Ford 4000 boiling over.

[funny farmer]

I have a Ford 4000, 1968ish model, 3 cylinder, gas engine. I've had this problem for a few years now, but it seems to be getting worse every summer. She get's hot, so hot that it will boil the water out of the radiator. Even in the winter time when I'm working it hard. In the summer when I'm making hay, every time I gas it up I have to add a couple gallons of water, I've been dealing with it as best as I can, but it's time to fix it. Last summer it got so hot sitting on the tractor that it was unbearable. I could feel it from the left side, like the heat from the exhaust was creeping through the front of the tractor and onto me. The gas tank would get so hot that I could hardly stand to touch it, and I don't think that痴 normal. The exhaust will blow in my face all day like it's not getting up high enough to blow away from me, I could hardly breath, it was pretty miserable. A few years ago I had a neighbor look into it and all he did was straighten out some ribs on the radiator, said it should be good to go. That didn't help any. It's not the thermostat either, I took that out and it still runs hot. The guy that I bought it from told me that it sounds like it needs new head gaskets. I asked him why he thinks that, and he told me that it builds up pressure inside the head and pushes back out the radiator, it makes sense to me, and that痴 why it's hot, because not every part of the engine isn't getting coolant. I was wondering if anyone on here has had the same problems and if that was the solution? I've got the service manual for this tractor, and it didn't look like that big of a job, but I didn't want to bite off more then I could chew either. I kind of worry about taking the rocker arm assemble off and having push rods and valves falling all over the place. Maybe it would be a good time to get a valve job done on the tractor. What say you?

 

[dqdave1]

I wonder if you ran some cleaning products through it to clean out cooling system. Then take radiator tout and to a shop that can recore it . Can you see flow through the cap? Water pump may not be up to par; impeller wear, causing no water movement. The boiling is doing the engine no favors.

 

[Matt_Jr]

Is it possible you have a coolant leak? h

Having no thermostat could cause overheating just as much as one that's stuck closed. The reason is thermostats also help direct water through the radiator. Is it blowing any white smoke out of the exhaust?

I would start off by installing a new thermostat. Next fill with 50/50 water/coolant solution. While the engine is running watch to see if there is coolant flowing through the radiator. If it's not flowing after the tractor has warmed up, you need a new water pump. The impeller fins are probably worn on the water pump due to it's many years of service. Or the radiator could be clogged. Is there a lot of scale built up in the radiator? Sorry for bouncing off the walls with this one. My wifes watching tv and the dogs are barking at it.

 

[jones6780]

Take it step by step. I suggest draining the coolant in it now and looking the radiator fill and see if there is scale built up inside and restricting flow. If it looks dirty, take it to a shop for cleaning, I don't have much confidence in products to clean the raidiator at home. Replace the thermostat. Fill completly and get it up to operating temp without the radiator cap. The key here is fill completly, if the head gasket is leaking or the head is cracked, then it will have air bubbles coming out the filler neck due to leaking compression into the coolant system. Running any motor that hot just shortens the life.
Good luck.

Russell

 

[DieselPower]

What type of water do you fill it with? If your using tap water then that's probably the problem. You should never use tap water in cooling systems or batteries. It contains dissolved minerals that make deposits. You should only use distilled water which you can get at any grocery store for about 99 cents a gallon.

If it's the head gasket you will see bubbles in your coolant. With the engine cold fill the radiator up until it's full to the top of the hole. Start the engine and look for bubbles. There are also combustion leak detectors used to find combustion gas's in the coolant. I doubt this is the problem or you would have coolant in the oil since it would leak back into the combustion chamber when you shut off the engine.

Pull the radiator and take it to a radiator shop. Have them flow test it. I bet you will find it is plugged up pretty bad. They can either clean it or better yet put a new core in it.

 

[Egon]

[The guy that I bought it from told me that it sounds like it needs new head gaskets

Maybe this fellow knew something when he was selling it!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

SOME, (not all, or even a large majority) of the early 3-cylinder Fords had issues with a pourous engine block casting. Not a LIKELY cause, but a POSSIBLE cause of your problem.

Put a thermostat back in it. That is HURTING your cause, not helping.

Does the cooling system hold pressure? If not, start looking for the reason(s) why.

How does it START? (both cold and hot) Is the timing off? How about fuel/air mixture (carb) Any coolant showing up in the oil? How about steam/white smoke from exhaust or blow-by tube? I assume you've checked coolant system for good circulation? (Water pump impeller)

I'd start by pressure testing the cooling system. Do radiator and engine block seperately if possible.

 

[Gator6x4]

I have a Ford 4000, 1968ish model, 3 cylinder, gas engine. I've had this problem for a few years now, but it seems to be getting worse every summer. She get's hot, so hot that it will boil the water out of the radiator. Even in the winter time when I'm working it hard. In the summer when I'm making hay, every time I gas it up I have to add a couple gallons of water, I've been dealing with it as best as I can, but it's time to fix it. Last summer it got so hot sitting on the tractor that it was unbearable. I could feel it from the left side, like the heat from the exhaust was creeping through the front of the tractor and onto me. The gas tank would get so hot that I could hardly stand to touch it, and I don't think that痴 normal. The exhaust will blow in my face all day like it's not getting up high enough to blow away from me, I could hardly breath, it was pretty miserable. A few years ago I had a neighbor look into it and all he did was straighten out some ribs on the radiator, said it should be good to go. That didn't help any. It's not the thermostat either, I took that out and it still runs hot. The guy that I bought it from told me that it sounds like it needs new head gaskets. I asked him why he thinks that, and he told me that it builds up pressure inside the head and pushes back out the radiator, it makes sense to me, and that痴 why it's hot, because not every part of the engine isn't getting coolant. I was wondering if anyone on here has had the same problems and if that was the solution? I've got the service manual for this tractor, and it didn't look like that big of a job, but I didn't want to bite off more then I could chew either. I kind of worry about taking the rocker arm assemble off and having push rods and valves falling all over the place. Maybe it would be a good time to get a valve job done on the tractor. What say you?

The kind of heat you describe indicates a serious problem. You have probably damaged the engine block by operating it with the extreme heat you describe. Do you have an Auto Zone or O'Rileys near you? If so rent a cooling system pressure tester and a compression tester. Start by pressurizing the cooling system to about 12 LBS PSI. Does it hold the pressure or does it leak down rapidly? Remove all the spark plugs and install the compression tester in one of the spark plug holes, crank the engine over several times, record the pressure indicated for that cylinder and then check the other two cylinders. You will probably find the rear cylinder nearest the gas tank and the driver does not have as high of a reading as the other two. Either way, cylinder compression not the same or near the same (within 15-20 lbs)in all cylinder or the cooling system will not hold pressure indicates engine repair is need. If both the cylinder test and the compression test is good check the impellers on the water pump. If the pump is old corrision will eat away the impellers.

 

[funny farmer]

Thanks for the ideas guy's. I was thinking that it might be the water pump also, but I wanted to get some one else痴 opinions before I started tearing the motor apart to change the head gaskets. When it's cold out,( cold being -20) the exhaust is white, until it warms up, then it's clear. Another thing to that I just thought of, the exhaust will leave little black deposits on the top of the tractor. Kind of like some oil deposits getting blown through and falling on the hood. It burns oil too, but I thought it was normal for older tractors, maybe a quart for every 4 gas up's. When I first fill the radiator, it will blow out some water, then after the water level is lower then it turns to a white steam. F.M.J. if it's below 20 degree痴 above I have to plug the tractor in using a core heater for about an hour. Full choke for a couple of revolutions and it fires up, then I put it on half choke until it get's to operating temp. To start it hot, all I have to do is hit the starter and it's running. I think what I'll do today if I have time, is put the new thermostat in,( if I can find what I did with it) and fill the radiator and look to see if the coolant is flowing through. And start from there, the radiator is pretty beat up, I don't see how anything could flow through it, I was thinking of replacing that too sometime in the near future. It's not something that I can devote all my time with right now, but maybe next weekend I can dedicate some more time with it. The other thing is, I only have a 4 day window to do any repairs, because it's the only tractor I have and I need to feed the animals big round bales with it.

 

[funny farmer]

I didn't get to it today, I had to rebuild some pens that were destroyed when my barn roof collaped last weekend, I'll post the story with pictures in a couple days. As for the tractor, it will have to wait till next weekend.