My First Real Tractor!

[Kustrud]

Alright, got everything back together and ran it. This was the longest I was able to run it without it getting hot quick, but in the end it still got up to around 230 (much slower than before) before I shut it down and let it get any hotter. At this temp, I can see slow single bubbles come out of the tube in the overflow tank. Is this normal when hot/operating-temp or does this mean head-gasket??? Maybe my gauge isn't accurate?

This was sitting still in my driveway at around 2k RPM.

I drove it around for a while at 1500 and it seemed to hover around 190-200 degrees.

Tractor cranks right up and seems to run absolutely perfect with plenty of power. I'm at a loss and getting frustrated!

Bottle gains some coolant when hot but does not overflow. Like one bubble every few seconds sort of....again only when 210+

No coolant in oil, and no oil in coolant! Also no bubbles in radiator when tractor is cold.

Should I try to run it with just water and see what happens?

 

[winston1]

What mixture are you running? Should be no more than 20% antifreeze in the summer. What kind of gauge do you have?

Also curious, was the old radiator 2 or 3 core and what is the new one? I purchased one for my old 2002D and it was a 2 core, old one 3 core. I ended up putting the old radiator back on. Sold the new one for about 1/3 of what I gave for it.

 

[California]

Maybe get a cheap Harbor Freight 'laser' remote thermometer and see what that reads?

I recall reading 195 degrees at the top radiator hose outlet after mowing and only the exhaust manifold was more than that.

Was this just fast idle and no load? It shouldn't be as hot as what your gauge is reading.

 

[Kustrud]

Maybe get a cheap Harbor Freight 'laser' remote thermometer and see what that reads?

I recall reading 195 degrees at the top radiator hose outlet after mowing and only the exhaust manifold was more than that.

Was this just fast idle and no load? It shouldn't be as hot as what your gauge is reading.

Yes just fast idle. I called Hoye and they said to pull the muffler and exhaust manifold and check for crud in there.

 

[Kustrud]

What mixture are you running? Should be no more than 20% antifreeze in the summer. What kind of gauge do you have?

Also curious, was the old radiator 2 or 3 core and what is the new one? I purchased one for my old 2002D and it was a 2 core, old one 3 core. I ended up putting the old radiator back on. Sold the new one for about 1/3 of what I gave for it.

It's about 20% yes, Equus gauge - brand new.

 

[winston1]

It's about 20% yes, Equus gauge - brand new.

Likely correct, did you see my edit to my last post?

 

[California]

Here's an old thread on solving overheating, from the days when legitimate import dealers participated in this forum. It's worth reading the whole thing.

www.tractorbynet.com/forums/yanmar/105515-overheating-information.html

 

[Kustrud]

What mixture are you running? Should be no more than 20% antifreeze in the summer. What kind of gauge do you have?

Also curious, was the old radiator 2 or 3 core and what is the new one? I purchased one for my old 2002D and it was a 2 core, old one 3 core. I ended up putting the old radiator back on. Sold the new one for about 1/3 of what I gave for it.

I have no idea what a 2 vs 3 core would look like haha! Old one is long gone....

 

[Kustrud]

I pulled the exhaust like Hoye said - a little oily "sludge" which I believe is expected but other than that pretty clean. Should I just order a new head-gasket and add a water pump and be done with it? I do not have time to keep messig with this thing and need it reliable!

 

[Kustrud]

Called Hoye again - said to replace anti-freeze mix with straight water and to run it at a higher RPM - around 2k instead of the 1500 I was. If this works, I'll just order the water pump. If it still over-heats, I'm going to do the head-gasket and add the water pump so I dont have to worry about this thing. Seem like a good plan?