Kubota R520 cooling problem

[BlackSmith]

Grandfather worked at Letterkenny army depot In maintenance rebuilding diesels. Said they always dumped a quart of atf in the oil a few hundred hours before an oil change. Supposedly cleaned the carbon and sludge out of the block. Used Marvel Mystery Oil in the fuel of everything he owned.

 

[cory]

So talked to a Kubota dealer service guy who has a reputation for being knowledgable, it seems it is the head gasket. One tell is there are bubbles surfacing in the coolant overflow tank when the engine is idling.

Machine still runs perfect on level ground. Btw, same overheating occurs on a downhill as well as uphill.

I've been dealing with this silly problem for months now, getting super annoying to live in fear of the temp gauge, eager for the dealer to sort it out. The service guy says he will do diagostics at his shop before he does the head gasket job, to confirm.

 

[Tree09]

Bubbles in coolant would point pretty hard at the head gasket. That's no fun man, sorry.

 

[Mick!]

Dammit! I was going to say head gasket, but others seemed more knowledgeable.

 

[cory]

 

[Kaveman]

@cory Did you ever get your tractor fixed bud?

 

[cory]

Thx for asking. Yup, brought it to a nearby dealer with a good rep, they replaced the head gasket and some other maintenance items, all good now, although it does seem to be running too cool, the needle never gets off the "C" at the left side of temp gauge, and this despite relatively warm december temps.

 

[Kaveman]

Thx for asking. Yup, brought it to a nearby dealer with a good rep, they replaced the head gasket and some other maintenance items, all good now, although it does seem to be running too cool, the needle never gets off the "C" at the left side of temp gauge, and this despite relatively warm december temps.

Good to hear!

Maybe throw a piece if cardboard in front of the grille, the Alaskans can back the validity of that trick. Less airflow=less cooling.

 

[cory]

Doh I never thought of that but yeah, simplicity is genius and that raddyater gettin cardboard tomarra mornin

 

[Tree09]

They even make nice quilted ones that can snap at various openings so you can adjust as the day goes on.

 

[BlackSmith]

Doesn’t it have a thermostat?

 

[Burnham]

And an accurate, working temp gauge?

 

[cory]

The gauge has always appeared to be good. The thermostat was replaced previously in the course of trouble shooting the over heat problem. I wonder if the correct one was used.

 

[Tree09]

And this is why i do it myself, so i know where i messed up and can then fix that

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Starting to wonder if they even plugged the sensor back in. Needle move at all?

 

[cory]

Yes the needle moves, and today it moved more than usual because the cardboard worked a treat (as Mick and his ilk would say), despite it's sloppy fit, it made a difference.

Thx for the heads up, Kave. I've used cardboard in my chip truck before but it was awhile ago and I forgot that simple trick

 

[Kaveman]

So easy a Kaveman can do it...

Internet forums are often the worst place to ask these kinds of questions.

"My truck started slowly today"

"Bent rod, bad injector, possible leak in water jacket, magna Flux the block, post pics"

Or maybe is was cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra...

K.I.S.S.

Keep
It
Simple
Suckerhead.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Occams razor

 

[Kaveman]

Sometimes that thing needs sharpened too.