Question for tractor baws

I just blow the dust out of the radiators on my tractors with an air compressor. Also blow out the dust from the air filter a good many times before replacing it.
I can’t imagine not having an air compressor.Get a pancake compressor at least.
Antifreeze shouldn’t be brown,drain it,flush it with water hose and refill with clean antifreeze.

Bushhogging blades might need replacing.They’re not supposed to be very sharp.

We use this tool. I find it easier ti clean with how it’s shaped than other wands that are just open at the end. This one has a bend and makes it super easy to clean my radiator. Comes with an air and water wand.

If you're running plain water in your cooling system, you're asking for trouble. Without corrosion inhibitors you likely have some nasty crap built up in your system. I would do a chemical flush, refill with red coolant, and then see where you stand.

You're not going to like what I'm going to tell you but if your fluid is brown, you've need to rebuild your cooling system. Corrosion eats the impeller on the water pump and if you don't take care of it now, plan on doing it later.

1. Flush your system out with a coolant flush chemical
2. Replace your water pump, thermostat and all hoses, especially the little ones. Overheating puts a lot of stress on the hoses and weakens them so bite the bullet know.
3. Use a radiator genie to clean the fins out on the radiator while it's out.
4. Use premix coolant or concentrate with *distilled* water only. Tap water has minerals in it that screw up your cooling system.
5. Replace the belt and make sure it's properly tensioned. The belt turns the water pump that circulates the coolant. I've seen many loose belts causing overheating issues.
6. Prepare anus for the possibility of needing a new radiator.

Don't cheap out on parts either. Messicks is pretty reasonable for OEM if you know exactly what you need. The parts guys at dealers are pretty good at telling you everything and they are typically 20-30% higher. Stay far away from Chinese and Indian parts.
If you want to be conservative, flush the system out with the thermostat out(the proper way), clean your radiator fins, slap a new thermostat in there, fill her up with coolant and check the belt tension. Be sure to buy a spare thermostat gasket just in case.

We do run it at the proper speed, not lower because the pasture is thick and high. Gearbox had it out of commission for a few weeks.

The air filter is dirty, too, but it’s stuck in the housing. Getting help with that, tomorrow. A pancake compressor would help a lot. I don’t have anything to blow it or the radiator out correctly. The air and water one looks good. I’ll see about that tomorrow. Along with antifreeze. I’ve never flushed a cooling system before so that will be a new thing for me and it seems imperative I do it ASAP, too. You guys drove that home.

I couldn’t get the blades off. Frozen into place with dirt. Looks like I need to focus on the cooling system first.

Thanks, guys!

I use the radiator genie on the water hose. It works great. I've also put on a sun shade type material over the hood, like a bra on a car, to help keep the amount of seed and dirt that gets in the engine compartment.

I have also used an electric blower that I would keep in the bucket while cutting. It does a decent job and is much faster than going back to the hose.

Hose does a much better job though.

Removing the blades on bush hog to sharpen isn't necessary. I sharpen the blades withe an angle grinder mounted with a flap disc while they are still mounted on the bush hog.
Regarding the over heating I would drain the cooling system and install a new thermostat and gasket and refill cooling system with good anti freeze. I also recommend making sure the belt that turns the water pump is tight enough. Run it and see if that takes care of the problem. BTW-I do not subscibe to the "blanket" approach of repair. This is replacing every part in the system regardless of whether they are good or bad. I find this method a lot of needless labor as well as being very costly.
Good luck with it.

quote:

---

couldn’t get the blades off. Frozen into place with dirt

---

If you are still trying to get blades off, spray with Kroil let soak a few hours and remember the threads are left handed
Righty loosey

Thanks for the suggestions!

I drained the radiator and found the bottle made it look dirtier than it was. It looked pretty clean and it WAS antifreeze. I put water in, ran it a few minutes and drained again, not taking out the thermostat, and refilled with Kuboda antifreeze.
The air filter was a two in one and the inside filter was basically melted to the inside and royal bitch to remove. Both were black and terrible. Replaced.
I removed the battery and hosed out the radiators from the engine side and a lot of gunk came out. Blew it fairly dry and put it up for a day.
When I took it for a test run I stopped after two hours. When cutting samplings and trash growth it was fine. When I went back to cutting the thick two-foot pasture grass the temperature started rising but more slowly. It was partially cloudy and I could tell it helped make a difference.
Radiator Genie wands should arrive today, and a pancake compressor is next. It will be regular Maintenance to blow out the radiators after every use.
I was rewarded for my hard work with good temps and a sighting of a tic tac UFO going lazily across the north to the east. No wings, fin, or bouncy balloon movement. My damn phone was in the house and it was soon out of sight.
Thanks, y’all!