MF1250 coolant/circulation issue help

[JWR]

that this one? the ZJERYL GULL 18pcs
I have saved in list to purchase

Amazon.com

That looks almost identical to the one I suggested. Different brand. The one I bought bought back in December 2022 had 4 chrome "radiator cap substitutes" in the kit and these now only show 3. A couple of hours ago Amazon said the one I got last December was no longer available and that's why I substituted the one I showed a picture of. So these newer kits lean more toward the "fit inside the radiator neck" style adapters (which no doubt work OK too) but I was real pleased that one of the adapters that screwed on looking like a radiator cap but with a vent on top fit mine.

 

[JWR]

Local Advanced Auto has a tester I'll grab tomorrow. Basically you buy it then get a refund when you bring it back. Theirs is a ridiculous $270 though lol

Dear lord do not spend that kind of money for one.

 

[Egon]

If’n you want to do a pressure test do the cylinder compression.

Otherwise just pull the head for starters. Gasket leak or cracked block leak.

 

[MF231owner]

Dear lord do not spend that kind of money for one.

Got the pressure tester and my radiator has a leak. I noticed some corrosion at the spot but never any moisture but by 5 PSI she was spraying. I'm not super mechanical but I assume this would account for all the symptoms and take care of things?

One dealer told me it was discontinued and he couldn't get one. Another pulled it up by serial number and said MF did offer them and quoted me $820 plus tax.

Anyone have a cheaper source?

 

[MF231owner]

Pic:

 

[Dmacleo]

overheat conceivably could cause hard rotation due to heat expansion, combine with older battery its POSSIBLE the leak is only issue and causing all symptoms but.....
now you have had, for all intents and purposes, a seized engine. keep a very close eye on stuff.

any radiator shops nearby? can take to them to fix/recondition.

 

[MF231owner]

Leak is at the seam where you can see the brass on the edge. Inside doesn't look great.

Radiator repair shop said $60+ for a repair up to $400 for a recore. Not sure I should even try.

 

[JWR]

Yeah, you have sort of a mess there but not terrible, yet anyway. I'd certainly get the radiator repaired if the shop can do it. Probably can. If you end up having to replace the radiator, do some searching on Amazon . Also eBay, etc. For example on Amazon I do not find an immediate replacement for the MF 1250. The companies (for ex. Kumar Bros USA) selling on Amazon for old Fords etc. may very well sell them for your MF 1250 and could be contacted to ask via a Google search on the company name. Another source might be a tractor salvage yard (suggest call Wengers of Myerstown PA and see if they have one OR can give a lead on where to find one. They are VERY good and usually helpful.)

In your travels hunting stuff beware that there was another MF 1250 which was a huge machine (bends in the middle) and NOT a compact so don't get off on a wrong path there.

There are some larger questions. 1) Why was the coolant rising and coming up out of the radiator when the motor ran? That MIGHT be a totally plugged radiator not letting fluid through it. OR it might be compression getting into the coolant from a blown head gasket or even a cracked head or block. One thing at a time -- let's not assume a disaster yet. 2) What was causing the engine not to turn over? Was the battery OK? Could be water lock or some other issue. Until you get a good radiator back on it you cannot run a pressure test to look for blown head gaskets or worse ... so... as EGON said, do a compression test on the cylinders and that can be done in parallel with the radiator chasing. If it needs a head gasket there is no way around that...

How much of this stuff can you do yourself? Competently I must ask? If you are leery of tackling replacing the radiator and running compression tests yourself, I suggest this sequence
1) resolve the radiator issue getting it repaired for $60 or finding a replacement.
2) Find a general tractor repair shop. Even a truck/car general repair shop. Get them to do whatever you are not comfortable doing.
You have the $1000 refund to put towards the work. You MIGHT luck out and not have to put a whole lot more into it.

Did the dealer who sold it to you have any info at all on the tractor ?

 

[MF231owner]

Yeah, you have sort of a mess there but not terrible, yet anyway. I'd certainly get the radiator repaired if the shop can do it. Probably can. If you end up having to replace the radiator, do some searching on Amazon . Also eBay, etc. For example on Amazon I do not find an immediate replacement for the MF 1250. The companies (for ex. Kumar Bros USA) selling on Amazon for old Fords etc. may very well sell them for your MF 1250 and could be contacted to ask via a Google search on the company name. Another source might be a tractor salvage yard (suggest call Wengers of Myerstown PA and see if they have one OR can give a lead on where to find one. They are VERY good and usually helpful.)

In your travels hunting stuff beware that there was another MF 1250 which was a huge machine (bends in the middle) and NOT a compact so don't get off on a wrong path there.

There are some larger questions. 1) Why was the coolant rising and coming up out of the radiator when the motor ran? That MIGHT be a totally plugged radiator not letting fluid through it. OR it might be compression getting into the coolant from a blown head gasket or even a cracked head or block. One thing at a time -- let's not assume a disaster yet. 2) What was causing the engine not to turn over? Was the battery OK? Could be water lock or some other issue. Until you get a good radiator back on it you cannot run a pressure test to look for blown head gaskets or worse ... so... as EGON said, do a compression test on the cylinders and that can be done in parallel with the radiator chasing. If it needs a head gasket there is no way around that...

How much of this stuff can you do yourself? Competently I must ask? If you are leery of tackling replacing the radiator and running compression tests yourself, I suggest this sequence
1) resolve the radiator issue getting it repaired for $60 or finding a replacement.
2) Find a general tractor repair shop. Even a truck/car general repair shop. Get them to do whatever you are not comfortable doing.
You have the $1000 refund to put towards the work. You MIGHT luck out and not have to put a whole lot more into it.

Did the dealer who sold it to you have any info at all on the trrecord.

I can swap a radiator easy enough, probably a water pump, but not sure I'm confident enough to try a head gasket. I think I'll run to the radiator shop next week and have them look at it.

The engine not turning over was a single time. For a few hours. It didn't even try to crank when it did that. I was curious if it had a shut of that killed it to stop from damaging itself. I've had it running at least 6-8 times since then.

The tractor was traded in by someone the dealer was familiar with. They had done maintenance on it and even converted the bucket and a set of pallet forks to a John Deere type quick disconnect. I'm really hoping that it isn't major.

I assume if the radiator repair ship takes the job in addition to repairing the leak they'll be able to ensure there's nothing internal clogging things up.

 

[JWR]

Probably a reasonable approach. Might call the refusal of the engine to turn some kind of one-time fluke. Still unexplained. If it is important it will show up again.

Once the radiator issue is taken care of, they (or you) can run the pressure test (cooling system full, engine not running) and see if it will hold pressure for a long time (hour or more at 12 to 15 psi above ambient.) If it holds you know you don't have a blown head gasket, cracked head or related ailments.
Remember there is the unexplained puzzle of the coolant rising up out of the radiator. I'm thinking it will fail the pressure test (with a good radiator in place) -- it would do that of course if you have a blown head gasket. But with luck the entire problem was a badly plugged up radiator. I'd be amazed if that is all it was.
You are thinking the 'radiator shop' may have enough general mechanic knowledge to debug the whole issue?

[I'm sorry I have no idea where you are or what assets are there or your circumstance. Are you in a position to haul the tractor to a shop like the radiator shop? ]