My excavator runs really great. However, if I really push it hard for a few hours, it starts to run hot. Raising the hood helps, but still it will run hot, even in the winter if I push it. Once I idle back and let it set, it cools off pretty quickly, but also heats back up pretty quickly. If it is hot summer, it seems to run hot pretty quickly even when I am not pushing it hard. It is only the water temp that gets high....the hydraulic oil temp stays ok. The Air Conditioner is no longer connected, but there is a small radiator in front of the main radiator. I 'think' this is a radiator for the AC. If so, it would only seem to be serving no purpose now and is blocking the a considerable amount of air flow to/through the primary radiator. Any thoughts as to if it might help to remove this radiator? I've did a half way job of washing out the radiator with a water hose, but that did not seem to help. Should I remove the radiator and have it 'boiled' out? Thanks for any suggestions Stacy
I'm not sure about your particular machine but a lot of the smaller excavators have the hydraulic oil cooler, radiator, & AC evaporator all together like a sandwich. Trying to clean the radiator externally without first separating the other coolers from it is pretty muc a waste of time, as is using a water hose to do the cleaning. You really need a pressure washer, preferably one that uses hot water.
Thanks Nige, How do I use a pressure washer on the radiator without flattening all the aluminum 'fins' that protrude around the air flow holes in the radiator. If they flatten out, the holes are stopped up and I'm worse off than before. I fear that anything much stronger than a water hose will flatten them. Am I being over cautious? thanks again Stacy
When you're using the pressure washer make sure that you don't hold the lance still at any time. Keep it moving and you should be OK. Another good tip is to start washing with the tip of the lance maybe 2-3 feet away from the radiator and only move it closer if it's not getting the contamination off.
Come at it straight on, with your nozzle as close to perpendicular to the coolers in both directions as possible. Hitting the fins at an angle is the worst for bending them over.
I've got a 312 and have had similar problems . the only way to totally solve it is to remove the air conditioner cooler and the hydraulic cooler . Then you can wash the engine radiator completely , hot water is best but cold will work if you spray some cleaner or degreaser on it . My air cooler has hoses that are long enough to swing the cooler out of way with out opening the system .
dumb question I'm sure. But since my AC is dead anyway, if I disconnect the lines connecting the ac radiator, nothing breaks. right? thanks all
You may still have gas pressure in the AC system so just be careful when you loosen hoses.
You might try the fan clutch. Just had to replace the one in our 320d. It would run fine, get hot and when you idled it down, it would cool off in a minute or two. The hyd oil never got hot so we thought it might be the water pump. Had the dealer come out and bring both fan clutch and water pump, the mechanic said it was the fan clutch.
pls check the temperture differance between top tank and botom tank.if the botom tank is too cold when compared to top tank,check for the waterpump drive belt, pully,radiater could be internaly cloged,thermostact etc
Just a thought, may be belts slipping on pulleys. Had this a few times, changed belts made all the difference.
my therial number ith 8gro1237
Hey slwbid, From my experience its usually been one of the following if its taking some time to overheat I mean like lets say 30-40min. Radiator clogged up, we usually take the radiator out and proper clean it inside and out to get rid of all the stuff jamming the pipes and the fins Common issue: theres some foam insulation on the sides of the radiator and the oil cooler. So it kind of seals the engine bay from the "radiator bay". So if this foam is not there or damaged then the fan sucks air through the gaps instead of the through the rad and the cooler. So this usually leads to the system overheating when working hard. And lifting the engine cover usually solves the problem to a certain degree. I reckon this could be your issue. The other problem I have come across is the hydraulic bypass valve getting stuck open so dumps all the hot return oil back to the tank instead of letting it run through the oil cooler. This is usually on the left hand side of the control valve on the side of the fuel tank. I think its the valve failing over time or something that it doesn't close properly after the oil has come to temp Could also be the thermostat valve. So best way to check that is to chuck it in some boiling water to see if it pope open. Hope this helps pal!
Just to add a small comment regarding steaming the crud from a radiator. Our steam cleaner has a pressure adjusting valve next to a pressure gauge. For rads, I wind pressure right down and adjust temperature setting so it's not super heating (coz if left at max it's just steam, and lance trigger cannot hold it in...) Perhaps we're lucky with our washer, but we can gently wash radiators clean without fear of flattening em. All the best.
cant remember if I every closed this out. The problem with overheating went away....totally gone, nada, when I took off the Airconditioner radiator. (AC did not work anyway)