new holland lx565 leaks antifreeze

[murphy777]

My lx 565 is leaking a bit of antifreeze....I keep a good eye on the engine temps and I think I may have a crack in the block...bad news. any one have any good fixes besides a new motor. The radiator is leak free, and the motor doesn't overheat as long as I monitor the rpm's and keep adding anti freeze daily. Can any serious damage occur as long as I don't let the engine overheat?

 

[Z2898]

Hey Murphy,

Can you see a physical leak externally? Coolant running out of the block?

Does the machine white smoke badly when you first start it up?

When you have the machine running and warmed up, carefully remove the radiator cap and see if you can see bubbles coming out of the top of the coolant?

Does the engine oil level stay at the correct level?

Z

 

[murphy777]

Z2898
I do see a bit of a leak/crack near where the block heater element is attached, It puffs only black smoke when I start it, and the oil level remains normal and the oil isn't milky/mixed with anything, it is also pretty dark....I have yet to open the radiator cap while it is running. should I look for anything obvious when I do open it up?? Or is the crack my main reason for the leak, and if so what do I do next??? thanks for the help!
Cheers

 

[Z2898]

Hey Murphy,

There is one thing for sure I would try to do before I got too alarmed. (see link below)

One thing you have going for you if this is the only leak ( doesn't sound like a head or head gasket issue from your description) is that the cooling system is only under minimal pressure (somewhere between 7-12 psi) and it doesn't sound like it's in a critical location.

I would certainly try to cold patch this block if it was me. Proper clean up and preparation is critical to the process but it's certainly not a difficult repair.

I have never had any luck hot welding a block. I have heard of a process by which you drill holes in the crack, drive in plugs, drill again drive another plug etc but if you have never had experience doing this the situation may get worse.

What you are looking for if you open the rad cap with the machine running at normal temp is bubbles of compression escaping from the coolant. This would indicate a head gasket or head crack problem. Quite often white smoke will appear on start up if the coolant can migrate into a stopped cylinder. When machine starts the coolant will turn to steam and exit the exhaust pipe. Doesn't sound like you have this issue to me.

Anyway here is the link for a cold patch block repair, have a look and see what you think.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?p=1554318

 

[murphy777]

Thanks for the link. That product sounds like the perfect fix for me, and I got the info about the supermetal compound used for cold patching. Sounds pretty good to me, the product is pretty spendy, about 300 bucks for the cleaner and the patch material, but I looked at new motors and those cost 4600 bucks...
I 'll be bringing my machine home from a job this week and I probably won't have time to fix it until after thanksgiving, but i will keep you posted on the progress.
thanks again
Cheers!