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Harry Ferguson Tractors Discussion Forum
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Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP!

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Richie MaGoo

11-06-2003 13:36:31




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Hello, Fellow Fergie-ites!

My '49 TO-20 has been earning it's keep, bush-hogging my 27 acres...even on the hottest summer days with nary a problem. Until this week! On a 70-degree day, after only hogging for 15 minutes, she overheated! (boiling voolant out the overflow). There's nothing leaking from the water-pump, so the pump can't be the culprit...right? I replaced an "iffy" hose, and the tractor has never had a thermostat. The belt is fine. No smoke out the exhaust, and tractor always ran mint. How can I find the problem, without just replacing things at random?

Any ideas? HELP!

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Tex Ferguson

11-09-2003 13:20:15




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 Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to Richie MaGoo, 11-06-2003 13:36:31  
Richie, when my old Ford car started overheating, I discovered it had no thermostat. The mechanic who looked it over said without the obstruction provided by the thermostat, the coolant circulated through the radiator so quickly it had no time to dissipate its heat. This was in East Texas where folks operate the car AC via the ignition swith(they never turn off the AC at the dash), so the load on the cooling system is pretty severe. Hope this helps.
Now I live in South Texas, and have no overheating probs on my TE-20, equipped with thermostat. Good luck! Tex

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Scott the ferguson nut

11-08-2003 06:36:30




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 Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to Richie MaGoo, 11-06-2003 13:36:31  
Just make sure the radiator is clean wash the fins out you won't believe the dirt in it even though it looks clean. This should be done every day after brush hogging.



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TO24424

11-07-2003 17:52:46




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 Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to Richie MaGoo, 11-06-2003 13:36:31  
A thermostat is desirable, to keep the temps equal, but,, the vinegar is good. ... a de-liming soloution known as muratic acid in a very reduced state.



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Richie MaGoo

11-06-2003 20:32:11




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 Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to Richie MaGoo, 11-06-2003 13:36:31  
Thanks, everyone! Those are all great suggestions.....I will report back to this post after I've tried them (and hopefully fixed the problem!)



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Ray,IN

11-06-2003 19:55:25




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 Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to Richie MaGoo, 11-06-2003 13:36:31  
Have you made sure the radiator fins are clear of debris, weed seed and dirt? The radiator guard will not prevent anything smaller than leaves from sticking on the front of the radiator and blocking air flow. I wash mine out with a water hose often when using a mower, rotary cutter to avoid overheating. Use the water hose from the engine side to wash the debris out of the fins.



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Jerry/MT

11-06-2003 18:22:53




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 Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to Richie MaGoo, 11-06-2003 13:36:31  
Richie,
Make sure your fan belt is tight. A slipping belt can cause you to overheat. Also have your pressure cap tested to make sure it is 7 psi capable. If it dosen't hold pressure, the coolant boiling point will lower and your coolant will boil out. As the othe writer said, with a cold engine, start up without the rad cap on and, since you don't have a thermostat, you should see a lot of fluid motion as the fluid exits the the top of the head. If it doesn't, then you either have a plugged cooling system or the water pump shaft has sheared. By the way, you should have a thermostat in the upper radiator hose. Make the engine warm up better and it will run better and wear less at a constant temperature. Hope this helps.

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old

11-06-2003 15:06:15




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 Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to Richie MaGoo, 11-06-2003 13:36:31  
I'd say its just old age, and with old age the things clog up. I'd flush out the system, but save your money and go to the food store not the parts store. run a 70% vinegar to water mix in it for an hour or so then flush it out with water and then replace the antifreeze and you should be good to go. hope this helps you some



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CityBoy

11-06-2003 15:44:30




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 Re: Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to old, 11-06-2003 15:06:15  
old,

Man alive, that is one of the simplest and at the same time potentially most effective solutions I've ever read for this type of problem. Cleans the deposits out of the coffee pot real good. Can't think of a reason why it wouldn't work equally well on a radiator plugged up with deposits.

Richie - One thing you can check. Don't do this on a warm or hot motor; you could get scalded. Remove radiator cap when motor is cold and be sure radiator is full. Start engine and look down radiator neck. The water ought to be moving since you have no thermostat. If it's not circulating at all then either your cooling system is severely plugged up or the pump has broken internally (never seen this happen but suppose it could). If the water is moving real good then old's suggestion ought to improve things a bunch. Good luck.

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old

11-06-2003 16:26:33




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 Re: Re: Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to CityBoy, 11-06-2003 15:44:30  
I have an oliver 77 1950s that I was working very hard and it got hot and I tried the parts store flushes and it didn't help then I used vinegar and it hasn't got hot since and that was 2 years ago. And what is real nice is the cost less then half of that of the flushes made for that



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Richie MaGoo

11-06-2003 15:18:11




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 Re: Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to old, 11-06-2003 15:06:15  
Hey, thanks!

That sounds like my kind of solution!(pun intended)
I was gonna flush the radiator out anyway.....and the vinegar can only help (vinegar is good for everything!)- I will definitely try it! (and it's cheap enough!)



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Fred OH

11-13-2003 08:45:44




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 Re: Re: Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to Richie MaGoo, 11-06-2003 15:18:11  
And while you're at it...rinse your hair in vinegar diluted water...it's good for dandruff too. I have a to-20 that you could see thru the radiator...but I thought I'd blow it out with an air hose anyhow...(just got tractor) Several onlookers couldn't believe how much dirt and chaff that came out of it. While you are at it...looking down into the radiator while engine is running...look for any bubbles coming up...when the head gasket develops a leak it can pump combustion into the cooling system and make it overheat, not uncommon. Try some stop leak type sealant if that is the case. Save the gasket replacement till next spring when the weather is warmer. Fred OH

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Richie MaGoo

11-13-2003 08:57:41




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HE in reply to Fred OH, 11-13-2003 08:45:44  
Hey guys!

I've taken many of your suggestions- I did the vinegar thang, and cleaned the radiator fins. I let the tractor idle for 50 minutes, and it didn't overheat. I'm gonna go to Wally Mart today, and get antifreeze...and then try bush hogging...and see what happens- but I think it's fixed!

I was really scared that it was the head gasket...or worse- a crack in the block- but I get no white smoke out the tailpipe, and no bubbles in the radiator. (I used to pick up junk cars for a living...I'm so used to assuming that it's always the worst case scenario!)

Fred:

You know what works even better than stop-leak (and lasts a lot longer) on head gaskets? Ceramic engine/cooling system sealer- available in speed shops under the Moroso brand name, or in many K-Marts (ask for ceramic engine sealer- it's about a quarter of the price of Moroso and works just as good). If one follows the instructions precisely, this stuff is awesome. I knew a guy who ran his old tow-truck on this stuff for two years!

Thanks, all.....

I'll let you know what happens after hoggin'!

Rich

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old

11-06-2003 15:38:47




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 Re: Re: Re: Good TO-20 started overheating..HELP! in reply to Richie MaGoo, 11-06-2003 15:18:11  
it works better then the parts stores flushes and cost about half. plus your tractor will smell like pickles lol



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