560 Diesel running warm

Lyle Knight · Apr 18, 2015

I have a 1962 Farmall 560 diesel that has an aftermarket temp gauge. Today I was running it, not pulling it hard and when I got back to the yard and idled the engine down to about 700 rpms, it started to get warm. It got to 190* and when I run rpms up to 900-1000 rpms the temp will drop to 160*. It has never run above 170* before and that is when pulling a load. I took the radiator cap off and with the engine running I do get a bubble every so often, but the oil looks fine! If I run it down the road in high gear the temp stays between 150*-160*. Is this normal, or do I have a head gasket issue?

Lyle Knight · Apr 18, 2015

I should have also mentioned, with the rpms above 1200, the bubbles in the radiator go away.

J.Wondergem · Apr 18, 2015

If the water pump is belt driven, is the belt slipping?

elkcagg · Apr 18, 2015

I get the same funny thing with our 560 diesel & the temp readings. Don't know about yours but on mine the sending unit is in a pipe someone plumbed in for the tank heater. I'm thinking if the sending unit was in the head it would be more consistent but it don't make sense to me why the heat indicator goes up when idling & down when it's working unless it has something to do with the water flow with pump running faster at higher rpms. Sadly, the 560 diesel was noted for head gasket issues & 2 years ago we replaced one. The symptoms we had was when cold starting tractor, the coolant almost immediately poured out of the overflow & with no cap on, the coolant came out of top of radiator. Coolant wasn't even warm. Keep an eye on your coolant level for sure. I think its recommended to keep water no higher than 2 inches from filler & anything higher than than will come out overflow when it gets hot. If you do replace the gasket, I recommend using studs in the block to anchor the head down instead of using bolts that IH used from the top. Just my 2 cents.

kub6040 · Apr 18, 2015

I would try retorqing the head bolts and run for a while if it is leaking it will get worse .

rustred · Apr 18, 2015

you need a rad boil out. and the head gasket will be getting due for change as that is how these 282's start out, bubbles will only get bigger and no other fix than replace gasket.

pete 23 · Apr 19, 2015

It is hard to detect bubbles from normal circulation turbulence with engine running and warm. The best way is pressure test each cylinder, BUT the easy way is to fill radiator to the tippety top. PULL water pump belt off. With cold engine start it and watch coolant in radiator. If it rises immediately, you now know you have a combustion leak. Don't wait and look for bubbles as that bubble will have a long way to travel but it will push the coolant up in radiator. I like to rap the throttle a few times as that puts much more pressure in the cylinder. All this test has to be done in a matter of a half minute or minute or so as the natural warming of the coolant will cause it to rise.

560 Diesel running warm

Lyle Knight

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Lyle Knight

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J.Wondergem

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elkcagg

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kub6040

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rustred

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pete 23

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