Kubota L2350F thermostat

[John Ha]

Long ago I bought a thermostat and gasket from Amazon for my 1997 L2350F in anticipation of changing the coolant. Today I finally got around to doing that and found that the thermostat I bought is rated at 71°C (about 160°F) while the original one that was still in there is 82°C (about 180°F).

I'm guessing it won't hurt anything to use the new one, although the old one seems to be just fine.

Any thoughts ... opinions ... suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Hello John,

it is not the end of the world running the engine for a few hours like this. But personally I do not think it is a good idea to run an engine for longer periods at a much lower temperature than the designers intended. If the old one is still working I would leave that in and try to get one with the correct temperature.

 

[Flintknapper]

That is what I run in mine. I live in a hot climate so it works fine for me.

And having a T-Stat rated at 160° F only means that is opens at that temperature, it does NOT necessarily mean your engine will run at 160° F.

When I am working my engine fairly hard it will reach 180-190° (even 200+ on hot summer day, bushhogging thick cover). In those conditions it matters not... that the thermostat opened up 'earlier'.

Yes, there is an 'optimal' operating temp (by design), but for many folks...depending on use...you will rarely be right in that window.

IF you live in a cold climate and use your tractor much in winter, then you might wish to go with the 180° unit.

 

[John Ha]

I decided to put the original one back in. I'll get a correct one to install next time I do the coolant change.

After refilling with the new antifreeze mix I ran the tractor for about an hour joy riding around the yard and it seemed to be OK. I was a little worried because I didn't see the coolant flow current across the top of the radiator (with the cap off) but I'm pretty sure that the water had started circulating because the upper hose went from cool to hot and the water in the radiator tank did the same. So I guess all is good. I definitely know I put the thermostat in right-side-up - I paid great attention to that.

Thanks SO much for the inputs!