Troubleshooting Kutje A2300N2-ATC : hard to start and overheating

[FMFProperties]

2018 Branson Tractor 4520C-NEO (Serial #CYRG00023)
Kukje Engine Model A2300N2-ATC (Serial #TCBG00053)
I bought it brand new and it now has 355 total hours

Symptoms:
- My tractor overheats after just 15 minutes mowing, it gets hot to where I need to turn it off or it bogs down and dies. Won't even crank until it's cold again.
- When you remove the radiator cap with the engine running, the water bubbles a lot, splashing out
- It's not showing oil in the water
- The oil dipstick doesn't show water in the oil

All of this up to now could point to the radiator, like another forum member told me today, or the water pump, BUT this throws me off:
- It used to start faster than my F150 that I bought the same year, but now to start it I have to pump the fuel pedal many many times and continue pumping it while at the same time cranking the engine for about 15-20 seconds, until it eventually coughs and shakes, then finally starts.

The mobile mechanic that came to look at it told me that it seems like it's leaking air through the head gasket, making it so hard to start. He told me to buy gaskets for him to replace and send out the head to make sure it's not warped or cracked.

Anyone heard of this or has experienced this before and can give me ideas? I'm not a mechanic so I'm open to suggestions before I spend thousands of dollars replacing the head gasket when it could be something else.

Thanks !

 

[K5lwq]

The first thing to determine is why it overheated in the first place. I suspect the radiator fins need to be cleaned. Do you blow it out ever with compressed air?

To determine if the head gasket or head is damaged you could do a combustion chamber leak test. Go to O’Reilly Auto Parts or Autozone and ask to borrow a test kit for this. You will have to buy the solution. Follow the directions in the kit. It detects if exhaust fumes are present in the radiator. If so, yes the head needs to come off.