l-185dt optimal Working temp

Alexisferos · Nov 19, 2013

hello again.
has anyone of you measure the temp that a z750-z751 engine working.
i have repaired mine after a head gasket blown up and i see 210F ~ 100C water temp after a 30min work with a tiller.
plz help me.

North Idaho Wolfman · Nov 19, 2013

Little on the hot side but not out of the range for a good work out.
Is it trying to boil over while running?
Are you running strait water or do you have Anti freeze / Coolant in it?

Alexisferos · Nov 19, 2013

North Idaho Wolfman said:
Little on the hot side but not out of the range for a good work out.
Is it trying to boil over while running?
Are you running strait water or do you have Anti freeze / Coolant in it?

i have 50/50 premixed antifreeze
no i dont think that it was near boiling. the whistle split a litle water out but it was because it was overfill.

so you think that this is good temp? or should i stop working and try to find the problem?

North Idaho Wolfman · Nov 19, 2013

It sound to me like your good!

Run it and just keep an eye on the radiator level.

Alexisferos · Nov 19, 2013

ok i will.. thanks for your help. i will post if enything new..

Alexisferos · Nov 21, 2013

new updates.
the radiator went to a professional shop for cleaning.
i have flash the block with water hose for 40min and a new radiator cap with 50/50 water antifreeze made my old 1501dt to work at maximum with a tiller for an hour at 187F at the head.
the idle temp was about 167F before i turn of the engine.

this forum help me to understand the thermosyphun system which needs a very clean radiator and a new cap for pressure to make the water flow.

thanks..

Alexisferos · Feb 18, 2014

Hello again,
i bring this post to live because im very confused with my kubota.
ok its strong, its bulletproof but it confuses me with that working temp.
here in Greece we have some very hot days now in the middle of February and today i was tilling the ground and i run really hard the small tractor,
the temp was at first 190F and then went 210f and some times i was 230f, the radiator cup is new, the whole system had been cleaned 3 months before, the radiator went to a specialist.

i have 50/50 or 60/40 water / antifreeze the water dident boil and until now i haven't seen my temps so high, i reed over the internet for yanmars that work the same way can reach 245f before the light of overheating.
does my kubota work at this temp.????

plz i need your help and information.

Alexisferos · Feb 19, 2014

does anyone has a solution to my problem?
or my temps are in good way. can anyone with l175 or l185 post the working temps...

gpreuss · Feb 19, 2014

I used my L185DT for 35 years. Its only real workout was mowing with a 5' bush hog. I have a valley on my property where the grass gets really heavy and tall causing the tractor to have to go all the way down to low gear. The radiator would generally start whistling after about an hour of really heavy mowing. Then, it would whistle according to the load. Since I'm hard of hearing lately, it actually stalled 3 or 4 times because of overheating. I'd let it cool a bit, fill it back up, and resume the work.
Never had a serious problem.
How big is your tiller? What PTO speed are you using? Across the board, tractor implements are made to run at 540 rpm. If you are trying to run them at 780 or 1000 rpm, you can be hurting both the tractor and implement.
Made sure the screen in front of the radiator is cleaned and brushed. Periodically blow water through the radiator cooling passages with a garden hose or high pressure washer.
Do keep us informed.

Alexisferos · Feb 19, 2014

The tiller is the original Kubota RS1351 Rototiller,
and i keep my radiator clean inside and outside.
i work it at 1 pto speed and at 1 gear and i try to not overload it, ok maybe some time ive made it.

gpreuss · Feb 20, 2014

My L185 had an actual PTO horsepower of about 13.5. Just driving the tractor used up a couple of those. I use a Howard 40" tiller, and it used to "work" the tractor. I would imagine that the 60" tiller you have is really a bit much for it. I know the 60" bush hog was really too much for my 185.
When the tractor starts to get hot, give it a break. And maybe a cool drink. And have one for yourself.
I finally broke down and bought an L3200DT. All of my power problems went away.

Alexisferos · Feb 20, 2014

gpreuss said:
My L185 had an actual PTO horsepower of about 13.5. Just driving the tractor used up a couple of those. I use a Howard 40" tiller, and it used to "work" the tractor. I would imagine that the 60" tiller you have is really a bit much for it. I know the 60" bush hog was really too much for my 185.
When the tractor starts to get hot, give it a break. And maybe a cool drink. And have one for yourself.
I finally broke down and bought an L3200DT. All of my power problems went away.

Thanks but you aren't help me with your answers, because i understand that you tell me either stop working the tractor with its original tiller or sell it for one bigger.

Russell King · Feb 20, 2014

How are you measuring the temperature? There is nothing on mine to measure the temperature with other than the whistle which only tells you "tractor is hot".

I recall some discussion on here where they were using infrared thermometers to read the block temps. Have you searched for answers? See this thread
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4985&highlight=infrared

I would try to help but I really have no idea how hot my tractor runs. It does not boil over. The only time liquid leaves the whistle is when I fill the radiator to the top and some bubble out the overflow tube.

Alexisferos · Feb 20, 2014

I will start from the end and i agree that mine to leaves water (bubbles) when the radiator is full. (i haven't found the correct spot for the water so i top it when i check it)

when i bought it i change the head gasket and i don't see bubbles in the radiator or oil and water in other places.

the temperature is measured by an analog instrument who is plugged in in a hole that i made in the cylinder head in the water lines. see the pictures.
the second picture shows the adapter that bolts in the hole
- drill 12mm hole and then i made threads for the adapter so no leaking with direct measurements -

i haven't check it if is accurate (i think it is) but this weekend i will test one other instrument and one infrared gun, and what other thermometer i found in house.

skeets · Feb 21, 2014

My friend I do not believe that the temps are to high, if the whistle is not blowing, remember there is no water pump so you may have found a hot spot on the head and since the coolant is not pushed by a pump it moves slowly. I found this on another site and I know you have done most of this but still it may spark something.

1. Clean the radiator by directing a garden hose on the back of the fins (next to the fan). Forcing the trapped material in the fins to be flushed out the front. You might be surprised to see how much you get out.2. Flush the cooling system with some fairly mild flushing solution like Prestone's Radiator flush at less than full concentration for less that half the recommended time. (It's a small system compared to a car). 3. flush the cleaned cooling system for 5 or 10 minutes with the garden hose to make sure that all the acid is flushed out.4. Clean out the radiator protector screen and make sure that the front of the radiator is not blocked by paper or some such. One person had put a huge battery in the front of the tractor and mounted it right against the radiator.5. New 50/50 solution. It wouldn't hurt to use distilled or soft water for the dilution. 6. Remember that a thermosiphon WILL NOT WORK when the radiator is lots lower than the motor....like doing heavy work with the nose downhill....such as building a steep downhill ditch. This is an extreme, but I've seen it happen.

I understand how frustrating it gets,, I wish you luck please post back and let us know what else you find

aquaforce · Feb 22, 2014

I really think you need to do some checking with a infrared thermal gun. The areas better suited for checking temps will be the top of the radiator and the front of the cylinder head where the neck rises up to the radiator.

The location of your temp sensor is right in the corner where the exhaust heats that small spot creating a temp rise which helps the water flow. If your guage is reading the temp from the exhaust, which influences that spot, it may suggest more heat than the engine is running; that is what the temp gun can verify.

I located the sensor on my installation beside the neck that rises up to the radiator but on the side away from the exhaust. So far I have only seen the temp get to 180F. I have not mowed or tilled yet, just pulling and towing.

Is your fan belt tight? The fan on these systems is more critical than any other fan installation. There can be no compromise of air flow for the radiator. Any issue at all with the fan pulling its full rated air flow will impact temps also.

Alexisferos · Feb 23, 2014

aquaforce said:
I really think you need to do some checking with a infrared thermal gun. The areas better suited for checking temps will be the top of the radiator and the front of the cylinder head where the neck rises up to the radiator.

the weather this days was bad so i don't check the temps with infrared.

The location of your temp sensor is right in the corner where the exhaust heats that small spot creating a temp rise which helps the water flow. If your guage is reading the temp from the exhaust, which influences that spot, it may suggest more heat than the engine is running; that is what the temp gun can verify.

the temp sensor is far away from my exhaust. is from the other side as you can see in pictures near the injectors.

I located the sensor on my installation beside the neck that rises up to the radiator but on the side away from the exhaust. So far I have only seen the temp get to 180F. I have not mowed or tilled yet, just pulling and towing.

me to with just cruising around or pull my utility trailer full of woods i see maximum 194F for a moment, normally is around 180F - 185F

Is your fan belt tight? The fan on these systems is more critical than any other fan installation. There can be no compromise of air flow for the radiator. Any issue at all with the fan pulling its full rated air flow will impact temps also.

yes the fan belt and the fan is ok, the fan has also 2 new rollers.

i will keep an eye on that temp sensor. im thinking after i check the temps with a gun to sent one more time the radiator for professional cleaning, maybe its clogged again.

i will post my information when the weather is good again..

aquaforce · Feb 23, 2014

Oh yes I see now. I was thinking your sensor was in the front of the head on the exhaust side but the injector reference helped jog my memory of the head configuration. It looked like that was an exhaust port in the pic but I realize that is the intake port.

That location should show a real temp ok I think. My sensor is in the front of the head, beside the neck where the coolant exits up to the radiator.

Flushing the block water jacket is as important as the radiator flush in these "Z" engines. Sediment can build up in the bottom of the block jackets and cause localized hot spots. Just make sure the block water jacket is clean also.

Alexisferos · Mar 18, 2014

Hello again. new updates much more for information, since nothing change and i Assume that that's the OK temp

I have flush the radiator and the engine, the radiator went to a shop again for cleaning, (it was very clean told me the mechanic there)
so i put it in and i have refiled with 40-60 antifreeze and water.

Run it hard with tilling the ground again and the results was the same, even with an infrared gun.
When i move around or i carry loads with the utility trailer the temp won't go over 90C - 194F in difficult situations like a hill road with 2 Tons of fire wood,
normally it works at 80C-85C (176F)

But when i till the temp goes to 100C (212F) and in hard situations i see 107C (224F) for a moment, but most of the time it plays from 95C to 100C

So i Thing that this are optimal temps for a thermosiphyn (by the way the origins of this word are Greek) system.

now the next step is to change the hoses for the cooling system and flush it one more time.

THANKS guys for the support and info that i have gain from this wonderful community of enthusiastics, an sorry for my English..

North Idaho Wolfman · Mar 18, 2014

Alexisferos said:
sorry for my English..

Why sorry? Your English is better than most of us!

Your temps sound good for what your doing, you can lower the temp a couple of degrees by going 50/50 on the water coolant mix but probably won't even notice.

l-185dt optimal Working temp

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