WD-9 Radiator Mounting Pads

I am working on mounting my radiator on my WD-9. I constructed 1.5” OD X 0.25” thick rubber mounting pads to go between the bottom of the radiator and chassis. When I get everything mounted and back together, the radiator appears to be sitting too high based on the alignment of the upper radiator hose. The main issue is that the lower fan blade hits the fan shroud. Does anyone have any experience with this? If so, what have you done to work through the issue? If I removed the rubber mounts and go directly metal-to-metal, which is not ideal for a radiator mounting setup, I believe I would have clearance.

Below is the page out of the parts book showing this joint.

I think the pads are more like 3/16" maximum thickness. Anyhow, you need the slight pading, do not mount the radiator metal to metal as it will cause problems in the long run. You should be able to make your hose flex enough to hook up at any rate.

Harold H

The hoses are not an issue. I am able to get them connected with the ¼” rubber pads. It’s the fan blade to shroud clearance this is the issue. Does anyone else have a WD-9 that they could measure their clearance on both top and bottom? Also, is there a torque spec for the nut? I was not able to find one in the service manual.

IIRC they are 1/2" bolts. A half inch bolt gets 78 ft lb. There are "standard torque" numbers on the internet that I use for stuff that doesn't have a torque in the manual.

That was acastellate nut with a cotter key when assembled aat the factory. That is bcause you are putting a nut on a STUD that was screwed into the radiator. So easy does it or you will strip the stud to radiator threads. I lie to use a flange nut.

(quoted from post at 11:17:58 07/18/12) That was acastellate nut with a cotter key when assembled aat the factory. That is bcause you are putting a nut on a STUD that was screwed into the radiator. So easy does it or you will strip the stud to radiator threads. I lie to use a flange nut.

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Isn't a giant casting? Don't forget 9 radiators are not the same as letter series. Granted 74 ft lbs is a lot of umph.

I am not sure if I am going to help, but I'll give this a shot....

1. I looked in my parts books as well because all of the parts in your diagram seemed strange to me. Just to make it confusing there are a few different revisions of the parts manual so that doesn't make things easy--I did find the one you are using. I am going by memory here, but all I have ever seen on my WD-9's (later production ones) is the rubber insulator between the radiator and the cast frame--no other shims or washers. So I am assuming that yours is the same radiator set up as mine with the cast iron tanks and sides. Again from memory, the rubber washer should be approximately 1/4 inch thick.

2. This is a guess about your problem and maybe you have checked it. The tractor frame holes for the radiator are slotted (going by memory again) and I think I may have had a problem where the upper radiator hose and fan shroud clearance were not right if the radiator was too close to the engine. I may have moved the bottom of the radiator away from the engine slightly. If the bottom of the radiator is too close to the engine, then your radiator may be at a slight angle forwards, causing the bottom of the shroud to be elevated and the top hose connection to be misaligned slightly. Some final adjustments are usually required once the grille and support rod are installed You have probably double/triple checked it already, but thought I should mention it.

Just guessing--I will take a look at one in my shop tomorrow and check the fan/shroud clearance as well.

Oops--forgot to comment on the torque value for the nuts. I just snug them up since it is a rubber insulated set up. In my opinion, tightening the nuts too much defeats the vibration insulator purpose somewhat. I assume that the castelated nut/cotter pin is there for the purpose of providing some room to move from heating/cooling/vibration and still keep the nut from falling off.

On a side note, my Super WD-9 parts manual shows a regular nut, lock washer, flat washer, and no rubber insulator. The radiator is the same on the WD-9 & Super WD-9. I will do a little comparison on my tractors to see if there actaully are any differences. The parts manuals are not always accurate either.

Checked mine when I did chores this morning. They are 1/2" bolts/studs (I have a mixture...not correct) The frame has 1" long oblong holes so you should have a half inch of play fore and aft.

steiner has pads for both gas tanks and radiators for a couple dollars each that i think would work for you and I would guess OEM would also have them

I just took at look at the shroud/fan clearance on a WD-9. Top=1/2 inch, Bottom=1/4 inch, Left side=1/2 inch, Right side=1/4 inch. Obviously not perfectly centered, but enough clearance that there aren't any problems.

The pads under the radiator look like they were cut from truck mud flap and they were approximately 3/16 inch thick. I likely made those about 15 years ago when I had the tractor torn down for repairs. I am a little fussier now--I would probably try to find the correct rubber insulator.

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I had tried to tip the radiator to provide clearance, but have not had success. I was on vacation last week so I have not had a chance to do anything with it yet, but I did order the rubber mounts from Steiner and they have now arrived. I will try them first as they may have a lower durometer (softer) rubber than the ones that I made.

I did also note that the parts book listed a castlellatted nut, but mine did not have them on there nor was the stud cross drilled for a cotter pin. I can also confirm that my have double threaded studs that can be removed from the radiator.

Red Mercury, I know this is the not the easier thing to see, but can you tell if the radiator inlet and thermostat neck are level with one another? As you can see in the picture below, my radiator sits a touch higher (~1/4") which is the thickness of my mount.