1) DO NOT keep running it without a thermostat!!!! I would bet the majority of your usage is just running around with little to zero load on the motor. So without a thermostat the engine will not run at a high enough operating temperature. This is critical for a diesel to run correctly. Running it with a low temperature and light load will mean it runs too cool. This can lead to incomplete burning of the fuel in the cylinders. This unburnt fuel can easily run by the piston rings and dilute the engine oil.
2) Over loading the motor can easily make it overheat. You did not say what the air temperature was when you tried plowing. 30 or 90 degrees??? IF it was warm then it would be easier to over heat it with too heavy of a load.
3) I am not familiar enough with a Ford Dexter to tell you exactly how to replaced the temperature gauge. I will tell you that running it with out a $30-50 dollar gauge can cost you thousands in repairs if you run it too hot again. A Ford major diesel is NOT a cheap motor to repair if you damage the head by over heating it regularly. Post the question of how to replace the gauge down on the Ford forum and there are fellows down there that can tell you step by step how to replace the gauge. Any Ford of that age I have worked on requires removing the tank usually to replace the gauge.
Good luck with your tractor. Get the things fixed and you should have years of use out of it with little cost. They are durable tractor.
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Today's Featured Article - Third Brush Generators - by Chris Pratt. While I love straightening sheet metal, cleaning, and painting old tractors, I use every excuse to avoid working on the on the electrics. I find the whole process sheer mystery. I have picked up and attempted to read every auto and farm electrics book with no improvement in the situation. They all seem to start with a chapter entitled "Theory of Electricity". After a few paragraphs I usually close the book and go back to banging out dents. A good friend and I were recently discussing our tractor electrical systems when he stated "I figure it all comes back to applying Ohms Law". At this point
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