2610 that overheats

[KennethBrown]

My dad has a 2610 that overheats very quickly, usually within 15 minutes its at 225 and at 230 it loses all power and shuts down. There is no sign of bubbles or oil in the water, no water in the oil, the radiator is clean (inside and out), water does flow, we've tried everything from straight water all the way to 50/50 mix with antifreeze. Any ideas?

 

[irwin]

My dad has a 2610 that overheats very quickly, usually within 15 minutes its at 225 and at 230 it loses all power and shuts down. There is no sign of bubbles or oil in the water, no water in the oil, the radiator is clean (inside and out), water does flow, we've tried everything from straight water all the way to 50/50 mix with antifreeze. Any ideas?

Does it have a thermostat? A waterpump? it's a 30hp 3 cylinder right?

Could be failure of one of the above, or a clogged radiator (internally or externally plugged) , clogged coolant passages in block, (I know you said no bubbles, but) head gasket, cracked head, cracked block.

possible? injector timing off.

I'm sure I missed something, but I'd start with, does it lose any coolant?
if not replace the t/stat, you can test it by putting it in a soup can with water and heat it up to 180-210'f. I'd want to see how much flow it really has, some flow but not enough? waterpump with corroded vanes? Many older vehicles have developed a plugged radiator, poor maint.

good luck...

 

[kenmac]

I would say ,you aren't getting coolant circulation through the engine some how. Water passages in the block clogged , radiator clogged ,etc,If you got this thing hot enough to shut down,(seize up) you may be in trouble

 

[KennethBrown]

It doesn't seize, it just loses power like crazy. It does it every time it gots hot. He can't shred with it more than 10 minutes or so till its time to quit. I keep leaning towards a cracked head/blown head gasket although nothing shows it. Where exactly is the thermostat in his tractor? He has a manual but I don't speak ?>"(#@ so I can't read it.

 

[LMTC]

It doesn't seize, it just loses power like crazy. It does it every time it gots hot. He can't shred with it more than 10 minutes or so till its time to quit. I keep leaning towards a cracked head/blown head gasket although nothing shows it. Where exactly is the thermostat in his tractor? He has a manual but I don't speak ?>"(#@ so I can't read it.

Not sure what you mean by "nothing shows it." The symptoms you describe show it. Each time it's run there is the distinct possiblity of further damage. One episode like that would have us tearing the head off if the radiator and water pump seemed ok.

 

[DAIRYMAN]

Try running it, then touch the upper and lower parts of the radiator to see if either is cool to the touch (but be careful). This will tell you if you are getting full circulation through the radiator.

 

[Dick_Jermyn]

Make sure that the radiator fins have been well flushed out. Use a degreaser and light hose action on the fins. Do you have a pre screen in front of the radiator? Hope this helps.

Dick

 

[mark777]

The symptoms you describe show it. Each time it's run there is the distinct possiblity of further damage. One episode like that would have us tearing the head off if the radiator and water pump seemed ok.

I agree with you and kenmack. All the symptoms including loss of power indicate and engine on the brink of seizing.

I would check end play at the water pump fan, and if there's any movement the pump wont provide enough circulation-especially if there is any restriction in the cooling system (block and radiator). I would also put a dry rag or clean paper against the exhaust tip at the muffler. Check for any diesel slobber or spatter that would indicate coolant escaping through the exhaust ports, cracks in the head OR head gasket.

 

[Underwaterdog]

The information that I have indicates that the 2610 is equiped with a 3T80 engine. I have a parts manual for the 2500, which has the same engine. I have looked all over the cooling water system pages and I don't see a thermostat anywhere, but the 2610 is a newer model. Where are you getting the temperature reading from? Does it have a temp guage on it? The engine must have compression, air, and fuel to run. If the engine is shutting down because of heat, the pistons are expanding to the point of seizing, or there is loss of compression. What is the history of this tractor?

 

[KennethBrown]

Not sure what you mean by "nothing shows it." The symptoms you describe show it. Each time it's run there is the distinct possiblity of further damage. One episode like that would have us tearing the head off if the radiator and water pump seemed ok.

There is no water in oil, no oil in water, no bubbles in cooloing system, no water in exhaust, no leakage around outside of head. Thats what I mean. Sure the way it runs shows something is wrong but it doesn't show any of the above which all point to bad head and or gasket.

 

[KennethBrown]

Make sure that the radiator fins have been well flushed out. Use a degreaser and light hose action on the fins. Do you have a pre screen in front of the radiator? Hope this helps.

Dick

It does have the screen in front which is kept clean. The radiator has been pulled out, fins straightened, anll foreign objects/paint/trash removed, checked for flow and leaks.

 

[KennethBrown]

The information that I have indicates that the 2610 is equiped with a 3T80 engine. I have a parts manual for the 2500, which has the same engine. I have looked all over the cooling water system pages and I don't see a thermostat anywhere, but the 2610 is a newer model. Where are you getting the temperature reading from? Does it have a temp guage on it? The engine must have compression, air, and fuel to run. If the engine is shutting down because of heat, the pistons are expanding to the point of seizing, or there is loss of compression. What is the history of this tractor?

It does have a temp gauge and I "believe" it to be working correctly. It replaced the idiot light that we thought was faulty. The gauge goes into the head if memory serves me correctly. I vote for the loss of compression as the failure. It just gets to were all it will do is idle, won't rev any higher. Spray the radiator with water for about 3 minutes or so till the gauge goes down and let it sit at idle for 10 minutes and shes good to go for a little while longer. The tractor was bought in the Dallas Tx area as a Veit recon job. It has approximately 300 hours on it since he got it. At about 25 hours or so it had a valve stick so it went back to the dealer to be fixed. It came back and worked good. The current problem started last fall and has gotten progressively worse. Although I can do the work myself I'm really not ready to tear it down. My dad just got out of back surgury not to long ago so he wouldn't be much help. They use my tractor (05 model 5500 Mahindra) when they need something done most of the time anyhow so its not a huge deal of not getting something done but it is getting old. We need to get this thing fixed as I will need to use both tractors soon.

 

[Underwaterdog]

If you spraying water on the radiator with the engine runnning at idle, this is increasing the heat rejection of the radiator through evaporation. That would compensate for reduced water flow or insufficient airflow. Sounds like you have cleaned the fins well. Is there sufficient airflow throught the radiator? I thought my radiator fins were clean until the drain tube solder joint cracked and I took the radiator completely out, and then found the fins had debris imbedded. I'm sure you have already checked the fan belt. Is the fan shroud still in place to force air across the radiator? If you have sufficient airflow, then there has to be reduced water flow. Rust, trash, in the bottom of the radiator, some of the tubes are blocked, or a buildup of rust in the block or heads. A radiator shop can pop the ends off the radiator and check all the tubes. They will run a brush through the tubes to make sure that there is not scale in the tubes, thus insulating heat transfer. Somebody may have said this earlier, but check the radiator cap. This holds pressure on the system increasing the boiling point of the coolant.

 

[KennethBrown]

Its been awhile since I had the radiator out so I'll pull it again this weekend if I can fit it in. The cap was replaced last time we had it out cuz it was a 4 lb unit, I think the new cap is 13 lbs.

Thanks for the help guys, its really appreciated.

 

[mark777]

You might consider pulling the radiator, drying it out completely, weighing it on a bathroom scale and ask a supplier of a new one to do the same.

If your radiator weighs more, than it's safe to assume it's blocked and caked with silt. I'm inclined to believe that most or all of the problems stem from the radiator.

Mark

 

[irwin]

.....~ The current problem started last fall and has gotten progressively worse. .....~.

That's a long time to continue using this tractor in this condition! I wouldn't run it... period,... til I found and fixed what's wrong with it.
As has been noted, pull the radiator, bring it to a radiator shop, have it checked. While the radiator is away being tested and fixed, remove the t/stat (if equipt) and waterpump and check the impeller(vanes whateveryoucallit) replace it/them if any sign of corrosion or play....heck replace it/them anyway, then flush the block out through every openning then backflush- get a pinlight and look in the block and see if any build-up,, if there is put some cooling system cleaner in there and let it sit a good long time, then flush again...put it back together and see what happens, come back here and let us know.................good luck

 

[mbueker]

i have a 2610 also mine stared overheating after about 1 hour of mowing it does not have thermastat just temp senser i replaced it and pulled radiator out sent to shop they had to recore it it was so stopped up cost around $200 to recore i flushed block and have not had any problems since now i can see my coolant moving in rad. maybe this will help

 

[KennethBrown]

Well to update Dad said he cleaned the exterior of it real well and flushed the system. I went over and bush hogged for about 20 minutes till it hit 230 and then I parked it. I pulled the raditor out and it had some blockage in the fins but it didn't seem like it was enough to make it over heat. He asked me to leave it out and he's gonna take it too a shop for a recore with bigger tubes. It is a 2 core with 1/2" tubes and hopefully they will be able to do a 2 core with 3/4" tubes.

 

[Underwaterdog]

It does not have to be stopped up to the point that water flow is blocked. Scale forms on the walls of the tubes and insulates the heat transfer, even though the water is flowing just fine. It can be in the form of lime scale or iron scale. Once this happens you loose your heat transfer. This applies to both the waterjacket in the block and the radiator tubes, and any watercooled engine, gas, diesel or whatever.

I'm not so sure I would recommend oversizing the tubes. I think we have concluded that the engine does not have a thermostat, and having an oversized rad may prevent the engine from ever reaching the most efficient operating temperature, especially in cold weather. (Anyone like to chime in on this?)

Modern antifreeze has corrosion inhibitors. Antifreeze not only prevents freezing, but prevents scale and corrosion from building up. The corrosion inhibitors degrade over time. That is why it is recommended to flush and replace the antifreeze as regular maintenance, usually bi-annually.

When you pick up the radiator, ask the shop what they found. If you are still having trouble after you get the radiator back, there are other things to check to see if the block is fouled.