milky coolant

   / milky coolant #1  
M

mowingken

New member
Joined
Apr 21, 2018
Messages
9
Tractor
2720 John deere & 5570 Mahindra
While performing my weekly once over I noticed that my radiator overflow need water. This is the second time I have noticed this. Added water and noticed that it appeared milky colored. Checked the radiator itself and same appearance. I then pulled the dip stick and noticed nothing different there, other than it indicated it needed a little oil. Again this is the second time I have had to add some oil. The first time about a pint and this time a little more than a quart. I have 159 hours on this 70 hp mahindra. A 100 of those hours were accumulated from the beginning of May until now. Mostly mowing 20 acres and removing oak trees.
I constantly check the temp gauge and it is always in the normal range. I have noticed that after about 2 hours sitting behind the engine I feel pretty hot but since I live in Florida that is nothing new. I haven't noticed a loss of power while mowing since I mow in low, 4 gear, any other gear and I move to fast for my comfort on my pastures. I am mowing with a five blade 8 foot finish mower.
When I am removing trees I dig them out and then push them over. I did notice the last time that the lifting ability a few times was different, insufficient. I figured that was because I wasn't giving the tractor enough throttle while trying to lift the edge of the root system. I would like to hear your comments. I have a tendency to always be pessimistic. I thinking that maybe it is a blown head gasket.
Thanks in advance, Ken






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   / milky coolant #2  
Sure sounds like a head gasket. Hope not though. Loosing oil and antifreeze. Milky antifreeze usually points to oil in it.
 
   / milky coolant #3  
If it is a head gasket, an easy check that works on some malfunctions is, WITH THE TRACTOR COOL, like just starting for the day, remove the radiator cap, start the tractor, after a few minutes, advance the throttle to mid rpms area (for a place) and look down into the radiator fluid. If you see bubbles, yepper compression is getting into your coolant.

Other thing is to get syringe and pull out some coolant from the radiator. Put it in a clear container and let it sit for a couple of days. If oil, or petroleum products are present they will show up as a film on top of the coolant and will have the petroleum shine and smell that the coolant itself doesn't possess.

On oil usage, you may just need to "break in" your engine. I haven't had to break in an engine in as long as I can remember (meaning today's engines have things like tin plated rings and such to quickly/easily seat rings to cylinders) and I have added quite a few in trucks, tractors, mowers, small equipment and all so I have a pretty good experience there.

However, your tractor may just need to "seat the rings" which requires some hard working for a bit, something you aren't doing with your published application, HP, and operating hours. Term used around here when somebody complains about the problem is to "hook it to a good plow" and run it till it gets in the red.

You didn't say what year model was your tractor. If it is several years old and no petroleum present then you have corrosion and time for a flush and refill with new mix.

I have limited/no knowledge of the spectrum of Mahindra tractors and problems and accidents along the assembly line do happen, but I really doubt that you have blown a headgasket on that brand of tractor being #1 in sales in the world (last time I looked) with what you have been doing with it!
 
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   / milky coolant
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Thanks for the quick reply.
 
   / milky coolant #6  
When someone finds "milky" coolant the first thoughts are usually head gasket or head.
However with all the new and different coolants available now it may be as simple as incompatible coolants being mixed.

Just a month ago I went down to NC to check out my daughters mini-van that had a milky sludge in the radiator and coolant recovery jug.
After considerable cleaning and flushing to clean the engine and radiator there was no indication of a blown head gasket or cracked head.
She had a shop check and top off her coolant a few weeks before the sludge was seen. After every thing was cleaned and flushed I refilled it
with coolant and it has been over a month with no reoccurrence I have to believe that the shop had put a coolant in that wasn't compatible with her existing coolant.
 
   / milky coolant #7  
Check for excessive pressure in the cooling system. Pretty much sounds like a head gasket issue: higher pressures from the cylinders into an adjacent water jacket.

I've only ever had one engine that experienced a failed head gasket: just this past year, my 93 IDI Ford truck. I used this to test (worked great!).
 
   / milky coolant #8  
   / milky coolant #9  
Sounds like a head gasket to me... I'd get it pressure tested to know for sure!

SR
 
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