My friend has a D3G that runs right at hot almost no matter how it's operated. Fan belts are tight, radiator is clean (appears to be). He will put whatever coolant is available in it. Could not running the proper coolant make that much difference? Thermostat maybe? What's your opinions? THANKS!
When you say the radiator is clean do you mean the exterior is clean? No dirt in the fins? Or do you mean the interior has bee flow checked and flushed out? Could be either. Might be thrermostat, or a sensor too.
I used to run a Pad crew of 4 D5Gs, washing the radiators out was a painstaking process. you need to pull the grill off and be very carefull not to bend the fins and wash it and wash it and wash it.... when you think you have it clean then keep washing some more.. I think the cores are thicker since the radiator is smaller so it takes along time to push all that dirt out of the fins. If a rain cloud ever presented itself in the sky I would just shut my guys down instead of letting them suck the moisture into the radiators. It could have been 110 degrees and they would work fine, a little sprinkle of rain and the temps could drop to 85 degees and the dozers would start overheating within minutes. turns the radiator into a mudball everytime.
which temp gauge? engine coolant, or powertrain temp,,, need to know that first... there are 2 rads up front - 1 for each system then either way- need to verify the gauge reading with an infrared temp gun or other tool to make sure it's actually overheating and not a problem with the gauge or sender (or ECM for the powertrain)
It's the water temp getting hot. And the radiator appears clean externally. When using an infrared thermometer, what temp. should it read? Or what would be hot?
if the top tank is over 200F, the gauge is probably telling the truth. 180 to 190 would be normal operating temp You also want to look inside the rad with a bright light. The rad can be plugged internally - doesn't sound like much attention to coolant type or quality is being paid... a cocktail of long life and conventional combined with neglect might be an issue. A cooling system flush might be in order. Air filter clean? An engine running without good airflow can add load to a struggling cooling system. Intake air is cool and helps cool an engine somewhat. make sure the engine compartment screens are letting air through the sides too. when cleaning a rad, the outside areas are most important. there is very little airflow through the center
other questions I would ask: does the machine have good power? are you running at wide open throttle? does the decel pedal let the rpm up all the way? do all the speed ranges seem to function? park brake light go on and off properly? brake pedal linkage free?...does the brake light come on with a slight hesitation after fully depressing the brake pedal (it should) any powertrain issues that could be lugging the engine? tracking good?
If you do the infrared thermometer trick you should see at least 15 degrees difference between the top of the radiator and the inlet side of the water pump. I usually like to see thirty degrees difference. Less than 15 degrees and I blow the fins. If I don't get any better I usually try to sell a radiator pull and rod out. I use a half inch piece of pipe with a ball valve hooked to a compressor that puts out at least 17 CFM at 90 PSI to blow out the radiators. I have a plug with a 3/16" hole in the end on the end of the pipe. Works real well. I've found that wet just gums up the dust into gumbo and then it won't come out at all.
Well the infrared thermometer showed around 180 on top of the radiator. Checked the front in different places and got anywhere from 220-236. WWZ, power is good when he's not dealing with fuel issues. Wide open throttle, yes. But also tried lower RPM's. Even walking it about 1 mile the temp raises near hot. Decel pedal does let engine fully rev. Hyd. drive works fine. Park brake light functions properly. Brake pedal linkage free.......??? not sure Brake light- ??? not sure Powertrain issues, yes. lugging the engine- not sure. I saw it up at his barn and noticed shiney metal on the carrier roller. Closer look revealed the track chain was running between the flanges on the back side, and completely out to the front on the near side. The chain has worn down the outer part of the roller down to the 3 bolts on the roller face. Also noticed that the roller is bent slightly toward the rear and also twisted. So sitting on the dozer, instead of the right roller facing 3 O'clock, it's more along 4 O'clock. I think a good radiator flushing and cleaning is in store. Maybe that and winter weather will keep the temps down. At least until warmer weather returns.
our d4 does this
A thorough radiator cleaning seemed to do the trick. She runs much cooler now!!