Troubleshooting quick heating :

[FMFProperties]

Thanks to all who helped figure it out, turns out is was clogged radiator fins, since I couldn't see them due to the A/C radiator. I cleaned it and it's all back to factory temps again !!

 

[K5lwq]

The first thing to determine is why it overheated in the first place. I suspect the radiator fins need to be cleaned. Do you blow it out ever with compressed air?

To determine if the head gasket or head is damaged you could do a combustion chamber leak test. Go to O’Reilly Auto Parts or Autozone and ask to borrow a test kit for this. You will have to buy the solution. Follow the directions in the kit. It detects if exhaust fumes are present in the radiator. If so, yes the head needs to come off.

 

[FMFProperties]

Didn't overheat, tried to but caught it. All good. Thanks

 

[LouNY]

Also a compression test and or leakdown test will tell you a lot.
Hard starting would make tend to believe that you have low compression, possibly the head gasket between two cylinders.

 

[FMFProperties]

All good, thanks

 

[Harry in Ky]

I have a slightly different take. While I won't disagree with anything stated so far, one part of your original post has yet to be discussed. After fifteen minutes of mowing it will bog down and die. That's not a head gasket related problem. Cracked heads, damaged gaskets, and such can cause strange things in the coolant and radiator. Problems with radiator, fan, belt, or water pump can translate to repeated overheating, yes. The "bog down and die" thing is another matter. Is your mobile mechanic aware of that development? If so, and he's looking to replace the head gasket as a solution I think he's only part way there.

I can't see a bad head gasket causing an engine to bog down. I don't do engine work any more, (never been into a Kukje) but when I did that symptom was always a friction related problem. Stopping and cooling it down for XXX length of time before it will turn over fast enough to start sounds like serious problems to me. I've seen lubricated bearing failures do that, but it's usually been piston to cylinder wall clearance problems. When engines overheat pistons expand more than they should and can/will begin to seize to the cylinder walls. If that gets far enough along metal will begin to transfer from the piston skirt onto the cylinder. Once that happens things go downhill fast. I think that's more likely what's "bogging" it down after fifteen minutes. Maybe I'm wrong. Let's see what you find when the head and head gasket are on the table.

 

[rScotty]

2018 Branson Tractor 4520C-NEO (Serial #CYRG00023)
Kukje Engine Model A2300N2-ATC (Serial #TCBG00053)
I bought it brand new and it now has 355 total hours

Symptoms:
- My tractor overheats after just 15 minutes mowing, it gets hot to where I need to turn it off or it bogs down and dies. Won't even crank until it's cold again.
- When you remove the radiator cap with the engine running, the water bubbles a lot, splashing out
- It's not showing oil in the water
- The oil dipstick doesn't show water in the oil

All of this up to now could point to the radiator, like another forum member told me today, or the water pump, BUT this throws me off:
- It used to start faster than my F150 that I bought the same year, but now to start it I have to pump the fuel pedal many many times and continue pumping it while at the same time cranking the engine for about 15-20 seconds, until it eventually coughs and shakes, then finally starts.

The mobile mechanic that came to look at it told me that it seems like it's leaking air through the head gasket, making it so hard to start. He told me to buy gaskets for him to replace and send out the head to make sure it's not warped or cracked.

Anyone heard of this or has experienced this before and can give me ideas? I'm not a mechanic so I'm open to suggestions before I spend thousands of dollars replacing the head gasket when it could be something else.

Thanks !

The mechanic may well be right. Your tractor is certainly showing the expected symptoms of overheating.
I would have made the same call....but of course without some simple tests it is just a guess on both of our part.

I understand that you want some confirmation of what you are getting into before signing up for a major repair. If it were me, I would ask the mobile mechanic if he has a diesel compression gauge & would consider doing a compression test to verify his diagnosis.

That will tell him if the head needs to come off or not - and then we always replace the old gasket with a new head gasket. But be aware that the head gasket alone may not be the end of the story. Unfortunately there is no way the mechanic can tell anything more until the head is off. At that point anew gasket, some machine work to flatten the head, and half a day's labor are all inevitable.

The alternative is all about how much of the diagnostic mechanical work you want to do yourself. Amazon sells a good diesel compression test set for a few hundred bucks. You might have the tools on hand to take out the injectors and do the test yourself. If not, $500 would probably set you up with tools, and TBN can be some help. Taking a head off of an old style small diesel is not all that hard.

good luck,
rScotty

 

[FMFProperties]

I have a slightly different take. While I won't disagree with anything stated so far, one part of your original post has yet to be discussed. After fifteen minutes of mowing it will bog down and die. That's not a head gasket related problem. Cracked heads, damaged gaskets, and such can cause strange things in the coolant and radiator. Problems with radiator, fan, belt, or water pump can translate to repeated overheating, yes. The "bog down and die" thing is another matter. Is your mobile mechanic aware of that development? If so, and he's looking to replace the head gasket as a solution I think he's only part way there.

I can't see a bad head gasket causing an engine to bog down. I don't do engine work any more, (never been into a Kukje) but when I did that symptom was always a friction related problem. Stopping and cooling it down for XXX length of time before it will turn over fast enough to start sounds like serious problems to me. I've seen lubricated bearing failures do that, but it's usually been piston to cylinder wall clearance problems. When engines overheat pistons expand more than they should and can/will begin to seize to the cylinder walls. If that gets far enough along metal will begin to transfer from the piston skirt onto the cylinder. Once that happens things go downhill fast. I think that's more likely what's "bogging" it down after fifteen minutes. Maybe I'm wrong. Let's see what you find when the head and head gasket are on the table.

I'm not a mechanic, I'm a pilot, so maybe what I'm describing isn't exactly correct.

It was the clogged radiator fins, all good now.

 

[Harry in Ky]

I'm not a pilot. I wouldn't know where to start describing mechanical problems concerning aircraft. However, I am a mechanic. Have worked on all sorts of tractors and farm related machinery for over fifty years now, and I know a little about what works and what doesn't. You describe circumstances with an over heated (multiple times no less) diesel engine and then add that the motor bogs down and dies, then won't turn over fast enough to start until it cools down. Is that an incorrect assessment? If so, then please straighten me out.

 

[FMFProperties]

It was the clogged radiator fins, all good now.

 

[Harry in Ky]

Okay, so what have you used this tractor for in the past? Your current problem is something that just now showed up? Is this 10 ft mower something you just brought into the game? The over heating didn't take place before this mower came on the scene? We're still missing a lot of details here and making guesses based on assumptions.

More than likely the engine has no dedicated breather tube you could use to evaluate crankcase pressure or vapor flow, it's probably tied into the intake somewhere. This in itself adds to the possibility that compression pulses in the crankcase COULD be making noises in the intake that sound like they may be related to a head gasket leaking. My experience is that when a head gasket has leaks that bad, you notice it while running, not just hard starting. It will miss, at least run rough, it will smoke more than it did before, and it will most likely be low on power.

 

[FMFProperties]

It was the clogged radiator fins, all good now.

 

[ning]

it gets very hot after 15 minutes while cutting with the 10' mower

Ok this is interesting
1. "it gets very hot after 15 minutes while cutting with the 10' mower"
2. "if I use a lower gear it doesn't overheat"
3. 2018 Branson Tractor 4520C = 42hp PTO claimed
4. Has A/C

So aside from the likely (according to the above - I personally don't have a clue and came here to learn) head gasket.... that's a big mower for the tractor, and even in light stuff you're probably pushing it too hard when not in a low gear. If you have the A/C running, you could be down 1-4HP further, and if you're not cutting really light stuff, you're going to bog down really quickly. Given the likelihood of head gasket issues, you're almost certainly not at rated power, so running an already too-big mower makes it even more too-big.

What are you mowing?
How tall is it when you're mowing?
Is the ground level or sloped?
Which gear are you running in?
Is this a rotary or flail?

 

[Harry in Ky]

Well we know a bit more now than we did at the beginning of all this. I came in thinking the tractor (probably) handled this load without much problem at some point back when, but then things had changed. I agree that a 10 ft mower is probably pushing the tractor's limits to begin with. I see others pulling mowers that size with 50 HP tractors complaining of over heating. With everything optimal it doesn't take long for build up in the radiator and coolers to start taking affect. The added load of climbing hills in anything other than lower gears and you reach that "too hot" point pretty quickly. In this area everybody has hills so I'm just guessing you do as well.

Your description indicates you do have a problem, and if you're lucky it will only go as deep as a head gasket. I'll wait and see how that goes.

 

[FMFProperties]

It was the clogged radiator fins, all good now.

 

[Harry in Ky]

Good luck with the head gasket.

 

[FMFProperties]

It was the clogged radiator fins, all good now.

 

[oldnslo]

When you are trying to mow with the 10 ft mower at your desired travel speed what is the RPM of engine vs not moving?

What color is the exhaust when trying to mow?

What happens if you take a partial cut like 7 or 8 ft vs full 10 ft?

 

[K5lwq]

Had the tractor not overheated and started having trouble then it would not be unreasonable for it to handle that type of mowing with the 10 ft. But you would have to keep an eye on it for sure. Also it wouldn’t be to terrible hard to add the turbo to that engine and pick up 7 or so more HP. But at this point we hope it is just the gasket but likely will be more than that as Harry explained. But fingers crossed.

 

[FMFProperties]

It was the clogged radiator fins, all good now.