LK 3054xs overheating

[osumason]

I have a 3054xs that I can only run about 20mins before it overheats. I have replaced the thermostat, flushed the system and cleared all debris that was on front of the radiator.

Does anybody have any other suggestions to try before a new water pump? Is there a way to check to actually see if its the water pump or not?

TIA

 

[MinnesotaEric]

How do you know that it is overheating?

Do you have a thermocouple you can use as a test tool?

If so, use a hose clamp and put it on the upper radiator hose. You'll see when the T-stat opens watching the read out.

 

[ritcheyvs]

Erik has a point. Is it overheating or do you have a faulty indication? That's the first thing to check.

Non-contact IR thermometers are quite inexpensive now and fairly accurate (as long as the surface isn't reflective) like this one from HF or similar ones from Amazon or eBay. With such a thermometer you can measure the head temperature as well as the top (hot) and bottom (cold) radiator hoses.

If your radiator has a conventional cap, you should be able to observe the flow of coolant into the top tank. If the top radiator hose is well above the thermostat temp and the bottom hose is cold (near ambient) it's a good indication you have no flow.

Bad thermostats (even brand new) are much more common than bad water pumps. Water pumps generally fail by leaking or bearing failures; even then they usually move coolant if the belt is intact. As a diagnostic you might try running with the thermostat removed; if it still overheats the thermostat isn't the cause. This is just for diagnostic purposes because it is not good to run a Diesel cold for long periods.

 

[osumason]

Well the temp gauge climbs to the H after about 20 minutes and if I let it get all the way to the H and shut it off I can hear and see it and steaming from the reservoir and can hear a bubbling sound coming from the reservoir and the from the radiator.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Well the temp gauge climbs to the H after about 20 minutes and if I let it get all the way to the H and shut it off I can hear and see it and steaming from the reservoir and can hear a bubbling sound coming from the reservoir and the from the radiator.

Okay. Did you overheat the engine before this overheating problem came up? How fast does it take to build up coolant pressure and is there any white smoke coming from the exhaust? I'm wondering if you've got a cracked head of failing head gasket.

Also do you have a volt meter and a thermocouple?

ritcheyvs's suggestion to run without the T-stat can help you eliminate a faulty T-stat.

 

[osumason]

Okay. Did you overheat the engine before this overheating problem came up? How fast does it take to build up coolant pressure and is there any white smoke coming from the exhaust? I'm wondering if you've got a cracked head of failing head gasket.

Also do you have a volt meter and a thermocouple?

ritcheyvs's suggestion to run without the T-stat can help you eliminate a faulty T-stat.

Not that I remember. I see a little white smoke at start up but no other times. I have a volt meter, but not a thermocouple.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Not that I remember. I see a little white smoke at start up but no other times. I have a volt meter, but not a thermocouple.

Have you pressure tested the radiator cap? If not, take your cap off and run down to your local auto-tech or auto-parts store and get somebody to pressure test it.

What we want to know is at what temperature does the T-stat open.

Consider purchasing an inexpensive thermocouple. It will allow you to measure temperatures. Amazon.com: Signstek 3 1/2 682 II Dual Channel Digital Thermometer 13degC 2372degF with 2 K-Type Thermocouple Sensor Probe: Industrial & Scientific

I want to know if the coolant system begins building pressure immediately before the engine warmed up. With the coolant topped off and the radiator cap on, start the engine. After one minute, squeeze the upper radiator hose. Be careful toot get caught in a belt, or nailed by the fan. Keep squeezing the hose from time to time. The hose shouldn't get any pressure on it until the engine coolant begins to warm up. If coolant begins to pressurize before the engine is warm, you have compression from a cylinder somehow getting into the coolant system.

I also want to know when, or if the T-stat opens up.

 

[BTI]

Take a flashlight and put it behind the radiator (with engine off obviously), then look thru the radiator, especially around the edges.
I've had quite a few radiators that looked clean but were not.
My own personal LK3054 (used) would get hot just like yours. A good cleaning with a jet stream of water fixed it.

BTI

 

[osumason]

I haven't had a lot of time to mess with it this week, but I did drain the oil and it doesn't look like there is any water in it (it was black and not the milky brown that I have associated with a cracked head in the past).

I also bought a remote IR thermometer and started the engine and let it warm for a bit and checked the upper and lower hose. The upper was around 40 degrees warmer than the lower.

Eric I also squeezed the upper after it had warmed for a minute and it didn't seem like there was very much pressure inside the hose.

BTI, I will def check that because the field that I brush hog has a lot of the small floating type weeds that I know cover the outside of the radiator that I have to clean off after each time. When you spray it does it work better spraying from inside the engine bay outward or toward the engine bay?

Thanks.

 

[BTI]

When you spray it does it work better spraying from inside the engine bay outward or toward the engine bay?

Thanks.

Yes it does, I use a jet spray tip I made out of a gear lube bottle nipple on the end of a garden watering wand so it sprays hard but has a soft plastic end.
The wand allows you to reach the corners and get around the fan blade/belt better.
I try to spray from the inside out as much as possible.
If you hose it down, then let it sit a couple of mins, it will soften the dirt and such up.
Then you can hose it out with the jet spray.

 

[Gypsyjake488]

Hello, I realize this thread is dated but I am having the same problem with my LK3054. Were you able to correct this overheating issue? Thanks in advance

 

[DieselBound]

Only four things that can affect cooling:

1) Blockage of radiator (external or internal);
2) Closed thermostat;
3) Failed water pump;
4) Bad head gasket (would need to do a leak test here).

Rare that a diesel overheats without some rather serious reason.

Check upper and lower radiator hoses to determine if there's circulation happening (overflow tank can sometimes inform, though not as sure a test). If there's circulation then the thermostat is likely not, at least, fully closed. Water pump failures tend to result in audible cues (in most cases you'll see them leaking first; failures progress into the audible spectrum): check that the belt is properly engaging the WP pulley (tight and causes the pump [at least the outside] to turn.

Head gasket failures tend to produce over-pressure in the cooling system (overheating will come in to play as coolant gets pushed out). Common to find bubbles and, perhaps, combustion odors in the cooling system. Overheating itself can result in head gasket failure: if one overheats for some other reason, perhaps a blocked cooling system or low coolant, things that could be readily rectified, it then turns into a more costly resolution such as replacing the head gasket [along with whatever machine and head work might be required].

 

[ritcheyvs]

I would also include a dirty radiator (outside), low coolant level, or (in some engines) an air bubble that prevents coolant circulation.

 

[Gypsyjake488]

Thank you for the response. I suspect a head gasket, removed and cleaned radiator but did not have it steamed. Removed water pump and seems to be intact. Removed thermostat entirely for troubleshooting purposes.
Still the tractor runs fine about 15-20 minutes and then boils coolant out into resivior tank. I suppose there could be blockage in the radiator or cylinder jackets, having trouble diagnosing flow because the hoses don稚 appear to have much pressure but they do both get hot.
The tractor suffered freezing conditions without sufficient antifreeze unfortunately. No external leaks however.
Tomorrow I will try a couple bottles of radiator flush in the system and let it idle as long as possible. Any way to confirm a head gasket leak without buying exhaust gas detection kit??

 

[DieselBound]

If your upper and lower radiator hoses are roughly the same temperatures then I'd suspect a circulation issue. Perhaps using some compressed air (want to keep pressure down below 15 psi, perhaps 12 psi max).

As was mentioned (great addition!), one can get air pockets that essentially can act as blockages. Take a slow drip feed of coolant into the system with a high point open to help chase out air.

Repeated over-heating, however, can result in head gasket issues in which case it's possible that this is now also in the mix (not the primary cause). If you run the engine for a period of time a bad head gasket will tend to over-pressurize the cooling system (higher pressures from combustion chambers going in to lower pressure cooling system). There may be some detectable combustion residual in the cooling system, but perhaps not (w/o a detection kit). I bought and used a UVIEW 560000 Combustion Leak Tester kit for a truck that I suspected as having a bad head gasket (confirmed)- I think it's a good kit: about $54 from Amazon.