Overheated Briefly, Now Discolored Coolant... Flush Radiator?

[RanchGirl]

Hello All... I admit to having made a doofus mistake when doing some mowing for my neighbor, and overheated my JD 3038e that has only 210 hours. I picked a cool day to mow, but I let the chaf and thistle plant debris cover the front grill of the tractor. I didn't want to get off in 7 foot thorny nasty thistle to check it. Just as I finished after about 3 hours of mowing, I got an overheat indicator and boiling coolant. Total time the indicator was on- about 5 minutes, maybe a little longer- long enough get it back to the shade of my barn, open the hood, and clear the debris. I ran it until the overheat warning light had been off for about 10 minutes or so.
The next day when I was topping off the coolant, I noticed the coolant looked darker, and had what looked like little bits of brownish particulate in the bottom of the overflow tank. I've not run it since as I'm worried I've damaged my beloved JD!! Should I service the radiator before running it again? Yes, I know... New tractor owner, total rookie mistake. Don't beat me up too badly.....
Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

(Newbie) Ranch Girl

 

[boomer1025]

I'd drain and flush the cooling system & change the engine oil and filter since you got it very overheated. Then cross your fingers & toes you didn't damage the head gasket & piston rings. Next time stop, backup and clean the grill & radiator screen.

 

[greg_g]

Don't trust the radiator to suck what it needs from the plastic reservoir. Remove radiator cap and top up. Wait for a few minutes before putting the cap back on. What you're looking for is signs of oil coming to the surface. If no oil, do as the man above suggests. If there is oil, you've got bigger problems.

//greg//

 

[teg]

I'm going to be watching this thread mainly since I did the same thing... twice. I didn't stop until steam was coming out and at that point I shut it down. I don't have any warning lights. I do have a temperature gauge but who looks at that??? . Same thing the screen got clogged up.

I don't think you hurt anything but curious what others also have to say. I didn't change any of my fluids until it was the normal time to change it (which reminds me, need to flush the radiator).

 

[indianaEPH]

Don't trust the radiator to suck what it needs from the plastic reservoir. Remove radiator cap and top up. Wait for a few minutes before putting the cap back on. What you're looking for is signs of oil coming to the surface. If no oil, do as the man above suggests. If there is oil, you've got bigger problems.

//greg//

I've had the same thing happen a few times while bush hogging tall vegetation.

IF you still have all your coolant it is unlikely to have gotten hot to enough to do damage. Even if if you hit 250 degrees that would normally not cause engine damage. If you lost coolant during the incident such that the head and/or block where exposed then temperatures can get very high and damage can result.

I would change fluids. If you don't have any symptoms (coolant in oil, oil in coolant) then you should be OK.

 

[familyman]

Go out and get a new thermostat gasket.
Drain the radiator, remove the thermostat and leave it out. Bolt the thermostat housing back into place, using the old gasket. Fill the radiator with a 50/50 mix of distilled water and white vinegar, then run the engine for about 3-5 minutes, slightly above idle. Drain the radiator; repeat until vinegar/distilled mix drains fairly clear. Then rinse one more with just distilled (no vinegar), then once with correct antifreeze mix. Reinstall thermostat with new gasket, top off radiator and overflow tank. Done.

Should take about 20 minutes.

 

[RanchGirl]

Awww, c'mon Boomer! I already know it was a dumb mistake, and I know not to do it again. At least give me credit for a decent reaction to the situation by a new tractor owner.

I checked the radiator as suggested, and no sign of oil. On closer examination, the stuff in the bottom of the overflow looks like dust particulate. I dumped the overflow and got rid of the grit, then topped it off. I had done the 200 hour oil change, so the current oil only has 10 hours on it. The oil still appears golden on the dipstick. The coolant appears normal in color now that its cold.

Any more suggestions?
Thanks all.

 

[kuboman]

Awww, c'mon Boomer! I already know it was a dumb mistake, and I know not to do it again. At least give me credit for a decent reaction to the situation by a new tractor owner.

I checked the radiator as suggested, and no sign of oil. On closer examination, the stuff in the bottom of the overflow looks like dust particulate. I dumped the overflow and got rid of the grit, then topped it off. I had done the 200 hour oil change, so the current oil only has 10 hours on it. The oil still appears golden on the dipstick. The coolant appears normal in color now that its cold.

Any more suggestions?
Thanks all.

Just run it and keep track of the coolant. The biggest danger to overheating these engines is cracking the head. If that has happened then you will see the antifreeze level drop, or possible exhaust in the antifreeze which will show up in the radiator as black slime. It is probably ok but stay alert to the signs. It might not hurt to change the oil sooner than later and take an oil analysis to check for glycol.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[boomer1025]

Awww, c'mon Boomer! I already know it was a dumb mistake, and I know not to do it again. At least give me credit for a decent reaction to the situation by a new tractor owner.

I checked the radiator as suggested, and no sign of oil. On closer examination, the stuff in the bottom of the overflow looks like dust particulate. I dumped the overflow and got rid of the grit, then topped it off. I had done the 200 hour oil change, so the current oil only has 10 hours on it. The oil still appears golden on the dipstick. The coolant appears normal in color now that its cold.

Any more suggestions?
Thanks all.

Then don't worry about it.

 

[teg]

Then don't worry about it.

Personally, I think she came down extra hard on you... not sure why. If you are overheating, you should stop IMMEDIATELY... Seems to be a rash of over reacting forks on TBN :confused2: