Coolant

pjoh784350

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BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
157
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Danville
2019 BX23S with 150 hours. I have added coolant twice to the marks on the jug and the jug is empty again. No sign of leaks, no sign of coolant in oil, machine runs great. Coolant is full when opening radiator cap. Is this normal?
 

85Hokie

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BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Jul 13, 2013
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Has your temp gauge ever climbed past about half on the scale?
Check carefully for the leak from the small hose......... does it leak WHEN NOT being used or only when used?
 

Bmyers

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Grand L3560 with LA805 loader, EA 55" Wicked Grapple, SBX72 BB, LP 1272 mower
May 27, 2019
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Not on my tractor, but on my truck we had a radiator cap go bad. We kept adding fluid and never saw anything, but it would leak down. I talked to our mechanics and they put some UV dye in the system. It showed the cap was leaking. I bought a new one and it fixed the issue. Apparently when the truck got up to temp, the fluid was steaming/leaking pass the cap and evaporating.

Not saying that is your issue, that is just what I had happen on my truck.
 
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pjoh784350

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BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
157
68
28
Danville
Has your temp gauge ever climbed past about half on the scale?
Check carefully for the leak from the small hose......... does it leak WHEN NOT being used or only when used?
I can't detect a leak anywhere. It seems to go down very slowly over time. I'm not sure if it goes down while not in use, I typically only check before start ups. I guess I can start looking at it when done?
 

pjoh784350

Active member

Equipment
BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
157
68
28
Danville
Has your temp gauge ever climbed past about half on the scale?
Check carefully for the leak from the small hose......... does it leak WHEN NOT being used or only when used?
Forgot to answer, temp gauge never goes way up. I do not use for mowing, mostly FEL work and "expensive wheelbarrow" duties. Occasional backhoe work.
 

Jhilde

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B2650
Apr 26, 2021
32
30
18
Saskatchewan
There was another thread a while back similar to this where the rad cap was leaking and the intake was sucking up the coolant hiding any sign of the leak.
 

85Hokie

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BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Jul 13, 2013
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Was there a recall on the coolant tank lid? Something about a vent hole not drilled from the factory?
 

hagrid

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K1600GTL, ZX-14R
Jun 11, 2018
804
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Yes there was. If you can blow through the recovery tank cap then you were OK. I told my dealer to keep the new cap.
 

GBJeffOH

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L4060, EA Grapple, 6' LP Brush Hog, 8' snow plow, 6' LP tiller, EA Forks, Spraye
Nov 17, 2014
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Jefferson, Ohio
2019 BX23S with 150 hours. I have added coolant twice to the marks on the jug and the jug is empty again. No sign of leaks, no sign of coolant in oil, machine runs great. Coolant is full when opening radiator cap. Is this normal?
I think it took a while to the air out of my zero turn.
 

lmichael

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Equipment
Kubota G2160
Apr 23, 2021
520
205
43
Rockford IL area
Most modern coolant already has the dye in it. I have tested this and it glows quite nicely without help using a UV light
 
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RalphVa

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Jan 19, 2020
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Charlottesville
Normal for the radiator to be completely full. I only ever remove the cap for coolant change.

My last JD (a 2025R) had a tiny leak like this. I never could find where it was leaking. Just had to makeup every so often into the overflow jug.
 

PNWBXer

Member

Equipment
BX2380
Feb 24, 2020
134
11
18
Washington
Do you smell coolant anytime that run the tractor? I have a 2020 BX2380 that had a loose line that was attached to the block barely leaking under higher RPMS......smelling whiffs of coolant every once in awhile....and the coolant level would slowly go down over months..... quick tightening of the hose clamp fixed the issue.
 

pjoh784350

Active member

Equipment
BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
157
68
28
Danville
Do you smell coolant anytime that run the tractor? I have a 2020 BX2380 that had a loose line that was attached to the block barely leaking under higher RPMS......smelling whiffs of coolant every once in awhile....and the coolant level would slowly go down over months..... quick tightening of the hose clamp fixed the issue.
Never smell coolant. Seems strange that the radiator is always full but tank empties. I've done everything but the UV light trick.
 

lmichael

Active member

Equipment
Kubota G2160
Apr 23, 2021
520
205
43
Rockford IL area
Have you done any kind of leak test? I think I would start there. Get a pressure tester. Also might be wise to get a combustion gas tester to check for a leaky head gasket. But, coolant is sneaky stuff :D you can have a small leak and depending on where, never see or smell it until you get a black light and start looking in the dark
 
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mcfarmall

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Kubota M5660SUHD, Farmall C
Sep 11, 2013
1,377
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Kalamazoo, MI
Have you done any kind of leak test? I think I would start there. Get a pressure tester. Also might be wise to get a combustion gas tester to check for a leaky head gasket. But, coolant is sneaky stuff :D you can have a small leak and depending on where, never see or smell it until you get a black light and start looking in the dark
I was waiting for someone to suggest a pressure test!!
 
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whitetiger

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Kubota tech..BX2370, RCK60, B7100HST, RTV900 w plow, Ford 1100 FWA
Nov 20, 2011
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Kansas City, KS
2019 BX23S with 150 hours. I have added coolant twice to the marks on the jug and the jug is empty again. No sign of leaks, no sign of coolant in oil, machine runs great. Coolant is full when opening radiator cap. Is this normal?
You need to snug up the 4 radiator hose clamps a bit. I go through this with a dozen customers a year. Every once in a while it is the radiator cap, but most commonly it's the clamps that have not been adjusted as per the Maintenance Chart in the Operators manual.
 
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