Ford3000 white smoke - radiator?

[Jstpssng]

Topped off oil and antifreeze and she ran pretty well (thanks for the advice!!). It needed about 3/4 gallon of antifreeze and a little less than two quarts of oil (dipstick was at the 'Fill' line). I checked the parts diagrams and there is no antifreeze overflow tank, just the hose.

Ran it for about 2-2.5 hours today and noticed the whole time that the radiator overflow line dripped. I am going to go out on a limb and say that the cloud of hissing white smoke was due to me running out of antifreeze, and am going to hope there is no real permanent damage. I'll definitely check the fluid levels more often...

What would cause my overflow line to continually drip?

Follow-on Question:
I'm going to repair or buy a temperature gauge. Since my whole instrument panel is not functional would it be worth the time to rewire the whole thing to get a thermostat working or should I buy a 3rd party one off eBay or somewhere? Basically, Im not sure how hard itd be just to get the existing temperature gauge working.


Thank you!!!!!!!!!

Try a new radiator cap. I was having similar problems when I bought my first Kubota, I couldn't even run the bush hog in hot weather as it would spew antifreeze out the overflow. In my case I ended up having a new neck put on the radiator, but I ran it for years after that and never had another problem.

 

[JRobyn]

I have seen behavior like this before, particularly with diesels that have been run hard. Everything in the engine is toasty, and then you throttle down and that heat goes into the coolant, but the coolant is not being "cooled" as much, so you have a temporary boil over/vent.

 

[brumer0]

I have seen behavior like this before, particularly with diesels that have been run hard. Everything in the engine is toasty, and then you throttle down and that heat goes into the coolant, but the coolant is not being "cooled" as much, so you have a temporary boil over/vent.

Thanks. Would a new radiator fix this?

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Thanks. Would a new radiator fix this?

Maybe, but an old engine with hard water in it will likely have all kinds of calcified crud in the water jackets.

 

[brumer0]

I知 going to flush the system first and use Prestone flush & cleaner for it too. If that doesn稚 work, we値l see.

Thanks everybody

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

old shade tree mechanic troubleshoot trick.

With motor cold, Take off the radiator cap, start the motor, if you see bubbles in the filler cap, not good.

Head gasket leak possibly.

 

[JRobyn]

Thanks. Would a new radiator fix this?

In many cases, there's not a thing wrong with the radiator, except that it isn't flowing air well enough. So the best fix is to be sure that the air-side of the radiator is clean, fan belt snug, and adequate coolant level. Tractors are particularly notorious for clogging radiators with weed chaff.

 

[brumer0]

Tractors are particularly notorious for clogging radiators with weed chaff.

This is spot on. When I took off the grill it was 80% clogged with a thick layer of weed parts.

Now I just want to do any due diligence and maintenance I should致e done before this incident.

I will check for radiator bubbles. Good idea.

Thanks again folks!



What is with this website and an iPhone, safari, and apostrophes?!