963a running hot

[gwhammy]

My 963 seems to run hot. On a 90 degree day it runs 220 or a hair over. Motor, water pump and thermostat are all new last year.Radiator was new a couple years ago. I put a band of steel inside the fan guard to close the tips of the fan. I did put a cat classic radiator in it which has four cores instead of five. The radiator has been pressure washed out this year also. Is this normal for the A models? Any suggestions? I've looked at custom aluminum radiators, kind of high but cheaper than another new motor.

 

[Nige]

Usual advice in these circumstances. Get a digital temp gun and record the temperatures of the thermostat housing, the top hose at the point where it enters the radiator, and the bottom hose at the point it leaves the radiator. Post your findings back here.

 

[Cmark]

Any exhaust leaks?

Is the fan on the right way round?

 

[gwhammy]

Fans blowing out, all new exhaust.

 

[Nige]

Fans blowing out, all new exhaust.

That answers that bit - on to temperature readings .........

 

[Cmark]

Not necessarily m'lud. The question was "Is the fan on the right way round?", not "which way is it blowing?"

 

[gwhammy]

Do you mean turned the right way with the cup of the blade, yes. Otherwise I'm to dumb to understand! The temp gauge is a new mechanical which reads right beside the thermostat. I went all mechanical gauges and did away with factory gauges as the wiring and gauges in this old machine is questionable. It's a 89 model I think by the serial number.

 

[Cmark]

Yes. The concave side of the blade needs to face the radiator.

 

[Nige]

In post #2 what I was trying to establish was the temperature drop between the t/stat housing and the radiator inlet, then between inlet & outlet of the radiator. Can’t be done any other way than a hand-held temp gun AFAIK.

 

[jughead]

if one can turn the fan by hand and the crankshaft not turn then the belts are too loose. been there done that with 2 machines

 

[kshansen]

In post #2 what I was trying to establish was the temperature drop between the t/stat housing and the radiator inlet, then between inlet & outlet of the radiator. Can’t be done any other way than a hand-held temp gun AFAIK.

Have no idea of how good this is but for the price if it worked even enough to get an answer to the questions asked it would be worth a try.
https://www.harborfreight.com/infrared-thermometer-93984.html

 

[gwhammy]

Belts are tight. This machine is parked as I'm using other equipment for a couple of weeks. Does Cat change anything on these machines used in extreme areas like deserts and really hot parts of the country? What is considered to hot on water temps?

 

[Nige]

No offence but if we can have some actual temperature numbers from your machine there are plenty of informed people here who could comment.
Asking more questions rather than answering the ones already asked isn't helping to further diagnose the issue IMHO.
However ............... seeing as you asked - there is no cooling arrangement for your machine other than the standard one that's already installed.
Normal coolant temps (what coolant are you using BTW?) should be somewhere around high-80's to low-90's Celsius.

 

[Dickjr.]

Just a suggestion from my own experience , are the belly pans clean? I've seen a machine with the belly pans full run just right at the point of being hot but wouldn't set the buzzer off.

 

[gwhammy]

50-50 antifreeze and water. I am sure the belly pans aren't clean. This poor machine is either pushing brush or cleaning muddy ponds right now. Last two ponds the mud was about the top of the cab when I finally got a slot cut threw them.

 

[Nige]

Good suggestion regarding the belly pans. You can’t lose anything by cleaning them so why not give it a try..?
Also if you suspect that they are that dirty are you 100% sure the radiator isn’t at least partially plugged..!
If neither of the above are a total solution try some premixed Extended Life Coolant to replace the mixture you’re using now.

 

[kshansen]

Yes if working in that kind of slop even for a couple hours the radiator might be half plugged on the outside. And if the oil pan is incased in dried out mud and brush it will hold in lots of heat as well.

 

[RBMcCloskey]

Have you pressure tested your radiator cap? My 977L was running hot and the radiator cap was bad and not allowing the cooling system to build pressure.