Ford 1900 Overheating

[AmyJoe9]

I was bushhogging for a few hours and the temp started climbing. I always keep an eye out for leaks or steam since it overheated from a clogged screen when I first got it...I didn't know that was a thing you had to watch for...I noticed the lower radiator hose was collapsed. When I stopped I saw that the over flow hose had some dripping out and that seemed to be the only steam happening. The lower hose is soft....so squishy. The upper is old but not as bad. I did some googling and saw that some people put a spring inside the house to keep it open. So I thought my problem was the lower hose was old. I did this. When I drained some coolant out to replace the hose it was brown/rusty colored. I didn't have the coolant to flush the radiator and add new so I poured the old back in, finished the job and brought it in. I know I need new hoses and to flush the radiator...overhaul the cooling system...but I can't find what type of coolant to use and should I use a cleaner in the radiator first or just remove and run water through upside down? Any of suggestions for this task would be appreciated. Trying to avoid spending 500 on a new rad if this will fix the problem. Its a diesel if that matters to the coolant.

 

[RufusMons]

First simple thing to check: Look at the front of the radiator? Debris from tall grass etc. often collects on the front of the radiator when mowing or brush-hogging. That will cause overheating.

 

[AmyJoe9]

I did that first thing...took the screen off and brushed it off. I'm gonna blow out the radiator fins when I take it off. Its not super clogged up though like it was the last time.

 

[RodinNS]

Start with a good cleaning of the rad. You may get away with blowing it out. You may need to pressure wash it. Sometimes a flat
fan nozzle will work good for that at some distance. Just not so close that you bend the fins....
After that I'd drain the coolant and refill with water and add a container of cooling system flush... which is a phosphoric acid
based cleaner. Use as directed in instructions and flush thoroughly. I'd pull the rad hoses to flush it out and just hose the
thing out. I expect you're going to find a large buildup of sludge in the system.
Refill with diesel rated antifreeze.
Beyond that, check the belt tension. The lower rad hose may be bad and collapsing internally but that wouldn't be my first go
to... but if the hose is old and soft replacing it sure won't hurt. Watch for leaks at the water pump. Make sure the crankcase
vent isn't plugged... and see where that gets you.
While you have the lower rad hose off run a garden hose in the top and see how fast the water flows through. If it can't flow a
garden hose without backing up, after flushing it... you'll need to take it and have it rodded out... but I find those cleaners
are pretty good IF you can get some flow through it at all.

Rod

 

[AmyJoe9]

Thank you very much. That was exactly what I needed. I took the rad off and used the garden hose. Soaked it and let it set for a bit. the stuff in the fins was really hard and dry. Once it soaked it blew out pretty easy with the garden hose sprayer. I was afraid of bending the fins with the pressure washer. I took some time on it and you can see light through every bit of it now. I turned it upside down and ran water through til it was clear. I'm taking the old hoses into tractor supply to try and match them and look for a thermostat. I'll order them online if I can't find them. Once I get the rad back on I'll do the flush and check everything else. The radiator was way more clogged up than I could see with it on.