I have drained the coolant out of my Fordson Dexta. Why wont the coolant pour back in? The only way I can get coolant to go in is by pumping the bottom hose continuously so small air bubbles come out. Then about 10 ml of coolant at a time will go in. I can only get about 5 liters in total. Specs say it should hold over 8.5 liters. How do I get the engine hot enough to open the thetmostat so that coolant will go in the engine block? Just running it with open throttle and sitting still does not get it hot enough. I am worried not enougj coolant is in the engine. Please help. Is the thermostat faulty?
- Thread starter jasonteem
- Start date
Steve@Advance
Well-known Member
Did you drain the block too? If not it still has some coolant in the system, won't hold the full 8.5 l.
You'll be able to tell when the thermostat opens. The coolant will start to circulate, the air coming through the radiator will be warm. Once it's open, the air will come out and you can top it off.
You'll be able to tell when the thermostat opens. The coolant will start to circulate, the air coming through the radiator will be warm. Once it's open, the air will come out and you can top it off.
Did you collect the coolant you drained so you know how much you actually drained. You may have not drained it completely. If you do know it drained out more than you have been able to put back in , I would NOT run it because you have huge air pockets. In that case you will need to relieve the air by taking out plugs, or temp gauge or something high up on the engine.
Some engines are really difficult to bleed. Most older tractors are usually easy to bleed. CaseIH had a rather complex procedure for bleeding some of the engines used in the Maxxum tractors.
I know of one Honda that was not bled properly and engine over heated shortly after causing considerable more expense for owner. I know nothing in particular about your tractor but if you can keep getting more coolant in by pinching the hose, I believe you have room for more and it is air trapped.
Some engines are really difficult to bleed. Most older tractors are usually easy to bleed. CaseIH had a rather complex procedure for bleeding some of the engines used in the Maxxum tractors.
I know of one Honda that was not bled properly and engine over heated shortly after causing considerable more expense for owner. I know nothing in particular about your tractor but if you can keep getting more coolant in by pinching the hose, I believe you have room for more and it is air trapped.
I have gotten so much advice that it makes no sense. Many say run the engine to get the air out. Others say I should not run it or it will destroy the engine. I have drained the rad and block. My rad has the bottom drain missing. That is why I could not find it. I filled the rad with great difficulty 10 ml at a time by pinching tje bottom hose to bubble air out. The rad is Not blocked bevause fluid drains with ease from the bottom hose. There is NO coolant in the block! I have removed the temp gage. No air bubbled up from the rad.I ran the motor and drove around. The tjermostat did not open. I can still get no coolant in the block. I am getting frustrated and get contradictary advice from everyone I ask. I love my tractor and depend on it. I do not want to ruin the motor. Isnt there anyone that knows what I should do? Is the next step to remove the thermostat?
I usually full a small hole in the flange of
the thermostat. Just big enough to let air
through, and a little bit of coolant. This
allows me to easily fill radiator but also
allows a little coolant to move while
running it before the whole thing gets hot.
In your case could you pull the thermostat
out and fill most everything up and put it
back in and then run it to make it open?
the thermostat. Just big enough to let air
through, and a little bit of coolant. This
allows me to easily fill radiator but also
allows a little coolant to move while
running it before the whole thing gets hot.
In your case could you pull the thermostat
out and fill most everything up and put it
back in and then run it to make it open?
showcrop
Well-known Member
Jason, almost every thread that starts with someone looking for help goes very similarly to this one. You do not have many answers yet. There is almost always the need to get more information than is given originally. Yes, you do have a slight amount of contradictory advice, that is normal. Your problem is obviously getting the air out of the block, but the t'stat is holding the air in. It needs hot water on the bottom (back) side in order to open, but you don't have coolant there yet to get hot. I have drilled a small hole before as Patsdeere suggested. in fact I have in the past purchased new ones with holes in them.
Well... I got my courage up (I am not much of a mechanic) and came home after work and began taking stuff apart to remove the thermostat. I also removed the temp. gauge. Unfortunately, the temp. gauge is sitting very fast in the block. It will simply not come out. I remove the flange for the thermostat and...imagine my surprise when I found that THERE WAS NONE. Also, the block is completely full of coolant. This is both good and bad, because I was afraid the thermostat was stuck and there was air in the block, etc. That is apparently not the case. This means either the tractor overheated due to me trying to plough in third gear low (which someone told me was actually fourth gear) and therefore also the reason it stalled and lugged or...the water pump impeller is broken. Any thoughts on this new development. I really appreciate you folks that write in and help. I am also following your advice...slowly. Should I now...
A. Drive the tractor as it is without a thermostat and pull a plow in the appropriate gear (2nd low) and see if it overheats? This must mean the water pump is bad, right?
B. Install a thermostat first.
C. Do something entirely different.
When I look in the radiator fill cap while the tractor is running, it is hard to see if the fluid is running or just jiggling due to the vibration of the tractor. So I am not really able to trouble shoot the water pump this way. What should I do????
Boiling blues
PS Thank you tractor guru. You calm me and give me courage to try and try again.
A. Drive the tractor as it is without a thermostat and pull a plow in the appropriate gear (2nd low) and see if it overheats? This must mean the water pump is bad, right?
B. Install a thermostat first.
C. Do something entirely different.
When I look in the radiator fill cap while the tractor is running, it is hard to see if the fluid is running or just jiggling due to the vibration of the tractor. So I am not really able to trouble shoot the water pump this way. What should I do????
Boiling blues
PS Thank you tractor guru. You calm me and give me courage to try and try again.
Angle Iron
Member
had an early fifty's international truck with a mounted corn sheller. Big sleeveless six, 304-308 in line I really do not remember the actual size. I had it bored 60 over to clean up the bore from being rust stuck. I thought that had something to do with the fact that it always ran on the warm side load or no load. Had to be real carful when working it. Had the radiator redone, no help, modified and mounted the blades from a gm clutch fan without the clutch. Sounded like a jet engine at operating RPM's. Still ran warm to hot. Was talking about it with the guy I bought it from one day and he asked if I had a thermostat in it and I said no. He said that engine would always run hot without a thermostat as the water didn't stay in the radiator long enough to transfer the heat. Put one in it and ended the problem. I could work it as hard as I wanted on a 100 degree day and it cooled just fine. I really didn't think it would work but had tried everything else so thought why not. Put a thermostat in it and try it, your not out much and it needs one anyway.(quoted from post at 12:26:48 02/02/17) Well... I got my courage up (I am not much of a mechanic) and came home after work and began taking stuff apart to remove the thermostat. I also removed the temp. gauge. Unfortunately, the temp. gauge is sitting very fast in the block. It will simply not come out. I remove the flange for the thermostat and...imagine my surprise when I found that THERE WAS NONE. Also, the block is completely full of coolant. This is both good and bad, because I was afraid the thermostat was stuck and there was air in the block, etc. That is apparently not the case. This means either the tractor overheated due to me trying to plough in third gear low (which someone told me was actually fourth gear) and therefore also the reason it stalled and lugged or...the water pump impeller is broken. Any thoughts on this new development. I really appreciate you folks that write in and help. I am also following your advice...slowly. Should I now...
A. Drive the tractor as it is without a thermostat and pull a plow in the appropriate gear (2nd low) and see if it overheats? This must mean the water pump is bad, right?
B. Install a thermostat first.
C. Do something entirely different.
When I look in the radiator fill cap while the tractor is running, it is hard to see if the fluid is running or just jiggling due to the vibration of the tractor. So I am not really able to trouble shoot the water pump this way. What should I do????
Boiling blues
PS Thank you tractor guru. You calm me and give me courage to try and try again.
I have a 1959 Fordson Dexta 3 cyl. diesel. I tried plowing with it in the wrong gear (3rd low) but it overheated and steam started coming from the radiator. I let it cool off and drove into the barn. It did not overheat when I just drove it around. I drained the coolant and flushed a tiny bit with some water and then filled it with coolant/water. I have checked the thermostat and found out that someone had already removed it! The radiator fins are fine and clean. I have filled it completely up with coolant and there is no air in the system. The temperature gauge is broken. I then took it out and tried plowing with it again to test it under load. This time it did not overheat at all. Some coolant came out of the overflow hole under the fill cap, but I have heard that is normal if you have filled it all the way up. The radiator hoses and the water pump got a little warm and you could tell that it was slowly warming up, but nowhere near overheating and it handled plowing fine. Can I assume the water pump is OK? Remember there is no thermostat. Should I install a thermostat and how important is it? How do I install a temperature gauge? It looks like I need to raise the fuel tank. How do I do that nd is there another way? What is the result of driving it without a thermostat? All advice and help is appreciated. It is very important to me to restore the tractor and have it working correctly. I also rely on it for my hobby agricultural production with plowing, harrowing, etc.
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