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Farmall B cooling system

C

chevy_cowboy

Member
Hey guys, I bought a '41 B a month or so ago, I got it running again last night for the first time since we bought it. I've never been around a thermosyphon cooling system before, I just wanted to check out a couple things.

How hot do these typically get? I thought I remembered someone saying around 170 degrees was normal... but where would that temp be taken? This one after just running 10 or 15 minutes at about 50% throttle the top of the radiator was so hot you couldn't keep your hand on it for more than a second, but the bottom of the rad and the lower water neck were just warm. From what little i know about the system, this sounds normal, just wanted to get some confirmation on that. The radiator did start pushing some coolant out the overflow but I'm guessing It probably just had too much in it. What level do they like to be filled to?

I've got a infared temperature gun, is there a reliable place I can take a temp and get an idea if everything is working as it should be? My wife plans to run the tractor in a few events later this fall and I want to make sure its not overheating.


Thanks
Paul
 
Well if you just got it running I would start by checking and maybe replacing the thermostat if it has one that is. Also if it say for very long you may need to flush the cooling system. The factory temp gauge was mounted in the lower hose area on them by the way
 
these don't have thermostats do they? I had both water necks and the radiator off of it and didn't see one or a place for one.

Sorry, when I say I just got it running again, I meant after a rebuilt carb and tuning up the magneto etc. It kinda ran when we bought it, just had to be pull started and wouldn't idle without the choke and stalled randomly. Got all of those problems taken care of.
 
No thermostat. They will get up to close to boiling when worked hard. Just let them cool down before shutting them off.
 
it matters because you never shut off a hot engine, the temp. keeps climbing after its shut off . this is what causes cracks. it cools off by thermo syphon . the fan is cooling the coolant and the cool stuff goes down to btm. of rad and circ. that way.
 
It's working just fine, the way it was intended, hot at the top and cool at the bottom. The fan is key to it - designed to move enough air for the coolant to cool quickly enough to set up the flow from the convection of the rising heat.

If you ever hear one working from a distance, what you'll hear is not the exhaust but the howl of the fan.

If you do work it hard eough to get it hot, do let it idle for a bit before shutting down. The fan is overkill even at idle, and will strip the heat off to where what rise in temp there might still be after you shut down will not get high enough to make for any problem.
 
Too bad when you had the lower housing off you didnt know about the nickle sized holes at the bottom of the sleeves. These holes get plugged over time nd bad water therefore the thermo system can do its job.Every engine that i have replaced the sleeves those holes are usually plugged and not uncommon to find junk piled pretty deep around the bottom of the sleeve. Mite want to fill the system with vinegar and let set a few days then drain and back flush thru the drain to remove as much crud as you can. It would be better even if you had the radiator removed so you could use compressed air also. The temp in the coolant will run around 170 after use at the top of the radiator.
 
My Cub will get up close to 200 at the top of the radiator without any load onit. This is what makes them work,the temperature differential. Also, on dad's C the temp guage in the bottom return line never came off cold. If it did, there was a problem with circulation or the air flow thorugh the radiator was plugged. Keep it full of coolant and it will work just fine. If it gets low, it stops working and gets hot.
 
Ah yes. The engine fan is still turning. You are right, my mistake.

Coolant continues to flow via thermo syphon, but the fan is still required to cool down the water to allow the syphon action to happen.
 
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