need some advice

I bought a 901 ford tractor. I drove it 3 miles to my house. after about 1.2 mile I started to get antifreeze on me. slowed it down and got it home okay. I checked the radiator has and the thermostat has been removed. I filled it back up and installed a different cap and after about 4/5 minutes it started to get hot. the new cap stopped the water discharge so the radiator doesn't seem to leak anywhere. checked hoses several times and there were soft and flexible each time. could feel like a gurgling coming up from the hose. couldn't see any water moving at all in the top of the radiator when I first started the tractor. so im thinking my water pump is bad. have good flow of air through radiator. any comments, thanks norm

While it's POSSIBLE for a waterpump to fail in such a way it doesn't circulate water is a RARE failure.

IMHO, ASSUMING the radiator core isn't plugged internally or externally, a more likely cause, based on the symptoms you listed, would be a "blown" head gasket, or other issue causing combustion products to be forced into the cooling system

that was why I kept feeling the upper hose. it stayed pretty flexible all the time. I thought about the head gasket but I sort of ruled that out being the hose never did change any until I shut if off. I will agree about the water pump. not sure what else to try. thanks

While you think you have good air flow, I would try cleaning the radiator form the back side with a water hose.

I have never heard of the feeling hose test for a bad head gasket. How does that work?

Unless I'm misreading this, you still did not replace/install a thermostat, correct? It has to have a thermostat or it will overheat! Mark.

How do you know there is no thermostat by checking the radiator? If it was a bad head gasket, one cylinder would be pushing air into the radiator on each compression stroke. Simply fill the radiator to the top without the cap on and you would see constant bubbling at each compression stroke. If the water pump were bad, you would probably see water around the fan shaft if the radiator is allowed to build pressure. As mentioned elsewhere here, I wouldn't be surprised if the core is plugged with old stop leak or as in my case, a mouse nest! It would be worth giving the entire system a good flushing. It is easy and will not be spendy. My 2 cents.
Cal

Remove belt from water pump. Fill radiator to very top. Start engine, rev it up a few times and if coolant rises, you have combustion leak. It is a quick test as normal warming of engine will cause coolant to rise. Don't be looking for bubbles as if there are any, most likely they will take a while to surface, but they will move coolant up and out immediately.

If it passes that test, hook belt up and try again looking for flow from water pump. If you are certain it has no thermostat you will see flow if pump is turning. With thermostat, you may not see flow until it opens.

I know some don't understand. But some engines do need to have a thermostat. Or they will overheat. I don't know that engine but that may be one oif them. Another problem I have found on generator engines. Is radiator fins covered up with dirt and trash. Clean them off and the problem goes away.

I did find out it is a 961 which probably doesn't make a difference. I started it up with the cap off. water doesn't rise until after 3/4 minutes when it starts warming up. I do not see any flow at all. I will try to flush out the radiator. I thought with the thermostat out it should show a flow immediately, 35 years ago I was in an auto mechanics garage. the mechanic all of a sudden said some bad words. I asked him what was wrong. he said this d--- thing had a blown head gasket. since he just had the engine running I asked him how he knew. he told me if a head gasket goes bad and you start your motor the compression will get into your water jackets therefore your hose on the radiator will get hard fairly quick. being curious I asked him to show me. the hose was very pliable. he started the car and in matter of seconds the hose was very hard. never forgot that. may not be fool proof but it made sense to me. as far as the thermostat I wanted to make sure it wasn't restricting the flow apparently had been removed by previous owner. so when I start the tractor with the radiator full I see know flow at all. unless I am missing something which is possible for sure I either have a restriction or water pump is bad. most water pumps I have had to replace were leaking. this one is not. ill work on the restriction problem first. thanks to all the comments. any more comments is always welcome.

If it don't have a thermostat, the hoses will not appear hard. Because the engine can not build back pressure from a bad head gasket

One guy that likely knows what the problem is would be the guy who sold it to you. I know it's not always easy to approach the seller after the sale but if he did know and sold you damaged goods, all I can say is that what goes around comes around ..... and if it comes around to him (and he knew about it), that's too bad.

Pressure checking the cooling system has not been mentioned. with a pressure gauge to assure it is not over pressure, the device hand pumps air into the radiator while it is stone cold. if the indicated pressure drops over a period of 1/2 hour, and no coolant gets out through a leak, it is leaking internally. Another option is to look at the possibility that a hose has had an internal failure such that a flap of hose acts like a heart valve and blocks the flow.
At your favorite auto parts store they sell a simple kit to check for combustion gasses in the coolant. Cheap. I have had 2 water pumps that failed from a loose impeller on the shaft. one was new, and the other failed at 5 years or so. The new one was painful to assess because it was new. Jim

sounds like that kit might be handy

I believe you have a bad water pump with a bad impler as that would not make flow, even with a thermostat there is supposed to be a bit of collant bypas and that should still show up with water movement. First thing I would check except to washout the radiator with a garden hose. But a dirty radiator would not make it not show circulation. Could make overheat but with a good water pump would still show circulation. And Normal for warm coolant to expand and raise level in radiator. And the 961 means you have the two stage clutch for live pto. Push clutch halfway down tractor movement stops but PTO keeps rinning, full down both stop. But there is an adjustment so that if you do not want to be using the PTO the clutch will be only half as high to get your foot up to for stoping tractor. Just a 5 second glance at clutch pedle rod and you can tell where the pin is set, for PTO or NO PTO. I wish my tractors had of had the 2 stage clutch instead of the independant PTO.

(quoted from post at 10:18:27 06/03/19) I believe you have a bad water pump with a bad impler as that would not make flow, even with a thermostat there is supposed to be a bit of collant bypas and that should still show up with water movement. First thing I would check except to washout the radiator with a garden hose. But a dirty radiator would not make it not show circulation. Could make overheat but with a good water pump would still show circulation. And Normal for warm coolant to expand and raise level in radiator. And the 961 means you have the two stage clutch for live pto. Push clutch halfway down tractor movement stops but PTO keeps rinning, full down both stop. But there is an adjustment so that if you do not want to be using the PTO the clutch will be only half as high to get your foot up to for stoping tractor. Just a 5 second glance at clutch pedle rod and you can tell where the pin is set, for PTO or NO PTO. I wish my tractors had of had the 2 stage clutch instead of the independant PTO.

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ump moving water??? Quick/easy/answers question. No thermostat has been said, so disconnect upper radiator hose. Start engine. You will know gusher when you see it, on not.