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Rose, it sounds like you may have more than 1 simple issue at play here. Let's attack the overheating/radiator problem first. Check out this info. Since it sounds like you need some answers quickly, here is some fabulous info on overheating from Claus and llamas... CLAUS:
First, make sure that the coolant is circulating in the radiator and that the theremostat is not partially blocked. What is the color of the coolant? Sometimes when people try to save money when they have a leak, they will run on just water. (Bad move because rust will build up) Usually these tractors run pretty cool. Replace the fan if blades are missing. Check your radiator and clean out any debris in the fins. Mud Daubers like to make their homes in the radiator. The sound of the engine will sound a little different when going up an incline because the govenor kicks in to keep the engine at a steady RPM... If none of this helps, then go for the rodding of the radiator and perhaps a reverse flush of the block and head.
Hope this helps Claus LLAMAS:
Oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear. Sounds like you got a problem. 8Ns have a cooling system far larger than is really required for what they normally have to do. Even running a rotary mower. If you are overheating, you have a problem somewhere. Excessively advanced timing will cause overheating, as will an excessively lean mixture. However, I would suspect that you would have noticed a problem in your other uses if you had those difficulties. It would be hard to start and hard to keep running at low throttle settings. First and most obvious suspect is that your water pump has gone south. You can check for this by starting the motor cold with the radiator cap removed. You should see slow but obvious flow in the coolant until the thermostat starts to open, at which point the flow will become brisk and obvious. No flow - no pump. A new water pump is about $60, a couple hours work to install. The radiator may be blocked or restricted with the accumulated crud of a half-century. Remove the top and bottom hoses and put a water hose in the top, flowing maybe a couple of gallons per minute. The water should come out of the bottom hose fitting as fast as it goes in the top. If it backs up and overflows, the radiator is clogged. Remove it and flush it, using a commercial flushing solution. A better solution might be to take it to a radiator shop and have it flushed and rodded. Missing fan blades are not a good sign. There are various styles of fan, but they all have at least four blades, and they should all be there. This is a po'boy solution for a motor that would not run warm enough. A burlap sack over the radiator, or a tailored radiator screen if your wife likes to sew, is a much more elegant way. Your thermostat may be stuck shut. It hides in the upper radiator hose. Pull it out and set it in a pot of water on the stove, with a thermometer. You should see it start to open around 120/140° F, and it should be fully open at 180-190°F. If it doesn't open, a new one is called for. Last and least likely is a blockage in one of the water passages in the cylinder block or head. I would check everything else above before I started worrying about that. HTH. llater, llamas HTH, ANDY
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