Cleaning the radiator

[flusher]

We just acquired a International 886. On looking closer at the machine I noticed what appeared to be mud in the fins of the radiator. I surmised that it was a buildup of dust over time and moisture made it solidify.

Spent 45 minutes this morning with hose & hot water going through it, just spraying the radiator from both sides. I was amazed at the amound of muck that worked its way out of the fins. This is a VERY clean looking tractor but there was a ton of crud in the fins.

Later on, when I was cutting one of the fields, I noticed something kind of interesting. The other day when I was cutting, the temp gauge was in the middle of the green. Presumably "normal" range.

Today as I was cutting, (it does happen to be a couple degrees cooler today), none the less, the meter wasn't even IN the green. Was just barely touching the bottom edge of the green.

I presume the crud I cleared out has helped the airflow through the radiator and done that.

Once we get our 10' cutter (I was using a 5') I will expect to put a larger load on the engine and maybe see the temp more in the 'normal' range.

I bought a 1966 MF-135 diesel last July. The radiator air passages were about 3/4 blocked. Took better part of two days to get all the crud out. Otherwise the radiator is fine. Not a trace of gunk in the coolant and it flushes clean as a whistle.

 

[flusher]

I just purchased a Kubota Grand L 5240 and bush hog. I have about 16 hours. I am in a field with weeds about 4-5' high. I thought that I would not get much seed in the radiator and oil cooler. I was running the fel low so the bucket would knock down some of the weeds. After 3 hours there was considerable debris on the radiator screen. The only way to clean it was to raise the fel, pop the hood and remove the side panel to get the metal screen out. I thought JD 4000 series was whimpy because of the plastic screen but in retrospect probably a good idea. Anyway I used a compressor and blew out the seeds. The whole process took some time and I had to work around a raised fel.

!

It's much easier on my 2005 Kubota B7510HST with the LA302 FEL. Just pop the hood and grab the little handle on the removable radiator screen. Only need to brush it off with my hand to get it cleared. No need to remove the side panels.

 

[skipmarcy]

I would check the thermostat (or lack of one) for correct operation, if it has one it's probably stuck open. The other possibility is that the sending unit is out of spec with the gauge but I would lean towards the thermostat. The gauge should never read lower than normal range once the engine has run for awhile, except in extremely cold weather - the thermo. regulates this. If the gauge system is OK electrically, it has to be the thermo. Different story for one running hotter than normal - more possibilities to cause a problem, but that isn't what your's is doing.

 

[skipmarcy]

I would check the thermostat (or lack of one) for correct operation, if it has one it's probably stuck open. The other possibility is that the sending unit is out of spec with the gauge but I would lean towards the thermostat. The gauge should never read lower than normal range once the engine has run for awhile, except in extremely cold weather - the thermo. regulates this. If the gauge system is OK electrically, it has to be the thermo. Different story for one running hotter than normal - more possibilities to cause a problem, but that isn't what your's is doing.

This message was directed at Richard - forgot to quote !!

 

[chrisjbell]

It's much easier on my 2005 Kubota B7510HST with the LA302 FEL. Just pop the hood and grab the little handle on the removable radiator screen. Only need to brush it off with my hand to get it cleared. No need to remove the side panels.

Even with those screens in front of the radiator you'll get crud in the actual radiator. That stuff is especially gnarly if you hit it with water because it is all small enough to go through the radiator screen - it'll sneak into the fins and turn into gunk.

The other thing that happens with the screens is if you pull 'em out with the engine running they drop some of the stuff off as they come out, which is immediately sucked onto the radiator ...

 

[Bob_Young]

Chris is right, flusher, get behind the radiator with an air gun and blow out any stuff that made it past the screen.

Dandelions are seeding out around here and the B7610 looked like it had a full face beard when I finished mowing today. Cleaned the grille, then found another mess on the screen and cleaned that. Looked down at the front of the radiator and saw a mat of stuff spread across the radiator fins. Blew that out from behind the radiator. Surprised that none of this seemed to affect the operating temperature.

As long as you get it out before it gets wet, it comes out easy.
Bob