MF TO35 overheating

FordPig

Member
We've got an old reliable TO35 that has been working great until yesterday when it started heating.

New radiator a few years ago.

I've been brush hogging some REALLY thick, nasty stuff which has been working the old girl really hard. But it still wouldn't go up past 210F no matter how hard it worked, for 8
hours. Then suddenly I stopped and saw a bunch of steam coming out of the overflow and the gauge read 230.

Got it cooled down, refilled the coolant, lots of circulation going by the amount of flow I can see, it's not blowing bubbles in the radiator, so I don't think it's a cracked
head or gasket. I blew out the radiator, made sure it's clean by shining a light through all the fins, everything looks good. But no matter what, even in light grass, it
steadily heats up to just below 230 with no signs of slowing. For years it has steadily run 230.

Ideas?
 
Not sure how to correct my typo. For years it's never run more than 210, it was a typo when I said it steadily ran in the past 230. I meant 210F.
 
I guessing you have the Continental gas engine, it maybe time for a new thermostat. For the Continental gas the thermostat, and gasket is part number 836000M91 (160 degree).
 
Fan belt could be slipping
Did you notice the upper/lower radiator hoses when it got hot, as they get old they can collapse and cut off flow, thermostat may be stuck almost closed

I would take radiator off, have it back flushed, may be stopped up from rust from inside block,
New thermostat, new belt,
Question to others, can the water pump impeller come loose from the shaft, therefore not spinning as fast,
Do you have the radiator fan shield in place
Do you have a screen in front of the radiator

You must do something, do not let the little motor get hot or you will be in for oil burning, lost of power and a rebuild,
Do you run 50/50 coolant distilled water,

I run my little tractor with radiator cap loose, but only because my radiator will leak under pressure,

Let us know what you find wrong,
 
My 2135 industrial with the Z134 runs at 170 degrees on a 90+ degree day running a 84" bush hog. When the temp gets to 180+ I stop, and clean all the stuff on the grill off real quick.
 

Oops, yeah it's the gas engine.

I checked the lower hose, it has the springs in it and when it was the hottest was still fully open. I didn't think to check the top one.

No squeaking from the fan belt, it looks tight, I'll check it.

I'm running a fan shroud.

I have the factory grill in place, and whenever I come in for lunch, dinner, or gas I blow air from rear forward through all the fins on the radiator, as well as cleaning out the front. I shine a light through and check all the fins. It's clean and fresh with no blockage.

I'm on 50/50 coolant and distilled water.

We've had this tractor since about 1985, it's been through several fires and at least one rebuild, we've always had it running around 210F.
 
I would take the lower radiator hose loose from the radiator,
Hold your hand over the outlet,
You or some one else fill the radiator with water,

Once full release you hand and observe how fast the water flows out, it should gush out, if not it's partially stopped up,
That is the way my radiator repairman checked my radiator before he repaired it,
Of course radiator was in his shop, but he was checking for free flow, if not he would have had to boil it out,

One more thing you could check next time it gets hot, but be careful
Use laser heat gun if you have one, check temp of radiator on edges verse center of radiator, center could be stopped up and all water flow is
having to go around the sides,

Hope you find something wrong, if not then it could be a cracked block or head gasket,

Do you have a good flow of coolant out of the drain on the side of the block
 
It appears that the problem might be the fan.

Not too long before it overheated a stick jammed up into the fan shroud and put a dent in it, which the fan was scraping against. Pulled the stick out, straightened the shroud, and didn't think anything of it. It looks like the fan does not have the same angle now however, which is reducing the airflow through the radiator.

Ordered a new fan, we'll see how it goes next week when it gets here.
 

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