Massey Ferguson Fe35 over heating

[Mffe35petrol]

My wonderful old tractor overheats in about 15 minutes of hard work.

It isn’t loosing water in the radiator.

I’m a mechanical novice and would appreciate advice from this knowledgeable forum regarding what I need to check/repair to overcome my problem.

 

[Dabrowski]

First thing I would check Is the thermostat. It's accessed by draining all radiator fluid, then removing top radiator hose. You will then see it through the elbow.
Take the elbow off and test by putting the thermostat in hot water.

 

[Dabrowski]

These videos are good for reference
Ferguson TED20 Barn Find, Lets Get It Going Part 7 Thermostat Housing - YouTube

 

[Mffe35petrol]

First thing I would check Is the thermostat. It's accessed by draining all radiator fluid, then removing top radiator hose. You will then see it through the elbow.
Take the elbow off and test by putting the thermostat in hot water.

Thankyou for this, I will start with this and keep you posted.

I have noticed that (before starting it) that I can turn the fan by hand and it doesn’t turn the fan belt. It appears to be fairly tight but perhaps needs to be tightened more?

 

[Dabrowski]

That doesn't really matter because once the tractor is running the pulleys will grab the fan belt and start running the fan. I had the same situation. It may be slightly loose though.
You could tighten it by adjusting the bolts on the govenor and moving it upwards and retighten. There should 20mm of depression when pushing the centre of the belt between two pulleys.

My guess is you either have a blocked radiator due to gunk or a bad thermostat. Either way simple and cheap fix.

I noticed ur in aus. I get all my parts from heads tractors in qld. Great blokes and give great advice. Thermostat is like $15 plus postage.

 

[Dabrowski]

Does the fan spin when the tractor is on? That's the critical thing.

I also have a petrol 35 so if have any questions just yell out.

 

[Mffe35petrol]

That doesn't really matter because once the tractor is running the pulleys will grab the fan belt and start running the fan. I had the same situation. It may be slightly loose though.
You could tighten it by adjusting the bolts on the govenor and moving it upwards and retighten. There should 20mm of depression when pushing the centre of the belt between two pulleys.

My guess is you either have a blocked radiator due to gunk or a bad thermostat. Either way simple and cheap fix.

I noticed ur in aus. I get all my parts from heads tractors in qld. Great blokes and give great advice. Thermostat is like $15 plus postage.

Thank you for that. I’ll definitely get any bits from Heads.

 

[Agvg]

And the radiator is clean so the air passes through it with no problem?

 

[Dabrowski]

No I meant inside the radiator. There are very small tubes that run vertically inside. If you that the cap off and shine the light in there will see the passages. They could be clogged with mineral deposits if ur using straight water from the tap.

Back in the day farmers used to use dam water so they were constantly clogging with gunk.

The only way to clean it is to reverse flush the radiator and block.

 

[Agvg]

But with no air you have no cooling, enormous amount of dirt can hide in the ribs, a garden hose is a easy way to clean.