There's Gotta Be a Drain Plug Somewhere

Ken Yarber · May 5, 2011

I have been using a Mahindra 3215 HST for several years now, and I still have not located the radiator drain plug(s). The factory owner's manual is useless here. If you've replaced your radiator's fluid, would you please give me some clues? I think it is a plastic tube leading from the overflo reservoir bottle just above the fuel filter, but I can't locate that sucker either. Any ideas would be great. Thanks, Ken

SixHoeBob · May 5, 2011

The world is full of things that gottabe/ottabe, but don't exist. One option is put a large plastic pan under the tractor and gently remove the lower radiator hose. Next you can try to find a engine block drain plug. Though they ottobe, they don't exist on New Holland and John Deere skid-loaders:confused2:. I suppose the $6,000 engine is considered a throwaway part. New Holland quality at it's best

. But they have nice decals, though the paint will bubble rust.

MrChris · May 6, 2011

In my owners manual(#7 in the fold out maintenance page) it shows a vague picture described as coolant drain. I thought it referred to a bolt head below the fuel filter but looking further in my manual on page 93 ( thanks Mtn Ranch) I believe they are referring to the braided hose with a clamp on it that runs in the same area. It shows loosening that clamp and removing the hose to drain.

MtnViewRanch · May 6, 2011

On page 93 of my 3215 owners manual, it shows a hose that is to be removed to drain the cooling system. There is no radiator drain valve.

Ken Yarber · Jul 27, 2011

Thanks, Brian. I just read your reply as to where to look for the mysterious radiator drain plug on my 3215 HST. Really odd place to put a drain plug, huh? I will try to find it this week for sure. BTW, are you located near Santa Clarita, CA? If so, who do you know that can repair Mahindras -- just in case in the future I need some mechanical expert. Thanks again. Ken Yarber

MtnViewRanch · Jul 28, 2011

Ken, I know of no one that is in Southern California. You would think that there would be, but I know of no one.

All the good dealers are up North that I know about.

Ken Yarber · Aug 27, 2011

I guess my sole mission in life is to try to find a way to drain the radiator on my 3215 HST. The owner's manual is not clear and I doubt seriously if the guy who wrote it knows a lot about anything let alone Mahindra tractors. The manual is a technical embarassement. Without a good product manual, the product is marred, and you'd think that any tractor mechanical engineer or designer would have at least the common sense to put a regular drain plub on the radiator? I am thinking of taking the radiator to a shop and have a plug installed. Should be pretty easy to do by a good radiator guy, huh? Thanks.

DavesTractor · Aug 29, 2011

Ken Yarber said:
I guess my sole mission in life is to try to find a way to drain the radiator on my 3215 HST. The owner's manual is not clear and I doubt seriously if the guy who wrote it knows a lot about anything let alone Mahindra tractors. The manual is a technical embarassement. Without a good product manual, the product is marred, and you'd think that any tractor mechanical engineer or designer would have at least the common sense to put a regular drain plub on the radiator? I am thinking of taking the radiator to a shop and have a plug installed. Should be pretty easy to do by a good radiator guy, huh? Thanks.

This is a simple deal for most people. Let me get you going the right direction. There is a hose going from the bottom of the radiator to the engine block, terminating about 3" above the engine oil dipstick. Take about 5 seconds to unscrew the clamp and let the hose down into a bucket and your radiator is draining. On some early 3215's they had an inline drain valve in that hose, but some rambunctious sorts would snag that valve with a stick or something and open it up or tear it off...then the coolant would drain and the tractor engine would overheat if the operator wasn't paying attention. So we asked them to remove the drain as it is quite simple to remove one clamp and drain the radiator via the hose. As easy as if there were a draincock in that location but not as vulnerable.

You are making this hard, yet it isn't. Kudos to you for changing out the coolant though, it should be done regularly.