Where is my water going?

[FlatFenders]

I frequently have to add water/antifreeze to my Ford 600. The radiator and screen are clean and the engine stays cool as long as I keep the radiator full. I don't see any bubbling or signs of a bad head gasket when running with the cap off. The water seems to be flowing normally telling me the water pump is working. I cannot see any leaks anywhere. There is no steam and no sign of water vapor in the exhaust. The engine runs smoothly and has lots of power. I added an overflow tank to it, but not sure if the radiator and cap is capable of dealing with an overflow tank. The overflow tank level never changes so it is obviously not functioning.
I probably should borrow a pressure tester from Autozone next. Is there a cap that will allow it to work with an overflow tank available?

 

[TractorDad3]

How does your engine oil look on the stick

 

[Steve Brussell]

I frequently have to add water/antifreeze to my Ford 600. The radiator and screen are clean and the engine stays cool as long as I keep the radiator full. I don't see any bubbling or signs of a bad head gasket when running with the cap off. The water seems to be flowing normally telling me the water pump is working. I cannot see any leaks anywhere. There is no steam and no sign of water vapor in the exhaust. The engine runs smoothly and has lots of power. I added an overflow tank to it, but not sure if the radiator and cap is capable of dealing with an overflow tank. The overflow tank level never changes so it is obviously not functioning.
I probably should borrow a pressure tester from Autozone next. Is there a cap that will allow it to work with an overflow tank available?

It sounds like the cap is not holding pressure (and I believe it is very low pressure) and the water is boiling away. You may not be seeing the vapor while driving. The system wasn’t designed with a recovery tank. You only have to cover the fins in the radiator. If it runs good and there is no water in the oil, and you can’t see any leaks, I would look at the cap. Pressure test it and let us know what you find.

 

[Jim.ME]

Should be a 4psi cap (part # 1T8100A2). That system was not designed for an overflow recovery system. Cold fill level should be just a bit over the fins, not full to the top of the tank, to allow for expansion of the coolant as it warms.

Pressure test the system and see how long it holds. A small hose leak may show up under pressure that you won't see when the tractor is running.

 

[Eman85]

If you fill the radiator to the top when liquids get hot they expand the expansion will push past the cap and come out the overflow tube. Sounds like the radiator is telling you where it wants to be filled to. You want a coolant recovery system on a tractor that isn't designed for it. An overflow tank is a catch can, a recovery tank system pulls the coolant back in the radiator as it cools. For a coolant recovery to work it needs a tank with a connection at the bottom or a tube from the top to the bottom of the tank to allow it to suction the coolant back in. It also requires a cap designed for recovery. All of that said you have an old tractor with a low pressure coolant system that works just fine as designed. Pressure test the cooling system to the pressure rating of the system, go higher you might make a leak.

 

[FlatFenders]

If you fill the radiator to the top when liquids get hot they expand the expansion will push past the cap and come out the overflow tube. Sounds like the radiator is telling you where it wants to be filled to. You want a coolant recovery system on a tractor that isn't designed for it. An overflow tank is a catch can, a recovery tank system pulls the coolant back in the radiator as it cools. For a coolant recovery to work it needs a tank with a connection at the bottom or a tube from the top to the bottom of the tank to allow it to suction the coolant back in. It also requires a cap designed for recovery. All of that said you have an old tractor with a low pressure coolant system that works just fine as designed. Pressure test the cooling system to the pressure rating of the system, go higher you might make a leak.

If this were true, the overflow tank should have collected some of the overflow. The water loss continues until the temperature gauge says it is overheating.

 

[FlatFenders]

Should be a 4psi cap (part # 1T8100A2). That system was not designed for an overflow recovery system. Cold fill level should be just a bit over the fins, not full to the top of the tank, to allow for expansion of the coolant as it warms.

Pressure test the system and see how long it holds. A small hose leak may show up under pressure that you won't see when the tractor is running.

I know it wasn't designed for this. I added the tank to see if the coolant was getting past the cap and going out the tube.

 

[FlatFenders]

If you fill the radiator to the top when liquids get hot they expand the expansion will push past the cap and come out the overflow tube. Sounds like the radiator is telling you where it wants to be filled to. You want a coolant recovery system on a tractor that isn't designed for it. An overflow tank is a catch can, a recovery tank system pulls the coolant back in the radiator as it cools. For a coolant recovery to work it needs a tank with a connection at the bottom or a tube from the top to the bottom of the tank to allow it to suction the coolant back in. It also requires a cap designed for recovery. All of that said you have an old tractor with a low pressure coolant system that works just fine as designed. Pressure test the cooling system to the pressure rating of the system, go higher you might make a leak.

I understand how a coolant recovery system functions. I added the tank to see if the coolant was getting past the cap and flowing out the tube. It is not. The addition of a coolant recover system was just a question. I know the tractor wasn't designed for it and had been working flawlessly for 70+ years.

 

[FlatFenders]

How does your engine oil look on the stick

The oil is fine. No sign of water/antifreeze.

 

[Jim.ME]

Coolant seeping out the water pump weep hole can be blown and evaporate without being easily seen. if you gab the tip of a fan blade and try rocking it front to rear do you notice any play in the bearing?

You may want to try checking it with a combustion gas tester as well as the system pressure tester.

 

[Sean in PA]

How much coolant are you adding, and after how many hours of running it? Just trying to get a handle on how fast it's leaking out. A slow leak might not be noticeable externally at all.

 

[Eman85]

You asked if your radiator cap was capable of dealing with an overflow tank which made it sound like you didn't understand the difference. Obviously you now made it clear you understand you have a catch tank that nothing is going into so you have a leak somewhere. Pressure test is the first step.

 

[Texasmark]

I frequently have to add water/antifreeze to my Ford 600. The radiator and screen are clean and the engine stays cool as long as I keep the radiator full. I don't see any bubbling or signs of a bad head gasket when running with the cap off. The water seems to be flowing normally telling me the water pump is working. I cannot see any leaks anywhere. There is no steam and no sign of water vapor in the exhaust. The engine runs smoothly and has lots of power. I added an overflow tank to it, but not sure if the radiator and cap is capable of dealing with an overflow tank. The overflow tank level never changes so it is obviously not functioning.
I probably should borrow a pressure tester from Autozone next. Is there a cap that will allow it to work with an overflow tank available?

The radiator cap needs to be a 2 way for that tank to drain when the engine cools down. Don't ask me how to spec a 2 way for your tractor. Most cars/trucks nowadays have them but having the dimensions to fit your radiator would be the question.

When I was a kid I didn't know that the reservoir at the top of the radiator was for water when the engine gets hot....not supposed to be full of water when cold as it will boil out when it gets hot. Learned later in life that when cold if you see water in the tank just above the coil area you are good to go. I used to put a gallon jug between the grille and the radiator with the overflow tube going to the jug and would dump the jug back into the radiator when engine was cold......that was before I learned what I said above......wayyyyyyy later in life.

 

[FlatFenders]

Small pinhole leak in the radiator. Replaced the radiator, water pump, thermostat, and hoses since it is such a pain to take apart. There is a Ford loader on my tractor, and it also has power steering. Without the loader, it would have been much easier to take the sheet metal off. The radiator I bought was said to fit my tractor. Well, it has the same dimensions as the original but no brackets or way to mount it. I chopped up the old one to fabricate mounting brackets. Had to modify the fan shroud due to the position of the bottom water port. Turns out, the bottom water port is in the way of the power steering belt and the front wheel arm on the right side will hit it if the right wheel is higher than the left. Had to cut part of the front arm, the top outside corner, off for clearance. Not a big deal and will have no impact. Next project will be to relocate the power steering pump or add another pulley and a longer belt. Until then, I will have to wrestle with the steering wheel. I would have returned it, if not for the return shipping cost. Should have paid double and bought the replica radiator instead. Would have saved me a lot of time and energy. Thank you all for your input.

 

[Jim L WA]

Small pinhole leak in the radiator. Replaced the radiator, water pump, thermostat, and hoses since it is such a pain to take apart. There is a Ford loader on my tractor, and it also has power steering. Without the loader, it would have been much easier to take the sheet metal off. The radiator I bought was said to fit my tractor. Well, it has the same dimensions as the original but no brackets or way to mount it. I chopped up the old one to fabricate mounting brackets. Had to modify the fan shroud due to the position of the bottom water port. Turns out, the bottom water port is in the way of the power steering belt and the front wheel arm on the right side will hit it if the right wheel is higher than the left. Had to cut part of the front arm, the top outside corner, off for clearance. Not a big deal and will have no impact. Next project will be to relocate the power steering pump or add another pulley and a longer belt. Until then, I will have to wrestle with the steering wheel. I would have returned it, if not for the return shipping cost. Should have paid double and bought the replica radiator instead. Would have saved me a lot of time and energy. Thank you all for your input.

For a small pinhole leak, I would have opted for some radiator stop leak.
I'll probably get some negative comments about that, but that's what I would have done.

 

[DoubleO7]

For a small pinhole leak, I would have opted for some radiator stop leak.
I'll probably get some negative comments about that, but that's what I would have done.

If the tube was an exposed tube vs buried behind more cores, I would have cut the tube at top and bottom and then pulled the cut ends out and soldered the tank holes shut.

 

[Destroked 450]

No way would I have modified the tractor to get the wrong radiator to fit. I would have contacted the supplier and had them issue a RMA to return it

 

[FlatFenders]

Fix a pin hole leak in a possibly 72-year-old radiator? lol... How many times? It would be different if this tractor was easy to work on. With a loader on it, it is not! Had to cut rusted fasteners, drill and re-tap several holes just to get the sheet metal off and back on. Almost sorry I posted here now. For those of you who would put a band aid on a severed limb, good luck to you. While I had it apart, I replaced everything that could bite me in the future as far as the cooling system goes. This tractor is a workhorse, not a restoration. I don't care what it looks like, you can't tell it has a new radiator unless you look at it from the engine side, or if it has "replica parts". It was out of service long enough and dealing with vendors to return items would have been more of a hassle than the effort to make a mounting method for it. The radiator person gave me a $50 refund when I told him/her/it that it was not an exact fit. Total cost for all the parts was under $275, after the refund. Ran it for a couple hours, moved a couple dirt piles and downed tree limbs. Put the tiller on it a busted up the dandelion crop where my sunflowers will grow. The temperature gauge showed it was running a lot cooler than it had been for the last few years. Parked it on the driveway to see if there will be any puddles come morning.