll try to take a picture and post it soon.

 

[jinman]

Jay, I've never had a problem with my "D" model tractor due to the fine screen grill. Several times I've seen the temperature gage approach the top limit and just shut off the tractor and wiped off the "cotton" from the front and top grills with my hand. On my tractor, it seems that anything finer just passes right through the transmission cooler and radiator and gets blown out of the engine compartment by the fan. Everytime I wash my tractor I just rinse off the surface dust residue from the radiator. Overheating has never been a problem even in Texas heat. What kind of hood grill do you have on your tractor? Does the hood seal so no debris can get to the radiator without going through the grill? Sometimes my grill looks like the lint filter on a clothes dryer, but I've never seen the same inside on the radiator. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[MODiesel]

My TC40D is box stock with, I assume, the same grill as all the others. I'm getting the same sort of "cotton dust" on my radiator and hydro cooler as you get on the front of the grill and the little section above the intake tube. Maybe our dust here is "finer." Dunno...

I was thinking I would have to rig some sort of screen but just wasn't sure what others had done. Time to get creative, I guess. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Best Regards,
Jay

 

[Rch]

Recent thread re clogged radiator
Diesel-Jay, see above. The screen clogs up too /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[jinman]

Jay, my grill has holes smaller than 1/16" (probably 1/32). I'm certain our grills are the same because I think our tractors are about the same age. Just yesterday I was rinsing out the radiator and noticed only a fine dust. Did you say that all your rubber internal hood seals are in place? How about the screen under the battery? Is it possible it has a hole in it? Maybe I should re-read your first post...or just concede that you have finer, stickier "cotton" than I have. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif