Sunday, November 02, 2008

Tractor Mechanics

So, the other day, I was at Momma's house on her tractor. Momma's got an International Harvester 244 tractor that Daddy bought in 1984. When I was running it, it wanted to overheat. I cooled it a time or two, adding coolant, then put it away.

My son and I ran it again yesterday, specifically to analyze the problem. After the engine warmed, he noticed that the coolant intake hose was collapsing. The water pump was trying to suck water to cool the engine and the radiator couldn't supply enough water. Evidently, the radiator is clogged. It needs to be boiled and rodded out. We'll get that done this week. That tractor has been in the family for 24 years and I don't think that the radiator has ever been off of it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'd replace the hose first thing before I worried about the radiator. I had an old Chevy pickup that did the same thing. The hose was old and sucked in on itself when I revved the engine. New hose, and the problem went away. Was a lot cheaper and easier than radiator workover.

MC