3010 Overheating?

[sfcsanderson]

I have a 1963 3010 gas and it has been a very solid tractor. The temp gauge didn't move much since I have had it but it moves so I assumed it was running cool because I never ran it for very long. I was pulling a ten wheel rake the other night for a couple hours which was the first time I ran it long. I started to smell antifreeze and looked at the gauge and it was at the 12:00 position, well in the normal range but it got my attention. When I shut it down it sprayed antifreeze. When it cooled I took the radiator cap off and the gasket worn torn and the cap was cracked. Top off the coolant and got a new cap. Now I'm pulling my baler and the gauge seemed to top out at the 12 again without running very long. Took the t-stat out, cleaned the housing, drained coolant, put in new stat and gasket, topped off coolant. Ran it for at PTO for about 20 minutes tonight and the gauge seemed to peg at the 12 again so I backed it off and ran it at idle for another 10 and it actually moved a little higher. I was considering the worst, head problems, but show no signs of a breach. Had the hood off so I could monitor and listen. Ran good and didn;t seem overly hot. Only lost coolant when it first got hot because I had topped it off. The old t-stat opened when I boiled it in a pot of water but didn't seem to quite close all the way, it stayed open just a crack. Am I chasing a ghost here? I put it back together and it seems to be running normally except for that the temp gauge now moves and seems to stay in the middle of the normal range. Should there be movement when the stat opens? Lot's of questions, anyone wwant to take a shot at this one? Thanks

 

[sfcsanderson]

P.S. Is it possible for a temp gauge to work but peg out in the wrong position? Is it possible the gauge just started working again? Or is it the guy that owns my tractor is overthinking this?

 

[Anonymous-0]

Try borrowing a laser thermo gun and measure the temperature on the radiator. That will tell you if your guage is accurate. Had same problem with my 2510 gas. Changed thermostat, but it did not change anything. I am now changing the water pump as it does not look like the pump is circulating water throught the radiator.

 

[sfcsanderson]

Thanks, got an IR thermo gun at Menards for 30 bucks and it works fine for coolant and block temps. So I talked to a couple people who said the same as you and I was prepared to replace it but wanted to make sure. Ran at PTO speed for about 5 minutes with the radiator cap off, looking for coolant movement or not. After about 5 coolant blew out the cap like a geyser. Shut it down and topped off, lost 3 qts. Capped it and ran down the road in 7th gear and going uphill I started losing power. Turned around and I was dogging in every gear, even downhill. It was spraying out the overflow, I limped it home and called a friend. He thinks I have a breech and it's building pressure in my cooling system. I may have seen a drop of oil floating in my radiator earlier. Lastly I checked the oil for foam and I am over a quart low. Any opinions on this? Thanks

 

[sfcsanderson]

P.S. My external block temp was just under 200 and only a couple degrees difference side-to-side. Upper hose in the 180s. Didn't seem excessively hot.

 

[Curtis Wells]

Have you noticed any anti-freeze or water in the oil when you check it. Water will make the oil look milky. A cracked head or bad head gasket can cause this problem. (I had a cracked head in a V-6 car motor once and it ran about 250 degrees without a thermostat. Water end up in the pan and carbon, soot like material in the radiator water) I have not experienced the loss of power on my 2510 like you describe nor did my radiator overflow like yours with the cap on. I am waiting on delivery of my water ppump.

 

[Curtis Wells]

I believe there is a device to attach to the radiator neck to test if exhaust gas is leaking into your radiator.

 

[Curtis Wells]

What did you figure out was the problem? I am getting ready to put on water pump and have radiator boilded out.

 

[sfcsanderson]

Well, this has been one tumultuous ride. A few times I thought I had her licked and something else would come back to bite me. When I was finally convinced it was the head I ordered the complete service manual. Then I when to do a compression test and two of my spark plugs came out by hand which would simulate an intake leak. I put in four new plugs and wah-lah, she purred. A couple days later I had the cross members off my loader to weld them. Started the tractor up to raise the front end to get them back on. I looked at the temp gauge and it was hotter than ever. Just then coolant started puring out the overflow and it was cold. Building big time pressure in cooling system, I cleaned my garage yesterday to make room. I am starting today. Good luck to you and thanks for checking.

 

[sfcsanderson]

Thanks for all concerned. After eliminating all else I removed the head and had it pressure tested. It was cracked in two places. She is back together and running again.