Ford 575D Overheating

I'm dragging trees & pulling stumps with the backhoe.

If I run the 575D with the engine side covers on, I get about 3 hrs out of the machine b4 temp gage shows red.

If I run it without the engine side covers, I get about 5 hrs out of the machine b4 gage goes red.

It never stalls out, but boils over when I shut it off if I let the gage go red.

When I did maintenence on the machine after I first bought it, I had to remove the HYD pump & Res in front of the radiator. At that time I powerwashed the fins clear in the RAD, and flushed the entire cooling system from the bottom of the block up.

It has fresh 50% orange coolant 50% water...

I also replaced thermostat & gasket.

Coolant does not leak, does not boil over if I don't let gage go red.

I need to get 8-10 hrs straight out of this machine on the weekends. What do I need to look for?

B4 I bougth it, I talked to the previous owner as I purchased it from a dealer (It was an end of year trade in)

The previous owner said there was a coolant leak, radiator was leaking. He said he put in stuff to seal the leak, but it did not help.

Well, I noticed that when I got it, thermostat was not oppening, so watter boiled out of the head and forced it's way past the cap while running (I think this was his "leak")

Could the sealer stuff he put in there have damaged the coolong system at all? Could he have filled in some of the RAD cores with that stuff?

Would a faulty water pump cause this? There are no leaks at all when it does not boil over, I'm not losing coolant...

It's also possible your rad needs to be "rodded". This is where the rad top (and/or bottom) comes off and thin steel rods are inserted into the cooling passages. All the crud, rust and mineral deposits are removed in this manner. Can you see into the rad and verify if the passages are clogged up? A standard "flush" will not remove these deposits, although there are some acid treatments that will dissolve them (but if not used properly the acid will dissolve other things too!)

Also try and verify that the pump is flowing enough coolant, can you see coolant circulating through the rad? Sometimes you can't and it's still ok, but in many cases you can see it circulating. Also squeeze the upper and lower hoses and see if you can feel it circulating (after it's hot). When you add water to your 50/50 mixture, make sure you use distilled water. Tap water contains CaCO3 and other minerals that can "plate out" onto the inner cooling passages, greatly reducing cooling flow/efficiency.

I'm not sure if overly advanced engine ignition/fuel timing and/or if the fuel/air ratio is too lean would make it run hot, but might be something to look at if the cooling system seems ok. And if you get into the red, I would try and anticipate an impending "redline" and halt the machine at idle before getting there. Don't turn it off, just let it sit and idle (preferably in the shade) and allow the machine to cool down by circulating coolant and blowing air through its radiator. If you just hard shut down the motor as soon as it redlines, the temperature of the motor will continue to increase even after shutting down because of heatsoak. This can even lead to cracked heads and/or blown head gaskets. As long as the coolant system still has coolant and is operating properly, just let it idle (without working the machine) for a good while in the shade until the temp comes back down. I always let my crawler run for a few minutes after working it to let it cool off a bit and thermally equilibriate before shutting it down.

Lastly, try and back off on the average throttle setting on the hottest days. On the worst days, I keep an eye on my temp gage and if it starts going much above the the accepted "normal" temps, then I just throttle back a bit and work at a somewhat slower pace. I've found this is a good way to lower the temps and still keep on working (albeit a little slower than usual). Also try and coordinate your work so the heaviest stuff can be done on cooler days and choose to do the lighter stuff on the hotter days (if you have that luxury). This is good not only for machines, but people too.

Good luck, and lets see some pics of your jobsite!

Thx for the advice seann.

I wish I would have put in a new RAD when I had the whole front end apart. However, I did not see the n33d to spend the $400 at that time, as I found no leaks...

I thinks it's half plugged with sealer, local Ford mechnic agrees after I discssed my problem with him.

• Pond Clearing Pictures

As far as the radiator, yeah I suppose it could be plugged up with leak sealer. But if it sprung a leak in the 1st place, the rad is likely to be fairly corroded inside, probably from the previous owner just using unchanged tap water in the cooling system. If you know you're going to replace the radiator anyway, then as a last ditch effort you could try this before removing it:

1. Disconnect the hoses from the motor and drain the radiator.

2. Seal its lower and upper hose inlet/outlet and refill with a dilute acid/water solution (you can get muriatic acid at Lowes etc for about $5 gal). Hard to say what the dilution rate should be, because it depends on how crudded up the radiator is and how long you leave it in. But I would go with a 5:1 ratio for starters (maybe 4:1 if you're feeling adventurous). Obviously use eye protection and take the proper precautions working with the muriatic, it's nasty stuff.

3. After filling the rad with the dilute acid solution, then let it set. Again hard to say how long, but I would guesstimate at least a few hours and perhaps overnight. It might even take longer, really hard to guess without knowing more. It's kind of dicey guessing the soak time and dilution rate because it depends on the internal condition of the core (which you may not be able to see). And you don't want to leave it in too long because the acid will eat the bare metal too once it removes the rust and scale. Plus the metal in the rad is probably fairly thin already because the existing leak(s) suggests it has corroded extensively. So you have to be judicious with soak times and acid strength. It is possible that after the acid works a while the radiator will spring a zillion leaks because it is so weakened with internal corrosion and the resultant pinholes (currently sealed with the no leak).

4. Once the acid has done its magic, drain the radiator. Before doing so see if the former leaks have re-emerged and mark their location before draining. If you identify any and can get to them, try to seal them by soldering them shut (propane torch+flux+solder).

5. Then reconnect the radiator to the motor and refill with fresh 50/50 AF/Distilled H2O. Run to temp and pressurize. If any leaks are present try using the powdered alumimum/copper radiator no-leak sealants. As far as I know these do not clog cooling passages and also are highly heat conductive, so it should not create overheating problems.

With any luck that will restore the radiator's ability to dissipate heat and also keep the leaks at bay. And if not, then you're not that far behind the curve since you were going to replace it anyway.

good luck