1955 ford 860 Over Heating

[tracker1961]

I disked for about a hour and the gauge showed warm, not enough to boil over. I let it cool down and Disked for 15 minutes and the gauge pegged and the radiator boiled over. Could it be anything else but a water pump?
Thank you.

 

[old]

I disked for about a hour and the gauge showed warm, not enough to boil over. I let it cool down and Disked for 15 minutes and the gauge pegged and the radiator boiled over. Could it be anything else but a water pump?
Thank you.

Could be a bad thermostat or the cooling system is clogged up

 

[tracker1961]

Radiator is fairly new, maybe 200 hours on it, the tractor is clean, it looks Parade Ready. Both the engine and radiator were hot so the thermostat must be opened? If it is a head gasket problem, the water leaking into a cylinder, where does the heat come from, why does this cause heat??
thanks for the reply.

 

[old]

Radiator is fairly new, maybe 200 hours on it, the tractor is clean, it looks Parade Ready. Both the engine and radiator were hot so the thermostat must be opened? If it is a head gasket problem, the water leaking into a cylinder, where does the heat come from, why does this cause heat??
thanks for the reply.

Looks mean nothing the block could well be full of rust and lime and clogged up real bad. If it is really over heating then good chance the thermostat is bad or the block is clogged up. Fire it up with the radiator cap and watch for coolant movement

 

[tracker1961]

Looks mean nothing the block could well be full of rust and lime and clogged up real bad. If it is really over heating then good chance the thermostat is bad or the block is clogged up. Fire it up with the radiator cap and watch for coolant movement

Ok, but the Radiator fluid was hot and boiled over. The tractor sit on my recreation land and I wont be back up there for awhile. I can do thermostats and a water pump, but pulling the head is above me. So if a blowen head gasket is what is making it hot, then I’ll have to find a repair shop to work on it. The radiator is clean and unclogged from the outside. That’s why I’m asking for help to pin the problem down, either I try fixing it or haul it to a shop.

 

[Roger in Iowa]

Ok, but the Radiator fluid was hot and boiled over. The tractor sit on my recreation land and I wont be back up there for awhile. I can do thermostats and a water pump, but pulling the head is above me. So if a blowen head gasket is what is making it hot, then I’ll have to find a repair shop to work on it. The radiator is clean and unclogged from the outside. That’s why I’m asking for help to pin the problem down, either I try fixing it or haul it to a shop.

Getting hot is not a normal blown head gasket problem.
You get bubbles in a full radiator.
Drain the coolant via the block drain.

 

[tracker1961]

Getting hot is not a normal blown head gasket problem.
You get bubbles in a full radiator.
Drain the coolant via the block drain.

I will look for bubbles in the antifreeze and also pull the plugs, what will the plug look like if coolant is leaking into that cylinder?
I’ll drain the block next time I’m up to the land. If the antifreeze is rusty and it seems to be full of crud, how do I go about flushing the block out?
I can work on and replace the thermostat, water pump, clean the radiator, etc
Thanks for everyone‘s help.

 

[old]

I will look for bubbles in the antifreeze and also pull the plugs, what will the plug look like if coolant is leaking into that cylinder?
I’ll drain the block next time I’m up to the land. If the antifreeze is rusty and it seems to be full of crud, how do I go about flushing the block out?
I can work on and replace the thermostat, water pump, clean the radiator, etc
Thanks for everyone‘s help.

If the plugs sort of look steam cleaned that points to a blown head gasket. As for flushing the block you drain the cooling system while cold then fill with vinegar and run it till warm then drain once cooled and then use a garden hose and a rigged up set up to flush by way of the block drain with the radiator cap off

 

[tracker1961]

If the plugs sort of look steam cleaned that points to a blown head gasket. As for flushing the block you drain the cooling system while cold then fill with vinegar and run it till warm then drain once cooled and then use a garden hose and a rigged up set up to flush by way of the block drain with the radiator cap off

Ok,
Thanks.

 

[Eman85]

When you let it cool down did you check the coolant level?

 

[tracker1961]

Yes, it had boiled over and I lost some fluid out the over flow tube, I’d say I lost a quart. In my thinking, it must be the block plugged, or the radiator plugged, I’ll flush them both and replace the water pump and thermostat. Don’t know what else it could be???

 

[Sean in PA]

Yes, it had boiled over and I lost some fluid out the over flow tube, I’d say I lost a quart. In my thinking, it must be the block plugged, or the radiator plugged, I’ll flush them both and replace the water pump and thermostat. Don’t know what else it could be???

How full are you filling it? You should not fill it to the top of the upper tank where the radiator cap is. You should only fill it to an inch or so above the core tubes. If you fill it to the top it will spit coolant out even when it is not really too hot. There needs to be some air in the top of the radiator as a cushion for expansion so that the coolant can expand without pushing coolant out of the cap or overflow tube unless it truly is overheating.

 

[Btzj02]

In a previous thread people discussed how thermostats fail, usually closed or opened. Early this spring I started having issues with radiator boil over and the engine smelling like it was running hot. While trouble shooting I heated up the engine and shut off the tractor while it was hot. I could not hear it while the tractor was running but once the engine was off I could hear the thermostat "chugging" like it was feathering open and closed and it started puking hot water out of the radiator. I removed the thermostat and the problem cleared up. I recently replaced the thermostat and everything seems good again.

 

[tracker1961]

Thanks for the information

 

[Jeff Hamilton]

Tracker - I had the same thing happen to my 860. I had been mowing a couple hours, then a boil over. I realized that the antifreeze was probably over 10 years old, so I drained it and found it was pretty nasty. I then flushed the cooling system with some stuff I got at tractor supply (I think). Lots of rusty gunk came out. I drained then refilled with water several times til the stuff coming out looked pretty clear. I also bought a new thermostat. I checked it by boiling in a saucepan and found it bad, opened about 20 degrees high (typical for today's parts) . I ordered another and it was OK. Tractor ran cool after the cleanout and new thermostat.

 

[tracker1961]

Thanks for your idea’s. I will try the drain and flushing program,