Hey guys! Well after 70 hours of wrenching I got my cylinders repacked, fuel issues resolved, and most all my leaks fixed. Got out yesterday and did some dinging pulling stumps and did some rough grading. My new issue is the machine runs really hot at random. It was already too hot to pop the cap and check for flow, I'll do that this morning, but there really wasn't a discernable pattern to when it got hot. Sometimes hard digging, sometimes loading, sometimes just driving. The machine hasn't been touched in a long time so my first thought is an intermittently stuck thermostat. So 1. What temp does everyone use and how hard is it to get to it? And 2. Are there any known/ common issues with this particular machine overheating? It's a pre-2 serial with the stick on the floor.
You need to verify that the engine is truly getting hot or if it is a sender/gauge issue. The best way is an infrared heat gun or a thermometer in the radiator. You should have around 185 degrees going into the top of the radiator and around 155 coming into the engine from the lower radiator hose. Check your fan belts and pulleys for wear, make sure you have good airflow through the radiator core. Do this stuff before you start throwing parts at it.
I will check the basics this morning, I have a 1964 Ford 2000 that does this every two years lol so unfortunately I know the drill! I'm going to blow out the radiator first thing, might be clogged up. I don't have an IR thermometer to check, but I believe the guage because even the hood was red hot when it got to the top of normal. If I let it sit and idle it would come back down.
Just remember that the coolant only absorbs the heat, the thermostat controls the temperature to its setting and the water flow through the radiator. The air flow through your radiator core is what cools the system.
Great point to remember! As soon as I get out there I'll check the flow at the cap abs blow out the fins.
Ran about eight hours yesterday and had to take frequent breaks with three hood open idling to cool down. Doing my preflight this morning I notice soot all over the engine. Hmmmm, what causes soot?
Obviously I need a new muffler! I think 80% of the exhaust was staying under the hood broiling the motor. I made a quick field fix with a piece of trampoline leg I had laying around until the new muffler comes in. Sometimes it's the simplest things!
If you want to cool down a hot engine don't idle it, run it at medium-high RPM in neutral. That way you increase both the colant flow through the engine and also the air flow over the radiator. All you really need to do is take the load off it while keeping the RPM up.
That's a great tip! Thanks so much!!
Check air filter ,may be picking up exhaust soot.
I did, vacuumed it out really good.
Remember that if you decide to replace the thermostat you will need to bleed the air out of engine as you fill with coolant. Either pull a vacuum on system or pull the temp sensor in front of engine.
May be solder bloom on the tubes that will require removing the radiator and having it chemically cleaned. Commonly referred to as "boiling it out". Drain enough coolant out so that you can see the tops of the radiator tubes through the filler cap. Solder bloom looks like white rust. It reduces the opening where the tubes are soldered to the tanks.
Yea, I had to do that on my Ford 2000 when I rebuilt it, I know a guy who can clean it for me if need be. I think replacing the muffler is going to do the trick. My field fix made a huge difference!