MF 461 overheating

[sawtooth]

Guys,

My 461 has about 450 hours on the clock and it overheats while brush hogging. The radiator looks clear but the fuel cooler has some grass etc in it from the previous owner. Not sure why you cool the fuel anyway but could that be the issue? Other issue is the stuff is caked in there and I'm not able to get behind it to clean it very well. Basically the tractor is ok till i start the cutter. Then in high grass about 5-10 min later it over heats. What should i look for? I think i found the water pump and it was smoking hot. Not sure how to tell what the problem is though. As for the temp i shut the engine down right as it was going into the red zone on the temp gauge. Hopefully there is no permanent damage. Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[MFRED]

Clean that radiator really good. Get some water in there to get any dust & debris out of there. It may look clean but have caked crud limiting your cooling capacity. You may have to take the hood off to get in there really good.

 

[sawtooth]

I will try but gotta say it looks very clean. Much better than they way my Fords normally are and they never run hot. But maybe these tractors are more sensitive to overheating so i will check again to be sure. If i have too i may just replace water pump, thermostat, and pull radiator and have it boiled out and cleaned. The dealer looked at tractor last year and said all is well but not the case. Gonna cost some to do everything but i need this tractor running.

 

[Jerry/MT]

As others have said, make sure the air side of the rad is clean.Make sure that you don't have a clogged air filter or a restricted air inlet, that the lower hose doesn't collapse when you rev the engine up, make sure the thermostat is fuinctioning properly and the rad cap is the correct pressure and working properly. How about the fan belt tension?
Fuel coolers are usually used to prevent coking of the fuel in the lines and the injector due to high fuel temps. Or they can be use to cool hot oil. Not sure of your case however.

 

[sawtooth]

As others have said, make sure the air side of the rad is clean.Make sure that you don't have a clogged air filter or a restricted air inlet, that the lower hose doesn't collapse when you rev the engine up, make sure the thermostat is fuinctioning properly and the rad cap is the correct pressure and working properly. How about the fan belt tension?
Fuel coolers are usually used to prevent coking of the fuel in the lines and the injector due to high fuel temps. Or they can be use to cool hot oil. Not sure of your case however.

Good point on air filter. I haven't used tractor but once since i bought it but dealer was suppose to replace them. I need to check to be sure. Will check others too.

Question: how do i check thermostat?

 

[Jerry/MT]

There are at least a couple of ways to check the thermostat. With the engine cold, remove the rad cap and start the engine. Set the rpm to about 1500 and watch the radiator opening. When the thermostat opens, there will be a surge of coolant that flows from the upeer rad hose to the radiator.

The other way is to remove the thermostat and put it in a pan of water and place that on the stove and heat the water. When the water gets to the opening temperature of the thermostat, it will start to open. As you continue to heat the water the thermostat will open wider.

 

[sawtooth]

Ok this helps and give it a go. Thanks