L3901 - overheating after extended, heavy duty brush hogging

[icehorse]

I'm in the process of brush hogging acres and acres of pasture. The grass is pretty tall, maybe 3 feet, but fairly dry by this point in the season.

After about an hour and a half of brush hogging, the tractor starts to slowly overheat. If I turn it off for 10 or 15 minutes, it cools back down to a normal temp range and I can start brush hogging again.

I've checked all the fluid levels, oil, put a new air filter in, cleared dust off of everything I can clear dust off of. I've cleaned the grill and the radiator screen. One thing I notice is that the oil cooler and fuel cooler filters are dusty. Not sure how to clean those, do I need some sort of compressed air gizmo? (Also the cooler behind the radiator screen is dusty.)

Maybe it's just hard to keep that 60" land pride brush hog going thru thick grass for extended periods?

thoughts? thanks

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Running a cutter in "acres" 3 feet high of grass is a Work out for any tractor. 3901 or what have you.

Check your coolant level as well.

Cut for 1 hr, then Miller-time break for 30 min... clean the screen. Repeat.

 

[old and tired]

Compressed air to blow out the fins from the back of the radiator to the front... being the best, even if you need to bring generator / air compressor the the tractor.

Easy thing to try is reduce the work load, cut 2.5 or 3 feet of the tall stuff instead of taking a full bite.

Or do as you are, but when the temp gauge raises, reduce how much you cut... see if that works.

 

[icehorse]

Compressed air to blow out the fins from the back of the radiator to the front... being the best, even if you need to bring generator / air compressor the the tractor.

Easy thing to try is reduce the work load, cut 2.5 or 3 feet of the tall stuff instead of taking a full bite.

Or do as you are, but when the temp gauge raises, reduce how much you cut... see if that works.

I've got the brush hog as high off the ground as it will go. My brush hog is 5 feet.

Do you know of any decent / less expensive air compressors? I can get power to the the tractor.

 

[JasonW]

How hot is it getting? Temperature reading? Gauge halfway, 3/4 of the way up?
Good chance your radiator has debris in the fins blocking air flow.

With my old L3800 I used to bushhog grass that was over the hood for hours on end with no problems. As long as the radiator and screen was kept clean.

Are you running PTO RPM?

Is the cutter setup properly? Slightly lower in the front? Usually 1/4-1/2” difference. If not you’re cutting the front and back swing of the blades.

 

[icehorse]

How hot is it getting? Temperature reading? Gauge halfway, 3/4 of the way up?
Good chance your radiator has debris in the fins blocking air flow.

With my old L3800 I used to bushhog grass that was over the hood for hours on end with no problems. As long as the radiator and screen was kept clean.

Are you running PTO RPM?

Is the cutter setup properly? Slightly lower in the front? Usually 1/4-1/2” difference. If not you’re cutting the front and back swing of the blades.

It gets to about 3/4 and then if i keep running it the little yellow indicator light goes on.

I have tried running at or slightly below or slightly above PTO speed, doesn't seem to make a difference.

I am running the front end a little higher in an attempt to cut less grass. IF I lower the front end of the brush hog (which i'm happy to try), I will be cutting longer grass. I'd never heard of this idea before, thx.

 

[JasonW]

It gets to about 3/4 and then if i keep running it the little yellow indicator light goes on.

I have tried running at or slightly below or slightly above PTO speed, doesn't seem to make a difference.

I am running the front end a little higher in an attempt to cut less grass. IF I lower the front end of the brush hog (which i'm happy to try), I will be cutting longer grass. I'd never heard of this idea before, thx.

Not saying it will fix the overheating but it’s definitely putting more load than necessary on the tractor.

The bushhog blades should only cut in the forward side of the cutter. Hence the reason for the front to be slightly lower than the rear.

If you’re trying to cut the grass tall adjust your tailwheel to the tallest setting then adjust the 3pt arms to follow that.

One thing over looked is fan belt tension.

I use a leaf blower on mine as I’m not in an area with an air compressor. And less likely to damage the fins. I added an aluminum window screen over the factory screen after having issues years ago with them getting warm.
I have to stop and clean the screen more often when I see the temperature gauge going up but nothing gets into the radiator.

I do have a picture but I cannot get it to upload.

 

[old and tired]

Do you know of any decent / less expensive air compressors?

I've gotten by with Craig's list specials or ones that other's were going to throw out... I had an endless supply of CO2 (which worked well.... until the endless supply ran out

PS. I cut in the middle of winter - super dry, I have to clean the radiator out 3 or 4 times for 13 acres...

 

[icehorse]

The bushhog blades should only cut in the forward side of the cutter. Hence the reason for the front to be slightly lower than the rear.

If you’re trying to cut the grass tall adjust your tailwheel to the tallest setting then adjust the 3pt arms to follow that.

Yeah, once you said that, it makes sense.

And AHA! I double checked, and I can lift the mower up a couple of inches at the tailwheel. thanks

 

[Elliott in GA]

I second the leaf blower solution. I reclaimed a field (~6 acres) full of weeds and briars higher than the hood of the tractor; I had to blow everything off with the leaf blower about every 20 - 30 minutes. I also cut it in the middle of winter. The tractor was not working as hard as tall heavy grass would require, but the fluff/chaff was covering everything. I now maintain that field by cutting it twice a year (plus the cows graze it), and the grass looks okay. There are fewer briars every year, too.

 

[D2Cat]

Do you have access to a good battery powered leaf blower? Blow from the fan forward ought to keep it fairly clean if you stop every once in a while.

 

[BAP]

Check out a Harbor Freight store if you have one near by, they have air compressors starting at $60 on up.

 

[jyoutz]

How hot is it getting? Temperature reading? Gauge halfway, 3/4 of the way up?
Good chance your radiator has debris in the fins blocking air flow.

With my old L3800 I used to bushhog grass that was over the hood for hours on end with no problems. As long as the radiator and screen was kept clean.

Are you running PTO RPM?

Is the cutter setup properly? Slightly lower in the front? Usually 1/4-1/2” difference. If not you’re cutting the front and back swing of the blades.

Was the tall grass you’re cutting green or dry and dusty? Dry grass chaff is what clogs the radiator.

 

[old and tired]

I would not buy a small pancake compressor... they don't last long, takes forever to fill, and empties way too quick. I have 2 California Air Tools compressors. Quiet and fills fast...

 

[JasonW]

Was the tall grass you’re cutting green or dry and dusty? Dry grass chaff is what clogs the radiator.

Dry. In my other post I have added an aluminum window screen on top of the factory screen. Have to clean it more often but nothing gets in the radiator fins. At the most I’d have to clean the screen every hour and a half.

I added the secondary screen after I completely removed the radiator to get it clean as it appeared to be clean but was over 75 percent blocked. It was packed with chaff that made it past the factory screen.

 

[Shawn T. W]

Cutting with the front slightly lower takes less power, but doesn't leave quite as "nice" of a finish cut ... I pull a 5" brush hog with my 25 HP SCUT (19.6 PTO HP) , but I mow 5-6 times a year, first time was slow going!

Maybe slow down the ground speed a tad if lowering the front doesn't help ...

I use the air most often, and if I use the water, I use it after the air ...

 

[photowest]

I bought something very similar to theses years ago and they are great for cleaning the radiator. I thought my radiators were clean until I used these. I have not overheated since.

https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-88500-Radiator-Genie/dp/B01N23E9WX/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3KDMQX89Y3YUI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NUG9rZWnmxsVr8MeZJTc6bjNC8n4zN9RB4IiL7xP6bOC6vBOcoPt2JVOJx7L9EcxWmHdGTz9388gt9Ey72ebmvrAo7qkTnM8YLrP-t6ConTa5l2OPuLBmDkLyRST8iyHV9Wl2cCOY18c-MTbURk5ODZMj49b3CXLCHJC6tRT_ut1pYEXjfWmlzAaGIMvlHkCmQJwpPnIUjowh88h-crACQPr_HvyT2wDAJqqUIl6TVQ.rO0eGym31pB9n7bMn3KjMMnY8no5uSxpw52Ob5Zc228&dib_tag=se&keywords=radiator%2Bcleaning%2Bwand&qid=1756926621&sprefix=radiator%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-6&th=1

 

[JasonW]

Finally got it to upload. This was after cutting about 45 minutes. The temperature gauge was just above normal for my tractor. No where near the overheating, just grabbed a picture after I was done with a field.

Most of it was so fine it would have made it through the factory screen alone.

 

[DONLI]

It gets to about 3/4 and then if i keep running it the little yellow indicator light goes on.

I have tried running at or slightly below or slightly above PTO speed, doesn't seem to make a difference.

I am running the front end a little higher in an attempt to cut less grass. IF I lower the front end of the brush hog (which i'm happy to try), I will be cutting longer grass. I'd never heard of this idea before, thx.

What little yellow light are you talking about?

Don

 

[GeoHorn]

If you haven’t a sufficiently large source of compressed air…. then LET IT COOL DOWN COMPLETELY….and use a water-hose to flush/wash the radiators/coolers from Aft to Fwd.

(The leaf blower is certainly a good idea also.)