Radiator Maintenance & Overflow Kama 554

[3RRL]

I was approaching the 400 hour mark on my Kama 554. I will be doing a semi-major maintenance on it including changing out all the oils and filters, setting valve lash and head bolt re-torque, and of course a general check over on the battery and all nuts and bolts, tires, belts, running gear etc. It is going to be a long weekend.

In addition to the above, one of the first things on my list is to change the radiator fluid because I have not done this since I got the tractor from the dealer 2 years ago. I have read some of the other threads regarding the correct anti-freeze for wet-sleeved engines and how to go about flushing out the gunk in the whole cooling system. I am also planning on replacing both upper and lower radiator hoses and finally add an Overflow Reservoir to it. To date, I have not had any trouble with the thermostat or any overheating problems due to the excellent suction (air flow) the fan and shroud produce through the radiator.

Here are the main ingredients I will be using:



Form left to right:
- Fleet Charge SCA Precharged heavy duty anti-freeze which provides optimum protection against freezing, boil over, cavitation erosion, corrosion and scale for all heavy duty cooling system applications.
- Zerex Radiator Super Flush with powerful cleaning agents restores system efficiency by removing rust, scale and oily residues. Can be used on all cooling system metals including aluminum.
-Zerex Water Pump Lubricant & Protector which prevents rust and corrosion while lubricating the water pump. Its powerful rust and corrosive inhibitors help prevent the accumulation of damaging radiator deposits that can cause boil overs, clogging and overheating.
- And finally a Coolant Return System designed for use where space is limited.

I got the additives at Napa and the coolant return system at PepBoys.
I know there are other threads on this topic already, but they have been done by the smarter and more studious members. I am sharing it to show how even a dim witted person like myself can do his own maintenance and mods. Not only that, you never know what you're going to run across when doing something like this. Each procedure is important to share for those purposes.

Rob-

[3RRL]

I went up to the property with the ingredients and completed my radiator and coolant change. I also added the overflow reservoir. Besides being time after nearly 400 hours, there was this lower radiator hose that started showing cracks in it. That also prompted me to do something about it.



I started by draining the system of the old anti-freeze. You can see here by the color that the dealer put regular anti-freeze in it and not the specific wet sleeve type, which is either red or orange colored.



Nevertheless, it looked surprisingly super clean! I was starting to wonder why I was doing this?

[3RRL]

That is until I ran the flushing solution through.
Then it all started to make more sense.
Don't forget to drain the petcock on the right side of the engine block either.



I ran the engine for about 10 minutes after reaching operating temperature as suggested on the instructions.
Even in need of an oil change and a valve lash adjustment, the 554 Kama ran smoothly at 2400rpm.
YES, after the first valve adjustment, my Kama 554 makes 2400 rpm easily for those times I need maximum horsepower. I'll bet it's making close to 60hp there?
That is very rarely though.





The more I drained out into the big container, the more I could see how much crud and rust had built up on the inside of the engine block and radiator. This had to affect the cooling ability of the system a little, I would presume.



After the first flushing, I re-filled the radiator and ran it for another 5 minutes or so before draining it again. This time most of the crud had been flushed out.
I did that one more time until the water coming out of the radiator and engine block petcock was very clear.



Rob-

[3RRL]

Then it was time to take off the old lower radiator hose and replace with a new one. I bought Ø1-1/2 hose at Napa. The old hose was extremely hard to get off because there was very little room between the radiator and the engine return. The new hose was even harder to get back on! I had to fold it in half to get it in there.
These pictures show the old hose and the new hose.



I guess the best way to do it is to remove the radiator completely and put the hoses on the engine ports, then put the radiator back on and connect the hoses to it. But that seemed like too much work so I managed to squeeze them in there. I changed the top hose also, while I was at it. I reused the old clamps since I forgot to buy new ones, but they were fine.
The top hose was a lot easier to install with more room up there.



Then I filled the radiator with a 50/50 mixture of the wet sleeve type anti-freeze and distilled water. After that, I used the little flimsy bracket that came with the overflow kit and added some of my own. Then tack welded the bracket to the air intake tube so the overflow could sit as high as possible under the hood.



Rob-

[3RRL]

Here is the overflow kit mounted inside the engine compartment. You can see how high I was able to mount it and without interfering with anything else.



I was able to use my old radiator cap since I've never had an overheating problem with it. Nor did I move the giant air filter which is mounted in front of the radiator for the same reason. I might move it in the future only for the sake of easier cleaning of the radiator. But as far as blocking the air flow and causing overheating, it is no problem. The 554 runs constantly at 80°C as it is.

Here is a shot of the overflow from the bottom. I thought it turned out pretty good with the modified bracket and all.



One thing about the recommended 50/50 mixture...
IMO, unless you live in a temperature zone where you need freezing protection way down to say-25°F or so, you don't necessarily need to make the mixture 50/50. The more anti-freeze in the mixture, (generally speaking) the hotter your motor will run.
I add only water (if needed) over the years so the solution gets to be maybe 40/60 ... 40% anti-freeze and 60% water.
Since I live in a relatively warmer climate (rarely gets below +25°F), that works for me.

There are charts available that show the mixtures and how much protection they afford.
You can match it up to your climate.
Thanks for looking.
Rob-