L3200 Overheating while Mowing

[gogo]

Hi Guys,
I've had my Kubota a couple years now and I love it. I was mowing my brush last weekend and I noticed the temp gauge was nearing the red so I shut her down. There was still antifreeze in the reservoir but I could hear the water boiling. I let it cool off. I popped the hood and checked it over and it all looked good. removed the radiator cap after a while and it was hot. Next I took out the air filter and cleaned it with my compressor. So I go back out and start mowing and it got to the red zone again! Within 10 minutes! I shut it down and this time antifreeze was spewing out the reservoir line and the water was boiling out of the radiator and into the reservoir. I let it cool around an hour. The weather was around 75 degrees and breezy. Not a hot day.

Next I removed the mower and put the gannon on, thinking that the mower was causing the overheating.

I used the gannon for about 40 minutes, all the time, keeping an eye on the temp. After around 40 minutes the temp got up near red but not like before. I turned it off and it was not overheating or boiling over.

So now tonight, I am going to check the radiator for screen being full of grass and stuff and wash it off before I start it tonite before dark. It has run with the mower and auger in the past and never overheated. I'm hoping that a washing of the front of the radiator will do the trick.

Is there another thing to check if this happens again tonite? I'm not familiar where the thermostat is on the tractor but I have the owners manual. I'm writing this now because I have a couple hours drive to get out to the ranch. Hopefully by the time I get there, someone can chime in. I'll check my email when I get out there around 5:30 PST.

Thanks in advance.
Tom

 

[C4Ranch]

Clean the screen. Blow in corner of fan shroud with compressed air.

Usually always it.

 

[nybirdman]

Your machine may have two screens;lift the hood,side panels and remove and blow out the screens and radiator(s).I use a long air wand.Almost guarantee that this is your problem.No way it should over heat at 75 degrees.

 

[Fallon]

My L3200 got hot when mowing a fair bit. Every time the screen was plugged, or stuff got through the screen (often when cleaning the screen while running, which is a bad idea because of the fan sucking crap through) & the radiator itself got plugged. Sometimes especially with the radiator plugged rather than the screen it was hard to see the crap on there. There is a pile of gear obstructing your view in front of the radiator.

I don't think there is a screen for the hydraulic cooler (which may only be on HST machines). So you need to keep an eye on that & keep it clean as well.

Gentaly blowing with compressed air usually works to clean the fins. Be careful as going hard & close with a blow gun will bend that weak aluminum that makes up the fins. Occasionally hose it down with water to flush it out as dust cakes on & air alone won't dislodge it. Keeping it wet for a little bit will let it go from hard cake to soft mud & get washed out.

 

[Oldoak]

If any of the afore mentioned doesn't solve your overheating problem, I would be looking at the water pump.

 

[gwstang]

Remove radiator cap (be careful not to get burned) and run the engine to see if the coolant is circulating. You may have to get it a bit warm for the thermostat to open. You should be able to see the coolant moving.

 

[gogo]

Hey Everyone,
Thanks for all your input. I had to work yesterday late so I will be heading out around 2pm to do everything that was suggested. I had used the tractor for an entire day the week before with no issues so i'm thinking its the just the screen being plugged. The brush was extra tall and thick this year due to the rains here in So Cal. I'll update tonight after I run the tractor. Thanks again for all your help.
Tom

 

[big bubba]

If any of the afore mentioned doesn't solve your overheating problem, I would be looking at the water pump.

or thermostat

 

[aczlan]

My L3200 got hot when mowing a fair bit. Every time the screen was plugged, or stuff got through the screen (often when cleaning the screen while running, which is a bad idea because of the fan sucking crap through) & the radiator itself got plugged. Sometimes especially with the radiator plugged rather than the screen it was hard to see the crap on there. There is a pile of gear obstructing your view in front of the radiator.

I don't think there is a screen for the hydraulic cooler (which may only be on HST machines). So you need to keep an eye on that & keep it clean as well.

Gentaly blowing with compressed air usually works to clean the fins. Be careful as going hard & close with a blow gun will bend that weak aluminum that makes up the fins. Occasionally hose it down with water to flush it out as dust cakes on & air alone won't dislodge it. Keeping it wet for a little bit will let it go from hard cake to soft mud & get washed out.

We had that issue on our B7500 and BX2660, in both cases washing the radiator fins out with water fixed it.

Aaron Z

 

[mddorange]

The very first time I was bush hogging it got hot after about 6 hours. It was a dirty screen but I was also surprised how much got past the screen and on to the radiator. Both had to be cleaned, so now I always keep an eye on the gauge when using the tractor for anything.