overheating?

[sandman2234]

I mowed some high grass and the radiator filled up with the pollen after a couple of hours. I washed it, again and again, and didn't realize that it was embedded deep into the core.
Pressure washer at the radiator shop fixed the problem when I took it to him to have him rod it out. (Duhhh, it was an aluminum radiator, with plastic caps)
Make sure of air flow thru the core.
David from jax

 

[RobJ]

If spraying water on the radiator cools the temp down I would assume the problem is in the radiator,or air flow. You have eliminated most radiator spots so what about air flow?
1. is fan slipping
2. have you installed grill gaurd,FEL,brush gaurd or other restriction?
3. make a shroud even a temporary cardboard one and see if it helps.
4 are the "fins" bent or crushed on radiator?
5. are there hydro or trans lines in radiator possibly this fluid is overheating.
6. have you ever used stop leak in this radiator?

Good luck

First Bob, not yet...need a way to tap in near the thermostat. Only way to get a real good reading. The OEM temp guage is in the head...rear.

1) no..also checked that
2) I've been running with the left guard off while testing, no FEL, etc. plenty of air coming through.
3) already mentioned, might do this, shouldn't though
4) nope, all is good and straight.
5) just a plain jane gear L2500
6)not to my knowledge, bought it used so it is possible, no leaks though.


Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm going to pull the radiator next trip. Only 2 bolts on the bottom and the upper hose.

Rob

 

[3RRL]

Rob,
Last resort is to try using Sodium Silicate (Water Glass) to seal any weeps in the system. You can buy it at a drug store. One TBN'er said racers use it in their sytems and it makes the system work better. Some people used it to seal egg shells. I used it to seal leaks in plastic injection molds. Check this thread:
Water Glass

 

[CATMAN]

Make sure you run with a thermostat/regulator. If you don't, you will overcool the engine during warm-up and idling. Then once you start to work the engine hard it will overheat. Did you buy a new thermostat? Does it have a circular disc on the bottom of it? IF so,was the old thermostat missing that circular disc? If you have a certain type of thermostat; that circular disc will eventually closes off the port to the bypass hose/tube that returns to the water pump as temp rises and thermostat opens. Thus 1/2 open thermostat= 1/2 coolant to radiator and 1/2 coolant back to water pump/engine(disc restricts flow to water pump, it is necessary because water pump is the path of least resistance). Fully open thermostat means 100 % coolant to radiator and bypass to water pump is closed off. I am guessing about your style of cooling system. I have seen these disc totally come off thermostat/regulators in the past and hide in the cylinder head. Thermostats really should be called regulators. They regulate temperature and where the coolant flow travels and how much flow(It is an orifice,also)

 

[BRUSHTAMERS]

Have a little L-210 Kubota, with a whistle on the side of the radiator. Best guess at the year would be about 1974.Very low tech design, minimum gauges, but if the whistle is going off often, under light or medium load, (finish mower, light brush hogging, hay rake, blade/box scraper). Pull the radiator. If it's as simple as my tractor is, shouldn't take more than two hours to do a quick removal, and send it to a shop. It'll only take an hour to drain and remove the radiator. If the radiator core is really plugged with old grass seed, dust, and oily crud, have the local shop "Hot Tank" overnight, pressure test, and repaint. The other hour is for re-installing the radiator. The water end on most tractors is the easiast end to work on, and the most frustrating to diagnose. Will help any way I can, short of doing the work for you. Sidey

 

[jft]

gentlemen,
you all are awesome. i took the radiator cap off and ran the engine until it got hot. the fluid (50-50 h20-antifreeze) was a little low so i added some fresh. i definitely had flow but i watched it get dirtier and dirtier as it flowed and it looked like some sediment floating in it. before running it, i cleaned and washed the fins. the fan was running great and i had good airflow. the top of the radiator got hot to the touch, evenly across the top but the bottom remained cool. the "chirp" seems to have morphed into the sound of air escaping under pressure. it sometimes happens while the engine is running, or soon after shutting it down. several months ago i flushed the radiator and ran some sealant through it. a ton of sediment came out and i had to poke up in the drain to get it going. one of you essentially made the comment "why get into it until you're sure". my dad said the same thing, "if it isn't boiling over, don't worry about it". i think i might just flush it really well a couple of times again and wait until there's a bigger problem. maybe there is a leak developing in one of the hoses. sound like a plan? i appreciate all the comments. i learned a lot.

 

[Egon]

Pull the rad and get it proffesionally cleaned and flush the engine block real good and put on a new rad cap.

There should be a tube comming off the rad cap housing on the right hand side facing forward. get a whistle from Kubota and attach to this tube. When you hear the whistle you know it's overheating.

I think you will have a thermosiphon system with no water pump and no thermostat. Don't think you have wet sleeves.

Leave the system and you may cause expensive problems like head gasket or warping.

 

[RobJ]

RobJ,
I've read many of your posts and see that you are a resourceful guy. If I were you, I'd fabricate some kind of shroud...even if it does not fit perfectly. IMO it would help tremendously. I'd definitely put anti-freeze in also...if for nothing more than lubrication (water pump etc.) and rust prevention.

A little update....

OK Rob here is my resourcefulness at work. Washer went out and replaced it, friends coming up to the weekend place this weekend so wifey says haul it off. Drag it over to the dump with the ATV. Get home, look at the tractor and think about the shroud. What could I use...oh yeah, parts of the washer I just dragged off!!. So using the back of the washer sheet metal I fabbed these. They really did help tunnel the air and I believe I could see more ait being pulled through. Temps did seem to remain stable (still on the upper side of the gauge). But when I got into hogging some 4' goatweed (stems as big as your thumb, the needle creaped up some more. I hate to think the designed cooling system can't work better on a 95 degree day. The humidity was even down this weekend, but I'm not sure how that effects the tractor cooling system, made me feel cooler. But even with the needle up there nothing blew past the cap. Not a squeal one.

Gonna change out the head gasket this winter and see what happens. But for sure the more you load it the higher the temps.

Rob

 

[3RRL]

A little update....

OK Rob here is my resourcefulness at work. Washer went out and replaced it, friends coming up to the weekend place this weekend so wifey says haul it off. Drag it over to the dump with the ATV. Get home, look at the tractor and think about the shroud. What could I use...oh yeah, parts of the washer I just dragged off!!. So using the back of the washer sheet metal I fabbed these. They really did help tunnel the air and I believe I could see more ait being pulled through. Temps did seem to remain stable (still on the upper side of the gauge). But when I got into hogging some 4' goatweed (stems as big as your thumb, the needle creaped up some more. I hate to think the designed cooling system can't work better on a 95 degree day. The humidity was even down this weekend, but I'm not sure how that effects the tractor cooling system, made me feel cooler. But even with the needle up there nothing blew past the cap. Not a squeal one.

Gonna change out the head gasket this winter and see what happens. But for sure the more you load it the higher the temps.

Rob

Wow that IS resourceful indeed! Great job and creative as all get out. I'm glad it helped a little and I'm sure now you can imagine if your shroud fit perfectly around the fan and radiator so every bit of air passing along the front of the radiator was sucked through to cool it. You are right however, to think it should run cooler and not on the high side.
I may not have mentionded this before, but in addition to cleaning out the radiator fins that were plugged, my air cleaner got very plugged up and it made a big difference after cleaning that. It turned out the engine was "starving" for air and was the deciding factor. After cleaning it it ran normal again (80°C) without moving off the dime. Now I check it everytime I brush hog and grade in dust, pollen and straw.