Hey guys,
I've had this tractor for a few years, and it's got about 1000 hrs on it (250 from me). Just recently replaced both rubber coolant hoses leading to the radiator because they had ruptured. Turns out they ruptured because the fan blades were abrading them, bit by bit.
I think there's a problem with the steering that causes the entire radiator assembly (rad, fan, shroud / cowl) to push upwards when the wheel is turned all the way to either side. When I crank the wheel, the engine starts to sound bogged down, and when I look under the hood with the wheel cranked, I see the fan blades chipping away at the coolant hoses. Also, the plastic of the hood near the hood latch and fuel fill areas has also been shattered by what appeared at the time to be some random impact from underneath the hood. When it happened, I chalked it up to a tree branch, but I believe it was the radiator shifting and cracking the hood latch mount.
The fan blades don't really seem to be covered by the cowl / shroud that extends towards the rear of the tractor. This cowl looks like it attaches to the rear of the radiator, and it looks like the fan should be inside it, or at least most of the way inside it. The blades themselves are covered in melted rubber from the hoses, and my brand new hoses have a groove 0.5mm deep from the blades.
Something ain't right. Any idea what to start checking, or whether anyone's had this happen and how to fix it?
Thanks!
I've had this tractor for a few years, and it's got about 1000 hrs on it (250 from me). Just recently replaced both rubber coolant hoses leading to the radiator because they had ruptured. Turns out they ruptured because the fan blades were abrading them, bit by bit.
I think there's a problem with the steering that causes the entire radiator assembly (rad, fan, shroud / cowl) to push upwards when the wheel is turned all the way to either side. When I crank the wheel, the engine starts to sound bogged down, and when I look under the hood with the wheel cranked, I see the fan blades chipping away at the coolant hoses. Also, the plastic of the hood near the hood latch and fuel fill areas has also been shattered by what appeared at the time to be some random impact from underneath the hood. When it happened, I chalked it up to a tree branch, but I believe it was the radiator shifting and cracking the hood latch mount.
The fan blades don't really seem to be covered by the cowl / shroud that extends towards the rear of the tractor. This cowl looks like it attaches to the rear of the radiator, and it looks like the fan should be inside it, or at least most of the way inside it. The blades themselves are covered in melted rubber from the hoses, and my brand new hoses have a groove 0.5mm deep from the blades.
Something ain't right. Any idea what to start checking, or whether anyone's had this happen and how to fix it?
Thanks!
