Please check my troubleshooting on overheating issue.

[MarcusCarr]

My dealer ordered the part next day and I will put it in when it gets here. I will post again to let you know if that alone fixes the problem.

As a side note, Specialty Tractor, Rathdrum, Idaho, was excellent to work with and extremely helpful.

 

[CATMAN]

Are you getting the parts for free, under warranty?

 

[CATMAN]

I have a Kioti DK35SE that has about 80 hours on it, but I am placing this question here because overheating is likely a general issue with all tractors.

The temp gauge climbed into the red while I was dragging a boxblade over our private road. The tractor was at about 2000 RPM and wasn't working that hard.

When it overheated, I pulled it back over to the garage and turned it off for the night.

The next day I checked...

oil level - good
coolant in the overflow - good
radiator screen - clear and clean

I started the tractor...
it sounds normal
the radiator fan is spinning
I brought the RPM up to about 2000
The temp needle slowly raised up to the red.
When it reached red, I felt the upper radiator hose and it was cool to the touch.
I turned off the tractor.

If I was working on a truck, I would say the thermostat needs to be replaced.

Questions:
Did I miss anything in the troubleshooting?
Is the thermostat on the DK35SE between the engine and upper radiator hose?
The tractor is under warranty, but I have to way to transport it to the dealer. Does this sound conclusive enough to just pick up a thermostat and replace it my self?

Thanks,
Marcus

Something fishy going on here? If the top radiator hose was cool to the touch, but the temp gauge was in the red, we would expect to find a CLOSED T-stat. A possible situation that might have occurred is that the t-stat was closed when you felt the top hose, but after you shut off the engine the T-stat popped open suddenly and then got jammed OPEN. Note: Engine cylinder head will gain/rise in water temp after an engine is shutdown ; due to lack of water flow (no water pump rotation).

 

[crashz]

Catman has a good point.

Stuck open means that it would be running cold (also a bad thing, but not as bad) not over heating. Could the tractor be "smart" enough to detect a faulty open thermostat and send a signal to the guage as an over heat condition?