mahindra 4110 overheats

[yanmars]

Further update, Leipersforkchoppers , really nailed it. Took off both sidecovers. The temp needle used to just want to touch the red hot area, only a smiggen of needle away from the red mark. Now it never boiled over and the overflow was just near full before. After both side covers were off I would say the needle was 85 to 90%, about 10% spare to the red hot area. Just hope I never stressed it too much being so warm but not overheating as such.
After all that I did change the oil to Rotella heavy duty diesel full synthetic and new filter. Should be good for awhile again. By the way today was 90F or a bit more so it was a reasonable test.

 

[DavesTractor]

Further update, Leipersforkchoppers , really nailed it. Took off both sidecovers. The temp needle used to just want to touch the red hot area, only a smiggen of needle away from the red mark. Now it never boiled over and the overflow was just near full before. After both side covers were off I would say the needle was 85 to 90%, about 10% spare to the red hot area. Just hope I never stressed it too much being so warm but not overheating as such.
After all that I did change the oil to Rotella heavy duty diesel full synthetic and new filter. Should be good for awhile again. By the way today was 90F or a bit more so it was a reasonable test.

That is still way too hot for my liking. Can you see through the radiator fins in all areas of the radiator? Put a light in by the fan and then go to the front and look through the radiator. If clean, you should be running near or just above half.

Having said that, the fins are so close together that they clog easily. This style radiator will cool wonderfully when totally clean, but they are a bear to keep clean. I prefer a less efficient widely spaced tubes/fins to allow little stuff to pass through and not get caught. Old tractors tended to have wide spacing and stuff would just pass on through. I used to mow my orchard with an old Ford 4600 and I hardly ever cleaned the radiator. Not sure why most new tractors have the fins so close together. Seems like a poor design, but is pretty common now.

 

[yanmars]

Dave: I will check that but this is the coolest if ever has run. I air blow the radiator at least twice a day, it is always getting seeds, chaff, fluff etc. in it. Also did all the things for more air, battery lowered, moved the windshield washer obstruction, auxillary electric fan, water wetter, external filter in front of the grill when I am in really heavy weeds.
I agree it is a poor design for a tractor that works in a dirty enviornment, in a clean open field it would be less of an issue.
I really do not think I can do more I think.

 

[rockinbbar]

Dave: I will check that but this is the coolest if ever has run. I air blow the radiator at least twice a day, it is always getting seeds, chaff, fluff etc. in it. Also did all the things for more air, battery lowered, moved the windshield washer obstruction, auxillary electric fan, water wetter, external filter in front of the grill when I am in really heavy weeds.
I agree it is a poor design for a tractor that works in a dirty enviornment, in a clean open field it would be less of an issue.
I really do not think I can do more I think.

I have to stop and blow mine out every hour or two.

It sounds like yours is still running too hot. What is "water wetter"...? Sorry. Don't know.

 

[DavesTractor]

Dave: I will check that but this is the coolest if ever has run. I air blow the radiator at least twice a day, it is always getting seeds, chaff, fluff etc. in it. Also did all the things for more air, battery lowered, moved the windshield washer obstruction, auxillary electric fan, water wetter, external filter in front of the grill when I am in really heavy weeds.
I agree it is a poor design for a tractor that works in a dirty enviornment, in a clean open field it would be less of an issue.
I really do not think I can do more I think.

yanmars, let me know what you find doing the flashlight test. You might be getting it cleaned well with air blowing it often, but I bet the air side of the radiator is clogged. It sounds like you were pretty methodical about the things you have done, much more so than most folks.

I wonder if anyone has spec'd out an aftermarket radiator with wider spacing, perhaps even with an additional row of tubes. A tractor engine is very expensive, and overheating certainly shortens the life expectancy. I've not tried, but there would be a market for tractor radiators to solve this sort of problem.

 

[DavesTractor]

I have to stop and blow mine out every hour or two.

It sounds like yours is still running too hot. What is "water wetter"...? Sorry. Don't know.

I think water wetter is an additive you can put in along with your coolant that is supposed to help the coolant transfer heat better. Yanmars has tried all the tricks it seems.

 

[yanmars]

I checked today. With a high intensity flashlight I can see the light through the radiator in a number of places I checked. Today with a temperature of 76F and in no thick stuff the gauge got to 60% or so. Now if it was 90F again and in the thick stuff it would get pretty warm. Just have to watch and do what I can.

 

[DavesTractor]

With a thoroughly clean radiator, it is easy to see light through the entire core, even with an old school flashlight or a drop cord. If you can't see light everywhere easily, then the air can't see a path through either. Yanmars, obviously you are mechanical and knowledgeable, I am driving this point home more for others than for you. But I am still not convinced that the air side of your radiator is clean. But I've been wrong many times before.....but we retail nearly 300 tractors a year in a hot weather region and well over 90% of overheating situations are attributed to a clogged radiator on the air side.

It was 102 here yesterday. Average summer temp is 99 degrees for a high and we see low to mid teens every year for a week or two. So we understand hot weather. Not much humidity thank goodness, but we do deal with heat. I've yet to see a 4110 with a clean radiator that over heats. Having said that, keeping the radiator clean is crazy difficult in some conditions due to the close fin spacing.

 

[yanmars]

Dave. Thank you for your interest and input. I suspect you are correct. I have had the tractor in twice for various things and requested they clean out the radiator fins. Whether you used air or water I do not know. How much air pressure they used I do not know, I am limited to 120 pounds with what I have. I do know that the radiator internally is not clogged so that is not the issue, more externally obstruction.
It does not get that hot right away but usually on a hot day after about 60 to 75 minutes. It is just something I will have to deal with, unfortunately for the heat issue that is when I use the tractor the most. Little in the winter, it is a hard starter anyways then and even in the Fall it is cooler but weed debris is almost at its highest. I could turn it all into plowed ground but it is more recreational so that really is out.
I could buy an air cooled/oil cooled German tractor but one still needs to keep it clean enough for proper air cooling. I get by. Thanks again.

 

[DavesTractor]

Dave. Thank you for your interest and input. I suspect you are correct. I have had the tractor in twice for various things and requested they clean out the radiator fins. Whether you used air or water I do not know. How much air pressure they used I do not know, I am limited to 120 pounds with what I have. I do know that the radiator internally is not clogged so that is not the issue, more externally obstruction.
It does not get that hot right away but usually on a hot day after about 60 to 75 minutes. It is just something I will have to deal with, unfortunately for the heat issue that is when I use the tractor the most. Little in the winter, it is a hard starter anyways then and even in the Fall it is cooler but weed debris is almost at its highest. I could turn it all into plowed ground but it is more recreational so that really is out.
I could buy an air cooled/oil cooled German tractor but one still needs to keep it clean enough for proper air cooling. I get by. Thanks again.

Yanmars, I think if you took the radiator out and laid it down and soaked it with hot soapy water and then ran a garden hose over it, you would eventually get all the debris out that has basically turned into a poor quality dirt glue. Or put it in a tub of water for a few hours and then go at it. Or take it to a radiator shop and have it tanked. She'll make ice cubes for a while after that and be easier to clean, at least for a couple of years until it gets gunked up again. There are certain combinations of chaff, dirt and moisture that make a fine paste. I suspect you have that issue, otherwise 120 psi would blow it out just fine. In fact 35 psi in a pressure regulated rubber tip blower normally does the job.

Thanks for being a good sport about my persistence.