L565 overheating

[PaulWI]

I got another question for the experts. My skidsteer slowly gets hotter and hotter while moving dirt. I have not let it get above 212 yet because I do not want to wreck anything. I took out the thermostat and it does the same thing with it in or removed, but I dont know if that means anything. I had taken out the radiator a few weeks ago and I cleaned it out with hot water and a brush and compressed air. (my pressure washer does not work right know). It also seemed to me like there was good flow through the radiator, if you filled it all the way up with water and let your hand off of the bottom outlet the water would all gush out in about 3 or 4 seconds. If you take off the radiator cap while the skidsteer is running you can see the coolant slowly move through the radiator but very slowly. How do I know if I have a bad water pump? Is it possible that I have air in the cooling system somewhere that is not allowing circulation, and if so how do I get the air out? I just noticed last night my bottom radiator hose was leaking a little bit so I am going to go by a new one and a new thermostat on Monday. Paul

 

[skidsteer.ca]

The only way I have seen a water pump go bad is the seal starts leaking. You rad may have plugged tubes on the inside.
Or a film of grease on the outside. Oven cleaner is a great degreaser, even cuts diesel soot, spray the rad and hose off, don't get it on the paint if you like your paint job though.
When its hot, how long to get to cool down? Does it have a fan shroud and is the fan belt tight and not slipping at working rpm. Can you get a infered temp gun from someone and check the rad and engine temp to be sure your in cab guage is correct. If the engine and the rad are both hot then you have a problem with air flow or a plugged rad (internally)
If the engine is hot and the rad isn't , then you have circulation problem, which usually means thermostat, but you have pulled that out.
Start there.
Ken

 

[Chip S]

Throw the t-stat in hot water and watch to see if it opens, or simply replace it. They are cheap, and a diesel needs it for the cooling system to operate properly. Dumb question, but are you running a 50/50 mix for coolant? If you're just running water, the engine'll run hotter than a pistol. Also, be sure to clean the oil cooler. Do the hyd show a commensurate rise in temp? Are you sure the temp sending unit is good?

 

[PaulWI]

Throw the t-stat in hot water and watch to see if it opens, or simply replace it. They are cheap, and a diesel needs it for the cooling system to operate properly. Dumb question, but are you running a 50/50 mix for coolant? If you're just running water, the engine'll run hotter than a pistol. Also, be sure to clean the oil cooler. Do the hyd show a commensurate rise in temp? Are you sure the temp sending unit is good?

I will buy some oven cleaner and degrease the radiator. When it is hot It will cool down about 3-4 degrees per minute all the way down to about 175. It does have a fan shroud and the belt appears to be tight the fan looks like it is spinning at the right speed as far as I can tell, and is moving a lot off air. I do have an infered heat gun and like you said the radiator is also getting hot. I did not shoot the radiator when it was at 212 in the cab but when the guage in the cab said about 200 the radiator was just under 200 at its hottest spot. If there are plugged cores inside the radiator how can I clean them out? Thanks,Paul

 

[PaulWI]

I will buy some oven cleaner and degrease the radiator. When it is hot It will cool down about 3-4 degrees per minute all the way down to about 175. It does have a fan shroud and the belt appears to be tight the fan looks like it is spinning at the right speed as far as I can tell, and is moving a lot off air. I do have an infered heat gun and like you said the radiator is also getting hot. I did not shoot the radiator when it was at 212 in the cab but when the guage in the cab said about 200 the radiator was just under 200 at its hottest spot. If there are plugged cores inside the radiator how can I clean them out? Thanks,Paul

When I replaced the coolant I did run a 50/50 mix but I may not have got all the old coolant out good enough. I checked the coolant with one of them temp guages that show how cold your coolant is good for and only 3 out of 5 balls floated. Now that I have the thermostat out I should be able to run some water with a garden hose through the hole coolant system and flush in out real good I am told. Paul

 

[Chip S]

I will buy some oven cleaner and degrease the radiator. When it is hot It will cool down about 3-4 degrees per minute all the way down to about 175. It does have a fan shroud and the belt appears to be tight the fan looks like it is spinning at the right speed as far as I can tell, and is moving a lot off air. I do have an infered heat gun and like you said the radiator is also getting hot. I did not shoot the radiator when it was at 212 in the cab but when the guage in the cab said about 200 the radiator was just under 200 at its hottest spot. If there are plugged cores inside the radiator how can I clean them out? Thanks,Paul

Rodding out the radiator core is a rad shop job, as you have to remove the top and bottom tanks to do it. They can flow test it for you first to see if it really needs rodding out.

 

[irwin]

Rodding out the radiator core is a rad shop job, as you have to remove the top and bottom tanks to do it. They can flow test it for you first to see if it really needs rodding out.

I work in auto repair.. I've seen a few waterpump vanes fail. It's possible especially if you've checked the flow at the radiator and water moves easily through it. How long have you owned this machine, and how did it act last summer?
Of course the other possiblity is a head gskt failure..Do you lose coolant at a greater rate than before?

 

[xtreem3d]

I work in auto repair.. I've seen a few waterpump vanes fail. It's possible especially if you've checked the flow at the radiator and water moves easily through it. How long have you owned this machine, and how did it act last summer?
Of course the other possiblity is a head gskt failure..Do you lose coolant at a greater rate than before?

total long shot but this happened to me a few years ago and took forever to figure out the overheating ...did you or anyone else mistakenly put gas in the machine instead of diesel,
steve

 

[xtreem3d]

total long shot but this happened to me a few years ago and took forever to figure out the overheating ...did you or anyone else mistakenly put gas in the machine instead of diesel,
steve

ps...i may have missed this in a post but are you judging the temp by the guage only? in other words is it really getting hot? sorry if i missed this,
steve

 

[skidsteer.ca]

ps...i may have missed this in a post but are you judging the temp by the guage only? in other words is it really getting hot? sorry if i missed this,
steve

Did you check the top rad tank versus the bottom rad tank temps? This tells youy how efficent your rad really is. The top will always be near engine temp, bottom should hopefully be 20-30 degrees cooler.
If you remove the rad, block the bottom hose and fill it with water, remove the plug on the bottom and the water should gush right out. If it comes slow that is a indication that the tubes in the rad are plugged and it needs rodded out. Dirty on the inside won't let it transfer heat either. The good new is these are a “common” type rad, not something one off lif bobcat, and any rad shop should be able to rod it out or re core it.
ken

 

[Earthwerks Unlimited]

Did you check the top rad tank versus the bottom rad tank temps? This tells youy how efficent your rad really is. The top will always be near engine temp, bottom should hopefully be 20-30 degrees cooler.
If you remove the rad, block the bottom hose and fill it with water, remove the plug on the bottom and the water should gush right out. If it comes slow that is a indication that the tubes in the rad are plugged and it needs rodded out. Dirty on the inside won't let it transfer heat either. The good new is these are a “common” type rad, not something one off lif bobcat, and any rad shop should be able to rod it out or re core it.
ken

My 555 was overheating too. I had it recored ($550) and had them add another layer of tubes for added cooling.
Check or replace the radiator cap too. And you need to verify if in fact the temp gage is accurate. A radiator

 

[PaulWI]

My 555 was overheating too. I had it recored ($550) and had them add another layer of tubes for added cooling.
Check or replace the radiator cap too. And you need to verify if in fact the temp gage is accurate. A radiator

I got the radiator rodded out and put in the new thermostat and it does not overheat anymore. Thanks for the help. Paul