9741 Running hot or not?

I had a 9741 forterra with 415 hours on it delivered yesterday. I was super excited until I mowed with it for about 15 minutes and the temp gauge started into the yellow and I found there was very little coolant in the radiator. The reservior bottle had a leak, which I patched. I flushed the cooling system and refilled it. When I have a 15 foot mower on it running at about 2000 rpm the temp gauge needle is staying in the green, but pretty close to the yellow.

I don't know where these engines run normally. My old Zetor ran fairly cool. I am afraid the engine may be damaged and causing it to run hot/warm. I need to get some feedback from people who aren't trying to sell me a tractor. I need to figure out whether to have the dealer come get this tractor or keep it.

I would really appreciate any input you folks can give me. I have used this forum in the past and found it to be extremely useful.

Hi

The Forterras tend to run hotter than the older models used to. They have used a different thermostat which opens a few degrees higher to comply with the Tier 3 emission regulations. Has yours got the viscous fan fitted, as they can be drilled and bolted up solid to get better cooling. If you change the thermostat for one from a UR1 (7211) range this will help.
As you have drained the water, did you get the system full when you re-filled it ? They often air-lock without you realizing it. The easiest way to get the water in, is take the thermostat out and cut the little bleed nipple off, then put it together and you'll have no problem re-filling.

Good luck

Mike

To follow on from Mikes post. we always drilled a 1.5 mm hole through the flat part near the edge, and with models with the thermostat mounted horizontally, like the 6911, put the new hole at the top.

Hi Mike and Dave and everyone else,

Well, I have been trying to find the problem. Here is what I have found so far..

You guys are dead on that this model runs hotter than those of the past. But...

The fan doesn't seem to have a clutch and won't move when the engine is off.

I made sure the reservoir was full and did make sure there were no air pockets. It idled with a constant temp and when under a load everything seems fine for about 15-20 minutes... Then the temp gauge is back in the yellow, the cap popped off the reservoir, spewed and low on coolant again... So I called the dealer again. We figured out the cap was wrong, so I drove out and picked up the correct one.

Filled again, new cap on. Everything looked very promising for about 10 minutes. The temp gauge was 10 degrees celcius cooler. After about 15 minutes the gauge started creeping up close to the yellow, so I called it quits. When I got back to the house the water was close to boiling. After it cooled, I checked the reservoir and found it had lost about 1/2 the water in the resrvoir.

I also noticed there is an oil leak on the back of the motor that has lost enough oit to have created trails on both sides and back of the motor down past the floor of the cab and a small puddle on the sheet metal. The oil looks to be coming from either the valve cover or between the head and block.

All of this and the tractor now has 416 hours on it... 2007 model. I guess I see why the low hours if you can only use it 20 minutes at a time!

I really appreciate your help.

Thanks!
Jim

Hi Jim

Don't lose heart with the old girl, they are a good sound tractor. The water level normally runs about halfway up the plastic bottle and will always push some out until it finds it's level.
The oil leak is almost certainly the rocker cover gasket - they can be a bit troublesome but not the end of the world !
Change the thermostat for the older type (Part No. 7001 1316) and it will be better. Don't forget to cut the little bleed nipple off.

Stick with it.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the encouragement.

I got a new thermostat (the one spec'd for the tractor) today and put it in. THe tractor ran for about 30 minutes before it started getting close to the needle going into the yellow. I am running a 15 foot brush hog in pretty think grass.

Shortly after I quit mowing the temperature started coming back down.

This time when I got it back to the house, I noticed a faint hissing from the reservoir where the bolt goes through it. The dealer has one ordered for me to replace mine.

Can this fairly small leak in pressure cause the overheating problem?

I will get the thermostat you have recomended. I will also tighten the cover to see if it helps the oil leak.

Thanks again,
Jim

Hi Jim,

The small water leak probably isn't going to stop the overheating problem. Unfortunately tightening the r/cover down probably will not cure the problem either as the gaskets usually split and squeeze out. When you fit the new gasket use gasket sealant on both faces .

Mike

Hey Mike,

You have been dead on correct

I'm kinda embarrassed to tell you what I found... The radiator was 80% plugged with mud, so I blew it out and that cooled everything down... Until... I noticed the tractor having to work harder than I thought it should just to move and causing the motor to heat up. I was going to road it about 5 miles to fill it with diesel. I stopped the tractor and started looking for a brake stuck. I put my hand on the rear axle where the brake is and promptly burned it. I found the right rear brake was dragging and eventually locked up... I bled it a bit and backed it off a turn and it seems to be working fine again.

Should I bleed the brakes completely? Replace the master cylinder on the axle? Should I replace the pads (they got pretty hot)? I appreciate your advice.

My only defense on the radiator is that the dealer told me they went through the tractor front to back. I also used epoxy to fix the reservoir until the new one comes in..

Thanks for the help,
Jim -

Hi Jim,

You shouldn't need to bleed it as the problem is one of a few things. It could be the dealer has adjusted the brake too tightly, which will cause it to heat up and eventually bind. (Should be backed off 1.25 turns from when the wheel locks). Check the pins on the linkage near the slave cylinder and the handbrake cable for sticking. Make sure the slave cylinder isn't rusty inside. I'd plump for the first one !!
The discs run in oil so unless you get any more problems you shouldn't need to replace them.

Mike

Mike,

You are right again. I changed the slave on the brake that was sticking and that fixed it. The old one was pretty rusty inside.

Since I got the radiator cleaned out like it should, the tractor runs where I would expect it to.

I really really appreciate your help and encouragement over the past week. You obviosly know these tractors. You may not remember, but you helped me trace out a problem I had with my 4340 not getting power to the dash about a year ago. I traded the 4340 in on this 9741. I bought the 4340 new and I got way stressed out when the 9741 was giving me problems.

Thanks again,
Jim