(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Poor Man's Fix? Gimme Yer Opinion

A

Allan in NE

Well-known Member
Okay, here's the deal.

I've got a 1066 that is running hot. Have narrowed it down to that 40-year-old radiator; pretty darned sure that it is plugged up inside.

Think it needs cleaned because we have really hard water out here......REAL BAD hard water. I can watch the temp rise as the outside air temp increases.

Anyway, I'm in the field, still have 300 acres to go and don't wanna stop for a week to yank the radiator and have it rodded at a radiator shop.

Why can't I drain/save the coolant, fill 'er up with distilled white vinegar and run it fer a day that way?

It sure works on coffee pots and shower heads.

Why wouldn't it work on my old tractor as well?

Allan
 
Might get you over the 300 acres, worth trying. After you do get the radiator fixed properly, from now on always use distilled water. I only use green new antifreeze, distilled water, and anti-cavitation additive, flushed and changed every 2 years. Have not had to work a radiator over in over 30 years. Tom
 
Allan,
It may work for a while, but water and vinegar probably have different heat transfer properties (it may boil easier) and being vinegar, I bet you'll spring some leaks fairly quick. Finally won't all the crud coming loose from the vinegar muck things up in other parts of the engine?
 
Sounds like the plan of plans to me..If you think it's really bad, maybe get a few packs of the actual dechalker for coffee pots....I had a bunch of oil in the cooling system anddrained it, put in fresh water along with a dishwasher tab & cleaned everything up like new. Make sure to post your results. Maybe before/after pics if you can actually see the crud.

Good Luck,


Dave
 
Why not use radiator flush. It is made for the job, doesn't have the added expense of being safe for human consumption, and most include a neutralizer to use after the flush.
 
Allan, I have cleaned out many heater cores over the years with white vineger. I am not sure that running it throught the whole cooling system is a good idea. I would suggest that you remove the upper and lower hoses and plug off the ends and fill with pure vineger. Then flush with a water hose. Try doing this a few times and see if that helps. Also, have you checked to see if the radiator is externally plugged. This problem is often times overlooked.
 
The only thing that really worries me is the liners, their o-ring seals and the possibility of cavitation while working the tractor hard.

Maybe I should just get the tractor good and warm and then let it set overnight with the vinegar?

Allan
 
Yeah,

The engine is fairly recent being overhauled by the Red Shop not all that long ago...probably less than 2K hours. I can see that the water pump was replaced also.

I clean the external fins every spring and there is absolutely nothing blocking the air flow.

Problem has steadily gotten worse over the past couple of years. When it gets about 80 degrees out, that temp gauge heads for hot. Runs just fine in the mornings when it is cool.

Allan
 
Have you considered a good soak with CLR? Gets rid of lime and calcium build ups and does not effect metal so should be safe to use on a plugged off Radiator.Make a plug for the bottom hose with a properly sized pipe nipple which has a cap installed. drill and tap this cap to accept a air line connection so you can give the radiator a shot of air every so often to stir things up .use moderation when doing this suggest useing your painting air regulator to aquire a low pressure of ,say 20# which may be more than needed but is a starting point.Leave radiator cap off when doing this.Just enough air that the water and solution just rolls. Shouldn't take but a few hours to do this and flush good with clean water. should be good to go.IMO
 
If you can find some, try Justice Brothers radiator flush. It works with fine abrasive beads instead of chemicals. Might take two cans for a farm tractor.
 
Recommend using inhibited sulphamic acid. This used to be readily available as a Castrol marine product called DP Descaling Powder - not sure if it is still though. Oxalic acid is also OK and fairly safe to use. It is also available as Olympic Deck Brightener (oxalic acid) from Lowe's. use oxalic acid. it has never hurt the radiator, hoses or engine parts (both iron and aluminum). i get it at the hardware store by buying wood bleach. if you remember the good ol days of car repair there was a product that had a paper tube with the radiator cleaner in one end and the neutralizer in the other end. The cleaner was oxalic acid and the neutralizer was baking soda.
 
I've used toilet bowl cleaner before(the works)
But had the radiator pulled and diluted it I belive 50/50

Worked good let it soak 5 or 6 hours.
 
The best lime and rust destroyer we found(cleaned steam jenny core,Water pipes, Pumps, radiator core.etc) was CALSI SOL,Sold in plumbing distributors.We also use it to de-rust nuts,bolts,parts rusted and the usage we use go on & on. To neutralize use baking soda water. .Gotta stay down wind when using it in an open container,also use rubber gloves.Now this stuff really does the job in a hurry without destroying what ever its put on or into.
LOU
 
AllAn I have done that many times and have said to do so many times. May take a case of vinegar if it is real bad but it does in fact work and is not real hard on the radiator like a stronger acid would be. A stronger acid might eat a hole in it and then you would be in for a high $$ fix
 
You could just get a new radiator and in the time you spend trying to clean you can switch them and have your problem solved for good.My experience with having that old of radiator cleanded and repaired is that in about 11/2 yrs. it is leaking somwhere else and needs pulled again.By then you just as well replaced it the 1st time and saved the downtime.The new aftermarket radiators have fewer fins/in. and don't plug as easy.Good luck.
 
If your getting along I would work around the hottest time of the day and finish the 300 acres, then you got plenty of time to do any of the flushes these guys want to do. Being as bad as you suspect, allmost any of the flushing is going to open up some leaking and cause you more trouble than you fixed.
 
Hello Allan,
Is the radiator cap in good order. Slow coolant flow will get you by under normal temps, and when it gest hot it will overheat. Sounds like that is what happening. Check that cap! Most coolant diagnosis seems to assume the cap is good. All the new water pumps or thermostats in the world will not cure a bad cap!
Guido.
 
I know a guy that had a 1466 that did the same thing, overhaul, new turbo, new radiator,pump overhaul, every possible thing done to that tractor and still ran hot. Turned out to be the timing pointer somehow got bent a bit and it was out of time.
 
I don"t know what the boiling point of vinegar or vinegar/water solution is but I would not work the tractor with a a cooling system full of vinegar. Flushing it by running it at idle for while would probably be OK but you could do some engine damage working it if the boiling point is lower than an ethylene glycol and water solutuon.
 
Allan, Howdy Neighbor! The way I see your dilemma is this way,, Crank up early ie 4:30 and run till lunch about 1:00 PM to get as much done in the cool of the day, or park the 1066 and hook up your ol Wheel Horse that really nice 966 and streach her legs for a while. or drain and do the vinegar thing, Though I am not sure I would do that and then run her "Balls to the Wall" in hard pulling situation.
I don't think straining the existing coolant to use later will be a bad thing. Thought you ought to get a bottle of Conditioner to add back later.
.
IMO park the 1066 run the 966, Get the radiator redone, go back with new antifreeze, conditioner and distilled water. Hope this helps
Later,
John A.
 
Are you running it without a t-stat? Had a friend's 1066 several years ago that was running hot. The problem was the radiator was plugged but they removed the t-stat during the diagnosis process and created another overheat problem. Without a t-stat the cooling system internally bypasses the radiator and the will run hot without it.
 
I think it will work.I did it one time but I just let it run for a couple of hours and didnt work it on an old H Farmall.I dont know about the O rings either.I dont think I would work it a lot,maybe 15 minutes after running it a couple of hours,drain and flush it out and put the antifreeze back in.That CLR works good too.Maybe better than vinegar.
 
I think it will work.I did it one time but I just let it run for a couple of hours and didnt work it on an old H Farmall.I dont know about the O rings either.I dont think I would work it a lot,maybe 15 minutes after running it a couple of hours,drain and flush it out and put the antifreeze back in.That CLR works good too.Maybe better than vinegar.
 
Be careful, neighbor used some kind of radiator cleaner in his 1026. It worked well, got a lot of gunk out of the cooling system. A couple weeks later he found antifreeze in the oil. It seems the gunk was all that kept the sleeve o-rings from leaking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Update: O.T: Ford Taurus with little heat.
Replies
5
Views
2K
lha
L
C
Definitely a bad thing. Opinions plz..
Replies
6
Views
1K
crazylocha
C
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top