water circulation problem

[KennedyDiesel]

A head gasket can put air in the system which keeps the thermostat from sensing proper temp and opening.

If you get it to operating temp and then cap the system it should not build significant pressure in the cooling system as the expansion has taken place.

 

[bbse]

Are you saying I should bring it to temp with the cap off and then cap it? BTW I don't have any fluids mixing ,water in oil or oil in water, and I don't have a pressure surge. But I do have a steady pressure coming from the radiator. I suppose this is possibly a head gasket. I hope it is nothing more serious. What would a head gasket cost to replace on a Lk3054? Anybody have than done before? I really love this little tractor and I had planned to have the engine gone through soon anyways because it is hard to start but I wanted to do everything I could do before I took it in to save some money.

 

[bluechip]

Has this tractor had good coolant maintenance? changed every year or two, never run just water? If the t-stat test does not reveal the cause, it may be worth pulling the radiator and havingit "rodded" out by a radiator shop. We had a 1914 in the shop that had similar symptoms. head gasket was bad, but it was the result, not the cause...new headgasket and still got hot, the clue we missed was the brown crud that came out when we drained the radiator...

 

[bncsauve]

sounds like head gasket to me

 

[KiotiOrange]

bbse,

This may seem like a silly question, but have you checked the gauge and/or sending unit? It seems as though you are running a lot of tests and replacing, or preapring to replace, some pretty expensive parts without checking probably the weekest and easiest link in the equation.

I would check the gauge and/or sending unit before going any further. Is it a mechanical or electric gauge? If electric, check/replacing the sending unit may be all that is needed.

Just my $.02

KiotiOrange

 

[bbse]

I just bought the tractor a month ago. It had not been maintained. I flushed the system and it was a little rusty but I have seen a lot worse. I thought of the gauge but as I pointed out when it did reach the upper limit (just under the red) it boiled over. It may not be perfect but I think it is close. I am not going to change the head gasket until I have exhausted every other possibilty. Even if I have to I really don't mind. I got the tractor add a price that if I put up to 1500 into it to bring it up to a full operational condition I would still be happy. I do not want to do that unless i have to but i would if I had to. I will have the radiator done just for GP as mentioned. It doesn't look bad on top but who knows what is inside. It is not hard to remove either. I have been using it carefully around the house. I brushcut about 2.5 acres over several evenings, watching the temps. No one has responded to the temp jumping up when the tractor is not level. This is what got me to thinking circulation or blockage. I will pull the pump saturday just to satisfy my curiosity. How can you check for blockage in the engine?

 

[KiotiJohn]

I would suspect the water passages leading to the pump and possibly a bad pump. If you pull the water pump and clean out the channels, you may find the problem there. Some type of blockage coupled with an unlevel stance might explain the heating change in that condition, but I'm not too sure of that. Maybe only a partial blockage, and that's keeping enough coolant from circulating on an angle, causing the temp to go up in that situation.
John

 

[JerryG]

To all. Someone here much have had more problems with water pumps than I have. Normally the only problem with water pumps is the seals leaking. There aren't but about three things that can go wrong with a water pump. One: seals go out and they start to leak. Two: bearings go out which will also cause the seals to go out. Three: The impeller comes off. This is a very uncommon thing. If that happens, you will get zero water flow and most times it will make a noise when it happens, then the temperature will go straight up. No waiting.

 

[VictorW]

Air in the system will cause temp. gauge changes depending on where the sending unit is just as KenDiesel advised about the t-stat. That air may be causing the change when not level. A blown head gasket doesn't always put engine oil into the water. If it's blown between the cylinder and water jacket, that would just put air into the system but I'm surprises that it isn't sucking any water into the cylinder on the intake stroke. Maybe just a very small gasket crack, enough for air but not water. From all you've done so far, I'd pull the pump and do like KiotiJohn mentioned. You'll get an idea about the pump and see if the block is loaded with crud somehow. Rodding out a radiator is usually cheap and good insurance for 10 years of possible neglect. You've changed the t-stat, rodded radiator, checked the pump, temp. gauge is reading correct; head gasket would be next. Maybe I missed it, but did you originally drain antifreeze. I would hate to think that someone just used water or a week mix and you have a cracked block. Up North, where I live, people have been know to do that with their I/O boats and ruin a perfectly good engine. Let us know the results of your next test.

 

[bbse]

I am going to go through it again and probably will pull the pump. Luckily I saved the old antifreeze I took out. I didn't think to test it but I will. Only thing is I bought it from a fellow who bought it from a nursery. He only had it long enough to do some landscaping around his house over the winter. He probably new about the problem but he might not have. His yard was very flat and he was not brush cutting with it and it was used over the winter so the air temp was a lot colder. I will test the fluid tonight and let you know.