H thermostat

[DD in WA]

Am I correct in thinking that the thermostat on my 42 H is stuck open if I start it up cold and can see water circulating in the radiator? I recently replaced the temp gauge and on a hot day pulling a hay rake (light duty I know) the temp gauge never moved out of the cold range. Is it worth the trouble to replace if it's not over heating?

I see steiner and this site sell them for about $36 which seems expensive. Anyone have a NAPA, O'Rielly or Autozone part number?

Thanks

 

[Bob M]

Replace the thermostat - it's either stuck open or (more likely...) is missing completely.

Your engine will thank you. Why? A cold-running running engine quickly accumulates condensation, unburned fuel, combustion acids, etc. in the oil. This in turn causes accelerated wear of engine internals - bearings, cylinder sleeves, rings, etc. It also increases fuel consumption.

So put a crowbar in your wallet and buy the $36 thermostat - it will be money well spent!

 

[rustred]

Or else it dont even have one as lots have been removed.

 

[DD in WA]

(quoted from post at 18:42:01 07/30/23) Replace the thermostat - it's either stuck open or (more likely...) is missing completely.

Your engine will thank you. Why? A cold-running running engine quickly accumulates condensation, unburned fuel, combustion acids, etc. in the oil. This in turn causes accelerated wear of engine internals - bearings, cylinder sleeves, rings, etc. It also increases fuel consumption.

So put a crowbar in your wallet and buy the $36 thermostat - it will be money well spent!

Thanks Bob!

 

[caterpillar guy]

Those old tractors never will get warm with all the extra cooling capacity in them. Our H has never got to the run section on the gauge in the last 50 years. Just flat runs cool. My 806and 856 will only get the needle to move if under heavy load like tillage or maybe working on real hot days. The 1466 will move the needle when chisel plowing or fitting ground. Needle might move slightly on light work like raking hay or putter work like that.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

I'm going to say leave it alone. How long have you owned it? If you've owned it for any length of time and you're just noticing it now... I'm sure it's been that way for decades.

You start messing with things unnecessarily, and you're going to end up opening a can of worms. Stuck bolts, broken bolts, hoses... and all of a sudden you're doing a full nut-n-bolt teardown restoration on the tractor!

 

[thdrduck]

(quoted from post at 12:52:13 07/31/23) I'm going to say leave it alone. How long have you owned it? If you've owned it for any length of time and you're just noticing it now... I'm sure it's been that way for decades.

You start messing with things unnecessarily, and you're going to end up opening a can of worms. Stuck bolts, broken bolts, hoses... and all of a sudden you're doing a full nut-n-bolt teardown restoration on the tractor!

Man you got that right! More often then not a 1/2 hour simple job ends up taking hours if not days on these old things.
The only time the needle moves on my very worn out 40 H is if I am using my 5 foot brush hog. I agree, leave it alone.

 

[FBH44]

My 1950 H never did warm up until I put on a set of shutters. Now she's just fine.

 

[DD in WA]

I've owned it about 7 years. Before that it was my wife's uncle's who bought it new. A few years ago it rebuilt the engine but didn't mess with the thermostat. Now I'm just taking care of the odd leak and
other things before I paint it. I'm sure you're right in that it's been this way for ages. If these things run cool maybe I'll just leave it alone but seeing the water circulating in the radiator makes me
think the thermostat is stuck open or as others mentioned it may be missing.

 

[Janicholson]

I have made a thermostat plate from Stainless steel sheet and used 2 gaskets. the sheet has a 1/4 inch hole in it near the top of the original bypass. This lets it warm up into the run rang in 10 minutes, and does not cause overheating. Running warmer is more efficient, and easier on plugs and carbon builds up. Jim