The 1964 MF-135 diesel is overheating

[flusher]

Diesels make real good power when they're operated at or near maximum temp. They quit making ANY power if operated well above max for very long.

It reached 101 degrees here yesterday. (calling for 102 today and tomorrow) I fired up the Massey yesterday to haul the trash cans out to the roadside. It didn't take quite as long as usual to reach operating temp It didn't take very long at all for me to reach maximum temp on MY temp gauge. Man is it HOT. (101 w/ 76% relative humidity.) Woke up to 84degrees @ 4:30AM.

Did I mention air conditioned cabs are wonderful?

We got a break from triple digit temps the last few days. Tues: 58F low, 78F high according to the front porch thermometer. On Monday Sacramento's high of 77F set a record for the lowest high for that date which had stood for more than a century.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

We got a break from triple digit temps the last few days. Tues: 58F low, 78F high according to the front porch thermometer. On Monday Sacramento's high of 77F set a record for the lowest high for that date which had stood for more than a century.

Sure...Just rub it in every chance you get

And the AC in our office went out overnight. Well, it didn't go out, it was STOLEN. Thieves snatched the compressor unit off the roof. That's getting to be a common occurance. The copper is worth so much nowdays. I'm going to go sit in my truck w/ AC on.

 

[Soundguy]

Welll.. I guess it did 'go out'

i know what you mean about theives.

We have a case 721 wheel loader someone came in and stole the quick couple that was hooked up to it.. Now we have the laoder and ACS setup bucket.. and no way to attach them. i just got off the phone with the case dealer.. new QC is 7k$!!! Looking for a used one now!!

Also.. burglery is getting bad in this area as economic times are getting tight.

More break ins in the townnorth of us.. and 2 homes in our community were hit within the last month.

I let my dogs run the property now ( fenced ) for extra security.. vs keeping them kenneled at night.. neighbor is doing the same..

Soundguy

Sure...Just rub it in every chance you get

And the AC in our office went out overnight. Well, it didn't go out, it was STOLEN. Thieves snatched the compressor unit off the roof. That's getting to be a common occurance. The copper is worth so much nowdays. I'm going to go sit in my truck w/ AC on.

 

[flusher]

Sure...Just rub it in every chance you get

And the AC in our office went out overnight. Well, it didn't go out, it was STOLEN. Thieves snatched the compressor unit off the roof. That's getting to be a common occurance. The copper is worth so much nowdays. I'm going to go sit in my truck w/ AC on.

Sorry about that A/C theft. Can't keep the bad guys from getting what they set their minds to.

So, I ran the 135 for 30 minutes today with the tractor sitting in the driveway idling at 1100 rpm. The temp gauge didn't move. No overheating. The top radiator hose, the bypass hose and the hose between the block and the water pump inlet all warm to the touch. The bottom radiator hose at room temperature. About a half cup of coolant came out of the radiator overflow about 10 minutes after start of engine (I suppose this was when the thermostat opened).

I'm pretty sure I know what happened before, and it's embarrasing. When I changed the thermostat the first time I forgot to remove the peel-off plastic film on the gasket. When the thermostat opened, I lost a big chunk of coolant through that badly installed gasket. I was driving in the field when I saw the temp gauge go into the hot zone so I high-tailed it back to the garage. By that time I was getting coolant out the radiator overflow in great abundance. I failed to notice the leak around the thermostat housing.

When I removed the thermostat to check it out in the boiling water, sure enough there was that piece of plastic. It took me a while to put two and two together. The previous owner says he never had an overheating problem and I believe him. So it had to be something I did. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Oh well, I learned a lot about the 135 cooling system.

Got a scare while the 135 was running. I have the exhaust stack vertical now and noticed that when the exhaust stream is viewed with Sun backlighting it looks wispy white. Against the blue sky the exhaust is invisible. Thought for a moment that the white smoke means water in the cylinders. Don't think this is the case. I have one of those test kits that checks for exhaust gases in the radiator. I'll check this out later.

With the crud cleaned out of the air passages, that radiator must be super efficient. Of course I was only running at 1100 rpm. PTO speed is 1700 rpm so at that speed I expect the temp gauge to read upscale a little.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Well, at least you KNOW the cooling system is clean now.... We've all done things like that. My latest one was spending 1/2 hour looking for my glasses. Found 'em in the strangest place. ON MY FACE.

My Perkins/Massey has shows a little white in the exhaust until its fully warmed up for 36 out of its 36 years whenever I run it in humid weather, which is 364 days out of the year here in Kentucky.

 

[flusher]

Well, at least you KNOW the cooling system is clean now.... .

That's for sure.

Next job: reinstall the sheet metal and lights on the 135 and take some photos. Also need to get a set of seat cushions for the metal bucket seat.

Thanks to all for your help.