Ford 5000 overheating when using the PTO

[jbeanenc]

My son has a Ford 5000 that he got when he purchased his house and land. We completely flushed the cooling system, put a new fan belt on, and did a few other minor repairs. The tractor runs fine and will do well using implements that do not require the PTO. But when he tries to use the finish mower the diesel overheats and he must let it set for a short time to cool off.

Has anyone run into this and if so were you able to fix it.

 

[repete]

Have you cleaned the radiator core of debris. Not the inside of the radiator but through the fins where the air passes through?

 

[Roadworthy]

There may be a screen in front of the radiator. Be sure it's clear. As repete suggested clean the fins as well. Blow air or run water from the engine side and out the front. Build up there prevents air passage.

 

[wolc123]

Are you certain it is really getting hot ? The reason I ask, is that I had a Ford 2000 of that era. I thought it was getting hot, based on the dash gauge readout. I flushed the radiator, changed the thermostat, etc , to no avail.

The parts counter guy, at our local Ford tractor dealer, was very knowledgable. When I mentioned the overheating problem, his first question was: How is your fuel gauge working ? It hadn't worked right in quite some time, which was no big deal for me because I could easily check the fuel level with a stick.

As it turns out, the same little resistor is part of the circuit for the fuel gauge and the temperature gauge. More of those moved across his parts counter than practically any other "genuine" Ford part. It wasn't cheap, but it was easy to replace and that tractor never ran "hot" again after I changed it. I also was able to stop carrying a stick to check my fuel level.

As far as the pto thing goes, that may be just a coincidence. The mower probably does load the engine more than any of his other implements and I recall my false high readings also usually occurred when mowing with a Bush hog.

 

[jbeanenc]

Sorry I haven't been back to any of you and appreciate your ideas. Been a tough year.

When I redid my sons tractor I cleaned the screen by taking it out and cleaning thoroughly. While out I used my hose to wash the fins in the radiator as well.

I've suspected the third answer was the reason he thinks it is overheating. I doubt that it is getting a good reading and when it gets a little hotter than normal it gives a false overheating reading.

My son has the mechanical aptitude of a monkey so I doubt he does anything but look at the gauge. I've used it to rake hay and never experienced any overheating issues. But every time he bush hogs he complains about having to stop because the gauge says he is overheating.

 

[jaxs]

I take it the tractor is still overheating or as someone suggested,appears to overheat. Odds are it's the latter,otherwise the diesel engine would almost certainly cratered as result of repeated overheating. I'd get to the bottom of it and not risk the engine. I'm in the minority on TBN but in the majority amongst farmers when I say never put window screen in front of a radiator. If fins catch debris ,blow it out as needed. OEM radiator has 3 rows of tubes,many after market has only 2 (price competition). 2 works but demands inside and outside be kept clean.

 

[jbeanenc]

Thanks for the feedback. I know our Kubota has a screen and I may have confused it with the Ford. I haven't looked at that engine for a year or better. I will check and remove any screen that might be in front of the radiator.

 

[Tinhack]

When I restored my 3910, I had the radiator out. It had the outer grill/screen, but the radiator was pretty packed with dirt. I had to soak the radiator then used a soft bristle brush to clean it out. It had an aftermarket temp gauge when I got it that always ran about 185-190 until it got two blades of grass stuck to it. It would go up to 200 and I'd stop to clean chaff off the front grill/screen. Now that I have a new stock dash and clean radiator, the temp rarely goes to the midway point--Way below the red zone.

Oh, and I had to replace the foam rubber around the radiator. It's there to make sure air flow is drawn through the grill/screen. That helps keep chaff off the radiator. A simple brushing can remove chaff from the grill. On my tractor, the grill is the screen.