Larger Hydraulic Oil Cooler

Yardscaper · Jun 12, 2004

Has anyone upgraded the hydraulic coolers on their machines? I have a 2445 with backhoe, and after a short time of use, the machine gets hot enough to just about boil you off of the seat!! My 2445 has the same size oil cooler as my 1430, but does a larger amount of hydraulic work and pushes out a lot more heat due to this. It really needs a bigger oil cooler in my opinion. This heat breaks down the viscosity, and in turn kills the torque to the drive wheels.

This is a mod that I am going to undertake very soon, but I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas.

Thanks in advance.

Bill

Charlie_Iliff · Jun 12, 2004

Yardscaper:
I have the 1845, same engine and I assume the same hydraulic oil cooler you have. I have run it hard for two hour stretches in 90 degree weather running the 72" rough cut mower. I think that's about the hardest duty you can put it to. As long as I keep the cooler free of chaff and make sure the fan runs, it gets hot, but never hot enough to bother the wheel motor function. (There are threads a while back about Sedgewood's and my solutions for engine overheat, but that's a different deal.)
Before you commit to a bigger cooler, make sure the fan is working properly and the cooler is clear. Blowing it out with air may not be enough. Soap and water also may be necessary.
Wasabi, you lurking? Have you had hydraulic overheating on your 2445? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

MossRoad · Jun 12, 2004

Haven't heard from Wasabi since March.

Yardscaper · Jun 12, 2004

I have the oil cooler working well. I keep it clean and check if often. I have bypassed the thermostat and keep the fan running all of the time and that helps a little bit, but the tractor does not like to move very well when you are doing heavy work with the backhoe. When one of the wheels falls into a small hole, you have to turn the wheel side to side whild continuing to hold the treadle in the forward direction. It is embarrasing at times that you have this large, heavy duty looking machine that can not, at times, pull itself up the ramps of the trailer when it is running hot. I am just not sure what to do with this. It is not all of the time that it runs this hot, just when the backhoe is used. Also, the temp gauge on the dash reaches 240 more often than not when using the hoe. While I am at it, one more question for when the heat is on. My 2445 shuts down with the key right away, except when it is really hot. When the key is turned off when the heat is excessive, the cooling fan will shutdown and the electrical system shuts off, but the engine will continue to run for up to 5 seconds! What Gives? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Thanks!
Bill

SnowRidge · Jun 13, 2004

<font color="red"> ( When the key is turned off when the heat is excessive, the cooling fan will shutdown and the electrical system shuts off, but the engine will continue to run for up to 5 seconds! What Gives?} </font>

I'll hazard a SWAG.

I assume the engine has a fuel cutoff solenoid valve. I will also assume that the solenoid is spring loaded to the off position, and that turning the key to the on position energizes the solenoid allowing fuel to flow.

If the above is the case, I suspect that high temperatures are causing the solenoid to bind slightly, which is preventing the spring from closing the valve immediately when the juice is turned off. However, the vibration from a few seconds of running without the 12 volts applied soon causes the solenoid to spring to the closed position.

My $.02 SWAG. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Yardscaper · Jun 13, 2004

That is a good point. One that I have not yet thought of. It has been doing it since I got it, and Terry told me not to worry about it, that it is normal on some of the machines. I have just always been curious as to why it did this. Thanks for the info!

Bill

Sedgewood · Jun 14, 2004

Yardscaper,

<font color="red"> Also, the temp gauge on the dash reaches 240 more often than not when using the hoe. </font>

Wow.

Welcome to the clan of the unfiltered /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

That's the engine oil temp gage - not hydraulic oil temp. At 240 the high oil temp alarm starts buzzing too but I'll wager you've never heard the anemic little thing - (it uses the same buzzer that sounds before oil pressure buildup when starting the engine). Your engine oil cooler is dirty. I clean mine with a garden hose and have found that it's not clean unless I clean it until I think it's clean and then clean for another 1/2 hour. This ain't fun!

I have to agree that the hydraulic oil cooler is marginal at least on the my 1845 and I assume the 2445 uses the same setup but your loss of traction torque seems excessive. I've certainly had cooling problems with my 1845 while mowing (due to dirty coolers) I wouldn't expect backhoe work to generate nearly as much heat as mowing so I respectfully submit your hydraulic cooler may not be as clean as you think it is. I thought mine was clean too and spent much frustrating time trying various filtration schemes to keep dirt & chaff out of both the engine and hydraulic coolers only to find my development results ultimately "contaminated" by dirty coolers that I thought were clean. I now have window screening over all the cooling air intake openings and it now will stay down in the 235 range IF I keep the cooler washed out and IF I keep the chaff brushed off the window screening, especially over the engine oil cooler intake. And it takes a good long 1/2 hour with a garden hose to get each one clean enough.

This cooling air filtration problem has been MY BIG GRIPE with a machine I otherwise really really like. I still haven't solved it in a way that makes mowing a satisfying activity - all this cleaning is a major hassle. For other work, the screening keeps things clean enough. The big discovery was finding the coolers that I thought were clean were actually quite dirty. So if you haven't scrubbed your coolers until you just can't stand it any more, you might try that first. Then when you develop an effective way to filter the incoming air I hope you'll share it with Charlie and me /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Where's that hose?
Sedgewood

Rick_Taylor · Jun 14, 2004

My 425's Kohler has had a dieseling problem since new. My Yazoo-Kees ZTR also has the Kohler 25hp engine. This is the second of these I've owned. Both of them also dieseled when shuting down. I've lowered the idle speeds to the point they will hardly run and it helps 'a little'. This happens winter and summer. I'm about out of ideas. I let them idle for ~ 2 min. before shutting down, have tried several brands of gas, etc. Nothing has helped much. If anyone ever figures this problem out, please post a fix.

Clarke · Jun 14, 2004

Have you tried putting the synthetic oil in your hydraulic system. From reading this board this oil maintains better viscosity then the regular oil when its hot and will give you better wheel torque .

FOURTEEN · Jun 15, 2004

"" dieseled when shuting down ""

My PT-425 (new 2/4 with 85 hours) shuts down immediately at any engine speed, but will backfire a few times if very hot and shut down at full throttle.

I would check the Fuel Cut Off on the engine. You may need to visit your Kohler dealer.

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