RX7320 overheating. Thermostat part numbers?

[WoodChuckDad]

Last night I was going to use my tractor to pick up some large rocks. 500lb and up. Input my grapple on and my boxblade then drove 1/4 mile to get to my trailer with the rocks. Just before getting to the trailer I felt a loss of power and saw that it was over heated. I dropped rpm and let it cool. I popped hood and there was a big mouse nest on too of radiator. I removed that and cleaned the screens. The reservoir was empty. I filled that. Restarted the tractor and about 5 minutes later it overheated again. I shut down again and checked engine area. The reservoir was still full.
Today I will check to see if the radiator is full.
I called the Kioti dealer this morning (discovered that they are under new ownership) and ordered a new thermostat. $40 for a thermostat. I am wondering if anyone knows where I can find a parts list, diagram or crossover list. I wont cancel my parts order but would like to have one on the shelf just in case and I would hope the part doesn’t cost so much.

 

[justman777]

Before you spend money on parts, I'd recommend blowing out the radiator and such with compressed air and an appropriate tip wand. You'd be surprised how many people (myself included) cleaned the screens, but still had tons of junk jammed in their radiator(s) that we couldn't see. Could save you a few bucks.

Haven't lost anything but a few minutes of time if your radiators are already clear.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I got back out here this morning. I pulled the screens off. And the radiator fins are completely clogged.
Also, I pulled the radiator cap and there is no fluid that I can see. Looks like I have multiple issues.

I just put nearly a gallon of 50/50 coolant in.




I just spent 15 minutes blowing it out from behind with my pancake compressor and a generator.

There was an astounding amount of dirt and fluff and debris that came out.
I am hopeful that this will resolve my issue.
But that would not explain why my radiator was empty

 

[justman777]

I doubt you have any issues. Just fill up the coolant, remind yourself to blow out the fins every other time you use it, and you should be good to go.

We had someone else earlier that had the same problem---low on coolant and engine overheating. They blew out their fins and everything was good after. I theorized the coolant got hot, hit the pressure limit of the radiator cap, and diverted the hot coolant to the expansion tank. The expansion tank got full, and pushed a small amount of coolant out to the ground/air through its overflow port. Whatever was left in the expansion tank got sucked back into the radiator as the engine cooled down. It likely went through this sequence several times, releasing just a bit of coolant every time, until it didn't have enough left and your engine started overheating.

Few people realize (or care) their radiator is pressurized just a little to raise the boiling temp of the coolant, because water under pressure doesn't boil as easily. Science stuff... I think it's cool.

I make it a habit of popping the hood on the tractor and checking everything before I start it up. It's a pain, and I don't like doing it, but figure it's better than starting to work and then having to stop to take care of the engine or something else.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I ran it for haf an hour, and got the rest of the rocks out the. Went and moved some stumps to the burn pile, no issues. I will call it resolved. Hopefilly thats all there was to it, When the thermostat comes in, I will put it in the parts bin.

 

[justman777]

:thumbsup:

 

[ovrszd]

Glad you got it going again.

Very easy to overlook a tractor radiator. This incident will make you a bit more conscious of it though.

 

[MickeyDBC]

You might want to inspect all of the coolant hoses on the tractor. I have seen mice and other rodents chew on them and cause small and large leaks. Mice moved into my mom's Toyota and setup shop in the engine bay and it took a while to persuade them to leave. These chewed up some plastic covers and hood gaskets but did not cause any real damage, mostly just scared the crap out of her when she opened the hood to see what was making the funny smell. I got some stuff from Tractor Supply that smelled like stinky herbs that kept them out.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Pick up a Radiator Genie. Well worth it.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Eric I'm going to give you a hard time and say don't blow the dust and crap further into the radiator. You blow from the fan side first and then from the front. I realize you were just giving a demo.

I've also had really good results with a varsol gun. It's a device used to suck varsol out of a container and blow it against grease and dirt etc. It works with a venturi effect off of your air compressor. Only I don't use varsol on a radiator. I use water. The weight of the water combined with the push of the air does a nice job on removing the packed in dirt etc. Only let the radiator dry out before you use the tractor in real dusty conditions. If the fins are still wet the dirt will just pack right in again.