GC1720 low coolant

[The4Stooges]

I’ve got a GC 1720 with roughly 220hrs on it. It’s 6 years old I think. I only use it in the summer to cut grass.

Well the last week or so when I’ve been cutting grass my temps have been getting higher than normal to about 3/4ths of the way to the H line on the gauge. So when I checked the coolant reservoir, the coolant is on the low line. I don’t remember what it was new when I bought the tractor but I’m guessing it was closer to top line. My question is, is it normal to lose a little coolant over the years? Or where is my leak? Engine oil looks good. Do the water pumps go bad at these things?

I was at my dealer today getting a gallon of antifreeze and told them about it, but they didn’t seem too concerned about it. Told me to top it off and keep an eye on it. I’d like to stay on top of this issue cause I think I still have a little bit of factory warranty left on it. Not sure if it was a 5 year or 7 year warranty.

Thanks

Chad

 

[Snobdds]

Blow out your radiator and screen. Don't forget the screens below the steering wheels.

Make sure you do this often.

Also make sure your air filter is not dirty.

 

[The4Stooges]

Blow out your radiator and screen. Don't forget the screens below the steering wheels.

Make sure you do this often.

Also make sure your air filter is not dirty.

I blow the radiator out and the screen next to it get pulled out and cleaned. How do I get to the screen below the steering wheel?

Air cleaner gets cleaned every so often so I know to check it.

 

[JWR]

I agree with your dealer -- top off the radiator, check it once in a while and do not worry about it. With 220 hrs on it and 6 years old or so I see those as near perfect categories of tractors to buy used ! I am not one who worships the chemistry of radiator contents. It's good for at least 10 years in my book. You do not have any leak based on what you have said and don't worry about water pumps. They seem to last forever on tractors.

If you never use it except for cutting grass in the summer I would think a high priority for you is how you look out for it in storage many months each year. Keeping it in the dry, maybe a trickle charger / keeper on the battery, liberal use of rat repellant/poison to keep from having your wiring chewed, etc.

I doubt you have any warrantees left and you do not seem to need one either.

Best of luck.

 

[lpakiz]

Clean the radiator. When you think youre done, put a trouble light in behind the radiator, next to the fan blades. In the shop or on an overcast day, if you can't see the light, youre not done cleaning.

Be advised that there are several layers of screens and cooling devices that all try to plug up and restrict air flow. There are transmission coolers, inter coolers for turbo air, AC condenser and screens. Many times, the first front radiator looks pretty clean, but the chafe and vegetative matter will be accumulated on a subsequent component.
Some equipment had the AC condenser mounted in such a way that you could remove the fasteners and swing the condenser out of the way without unhooking the Freon hoses, to facilitate cleaning interior components.
Before you spend any time or money looking for overheating concerns, make sure you can see light completely thru the cooling system components.

 

[The4Stooges]

I def going to clean the radiator and screens and check it with the trouble light like you suggested. I guess my concern was the loss of coolant. From doing my own mechanic work on my cars, coolant loss happens for a reason, bad water pump, failed head gasket etc. I cleaned the screens, my air filter, and topped of my antifreeze and the tractor is back to normal with the temp gauge barely moving even while I’m mowing. Just kinda curious as to what happened to cause the coolant to be low.

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[GeneV]

If it's loss noted in the reservoir over the span of years, I wouldn't worry about it. Just top it off to the full line when the engine is cold, and just keep an eye on it.

OTOH, if you noticed it dropping fairly quickly, that's a leak or maybe a blown head gasket or some such.

 

[lpakiz]

If you had been using the tractor with the temp going significantly higher than "normal" you may have thrown a little coolant out the overflow each time it got hot. As suggested, top it off and check the coolant level before each use.
And, check the engine oil, not necessarily for the proper level, but to notice if it appears cream colored, which would indicate coolant in the oil, NOT a good sign.

 

[The4Stooges]

If you had been using the tractor with the temp going significantly higher than "normal" you may have thrown a little coolant out the overflow each time it got hot. As suggested, top it off and check the coolant level before each use.
And, check the engine oil, not necessarily for the proper level, but to notice if it appears cream colored, which would indicate coolant in the oil, NOT a good sign.

Thank you for the response. That’s what I was hoping to hear, that it could heat up and get too much pressure and go out of the overflow but I wasn’t sure. I have checked the engine oil and it is not creamy so far. So fingers crossed.

 

[Deere Dude]

I have the same thing with my X740 John Deere. The overflow reservoir seems to get lower over time and yet I could find no leak. The radiator is always full but the reservoir seems to leak over time. The only place I can figure leaking is maybe a tad leaks out a hose or maybe a little bit out of a gasket or water pump seal. I have been checking it once a month or so and it always has the same outcome. I just squirt a little antifreeze in it every ten hours or so and it seems to never waver from that. Going on 1200 hours and it isn't bad enough to tear anything apart.

The only time the tractor gets hot is when I am lax of cleaning out the screens and radiators. Sometimes after a good spraying with air rhen water I spray some commercial radiator cleaner into the fins and this seems to foam out the imbedded dirt that sticks in the coils.