[schillergjs]

the driver of my 950 didn't notice that it was overheating until the coolant reservoir boiled over.  I determined the fuse was bad for the fan thus it wasn't working.  however, with new fuse and the fan running, it will still overheat while idling and seems to run hot when moving. What should I check next and what advice would anyone provide for any other worries?  For example, with the original overheating situation were other engine components damaged or degraded.  I only have 375 miles on it. It just went out of the 1 year warranty too...   

[NMKawierider]

When they get hot enough to push coolant back to the recovery tank,...it's usually off the scale hot and that means the likely hood of damage is high...to both top and bottom end. But let's not think that yet. First ensure there is no air trapped in the system by elevating the front end and filling the radiator to near full and running it until the fan kicks on...all the while prior watching and feeling the coolant for circulation and heating. If it starts bubbling before the fan comes on and doesn't stop, that's a sign of a blown head gasket. Also if the oil pressure light is slow to go off or comes on at all when warmed up, that's a sign of loose rod bearings from the extreme heat. If while it warming up you don't feel circulation, it may be a stuck thermostat or failed water pump. You can pull the thermostat and test it. You can even leave it out to see if the circulation improves but don't leave a working thermostat out. I wish you...and your new machine- luck. 

[schillergjs]

thanks for response!!  when you say watch and feel coolant circulation are you saying to handle the hoses in the rear to feel if there's flow.  i'm not that much of a practiced mechanic but can follow directions.  i added fluid but didn't think to raise the front end.  now that i've added the fluid and run the engine should i still raise it and look to get air out? 

[NMKawierider]

thanks for response!!  when you say watch and feel coolant circulation are you saying to handle the hoses in the rear to feel if there's flow.  i'm not that much of a practiced mechanic but can follow directions.  i added fluid but didn't think to raise the front end.  now that i've added the fluid and run the engine should i still raise it and look to get air out? 

Yes, at least 6". And watch and feel the coolant through the open radiator..as in with the cap off. When installing the cap, leave no air gap.

[schillergjs]

thanks again.  I jacked the front end up and ended up adding some coolant too.  I didn't see any obvious air escape.  but I started it up and no more overheating.  seems to work fine now.  I could feel flow/heating into and out of radiator lines.  i drove at higher RPMs in low and never got above 3 bars. likewise with idling and fan running - never went higher than 3 bars.  I didn't notice any symptoms with respect to head gasket or oil pressure - so maybe I dodged a bullet.  Will advise any future drivers to pay attention to gauges.

[NMKawierider]

thanks again.  I jacked the front end up and ended up adding some coolant too.  I didn't see any obvious air escape.  but I started it up and no more overheating.  seems to work fine now.  I could feel flow/heating into and out of radiator lines.  i drove at higher RPMs in low and never got above 3 bars. likewise with idling and fan running - never went higher than 3 bars.  I didn't notice any symptoms with respect to head gasket or oil pressure - so maybe I dodged a bullet.  Will advise any future drivers to pay attention to gauges.

Great! Sounds like you got lucky.

[tinbarreiro]

If I follow the trick of raising the front of the machine, does that bleed the system without having to mess with the bleeder screw which is tucked under covers  and hard to access?

[NMKawierider]

If I follow the trick of raising the front of the machine, does that bleed the system without having to mess with the bleeder screw which is tucked under covers  and hard to access?

Raising the front end only helps with moving air bubbles upward toward the radiator. If you want all the old or inferior coolant out of the system you must pull all drain plugs. Otherwise it will just mix with the new and degrade it.

[tinbarreiro]

Thanks NMKawierider; I did a service and flush the old coolant.  Washed everything a couple of times are replaced it with new coolant.  I never saw the bleeding screw when filling it up with the new coolant so I guess I have a couple of air bubbles in there.  My machine works ok if I ride it normally, but when pulling a law sweeper at low speeds (usually around 6mph) after around 10-15 mins of this labor the engine starts to get hot.  Guess is back to square 1 for me and redo the coolant fill-up properly to see if this issue disappears.

[NMKawierider]

Thanks NMKawierider; I did a service and flush the old coolant.  Washed everything a couple of times are replaced it with new coolant.  I never saw the bleeding screw when filling it up with the new coolant so I guess I have a couple of air bubbles in there.  My machine works ok if I ride it normally, but when pulling a law sweeper at low speeds (usually around 6mph) after around 10-15 mins of this labor the engine starts to get hot.  Guess is back to square 1 for me and redo the coolant fill-up properly to see if this issue disappears.

Loading an engine at low speeds and RPMs is always tough on the cooling systems. Might need to upgrade the radiator with a few extra cores and larger fan for that kind of work...not sure want a law sweeper is but if it's anything like a lawn sweeper, mower or vac, and you do a lot of it, it might be worth it.

[tinbarreiro]

hahaha sorry I'm ESL (english as a second language) hahaha.  Yes it is a lawn sweeper very similar to this:

I don't do it that often and when I do use it for pulling the sweeper it's not for a long time maybe 30 mins or less. 

I still want to check for air in the system since I did not do it properly when I change coolant.  In my Cforce 450L that bleeding screw is under the gas tank which will have to the removed to have easy access to it.  It is not a hard job but it is a bit more time consuming and the weather is not cooperating now.   Once it stops raining I will have a better look as it might be possible to reach the bleeding screw without taking the gas tank out, but it would be not that comfortable.  Once I get it done ill report back     

[NMKawierider]

I'll be by now all the air has moved to the radiator. Just make sure its topped-off.

[tinbarreiro]

What a difference!!!!  So I took the time to check the cooling system.  I wanted to do it properly so I took the time to take both side plastics, the gas tank cover, the gas tank itself, a sheet of firewall and another plastic protector under the gas tank.  That gave me access to the bleeding screw.  The accelerator cable was on the way so I removed it to have even easier access.  Took the radiator cap off to discover it was not full.  Took the bleeding screw completely out as it turns out it is just a self tapping screw that goes in a rubber housing so if I didn't remove the screw, no liquid would come out from it whatsoever.  Added quite a bit or coolant, plus I let quite a bit of it bleed out of the screw.  Put the screw back in place and topped the radiator even more.  Checked the reservoir and it was at a good level which leaves me wondering why the radiator was low even though there was plenty of coolant in the auxilary reservoir.   It was a pain in the ass to put one of the bolts that secured the gas tank back in place as the access hole in the front plastic does not lined up with the bold...next time im removing the entire front plastic which would be much quicker.    All together it was quite a bit of work, maybe a couple of hours, but I enjoyed it and love the results.  After testing, my machine did not even got up to showing any temperature after pulling the leaf sweeper for 15 mins.  It took nearly half a hour to get the machine up normal temperature so a night and day kinda difference.

[NMKawierider]

Wow..you did have a big air charge. Good to hear that's all it was.