I am looking at an MST600 Morooka tracked dump I am pretty sure it has a 3 cylinder mitsubishi motor in it, now the owner is saying it runs for 10min then over heats, he spent 1,000 in having the radiator rebuilt which seems high. But what would cause it to overheat? Could it be block related. The machine is 4 hours away so I want to know what I am getting into and looking for when and if I go to look at it. Has a low price and I have a local morooka dealer so parts isn't a problem. Thanks
Should be a 4D31 Mitsu 4 cyl in an MST-600. The 600 had a small radiator, plenty of capacity to keep engine cool, but if it's blocked, engine overheat will occur. Be sure and check tightness of fan belts first thing. If radiator is clean and clear, I'd remove radiator cap, block radiator face with cardboard, run engine at a high throttle and get it up to temp while watching for coolant flow inside radiator and monitoring temperature. If you don't get flow, cool engine down and drain enough coolant to allow removal of thermostat. Refill radiator, start and run engine at a high throttle, you should see flow immediately with no thermostat. If you still don't have flow, something wrong with either radiator or water pump.
Cooling system aside could it be engine block related? Or could it just be cooling system related?
Anything's possible, I just approach things using a "first things first" method. Start at the beginning of the puzzle and work your way through it eliminating the possibilities as you go.
Ok thank you, just trying to figure out what I could be getting into, there is some rust damage to the dump so I am trying to get best price possible and not end up with a pile of scrap!
Be sure and check the parking brake operation. Engine at idle, brake engaged, give it a little drive pressure and see if brake holds. Drive machine forward and backward making sure it doesn't pull to one side. And if it's an older machine, be sure and eyeball the pivot shafts for the bottom rollers, the shaft at the top of the triangle shaped roller carrier plate. Early Morooka machines used ball bearings on those shafts and they were notorious for bearing failure. Look for any shaft that is "off center" of the tube housing the shaft goes through indicating failed bearings. If you have any questions, contact Don Lanway at Lanway Tractor. He'll be more than happy to help. > http://www.lantraxco.com/
All good advice as usual from willie59. I'll add a couple things and maybe a bit of useful information: Check the dipstick for water droplets and/or discolored oil, usually white if it's leaking into the pan. Check for water coming out the exhaust, and with the radiator full to the neck, watch for gas bubbles coming up. In addition to the radiator which has already been rebuilt, it could be the thermostat, water pump, cylinder head gasket, etc. I have seen, once or twice in different make engines, the water pump impeller spin off the shaft. Could also be a fuel/injector/pump issue, but that's probably the least likely culprit. Oh, and sorry to say, there's no comfort in having a Morooka dealer nearby for these old dogs, getting anything for the engines is very difficult with high prices and long lead times. They quit building this version of the 600 in 1996, and anything below serial# 2701 was not turbo'ed Oh yeah, and as far as I know you can't get gears for the finals anymore either. Good machine though when it's running right. Cheers, Lanway