Overheating???

[rpeter]

I have a B7800 with about 300 hours on it. This is it's fourth summer in southern PA. I run a 60" bush hog behind it to cut the weeds between the 10 acres of trees I have planted. I know that the 60" 500 pound bush hog is at the upper limit of what the tractor can pull. In past years the tractor has run pretty hot but it has always run. This year it overheats after about an hour of operation. It does not overheat when using the loader. I have checked the Bush Hog and everything seems OK.

Anyone have any suggestions; cause I can not figure it out????

 

[klrobert]

It sounds like you may have an airflow problem. Check to see if the radiator fins are clogged. They may just need to be cleaned out. I use compressed air.

 

[repete]

Check for an obstructed radiator as stated above and be sure and see if you have a removable screen in front of the radiator to catch grass etc.

My L2550 is a "pusher" type so my screen is between the radiator and the engine. The fan pushes the air from the engine side forward.

 

[dodge man]

Do you need to flush the cooling system? Do you have a 50-50 mixture of antifreeze and water? The water actually cools better than the antifreeze, so its actually not better to have more antifreeze than water. Thermostat and water pump are something else to check.

 

[DavidAubke]

I have similar trouble with my BX2350.

I had been pulling a 5 ft bush hog behind it and it ran very hot. After a while, the needle would creep to within about an 1/8" of the red zone. Every couple of laps I'd stop in the shade, disengage the PTO and let it cool off. When I did this, the needle would drop rapidly back to the half-way mark.

I figured it was hot because I was driving a mower that was too big for the tractor but when I took a 4 ft mower out this weekend, it started climbing right back up there.

If I mow in the evening when it's cooler and there's less direct sunlight, it manages quite well. In the daytime, full sun and upper eighties, it's really sweatin'. I figure I probably can't mow at all if it gets above ninety.

I check the radiator grill, screen and fins frequently. Since dandelion seed season ended, the screens have stayed very clear. The tractor is young.. only just coming due for its 50 hour service.

From reading this forum, this doesn't seem normal. Plenty of others have said their temp gauges stay right in the middle of the comfort zone when they mow.

 

[mozark]

My BX2350 does the same identical thing when mowing hard. If you drive with the hood open or remove the plastic shroud around the sides of the engine it will run at normal temperature, like the shroud is restricting the air flow someway. Fins on the radiator are clean as a whistle, hope someone has some ideas.

 

[dodge man]

When I bought my Bx the guy that dropped it off said people had complained about the BX's running hot. He told me as long as it doesn't get in the red, it's O.K. He told me Kubota had taken digital temperature gauges, the kind you point at various points of the engine, and taken readings when they were being worked hard, and everthing was O.K, that they weren't overheating. Mine will also climb close to the red, maybe 1/2 inch from the red, but no higher. I know if it is overheating, it will normally be puking water into the overflow bottle, which mine doesn't do.

 

[rpeter]

ThanKs for all the replies. The people on this forum are the greatest.

I had already tried everything except changing the thermostat. I guess I will try that next.

Thanks for being the best on the net!

 

[MikeInEburg]

We had this on an L2550 - I took the radiator out of the tractor and REALLY cleaned it. Hasn't been a problem since.
Mike

 

[Dr. Bob]

Just for a direct comparison, I have a 2004 B7800 with a little over 300 hrs on it and I pull a 5 ft Woods Brush Bull. I have NEVER had any overheating problem. I sometimes question the temperature gage since it never goes above 1/4 of the scale.