Satoh Buck 3 cyl diesel running issues / overheating?

tbrell · Feb 9, 2015

I have a Satoh Buck that I purchased used about a year and a half ago. The over temp light would only start to barely glow when mowing with a finish mower. It never gave me any issues, never steamed out of the radiator, and it had water flowing in the radiator when the thermostat opened with the cap off, so I didn't bother to look into fixing what wasn't broke.

Well, this past summer while I was mowing, it instantly lost a lot of power, as if it was only running on 2 cylinders. I shut it off and let it sit for about 30 minutes, fired it back up and was running normal. I figured it was a bad head gasket. I started to take it apart, but never got very far into it before losing interest and now it sits. Well, this spring I'd like to get it running again.

So, I was coming here to see if I was right in thinking it is a bad head gasket. Is there a possibility it could be something else? Any insight would be helpful.

oliver28472 · Feb 9, 2015

Mine got a new head gasket last winter. Bought a new (used) radiator too. My radiator had damage due to several rollovers and several flues had been soldered shut. I would suggest removing the radiator and have it gone through by a good shop. Don't let them paint it. Also put a temp gauge on it. Look around the head to see if it is leaking where it meets the block.

skylarkguy · Feb 9, 2015

Did you get as far as removing the head? I'd do some trouble shooting before removing the head.

mddorange · Feb 9, 2015

:welcome:
To the forum from Alabama.

stingray1 · Feb 9, 2015

Welcome to the forum. I had a Satoh Bull years ago it was one tough machine. Good luck with the repairs.

tbrell · Feb 10, 2015

Thanks for having me, everyone! I love internet forums, and am a events state rep over at the demolition derby forum www.wecrash.com. Forums have been very helpful throughout my life.

I have not removed the head, all I've really done is removed some covers and the air cleaner housing and tubing going to the intake manifold. What type of troubleshooting do you think I could/should perform? I'm fairly good at troubleshooting gas engines for never being a mechanic, but I've always been somewhat in the dark when it comes to diesels. You'd think it would be in my blood to know them inside out as Rudolph Diesel is a distant ancestor of mine

.

The end game here is to get it running so I can sell it, actually. It is not big enough for what I need it for, and I believe I will be putting the money towards an older Ford (9N?) with the money I use selling it.

skylarkguy · Feb 11, 2015

Well if it were me I would do a compression check to see if that is in specification. That will tell you a lot. Alternatively you could pressurize the cooling system and look for leaks to a cylinder. The simplest (and requires the least amount of test equipment) is to pull the glow plugs and put some compressed air into a cylinder. If it comes out another cylinder or somewhere else you have a problem.

If it ran ok after overheating I would be most likely looking at something else first. Like how clogged the radiator is with grass seed heads and other detritus. (that is a pretty big problem on mine). Water pump condition might be an issue as well.

tbrell · Feb 11, 2015

I have both a compression test kit and a coolant pressure tester, so I will start with those.

tbrell · Jan 1, 2016

*UPDATE 1/1/16* Satoh Buck 3 cyl diesel running issues / overheating?

Well I let the tractor sit a while and have finally got back to looking into getting it running. I had discovered that the fuel bowl was cracked and letting air into the system, and this may be my issue all along, but then again i could have mechanical damage. I replaced the entire fuel bowl/shutoff assembly.

Once replaced, I opened the screw at the bottom of the injection pump until fuel came out. I had cracked the lines at the injectors, and fuel barely drips out at all 3 injectors. Is there more to priming the injection pump than opening the screw at the inlet of the pump?

I tried to do a compression test, but my cheapy auto parts compression tester doesn't have a fitting that matches the glow plug threads. Is this a specialty item, is there an adapter, or is there a cheap kit that has the proper threads?

Any input is appreciated!