New Kubota BX2370 coolant question

[chucky79]

Tractor ended up being about 8oz low on coolant when I filled it up. I did my final mow of the season, mowed the pasture, and mulched some leaves this past week totally about 2ish hours of work and I notice she lost some fluid again. When I filled it up i went to the upper line on the over flow but after just two hours she is half way between the upper and lower lines. Im gonna pull the hood this weekend and check all the hose clamps as I didn't do that the first time but i dont know where to go from there. Ive never seen any leaks, the oil level doesn't appear to be increasing and its not discolored or look as though its mixing with water/coolant and im not getting any odd looking smoke or smells through the exhaust. If I don't find out whats up myself I guess she is going in for a warranty checkup.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

If you filled it to the top while cold and then ran it for 2 hours and then checked it again after it was cold then it should be as you described. The tank you fill is an expansion tank. It catches the hot fluid and fills to the top then when the fluid cools it drops down to it's proper level and then repeats the cycle every time it's used so properly filled is usually around half way or some cars have a mark where the cold level is supposed to be.
Irf you filled it to the top, ran it for 2 hours and then, while hot, checked it and it was then at the half point you MAY have a problem. Leave it at half full and then use it a few times and if it goes empty then you may have something to be concerned about but don't fill the expansion tank to the top while cold.

 

[chucky79]

ok ill keep tabs on it but im confused. if I went to the upper line when cold, ran it a few hours, then checked it when it was cold a few days later why wouldn't it still be at the sameplace? It would be one thing if I went to upper line when cold then checked when hot and it was high or when to the upper line when hot and checked when cold and it was low but with all my understanding it should be at the same point when cold before and after use.... maybe I just don't get it.

 

[sandyc]

Use the 50/50 blend and you don't have to worry about hard or soft water. I am guessing that you have a small leak in the either the expansion tank or on of the hoses. If it were a leak on the block you would smell it when the engine heated up. Pressure test the system and see what happens.

 

[chucky79]

Yeah I'll make it a priority to pull the hood skirts tonight and check all hose clamps, just didn't do it because I was too lazy to remove my front bumper/grill guard last time. Guess that's what I get huh. As or pressure testing the system I read about that but have no idea where to start. Never done It before. Are the tools expensive to buy and is it hard to do?

 

[sandyc]

You might be able to borrow one from napa or some other parts store. Basically it is like a bike pump with a pressure gauge. Once you reach operating pressure like 10 pounds you can watch and see if the pressure drops. You can also look for leaks in hoses or clamps.
Good luck

 

[chucky79]

i called advanceauto and they are going to loan me pressure test system. How hard it is to use and what are the proper operating PSI for the Bx2370 that I should pump it too? You said 10lbs but not sure if that's accurate or a number you just stated as a reference for describing the process to me. Hate to damage something by going to high with the tester....

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

ok ill keep tabs on it but im confused. if I went to the upper line when cold, ran it a few hours, then checked it when it was cold a few days later why wouldn't it still be at the sameplace? It would be one thing if I went to upper line when cold then checked when hot and it was high or when to the upper line when hot and checked when cold and it was low but with all my understanding it should be at the same point when cold before and after use.... maybe I just don't get it.

If you filled the expansion tank to full while cold, then when the tractor runs, fluid gets hot it will over flow out the tube on the expansion tank and then when it gets cold you'll have about half a tank of cold liquid. If you keep filling it while cold with cold liquid, it should keep loosing the liquid when it gets hot and then always settle back to the cold level.
Now that you've ran it, got it hot and then let it cool, keep running it and every time you stop and let it cool the level should be the same in the overflow/expansion tank. If the overflow/expansion tank goes dry then you have an issue, if fluid is in the tank when hot or cold, leave it alone.

 

[chucky79]

ok maybe I was a little miss leading when I said "filled" the tank. I realize if I really filled it to the top when cold it would overflow as the engine warmed and the fluid in they system went to the expansion tank. What I meant when I said I filled it was there are two indication lines towards the bottom of the expansion tank. I filled the fluid towards the upper of the two lines. Similar to the way an oil dipstick works, I just filled to the upper mark of acceptable and after one run its inbetween the two lines now. Perhaps I don't understand the purpose of the "lines" on the tank though. thanks everyone for the help though I appreciate having people to bounce my silly problems off of.

 

[big bubba]

Distilled water is much safer to use HEC
this advice gets my vote too