The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

day one, I took the Dexta for a quick drive around the yard and within a few minutes it was smoking hot...

engine hot - radiator cold, likely stuck thermostat, pulled radiator today and will give it all a good clean, it has a single blade fan (2 blades) but no radiator cowl....

the previous owner said it was always like that for the last 17 years, would i be correct in saying that it should have 4 fan blades and the radiator cowl?

any advice appreciated

Hi Mick,

Welcome to the Forum. It sounds to me like you may have a stuck thermostat. Not trying to teach you to suck eggs but remove it and test it in boiling water to see if it opens. For all the price of a new one maybe just as well replacing it. Make sure it has a small orifice in the large flat part. This stops it from air locking. It should be fitted with a fan cowl as this aids the cooling of the radiator. The fan on the Dexta is a 2 blade one so that is the correct one fitted. Good luck.

Charlie.

Thanks Charlie, I have the thermostat out and I will test it in boiling water today, I am also going to pressure test the radiator for leaks and do a basic flow test on it today to see how it passes water or if is blocked, if all goes well I will get a radiator cowl and reassemble, thanks for the info on the fan, after looking at the design of the radiator I can see it would be very efficient at cooling if in good shape.
cheers mate

Thermostat out first, check rad clear in an out, only then think about a fan cowl which wouldn’t be necessary for trundling round the roads.

Old Hywel wrote:Thermostat out first, check rad clear in an out, only then think about a fan cowl which wouldn’t be necessary for trundling round the roads.

that's good to know that the cowl isn't a critical item, however the main purpose for the Dexta is to keep the grass under control and its also summer here so If I can get a cowl for it I think that would be a good idea.

thanks for the info

Sorry, but a fan cowl is an important piece. It will create a much better air flow. It's available from new

I take it you are from Australia, under those circumstanses I would believe you require a 4 blade fan even though you are only cutting grass. I live in South Africa where it can get as hot as Australia and I have 4 blades. This info I learnt from this forum many years ago, my opinion.

thanks for the replies, I am in the process of reassembly, I had the water pump off today to check it all and clean it all, If I cant get a fan cowl and an extra blade, I might go for an electric thermo fan in the short term

I'm sure that those blades are available at a breaker. Its a pity you live so far away I have two blades from my spares which you can have.

thanks Mervyn, I appreciate the offer, I will get something suitable and make it work

MickL wrote:thanks for the replies, I am in the process of reassembly, I had the water pump off today to check it all and clean it all, If I cant get a fan cowl and an extra blade, I might go for an electric thermo fan in the short term

making a fan cowl might be easy to make yourself.

Open the tap on the block as well and flush it out with a running hose, refill with some decent coolant once you have the cooling issue sorted.
Don't think of these things as "problems," they are just a classic tractor getting to know you!
Whereabouts in the big red are you?

I am in Victoria mate....

I got it all back together over the weekend, gave it all a good flush out and it is running perfect. drilled a couple of small holes in the thermostat to eliminate any air locks and it is much better. I also picked up another fan blade on ebay so when I get that on plus a fan cowl I think it will all be good.

I must say tho, I was surprised how much air the single blade fan seemed to move. I have just got to do some rust repairs on the mudguards and build a ROPS for it and then maybe some paint

I gave the Dexta a run with the slasher/mower on today, after about 1/2 hour she was running great, no overheating issues whatsoever... I stopped and checked a couple of times and it was all good