Just bought a D3 1979 3 days ago. When I looked this machine over it during start up it spewed some antifreeze out the overflow. Owner said he just filled it and most have put to much in. It ran for 5 -10 minutes and over flow stopped. We came to an agreement and it was sold. He delivered the next day . Next morning I'm off to plow a field level Move the stumps off and fill in the stump holes. . About 30 minutes in I see more coolant pissing out the overflow and then 15 minutes later I seen steam . Thought it was just coolant from overflow on the hot rad burning off. Ran it for another hr and stopped for lunch. After lunch I started again and after 30 minutes there was lots of steam . I stopped dozing to look around. Rad was very hot engine was hot to but the noticeable heat was from rad. This dozer has 4 maybe 5 gauges. The only gauge I seen move was the oil pressure gauge At higher rpm it was reading normal and at idle it was lower. So I stop the dozer and contact a friend . . Tells me to pop the rad cap and see when running if coolant is flowing. . After a couple hrs I get back to this things are still warm.. I open cap and its under pressure still. Look inside dont see any coolant. Drop in 4 liters water and still dont see and coolant.. Start it up and drive home . Fill up the rad with 8 more liters so 3 gallons total.. Start it up and see fluid moving and then overflows the cap.. . Stop it install cap and neighbor shows up. Looks at it . We start it up and spews out coolant from overflow . He says your head gasket is gone. Call previous owner to ask if he knew the gasket was gone when he sold me the dozer. He said he used it last week for 3 hrs with no issues at all. When I told him what was going on he said he has never ever needed to put 3 gallons in the rad. He seemed concerned . Asked me what the temp gauge was reading . Said I didn't think it worked as it didn't move . He says it does but may need to tap the gauge. So my plan today is start it up and watch the gauge and see what happens . He said he was going to call his mechanic and see what it could be. So keep in mind I have zero knowledge as to what I need to do. What I do know is water pump is moving the coolant. Rad looks clean on the outside and fan belt is tight and turning. I paid a lot of money for this machine and feeling suckered . How do I proceed to find the issue?
Previous owner needs to refund and take it back, it was defective and should he balk explain will go to a shop to be inspected and or disassembled to see how long has been affected. He still balks then inform will send him all the bills as gets repaired as was defective. This is lawsuit material.
For starters it was a private sale. Buyers be ware ! right.. Thanks for the reply but your comments not going to help me get this repaired.
Why on earth would you buy a 40 year old tractor without having someone look at it? Now you need to have some one look at it that that knows what they are looking at. Bob
Well thats not good! Top off the radiator to just below the fill neck, start the engine and look for bubbles. If you see some then just plan on pulling the cylinder head at the very least.
Vetech 63 I did that but with in a few seconds the coolant overflows.
Head is likely cracked at that volume.
Its definitely not overheating then. You have engine compression getting into the cooling system. Like DMiller said.......you more than likely have a broken head. Its time to remove it and inspect the damage.
If the seller knowingly held back that there was a major problem is lawsuit material. Proving it could be a problem but the fact he said he's had to add coolant helps your case. A good engine shouldn't need coolant added very often whether it's 1 litre or 40 litre's. How often do you add coolant to your daily driver? Doesn't matter if it was a private sale. May need a complete engine rebuild. Maybe the guy will take it back or repair it but that's probably totally dependent on the cost. Can we ask how much you paid? I wouldn't be on DMillers case, he's right that it could be lawsuit material. Getting your money back is probably the best option unless the seller completely pays for all the repairs. That's not very likely though.
Yesterday I started the dozer. Idled for 8 minutes and the temp gauge was at med normal range. Increased idle speed til 30 minutes mark. Temp gauge was normal range . Drove it and used dozer to do its job for an hr and 30 minutes more. temp gauge read normal range no boiling no smoke . So not sure what the difference is.
Sounds like you had a stuck coolant regulator so you might want to replace that. If the temp sender is not covered in water it won't work as in not showing hot steam. I would replace the radiator cap also. Bob
Where would I find that coolant reg on the dozer? Rad cap is that a standard size cap or one designed for this dozer ? I see a warning on it and made in mexico. No parts #s
Likely you put enough coolant or water in it to displace most of the air. Your three gallons plus whatever the previous added is a lot. It is obvious it is leaking somewhere. External easier to find internal not as much. See above. Check engine oil for coolant. Probably don’t want to use it much until you find out what’s wrong.
It's not on the dozer it's on the motor under the flange where the top radiator hose hooks to the engine. I'm thinking maybe that motor uses a thermostat and not a regulator. If you don't have a overflow tank don't fill the radiator completely full leave it down a inch or two. Bob
Cat still calls thermostats Regulators. Should be a Minimum Flow bypass hose or a drilled hole in the T-stat to bleed trapped block air, either of which is likely blocked.
Actually they don't ,they are two different items and they function differently . Bob
The ‘regulators’ sold me by cat for my C15 here are thermostats from anyone else.
Those are regulators the one in your car is a thermostat. Some Cat engines use a thermostat. Bob
Was told 3204's can get air locked and there was something you could loosen to help bleed the air out. Can't remember if it was a bleed screw or loosening a small bypass hose. If no coolant is getting in the oil or no oil in the coolant it could be a simple fix. Check the oil carefully for coolant before you run it anymore. Antifreeze can/will destroy the crank bearings if you have a leak and run it.
Checked the oil looks like oil to me . Don't see any one coolant in there. looks dark .Maybe time for an oil change
No reservoir . Checked coolant level . Will top up to just above fins. as suggested.
Might be a good time to have an oil analysis done to be sure there's no coolant/antifreeze in the oil. One of the times where a single sample could indicate a problem.
I hope you're draining the water overnight if it's getting close to freezing. The longer this goes, the less likely the previous owner has any obligation to help out, if he did when you first added water. If I was the seller, and I had this thread describing how it was operated, I sure wouldn't want to do anything either. Yes, change the oil as soon as you get it hot. Go to CAT and get SOS oil sample kit and take a sample when you change the oil. Run it with rainwater until you know it's holding coolant, but drain it after use. Watch the valve cover and/or dipstick for condensation/chocolate. And see what the oil test shows. Make sure the temp gauge is working, and confirm that it's full every so often.
All good suggestions. I am watching the temps at night . Not been under 5 deg c yet. Had a guy over yesterday that according to him he was driving a D3 when he was in diapers. And there he was yesterday driving it again while still wearing diapers.. I am 2 hrs from the Cat dealer so the oil test kits not going to be soon I am not thinking.. I'm assuming there is a drain cock on the rad near bottom someplace. Buddy that drove the D3 said it was a great dozer . Everything worked as it should. We did loosen the tracks as were way to tight.
What is an SOS oil sample kit . SOS???
You don't need a oil sample ,if you have water in oil it will be milky. Pull the oil plug on cold engine ,if you have water it will be on bottom of oil. SOS scheduled oil sampling. Bob