I've got a '92 580K TLB that runs fine, but looses coolant...about 1/2 gallon per hour. I have no visible signs of coolant leaking or water vapor/steam. If I run tractor for a while, 30 min., an hour, and shut it down, it cranks over fine so I'm thinking it's not a head gasket and hydro-locking. Oil level is constant, so not a cracked block. After sitting for 3 days, I pulled radiator cap to check level and still had pressure in radiator/coolant system. I filled the coolant recovery to the top, now down maybe 2". I've worked on cars, trucks, and tractors for 60 years and have a pretty fair idea of what's going on where, but this has me stumped! Anyone have any thoughts? Bob
Is the radiator staying full ? It should be. I have never seen a coolant recovery bottle that is supposed to be full to the top. There has to be somewhere for expanding coolant to go. Namely, an air space at the top of a radiator or a recovery bottle like the one in your 580K.
My thoughts EXACTLY!
Recovery bottle, being 25 yrs old, is discolored and I had no idea if it was cracked/split and maybe that's where my coolant was going...so I filled/over filled it. Being discolored, I also can't tell if it's pure water that I filled with or coolant. BUT, removing the radiator cap this morning I topped of the radiator with almost a gallon of coolant!!! So, radiator is going down, recovery bottle is staying roughly where it was and I see NO signs of any leakage anywhere !!!!! (Recovery bottle is mounted on radiator, so I'm thinking water in there warmed/expanded and went out overflow tube...hence 2" less) The only part I haven't verified as being OK is the hose from radiator to recovery bottle. But if this was split or broken, I'd think I'd see steam/vapor someplace. IF this is cracked, that would explain why radiator is not refilling...but not why I'm not seeing steam/vapor coming out! I'm TOTALLY lost on this one, Bob
You shouldn't have pressure, the coolant should expand, force some air out the overflow, then when it cools it sucks coolant back into the radiator to be full for next time. Three days later that has to be leaked compression/combustion gas in the radiator. If you can see the tubes from the top of the radiator, I'd fill it half way from the top of the tubes to the bottom of the filler neck. Then run a new overflow tube further away to a plastic bottle to see if anything come out when you run it, then figure out what is going on if it still uses half a gallon an hour. Have you smelled the exhaust when it's nice and warm? Under load too?
What about a leak somewhere like a heater hose or something? It's hard to lose that much coolant and not see any evidence of it - unless it's burning it.
Thanks guys. Gonna try another tube into a temporary recovery bottle and see what happens. Bob
Bob; One other scenario that would allow the radiator coolant level to drop real low, and that would be the expansion tank being too low over a period of time and allowing the pickup tube opening to not be covered. Or, the connecting hose to the radiator is leaking.
Problem may (???) be solved, but I won't know for sure until later or tomorrow. Also, I may have been mistaken in my first post saying I had pressure...I turned the radiator cap and heard "whoosh", could be air escaping or being sucked in. On my next check, I'll hold a cigarette next to cap and see which way smoke goes! I removed radiator cap today, level good...a little high, but that's where I filled it to. Brought my portable air tank to tractor, charged to 110 psi and w/high pressure nozzle, and stuck 1/4" tubing end on nozzle into overflow outlet. Squeezed handle, nothing but air blowing back around tubing. Pushed nozzle into tubing, wrapped rag around it and squeezed handle. Nothing for about 3 seconds and then overflow tank started bubbling and finally overflowing from all the air...YEAH! I started tractor, ran the hoe for about 45 minutes to an hour, and shut it down. About..WOW!...50 years ago, I worked at a gas station. Lady pulls in from Interstate and says, 'My hot light is on.' I had just started there and being under 20 and inexperienced, I open the hood and turned the radiator cap! I'll remember that for the rest of my life, hence, I'll check my tractor coolant later when things cool down!!! I've used rags since, but with the angle I'm working, I'm thinking 15 psi might give me a shower. I'll get back with my findings, Bob
Bob, the radiator should be full to the top. Top it off when it is cold. Be sure there is room in the plastic expansion tank for the expanding coolant after it has run at operating temp.
I'm happy...for now. I loosened cap today, slight hissing sound, but cigarette smoke didn't move one way or the other. Radiator down about 1/2", recovery tank up about 3". Hoping my problem is solved, but not really sure water pump is NFG. I'll keep an eye on levels each time before I use it. Bob
Sometimes I have found the cap will hold pressure but wont hold a vacuum. Cap tester kits dont seem to always address the latter.
Just to finish this thread: I've done a few small jobs around the yard, maybe 2-3 hrs each. It's been about 10 hours since I blew out the tube from radiator to recovery tank. Level in radiator and recovery tank haven't moved and I haven't had to add coolant...problem solved. Bob
Thanks for coming back with the outcome ! Tooo many times we never find out the result of problems members have finalized.
Tinkerer, That's EXACTLY why I posted the thread! I'm on a few other tractor sites, and as you say, toooo often we never find out the results. Bob
OK, 2 years later, I found the problem...I think/hope! Tractor ran pretty good last year, although I didn't run it that much...20 hours? Lat fall, 2018, I drained radiator and filled with a radiator flush chemical. Then refilled with water and ran til warm. During this process, I noticed a wet/dark spot on the radiator. I never saw coolant coming out there, but I thought, 'Maybe coolant is hot/steaming and I can't see it. Fan is then blowing coolant through radiator but I STILL can't see it!' Drained water from radiator, filled with coolant and "K-Seal". My Cousin had stopped down from Maine and ran...bucket & hoe... the tractor for about 4 hours. This was about the end of April. Opened the hood today and checked coolant, maybe 1/2"-1" below full. Brought it...kinda...overfull (coolant & K-Seal) and ran for another 2 hours. Too hot to check level. No over temp light and, again thinking/hoping problem is solved! I guess bottom line here is problem are not always visible/obvious and we have to depend on past experiences/knowledge...starting so quickly, NO lack of power, and no white smoke from exhaust, I figured it HAD to be something other than a bad head gasket. Bob