crashz
Elite Member
The weekend before last, I cut a small 2 acre field that I have cut many times with the brush cutter. This time I used my finish mower, as all of the "brush" is gone and it was nothing more than thick grass. Both the brush cutter (5ft JD 506) and finish mower (Landpride 1872) are oversized for my 19 PTO HP, but they have always worked flawlessly, albeit I have to cut heavy growth slowly.
That Sunday, I had to crawl and stop frequently. Ambient temps were about 98 degrees F, little breaze, and no shade. It only took about 3-4 passes for the temp needle to creep up to half way. I'd never seen the temp needle go past the quarter mark on the bottom. I attributed it to the full throttle operation in the heat, and the tall, thick grass.
Watching it like a hawk, I see the needle creep up and up. It got to about 2/3 and I stopped (not in the red by a good margin), disengaged the PTO and fast idled at 1500 rpms for a minute or so. I popped the hood to clean the screen, but there was nothing on it. It a minute or so, it dropped back to halfway and I proceeded. I finished the job in this manner, stopping and cooling every few passes. Gave me time to hydrate, blow the chaff off of the mower and search for a top link pin that fell out (lost).
This past weekend I decided to try to figure out the issue. I found it and I was a bit shocked. Normally I wash the tractor after every job, and when I do, I clean the radiator with the hose. I blow it out from back to front using water. But I looked carefully, I noticed the fins were blocked. Dirt and dust packed into the radiator, but deep enough that at first glance, it looked clean. It was not!
So I took the battery out, the air filter housing out, and dismounted the hydraulic cooler, laying it down in from the of the radiator. I blew out the radiator from front to back using my air gun. The junk that came out was staggering! It would have easily filled a gallon jug container.
This will go in as a yearly PM service now. I've never "cleaned" the radiator. Just in-effectively rinsed it out, all the while packing more dirt in that I didn't realize. While I won't go throwing the screen away, I can honestly say I've never seen all that much buildup on the screen. Seems to get stuck in the rad fins only.
Let this post be a reminder to clean your radiator!
Do you guys with "deluxe" tractors have better screens or coolers that you can access better?
That Sunday, I had to crawl and stop frequently. Ambient temps were about 98 degrees F, little breaze, and no shade. It only took about 3-4 passes for the temp needle to creep up to half way. I'd never seen the temp needle go past the quarter mark on the bottom. I attributed it to the full throttle operation in the heat, and the tall, thick grass.
Watching it like a hawk, I see the needle creep up and up. It got to about 2/3 and I stopped (not in the red by a good margin), disengaged the PTO and fast idled at 1500 rpms for a minute or so. I popped the hood to clean the screen, but there was nothing on it. It a minute or so, it dropped back to halfway and I proceeded. I finished the job in this manner, stopping and cooling every few passes. Gave me time to hydrate, blow the chaff off of the mower and search for a top link pin that fell out (lost).
This past weekend I decided to try to figure out the issue. I found it and I was a bit shocked. Normally I wash the tractor after every job, and when I do, I clean the radiator with the hose. I blow it out from back to front using water. But I looked carefully, I noticed the fins were blocked. Dirt and dust packed into the radiator, but deep enough that at first glance, it looked clean. It was not!
So I took the battery out, the air filter housing out, and dismounted the hydraulic cooler, laying it down in from the of the radiator. I blew out the radiator from front to back using my air gun. The junk that came out was staggering! It would have easily filled a gallon jug container.
This will go in as a yearly PM service now. I've never "cleaned" the radiator. Just in-effectively rinsed it out, all the while packing more dirt in that I didn't realize. While I won't go throwing the screen away, I can honestly say I've never seen all that much buildup on the screen. Seems to get stuck in the rad fins only.
Let this post be a reminder to clean your radiator!
Do you guys with "deluxe" tractors have better screens or coolers that you can access better?
