This is a tough story to share - Bought a 2004 John Deere 210LE a couple weeks back and didn't do much of a pre purchase inspection . S/N T021LE882401. Buyer said it was in his family circle and that it had been sitting alot . I got tunnel vision and missed alot of obvious issues . Got her home and it got hot within 10 minutes. Seller said he just put a new temp gauge in and must have created an air pocket . At least I had a temp gauge as the warning light cover was missing . Bled and burped the system multiple times , got an infrared gun to verify Temps - no improvement. Pulled the thermostat housing and there wasn't a thermostat in there . Uh -oh . Didn't look like that housing had been removed in a decade . Installed one and of course no change . Pulled the radiator and it had zero airflow from dirt and weed build up . There was black sludge in the bottom of the radiator that I'm afraid is oil residue . A half cup of the pictured sludge was in the bottom of the system . Next I removed the water pump and of course the impeller was in pieces . Small amount of black residue there too. No coolant in oil , and no milky liquid ,but the black sludge has me guessing head gasket or cracked head or block. . Wonder if someone didn't pour Bars leak in there and it settled . Going to put a new JD oem water pump , swap the belt tensioner that was shaking, and clean the block and system out before having the radiator rodded and pressure tested . Then test the head gasket . I'm a relative rookie with a wrench , but can read and perform the above and external stuff. Am I on the right track ? Machine sounds good , was strong , no smoke , no excessive blow by . I paid $26K and am about to puke thinking of what it may need . Got all new fluids, filters , and parts at JD . Don't see another way to attack this. Looking for advice from those who know . Thanks in advance. Lou
I think that you certainly have a cracked or warped head. I don't know how else you get that black sludge where you found it. It started running hot and they obviously kept running it. Checking the back pressure with the radiator cap off when first started would likely indicate pressure at the cap. Just a guess obviously but I think it explains the issue of the black sludge.
Good job, you found the water pump, could be problem solved. No reason to take the radiator apart, blow it out with air then rinse with a garden hose until you get the dirt off it. Looks like it could have the factory fill coolant in it still, but that won't block the radiator unless it had hard water added over time. Even then, I doubt the radiator is plugged inside. Can't explain the sludge, but not much to lose by putting it back together and running it a while to see what it does. Or run it five minutes or so until it gets warm with distilled water in the engine and the outlets capped with inner tube and hose clamps, to see if it builds pressure.
Black sludge could be oil from the oil cooler. The oil cooler has had issues with the O-ring groove machining. Worth looking into before going all back together. If the cooler housing is aluminum, I would recommend upgrading to the cast one.
Well, you have the older 2-piece water pump impeller when it should be a 1 piece. Don't feel bad..........I had the 3-piece version just last week! How about fixing the known issues first before doing anything else? Some brands of stop leak can also create a sludge in the system if not installed correctly.
Thank you for this . I greatly appreciate it .
Thank you for all the responses and info. Have no choice but to bring her up to speed and keep it long term which was the original plan . Will provide updates as i get it sorted out . At least the paint and stickers look good .
Someone has to say it, for 26k I hope it looks REALLY good. Put back together and run it for awhile, might be nothing. Just keep an eye on the heat. That black sludge could be from pump impellers and hose material if overheating and original hoses.
The hoses definitely appeared original and pretty stretched out and gummy . Will check the oil cooler housing as suggested . Looked around for a bit , and the market in southern Ca is between 22k and 30k depending on hours and condition . There are some beat up ones for 20k that look bad . John Deere is preferred around here . I was leary of an auction machine , but here i am after dealing with a private party . This one reads 4700 on a non operating gauge . She definitely sat for a long time . An expensive lesson , i know . I guess the bright side is i will learn alot tearing things apart and servicing it . Thanks again everyone .
Looks beautiful.
is there a trick to removing the pictured part out of the way to have clear access to install the cooler housing ? Removed it by sliding out but want to get a good gasket job on the new set up
Pull that piece directly sideways. It is stuck in o ring #18 in the screenshot below. O-ring #18 sits in a groove in the timing gear cover. .
Thank you , Got it . Finally getting this back together as time permits .
That's a clean enough machine for today's market mid twenty is a good price Grade tractors never get maintained at all I have drained some nasty stuff out of machines like that here in the southwest the summers do a number on colant and if those machines don't get flushed they build up all kinds of trash in the coolant
More problems for the rookie . Got everything back together and did oil change, filled cooling system with water for cleansing per JDs bulletin. Pull dipstick and crankcase is full of water mixed with the new oil . What the hell did I do wrong? John deere oil cooler was factory tested and ready to go . All parts oem . I'm lost .
How did the timing gear cover look wth the water pump insert removed ? Any deep pitting found ?
No , looks good . In disbelief i tore it back apart to inspect everything. Never had water in oil before , just the sludge in bottom of radiator . Has to be a missing plug or oring in that oil cooler assembly . Upgraded to the cast unit that was pressure tested at the factory. Now I'm back at trying to pry that 90 degree fitting with off so I can put the coolers side by side and inspect closer. I did that prior to install but admittedly don't know what I'm looking at and had to miss something . I'll call JD tech line Monday as well. Starting to think I should have financed a newer unit , but will get thru this and probably find something obvious . Thanks for the reply . -Lou
see pic
If you get water in the oil, the next step is usually to pull the oil pan off, pressurize the cooling system, and see if you can find where it's leaking water. First pull the valve cover off and do the same.
New cooler housing is missing the orings See new , then old , was some confusion at the parts counter and I assumed this had orings as it was pressure tested at the factory supposedly. I didn't look at them closely but now it seems obvious
Referencing the screenshot below, did you initially buy key # 2 or 5 or 19 ? .
Dave , I bought 19 as a complete unit
#19 the complete unit , it was all pre-assembled in the box ? Missing o-rings is a huge fk up !
Yes sir I was talking to the parts rep who was trying to sell me all the components as they were in stock , but the assembly came from Georgia supposedly pressure tested. Then a different parts guy handed it over when it arrived. Mayne that was a disconnect. I am a dummy not to see the missing orings . I was livid when I finally discovered the problem as that higaurd oil , filter , gaskets and my time aren't cheap . Would hope they give me a concession but who knows . Thanks again for the replies . Will report in when I'm up and running . Good part is I'm 3x as fast with the work now . Going fishing with a cold beer today .
I’m confused, The o-rings are sandwiched between the housing and the cooler, you can’t see them with everything assembled.
Well It ran for 10 minutes with oil not heading into the coolant
I guess I am too I cant see them in the new unit (pic on left in my other post , ) but can see them in the removed unit . ( 2nd pic )
Disassemble the old removed unit , you will physically see the orings location.
Will do Thank you
Sorry to keep this going , but.. Went to the dealer and told them my plight . They took both oil coolers to be pressure tested for starters. Fast forward a week and they actually pull the cooler from the housing and pressure test the cooler itself. I assumed test if the leak was where the original orings were. Nope , called me in and gave me a bag of the sum of 2 units disassembled , no report or I go as they used an outside shop . I was again confused . Was give another new cast iron housing with cooler ready to go free of charge and advised to check for orings before Install . Guess I will try this again , and leave the oil and filter off til I fill cooling system and let it sit overnight . Then do the double oil change . Kind of hard to believe. Wish I would have just put the water pump in and cleaned the cooling system before opening this can of worms.
Finally got this thing back together and it was indeed a faulty oil cooler the John Deere dealer gave me . Assembled and tested for leaks . Now will run for 10 minutes , do a 2nd oil change and cooling system flush and fill . Should be good to go . Appreciate all the advice here .