Overheating ? (FE35)

[scottnumurkah]

I see the temp gauges for 35's are easily available on ebay.

Where on the FE35 would i screw the Temp gauge into?. I have a voltage gauge on the right, should i put it in there and take out the voltage one rather than hack a new hole for the temp gauge?.

Cheers
Scott

 

[banjodunn]

G'day Scott as you were told mix up some detergent and fill the system and run the tractor you may want to let this out and flush some clean water through the system the same way before you fill with coolant. You can buy a bare co top thermostat housing with a fitting to take a gauge sender along with one of their gauges which I would fit into where the volt meter is ( would rather have flat battery than cooked engine!). Check the price out at your local dealer as I find that by the time postage etc is added on to the e bay ones they are usually dearer.


Jon

 

[scottnumurkah]

Thanks Jon,

Well I changed over the oil and filter last night, and flushed the radiator out and refilled it with coolant. The water that came out of the radiator was brown and disgusting. Looks like it was well due for changing. The oil was also nice and black. Old and cooked i'd say.

I ran the engine for around half an hour, went back this morning and noticed that it had used some oil in this time, which i found odd considering i filled it to the line on the dipstick.

Would this only because i had emptied it right out, refilled it, ran the engine to warm it up, and the oil has settled overnight where it does once it cooled down?.

I will top it up again today and run the engine again for half an hour and check tomorrow morning again

Cheers

 

[JD 4520]

Okay, I see what work you've completed. Sounds like both oil and filter and coolant was past due on maintenance. It is really important on engines like these to keep up with the recommended service intervals in your manuals so check those for future reference.

Related to your question on oil, it is most likely that once the oil filter filled up and ran through the engine that it is down a bit so fill it back up to the fill line on the dip stick. You shouldn't have further problems if you haven't had oil usage in the past.

Related to the coolant, from your description it sounds like there has never been or has been many years since the coolant has been changed. You've done it now, so keep it up in the future. Coolant should last typically 5 years or so and in your climent no need to be overly concerned about it however it is best to have approved coolant in your system.

Run the tractor again for 30 minutes or more to get it nice and warm, check the oil and coolant again when it cools down. If something is not normal at that point, let us know what you are experiencing.

Best wishes...

 

[Loudo]

Gudday Scott, When you changed the oil did you change the filter as well,if you did this could account for the oil being lower on the dipstick. Also if you flush the cooling system with detergent make sure you flush the engine block as well as the radiator to remove all of the detergent before refilling with coolant. How old is the tractor? I assume that the engine has been bebuilt at some stage. You could also mount the temp gauge where the volt/amp meter is or mount it near the other gauges using a hole saw.When I was working with massey we mounted quite a few that way. It's up to you as to how you do it. Cheers Kerry. "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he sits in his tinny and drinks beer all day".

 

[scottnumurkah]

You guys are always a wealth of knowledge and very helpful. It is much appreciated.

Yes i changed the oil filter as well when i changed the oil, so hopefully that explains the small drop.

She is a 57 FE35. I am assuming she was rebuilt at some stage in her life. In pretty good nick really, what i thought was well looked after, before i saw the insides of that radiator lol.

 

[JD 4520]

Given the history, age and prior ownership, if you can find a manual that would be nice to have, if not ask around about maintenance matters. Your tractor will last you a long time longer if you maintain it properly.

Given the oil was so bad, I would make a note to change the oil and filter again in 50 - 100 hours or 6 months whatever comes first just to give it another good internal cleaning. Oil is so critical to longevity of an engine.

 

[Loudo]

Gudday Scott, I dont know about a wealth of knowledge, but if my small contribution is of help to you thats good. Your 35 sounds like it is in good nick mate. We had an FE 35 4cyl diesel on our farm where I grew up, it was a great machine but a real pig to start as most of them were. The Queensland start was always an option:laughing: When I was working as a mechanic for our local Massey dealer I worked on quite a few 35's and TE20's they were great to work on. Your 35 is 3 years younger than me, (54 model). LOL. Best of luck with the old lady mate. Kerry.

 

[Loudo]

Scott, does your 35 have a tacho? some early ones didn't. I would reccomend you changfe the engine oil every 100 hours or six months whichever comes sooner. Cheers Kerry.

 

[scottnumurkah]

Yep she has a nice new tacho.

I have made a note of the hours, and will definitely change it regularly as directed by you guys. Want to keep this old girl going for many years to come.

I am going to get a new oil temp gauge and also look at putting a water temp gauge on her as well.

Cheers

 

[Loudo]

Scott, It sounds like you are doing all the right things to look after the old lady, I hope you have many many years of happy seat time. Cheers K.

 

[JD 4520]

Yep she has a nice new tacho.

I have made a note of the hours, and will definitely change it regularly as directed by you guys. Want to keep this old girl going for many years to come.

I am going to get a new oil temp gauge and also look at putting a water temp gauge on her as well.

Cheers

Scott

A water temp gauge is most important, then an oil pressure gauge and lastly and much less important is an oil temp gauge. If you only do one then get the water temp gauge.

Post a picture sometime as I'm not familiar with your baby.

 

[scottnumurkah]

Another quick question (dont worry wont be my last by a long shot)

As there is quite a build up of grease and oil around my motor, would it be ok to spray degreaser all over my motor, and give it a nice pressure wash, so it comes up shiny new?.

I understand that i should cover the distributor, but what else should i cover up to stop from getting wet?.

Cheers

 

[JD 4520]

Keep water out of your distributor however its easy to remove the cap and dry out if needed. I would be more careful about pressure to the wrong places so just be careful with the pressure washer on anything that is not steel, such as rubber, wiring, etc. Use common sense and don't get the tip too close unless you are sure about what you are spraying.

 

[scottnumurkah]

Might just use the hose to wash it off to be safe :thumbsup:

 

[scottnumurkah]

Hi guys,

Ran her again last night for around half an hour, and no more oil usage, so all good.

Just in regards to attaching a water temp gauge. I have taken a photo of the lower housing of where the thermastat goes, and noticed this large bolt. Would i assume i could screw the water temp gauge sender thingy (Technical term) into this spot?.

Cheers
Scott

 

[JD 4520]

Scott

I would say yes as that is the typical location for the sending unit. That is the housing to the thermostat should the thermostat need to be replaced at some point.

Sounds like you have a couple of guys that really know this tractor well and one of them can confirm my opinion.

Good to hear that the tractor is back on its wheels and running well. Keep that oil checked and clean.

 

[banjodunn]

G'day Scott that is the place for a temp sender to go but from memory it is an odd thread for an adaptor you may have to pull the housing off and tap to an adaptor size ( not a hard job ), just gotta be a bit careful as they are alloy and can break. As for the pressure wash if you steer clear of the elecs then go for it, you can wash around the gen/starter but try not tohit them too hard, these old girls are pretty basic when it comes to the elecs so a BIT of water around them is not going to give you any major headaches.


Jon

 

[Loudo]

Gudday Scott, Jon is right about the temp gauge sender, that's where you put it. From memory BareCo have a kit and it comes with several different adaptors,to be sure check with your local Massey Dealer or let me know and I WILL find out for you, although I have retired I still have a lot of mates in the game and it's not hard to ask them. Cheers Kerry.