RedBelliedMule
New User
I'd been running this tractor for a while with cooling issues. I've never replaced the water pump and this tractor has been in use since 1998. So there is no record of how old the water pump may be. The symptoms of cooling problems are the radiator would blow steam after about 15 minutes then it would magically stop and then it started steaming again. The tractor was running very hot as evidenced by the gas tank producing a 'boiling' sound. Also the heat from the engine was noticeable to the operator. Any debris like leaves or brush clippings that reached the exhaust manifold would begin to smolder. I even had a very small fire start on the exhaust manifold a while back. Yes I was incredibly lucky and am thankful the tractor didn't go up in flames or explode from gas vapors escaping the extremely hot gas tank.
This past weekend the tell-tale sound of a bad water pump was there when I started the machine. Squealing and squeaking from the front near the radiator. I ran the machine and sometimes it would steam from the radiator and sometimes it would not. A lot of it depended on how much throttle I gave it. The radiator was not overfilled but I did suspect that the belt was loose.
In an attempt to correct the problem of squealing and squeaking, I did tighten up the belt. The 1/2 inch of play was much greater than 1/2 inch and more like 3/4 of an inch or more. This adjustment was proably not the worst of ideas but in hindsight, not the best either. I think I over tightened the fan belt and put stress on the water pump. However, the tractor ran fine and the radiator steaming stopped temporarily. What I did find was once the radiator started steaming again, there was a much bigger problem. I could visibly see coolant blown onto the engine from the radiator fan.
I took the machine back to the barn, left it running on idle and saw that the water pump had most likely failed somewhere. It appeared that the lower radiator hose was leaking. In my experience though, usually a radiator hose will just fail completely and dump all the coolant within a matter of seconds. I did squeeze the hose and doing so did not worsen any potential hole or tear. The hose was quite spongy and flexible though.
When I turned the tractor off I noticed that coolant was coming out of the pump towards the front of it where the fan attaches to the pulley. I'd been looking for any sign of coolant from the weep hole but never could find anything. When it cooled off, I checked the radiator and the fluid level was very low but this didn't surprise me due to the leak.
At this point I think I not only need to replace the water pump but also both coolant hoses, thermostat, and fluid to get to a place where I can determine if there are other issues with the cooling system.
As a final thought, I am wondering if the timing of the distributor is off. This is a front mount distributor I replaced 2 years ago. I had set the points on it but never looked at the timing to see if it was correct.
This past weekend the tell-tale sound of a bad water pump was there when I started the machine. Squealing and squeaking from the front near the radiator. I ran the machine and sometimes it would steam from the radiator and sometimes it would not. A lot of it depended on how much throttle I gave it. The radiator was not overfilled but I did suspect that the belt was loose.
In an attempt to correct the problem of squealing and squeaking, I did tighten up the belt. The 1/2 inch of play was much greater than 1/2 inch and more like 3/4 of an inch or more. This adjustment was proably not the worst of ideas but in hindsight, not the best either. I think I over tightened the fan belt and put stress on the water pump. However, the tractor ran fine and the radiator steaming stopped temporarily. What I did find was once the radiator started steaming again, there was a much bigger problem. I could visibly see coolant blown onto the engine from the radiator fan.
I took the machine back to the barn, left it running on idle and saw that the water pump had most likely failed somewhere. It appeared that the lower radiator hose was leaking. In my experience though, usually a radiator hose will just fail completely and dump all the coolant within a matter of seconds. I did squeeze the hose and doing so did not worsen any potential hole or tear. The hose was quite spongy and flexible though.
When I turned the tractor off I noticed that coolant was coming out of the pump towards the front of it where the fan attaches to the pulley. I'd been looking for any sign of coolant from the weep hole but never could find anything. When it cooled off, I checked the radiator and the fluid level was very low but this didn't surprise me due to the leak.
At this point I think I not only need to replace the water pump but also both coolant hoses, thermostat, and fluid to get to a place where I can determine if there are other issues with the cooling system.
As a final thought, I am wondering if the timing of the distributor is off. This is a front mount distributor I replaced 2 years ago. I had set the points on it but never looked at the timing to see if it was correct.