Puking Coolant

Well, my RTV 900 has always smelled of coolant whenever I've tried to use it for much more than running down to the end of the driveway for the mail, but it's always just been smell, not any actual coolant.  Since I have always heard the fan running when this is happening, there isn't ever anything covering or otherwise obstructing the radiator and the fluid levels are all good I never worried about the degasing because honestly... there was nothing I could do about it without redesigning the thing, like most other issues with the vehicle.

But now it's puking coolant out the radiator spill port up under the seat whenever you drive it for more than a couple minutes.  Fan is running, coolant level is fine, yada yada yada.  What's the deal?  Just another one of those precious little wonders I'm suppost to "learn to love" like everything else, or is there something I can actually do to fix it?

Common problem?  Yes?  No?

Tommy?  You seem to have all the answers, what's the deal?

  Charles,

       I don't have the answer, but , with this issue, it might be best to go to a dealer, who has radiator testing tools and guages and let them put a pressure test on the machine. If it's not running hot, something of course is making it puke ~~~~

      Now on other pieces of equipment, I've heard of thermostats sticking, making this happen >>>> 

I would be looking at head gasket issues. Compression leaking into cooling system will make it puke out overflow quick. Be sure to check oil level and look for foaming on dipstick. If oil level rises, drain it quick.

Dumb questions perhaps, but do the RTV's have thermostats? And if so, what temperature setting?  And, one more, can you get different temperature degrees thermostats? 

Keifer, a RTV wannabe

If the engine somehow managed to pop a headgasket making the .001 hp it has, then filling the crank with fluid and windowing the block might be the best thing it ever did for itself.

lol.

So  it sounds like it isn't very common for these things to puke then.  I'm sure it has a T-stat, but why would that make it puke if it stuck in either direction?  Seems like if it stuck closed the engine would overheat and warp a head but the radiator would just sit there doing nothing.  And if it stuck open it would just run cold as hell.  Or do they stick somewhere in between?

I don't have money to waste on this thing at the dealer.  I imagine that right about now the dealer would be an excellent place to get reamed on something anyway. 

I guess I'll just drive it till it rods the block, cracks the head or locks up.  I was just wondering if this was more of a "yep, just take the blank and clean it out and you're all good to go" kind of deal.  If not, there's really nothing on the machine worth worrying about enough to spend much money on "fixing".

Charles,

      A thermostat sticks open and closed randomly for several reasons. headgasket sucking air,water pump, sucking air, frigid cold can fail even a good thermostat into bizarre actions. This after acknowledging the system is not using coolant. Also a reservoir will fill up with cold fluid if thermostat is stuck closed in the cold. An engine can do many different things and make a thermostat problem elusive. You could also pack up and move towards 70 degrees where none of this will be of concern for decades at a time and hope the crazy north gets manly parts that function after 100+ years of the internal combustion engine resides in paradise with the other engineers of no concern.

    With the engine cold, remove the radiator cap and warm the engine up. Normally, at startup, the coolant should be still. But as the engine warms up to normal operating temperature, the thermostat should open, and the coolant will stir with the water pump. The churning action of the water pump would be more apparent if you rev the engine up. Based on this normal thermostat operating scenario, you should be able to determine if your thermostat is stuck open or closed.

    You will get almost identical symptoms to a sticking thermostat if you fit a normal thermostat to a car that requires a dual-acting thermostat (eg., some Corvettes). A dual-acting thermostat has a spring-loaded valve that closes the bypass circuit.

   A thermostat sticking will make one " puke " if it gets stuck, engine warms up a little more than normal,  and then all of the sudden realeases. All crazy things happen when a thermostat gets stuck

    I know most of you already know much of this, but this post is for the ones who don't ..... Hope this helps.

 ..... two guns

Is there any reason to think it would have a bad T-stat?  Is that common on the RTV?  I smells of coolant even just sitting and idling.  I was using it for light a few nights last week while I was grading out a pad for a barn and I could smell the coolant smell all the way in the cab of the track-hoe with the RTV idling about 50 feet away.  The fact that it's doing it at idle sounds more like thermostat than head gasket I guess.

Charles:

 

   

 

Is there any reason to think it would have a bad T-stat?  Is that common on the RTV? 

 Charles,

  Any vehicle can end up with a faulty thermostat, it just didn't pick yours !!!! We've purchased several machines in the years, that for some reason, ended up with a sticky thermostat ... 

 Did you purchase your RTV new from a dealer ?  If so, that dealer should be very helpful with this situation, and should not cost you anything just for asking a few questions.

 There are times, where is will cost you less to ask or let a professional look at something, than to just be spending money on things hoping something will luck up and work ~~ we know it would be a whole less headache ....

      ........ two guns

Sticky T-stats is an outdated problem for the most part..... or shoud be.  I don't know what changed but sticky T-stats just doesn't seem to happen to most anything built after the 70's for the most part.  That's why I found it strange. 

And I highly doubt the dealer would do anything for free on a 7 yr old machine... 

I only started the thread to see if overheating was a common issue, with a well-documented cure.  Since that doesn't seem to be the case then I'll check the thing to see if the T-stat is working properly, and if it is I'll just stick a hose on the radiator spill outlet so it sprays on the ground and drive the pos.

I tried to clarify that I have no intentions of spending any money on the thing.  I've got a 36hp Deutz sitting the the barn that would laugh at the thought of powering the RTV.  Consequently, with a little powerglide/TH350 or so in it the RTV might screw up and actually become usefull as well.

lol.

Charles, I don't know if I overlooked it in one of your posts but I couldn't find where you told us what the temp gauge was reading when the puking is happening - or after it has run for 10 minutes.   Can you fill us in?

I don't recall any thermostat issues with the RTVs.  Nor head gasket issues.   There are overheating issues and they all seem to be related to loads caused by bad adjustments of the injection/governor and trans controls, especially with the guys running tracks.

Have you checked your cap?  If it's 7 years old it would be a little early but wouldn't be out of the question for a cap that age to go bad.

I have to say that my fan hardly ever runs, even in the summer with a heavy load on the machine - like pulling a float with a Ford 8N up and down a hilly county road in H and full throttle.   The gauge always seems about in the middle or a little higher.   So it's not common that your fan has always been running.

And, I have a couple of late and early model GM and Ford products that have had thermostat issues, fan sensor issues, radiator issues, gauge issues, etc.  No problems on my Cat and Case equipment.   And Duetz?  LMAO! Don't get me started on those temperamental little things...

I don't know if the gauge is reading coolant or hydraulic fluid, since it seems to mirror the hydrostatic load I had assumed it was hydraulic fluid temp, but I don't know.

Regardless, it goes to just shy of red pretty much as soon as you start doing something and usually stays there.  If you start trying to really work it it jumps straight into the red, which I had assumed was just due to the the sloppy hydrostatic unit frying the oil trying to move the vehicle around.

And Fwiw, it has miraculously stopped puking, and gassing.  (shrug)  Oh well, maybe it's a self-healer.  Also, I was impressed for the first time since I've owned it two nights ago.  I was building a small shelter in a pasture for the cows and had been using a cordless drill to punch out the holes for the carriage bolts.  I kept having to walk back to the house to swap packs when I checked and sure enough, it has a 12v outlet in the dash.  I hooked up an inverter and had fresh packs galore all night long....

:)

For informational purposes....

The temperature sensor when measured with an ohm meter (sensor connector to gnd)

Temp of coolant        Resistance

120f..........................150ohms......approx

175f..........................50ohms........approx

212f..........................27ohms.......approx

Cooling Fan should start when coolant is at 200f approx and should stop when temp drops to 194f. (Coolant temperature switch)

Above info from manufacturer docs. 

has the system been completly purged? it almost sounds like it had a air pocket in the system and it was building up steam. had a few forklifts do that until all air was out. 

 I've never done anything to the system.  And it has never been opened up, had a line off or anything since it was built in 2005.  Regardless, it seems to have miraculously stopped.  I have used it for light each night this week and it hasn't done it once.