L555 antifreeze leak

I tried the search feature on this forum but it brings back everything but what I'm looking for so here's my problem...... I have owned my L555 for about 5 yrs now. It always spits antifreeze out tills it's level with the tubes then doesn't leak any more and runs fine. I never run it all day maybe just a couple hrs at a time. So, I was going over the machine and found that the upper radiator hose had a soft spot. When I took it off I was surprised to find that someone has removed the thermostat. New thermostat and hose are on their way. Do you guys have any experience or insight to what might be going on? Why it spits to that same level every time? Why would they have pulled the t-stat? Thanks!

Sounds like a leaky head gasket and they thought no thermostat would keep it from overheating. Any trace of oil in the radiator?

jerry said:

Sounds like a leaky head gasket and they thought no thermostat would keep it from overheating. Any trace of oil in the radiator?

Click to expand...

No, I'm sorry I forgot to include that info. That's what had me stumped. Oil is clean and antifreeze is clean. The outside of the radiator is gunky but has plenty of air flow. Maybe the upper fins are blocked. This is one of those "fleet" machines that had an all encompassing billy bob spray paint job to match the rest of the equipment. They painted EVERYTHING. Every nook and cranny!

cole0324 said:

No, I'm sorry I forgot to include that info. That's what had me stumped. Oil is clean and antifreeze is clean. The outside of the radiator is gunky but has plenty of air flow. Maybe the upper fins are blocked. This is one of those "fleet" machines that had an all encompassing billy bob spray paint job to match the rest of the equipment. They painted EVERYTHING. Every nook and cranny!

Click to expand...

When you say it its spitting the coolant out, doesn't it have a overflow bottle? If it is coming out the front of the engine probably coming from the water pump weep hole. Put in a thermostat and fill it up and see where it comes out. Take the cap off and run it to see if bubbles come up in the rad. Bubbles would be head gasket leak.

jerry said:

When you say it its spitting the coolant out, doesn't it have a overflow bottle? If it is coming out the front of the engine probably coming from the water pump weep hole. Put in a thermostat and fill it up and see where it comes out. Take the cap off and run it to see if bubbles come up in the rad. Bubbles would be head gasket leak.

Click to expand...

No, there is no overflow bottle. Just a hose that runs down the side of the radiator. I will check into finding one. T-stat should be here soon. I will try it with that and see what happens. Thanks Jerry!