Coolant

pjoh784350

Active member

Equipment
BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
163
72
28
Danville
2019 BX23S with 150 hours. I have added coolant twice to the marks on the jug and the jug is empty again. No sign of leaks, no sign of coolant in oil, machine runs great. Coolant is full when opening radiator cap. Is this normal?
 

85Hokie

Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Jul 13, 2013
10,769
2,581
113
Bedford - VA
Has your temp gauge ever climbed past about half on the scale?
Check carefully for the leak from the small hose......... does it leak WHEN NOT being used or only when used?
 

Bmyers

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
Grand L3560 with LA805 loader, EA 55" Wicked Grapple, SBX72 BB, LP 1272 mower
May 27, 2019
3,308
3,890
113
Southern Illinois
Not on my tractor, but on my truck we had a radiator cap go bad. We kept adding fluid and never saw anything, but it would leak down. I talked to our mechanics and they put some UV dye in the system. It showed the cap was leaking. I bought a new one and it fixed the issue. Apparently when the truck got up to temp, the fluid was steaming/leaking pass the cap and evaporating.

Not saying that is your issue, that is just what I had happen on my truck.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

pjoh784350

Active member

Equipment
BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
163
72
28
Danville
Has your temp gauge ever climbed past about half on the scale?
Check carefully for the leak from the small hose......... does it leak WHEN NOT being used or only when used?
I can't detect a leak anywhere. It seems to go down very slowly over time. I'm not sure if it goes down while not in use, I typically only check before start ups. I guess I can start looking at it when done?
 

pjoh784350

Active member

Equipment
BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
163
72
28
Danville
Has your temp gauge ever climbed past about half on the scale?
Check carefully for the leak from the small hose......... does it leak WHEN NOT being used or only when used?
Forgot to answer, temp gauge never goes way up. I do not use for mowing, mostly FEL work and "expensive wheelbarrow" duties. Occasional backhoe work.
 

Jhilde

Member

Equipment
B2650
Apr 26, 2021
32
31
18
Saskatchewan
There was another thread a while back similar to this where the rad cap was leaking and the intake was sucking up the coolant hiding any sign of the leak.
 

85Hokie

Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Jul 13, 2013
10,769
2,581
113
Bedford - VA
Was there a recall on the coolant tank lid? Something about a vent hole not drilled from the factory?
 

hagrid

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
K1600GTL, ZX-14R
Jun 11, 2018
944
1,245
93
Pittsburgh
Yes there was. If you can blow through the recovery tank cap then you were OK. I told my dealer to keep the new cap.
 

GBJeffOH

Active member

Equipment
L4060, EA Grapple, 6' LP Brush Hog, 8' snow plow, 6' LP tiller, EA Forks, Spraye
Nov 17, 2014
237
85
28
Jefferson, Ohio
2019 BX23S with 150 hours. I have added coolant twice to the marks on the jug and the jug is empty again. No sign of leaks, no sign of coolant in oil, machine runs great. Coolant is full when opening radiator cap. Is this normal?
I think it took a while to the air out of my zero turn.
 

lmichael

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota G2160
Apr 23, 2021
609
265
63
Rockford IL area
Most modern coolant already has the dye in it. I have tested this and it glows quite nicely without help using a UV light
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

RalphVa

Well-known member
Jan 19, 2020
738
320
63
Charlottesville
Normal for the radiator to be completely full. I only ever remove the cap for coolant change.

My last JD (a 2025R) had a tiny leak like this. I never could find where it was leaking. Just had to makeup every so often into the overflow jug.
 

PNWBXer

Member

Equipment
BX2380
Feb 24, 2020
134
13
18
Washington
Do you smell coolant anytime that run the tractor? I have a 2020 BX2380 that had a loose line that was attached to the block barely leaking under higher RPMS......smelling whiffs of coolant every once in awhile....and the coolant level would slowly go down over months..... quick tightening of the hose clamp fixed the issue.
 

pjoh784350

Active member

Equipment
BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
163
72
28
Danville
Do you smell coolant anytime that run the tractor? I have a 2020 BX2380 that had a loose line that was attached to the block barely leaking under higher RPMS......smelling whiffs of coolant every once in awhile....and the coolant level would slowly go down over months..... quick tightening of the hose clamp fixed the issue.
Never smell coolant. Seems strange that the radiator is always full but tank empties. I've done everything but the UV light trick.
 

lmichael

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota G2160
Apr 23, 2021
609
265
63
Rockford IL area
Have you done any kind of leak test? I think I would start there. Get a pressure tester. Also might be wise to get a combustion gas tester to check for a leaky head gasket. But, coolant is sneaky stuff :D you can have a small leak and depending on where, never see or smell it until you get a black light and start looking in the dark
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

mcfarmall

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota M5660SUHD, Farmall C
Sep 11, 2013
1,411
1,691
113
Kalamazoo, MI
Have you done any kind of leak test? I think I would start there. Get a pressure tester. Also might be wise to get a combustion gas tester to check for a leaky head gasket. But, coolant is sneaky stuff :D you can have a small leak and depending on where, never see or smell it until you get a black light and start looking in the dark
I was waiting for someone to suggest a pressure test!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

whitetiger

Moderator
Staff member

Equipment
Kubota tech..BX2370, RCK60, B7100HST, RTV900 w plow, Ford 1100 FWA
Nov 20, 2011
2,942
1,399
113
Kansas City, KS
2019 BX23S with 150 hours. I have added coolant twice to the marks on the jug and the jug is empty again. No sign of leaks, no sign of coolant in oil, machine runs great. Coolant is full when opening radiator cap. Is this normal?
You need to snug up the 4 radiator hose clamps a bit. I go through this with a dozen customers a year. Every once in a while it is the radiator cap, but most commonly it's the clamps that have not been adjusted as per the Maintenance Chart in the Operators manual.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users