WD45 Has Weird Radiator Overflow Issue
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Category: Allis Chalmers
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URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=22613
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Topic: WD45 Has Weird Radiator Overflow Issue
Posted By: John_B
Subject: WD45 Has Weird Radiator Overflow Issue
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 4:00pm
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I have a WD45. Been chasing a weird problem since I bought this tractor this summer. The radiator loses antifreeze out the overflow tube but only does it after putting a load on it like after plowing or disking. Won"t do it while brushhogging or othe light work. Has a new 8 PSI cap and new temp gauge from Steiner Tractor. The neck in the radiator looks fine where the cap seats. According to the gauge it doesn"t even run at normal temp until it"s loaded and even then it"s still in the green area and never overheats. Have flushed the cooling system and replaced with 3 1/2 gallons of fresh 60% mix. It had head work done on it before I bought it but this tractor has had a ton of problems so who kno knows if they efven bothered to check the head for flatness etc.. I havn't checked the thermostat, could a missing thermostat cause this? Anyone know of a radiator pressure testor that will work on this tractor? Thanks. |
Replies:
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 4:17pm
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I never had it happen on a 201 or 226 but on a C or B a missing thermostat will cause it to over heat. Strange but true. I assume the radiator fins are clean. Can you tell if the radiator core has been repaired? Maybe too many tubes have been pinched off. I doubt it. Have you checked the timing? ------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Posted By: Gary in da UP
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 4:20pm
| First of all , an 8 psi cap is too much, a 4 lb cap is what you need, if you could see the tanks bulge on some of these old radiators as I do when pressure testing after a repair ,it would suprise you! Yes , you should run a 180 thermostat, anything less won't burn off condensation, you will sludge your engine oil. Every radiator has a sweet spot that it likes as far as coolant level is concerned, so if you keep adding what has puked out the overflow , it will do it again. Keep an eye on your guage and let it seek its own" happy spot". And a 50/50 mix has the best level of protection against freezing vs. heat transfer, should be good to at least 25 below. |
Posted By: LouSWPA
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 4:21pm
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Make sure it has the right thermostat in it and that it's working. I had a NAPA thermostat that the good folks at NAPA double checked and claimed to be correct, but it was not. Got a stock unit and cleared up the problem (very similar to yours) ------------- I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Ps 27 |
Posted By: Lester
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 4:25pm
| Maybe it could be a headgasket issue. |
Posted By: CTuckerNWIL
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 4:38pm
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If you take it out and plow with it and it overflows a little, don't add any coolant, as long as it is above the cores in the rad. The tank doesn't NEED to be full.
------------- http://www.ae-ta.com" rel="nofollow - http://www.ae-ta.com Lena 1935 WC12xxx, Willie 1951 CA6xx Dad bought new, 1954WD45 PS, 1960 D17 NF |
Posted By: Osage_Orange
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 6:11pm
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Does the radiator cap match the radiator? My WD did that.........turned out I was using a cap for a "shallow neck". Radiator shop gave me one for "deep neck" (about 1/8" deeper) and the problem went away. ------------- Why is there never time to do it right the first time, but always time to go back and fix it? |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 7:50pm
| I'd be retorqueing the head bolts with the engine "cold"......you might be surprised how loose they are. |
Posted By: rossinmich
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 7:51pm
| Mine does that too, when plowing or disking, always just thought it to be from having a very full radiator and just slosh over out the overflow tube. Never worried about it, but worth checking it out just to make sure its not more than that. |
Posted By: John_B
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 10:58pm
| Thanks for all the great replies! I've tried both caps-- Steiner sent me the lower pressure one which I later exchanged for the higher pressure part number, but still overflows with either. The AC parts catalog shows both , assuming the lower pressure one is for the WD and the higher pressure one is for the '45. Havn't added any coolant yet thinking that maybe it will eventually stop when it gets low enough but that hasn't happened yet. I'll measure the neck and get a buddy to measure one on his '45 to compare to. The points look like they are pretty worn out--a worn rubbing block can have an advancing effect on timing--I'll put a new set in and retime it and see if that helps. Will also check the thermostat and see about a factory replacement for that. If the simple stuff doesn't work then I guess I'll move on to the head...will post later . |
Posted By: Gerald J.
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2010 at 11:39pm
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One check would be to leave the radiator cap off, and get it hot and see if there is air bubblng out of the radiator top tank water. That would be a sign of combustion gasses getting into the cooling system from a head gasket leak. The top tank is the expansion volume as well as manifold for the radiator's tubes, so you don't need it full. Think about how much water has to expand from when you filled the radiator up to 190F. The top tank needs enough air to accept that expansion and not run the pressure over 4 psi. Takes 14 quarts cold my spies say. Babcock steam generator reference says water expands about 4% from 70 to 212. So 14 quarts becomes 4.6 quarts. So you need to compress the air in the top tank from 15 psi (atmospheric pressure) to a maximum of 19 psi. means a reduction in air volume by 15/19 or to 79% of the original volume. That 21% of the tank volume is the .6 quart water volume increase so you need 2.85 quarts of air space minimum, nearly 3/4 gallon. I think if the air isn't bubbling, you just have the radiator way too full to allow for expansion. Gerald J. |
Posted By: powertech84
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2010 at 6:43am
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Lester wrote:Posted By: Gerald J.
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2010 at 9:51am
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Cavitation on liners is usually a diesel problem,not a gas problem. With either there is a tendency for oil to show in the radiator and antifreeze in the oil. Gerald J. |
Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2010 at 12:19pm
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I agree with let the radiator find it's sweet spot. If it pukes down below the core level, then I'd get concerned. Might not hurt to check the head bolts like the good Dr says too. ------------- "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford |
Posted By: Steve M C/IL
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2010 at 2:31pm
| I just got my 45 back together last week.(full blown rebuild...ouch) It was all but at the bottom of the neck with 3 gal coolant.How'd you get 3 1/2 in yours.I think you are OVERFULL !! |
Posted By: John_B
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2010 at 2:45pm
| must have been a typo...the AC manual says 3 1/8 gallons...that's what I put in-- a little over 12 quarts |
Posted By: Gerald J.
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2010 at 4:10pm
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The first on line reference that I found that listed coolant for a WD-45 said 14 quarts for gas and 17 for diesel. I didn't see a reference that really knew, like an owner's manual. Gerald J. |
Posted By: John_B
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2010 at 4:26pm
| The factory service manual says 3 1/2 gallons for the WD, and 3 1/8 gallons for the WD45. |
Posted By: John In.
Date Posted: 24 Dec 2010 at 2:41pm
| I had the same problem, I put a catch can on so the over flow could be caught, less then a cup was caught in the can after a few months of running the tractor, after that it was ok and never over flowed again. |
Posted By: M Diesel
Date Posted: 24 Dec 2010 at 8:34pm
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I have a couple of '50s crawlers that do that. They push out just 2 or 3 gallons and then settle down just fine. One is unpressurized. When they added pressure they did it by putting a pressure valve in the overflow tube. It was nice and helped but still let the top tank drop a bit low when pointed steep down hill (with a motor nearly 5 foot long). Later models added an overflow tank. Not a problem on a small gas tractor.
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Posted By: mlpankey
Date Posted: 24 Dec 2010 at 8:37pm
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take all the pressure retaining capability out of the cap then it ill be fine unless compression is getting into it. ------------- people if they don't already know it you can't tell them. quote yogi berra |