Kubota engine cooling problems

[KennyV]

That’s not the right battery. Like chatme said… Put the correct size, small battery in and let air flow across the radiator.
Avoid future grief, I noticed in your second picture… The large red wire nut just to the right of the engine oil filter… That should be a fuse, probably around a 30 amp, It will prevent a fire if you should get a short in the electrical distribution. KennyV.

 

[BMXER10]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I wasnt able to touch it all weekend, but hopefully tonight work will begin.

I hate to change out the battery since its brand new. I would rather free up the entire spot behind the radiator so Im going to install a battery box in the back and move it. Im also going to pick up a new radiator cap

Im not getting any weird smoke out the exhaust, just black smoke when I overload it in heavy grass. Im also not seeing any water in the oil, or bubbles in the radiator.

 

[BMXER10]

The deck is definitely not the cause of this. It spins freely by hand. Plus the mower still overheats after turning off the blades.

My to do list is getting huge.

 

[gemini5362]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I wasnt able to touch it all weekend, but hopefully tonight work will begin.

I hate to change out the battery since its brand new. I would rather free up the entire spot behind the radiator so Im going to install a battery box in the back and move it. Im also going to pick up a new radiator cap

Im not getting any weird smoke out the exhaust, just black smoke when I overload it in heavy grass. Im also not seeing any water in the oil, or bubbles in the radiator.

unless you just want to do a project make sure the battery is the problem. You dont want to move it and then find out you have not corrected the problem.

 

[BMXER10]

Got a new battery today, much smaller than a car battery, but looks like it has decent cranking amps. I decided not to move the battery location, too much work after all. I also went ahead and picked up a bottle of radiator flush. Ill report back after this weekend. I also added a fuse to that red wire...

My question is can I do a compression check myself? Will a compression check tool from a car work with this engine? My dad has one from his mustang, but Im not sure if it will work for this diesel engine.

 

[DiezNutz]

My question is can I do a compression check myself? Will a compression check tool from a car work with this engine? My dad has one from his mustang, but Im not sure if it will work for this diesel engine.

You can do it yourself as long as you're comfortable pulling injectors & lines and keep the connections clean. But you need a DIESEL compression tester... the pressure is way too high for the regular (300psi) type.
Here's a cheap one:
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[BMXER10]

You can do it yourself as long as you're comfortable pulling injectors & lines and keep the connections clean. But you need a DIESEL compression tester... the pressure is way too high for the regular (300psi) type.
Here's a cheap one:
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Gotta love those cheap parts for a one time use. Thanks!

I assume this will tell me if theres a leak in the head gasket at all?

 

[cp1969]

Gotta love those cheap parts for a one time use. Thanks!

I assume this will tell me if theres a leak in the head gasket at all?

I doubt it. You're going to see a different reading for every cylinder even if the head gasket is fine. A cylinder that isn't leaking enough to put coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant is going to be awfully hard to detect with a compression test.

 

[Volfandt]

I assume this will tell me if theres a leak in the head gasket at all?

Yes a compression tester rated high enough for a diesel engine will definitely indicate if theres a compression leak (blown head gasket etc) but there are easier ways to tell.
You've already said that theres no brown or white milky substance in the oil which would indicate that coolant is leaking into the oil passages but you haven't indicated whether or not you've observed the coolant moveing in the radiator or if the coolant is bubbling and/or smoke is coming out of the radiator fill hole.

With the engine cold and the radiator filled full with water, remove the radiator cap then start the engine up and run it at a fast idle. After a while it should start to get warmed up enough to open the thermostat. At ths time you should see very visable coolant flow. If you observe coolant flow you can safely assume that both the waterpump and thermostat are working. Also observe the coolant for bubbling and/or smoke and/or steam emission. If you see either, you've probably have a blown head gasket.
I'd do this before I spent any additional $$$'s.
Good luck

 

[DiezNutz]

I assume this will tell me if theres a leak in the head gasket at all?

They beat me to it, but if the problem is as severe as you say and the head gasket is the culprit, then yes that should be reflected in the readings. Sorry, I didn't read the whole thing... I thought you just wanted to do a compression test for S's and giggles.
Try Volfandt's suggestions first. I'll throw this out there though: oil leaking into coolant or coolant leaking into oil isn't enough by itself to cause the kind of overheating you're seeing. I have a diesel truck with a leaky head gasket that's been pumping oil into my coolant and it doesn't run warm until the bottle is full of sludge. The kind of leak you'd be looking for is between the cylinder and coolant passages... (either leak in gasket or crack in cylinder wall), but it would also be making your cooling system pressure ridiculously high, probably to the point you'd be blowing hoses or rad caps off (seen it happen). So I'm leaning away from that, even.

You haven't told us yet whether cleaning the rad fins and the normal size battery has taken care of it. If that isn't it, then my next bets are T-stat, water pump or cruddy rad core (somewhat in that order).