G2160 overheating

[Peter C]

A while back I noticed after a mow that our G2160 was hot - could hear the coolant boiling. After cool-down, checked in radiator and it was full - but overflow reservoir was empty.

A week or so later my wife took it out and noticed same thing but coolant was overflowing onto the ground through the overflow tube. Now when checking, can't see any liquid in radiator, reservoir still empty.

Not sure what to do as I'm not particular mechanical and our local mechanic is away. Not sure whether to top it up via radiator plus reservoir, drain and refill, or just leave it till mechanic returns.

Have been blowing out/cleaning radiator with air after usage and cleaning the removable grill during/after, but there are lot of seeds etc. on our property and it all gets fairly clogged up.

It had a service about 30 hours ago and AFAIK has been well-maintained and has been flawless up until now. 1300 hours.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ve9aa]

Is the fan spinning?

Is the oil level good?

You could try some soap/degreaser and spray through the rad with a water pressure sprayer and then compressed air. You'd be surprised what comes out when it "looks clean" but you haven't done a deep clean.

The other thing is could be is cracked head/head gasket....but try the simple stuff first.

 

[Peter C]

Thanks.

Fan is spinning, oil level is fine, oil itself looks fine. Will do another clean, but after that, can i just refill with coolant and see how it goes? I know to check for bubbles in the radiator, but as there's no liquid at the moment hard to even use that as a test.

 

[TheOldHokie]

A while back I noticed after a mow that our G2160 was hot - could hear the coolant boiling. After cool-down, checked in radiator and it was full - but overflow reservoir was empty.

A week or so later my wife took it out and noticed same thing but coolant was overflowing onto the ground through the overflow tube. Now when checking, can't see any liquid in radiator, reservoir still empty.

Not sure what to do as I'm not particular mechanical and our local mechanic is away. Not sure whether to top it up via radiator plus reservoir, drain and refill, or just leave it till mechanic returns.

Have been blowing out/cleaning radiator with air after usage and cleaning the removable grill during/after, but there are lot of seeds etc. on our property and it all gets fairly clogged up.

It had a service about 30 hours ago and AFAIK has been well-maintained and has been flawless up until now. 1300 hours.

Thanks in advance.

I have a G2160 and G2460. The "boiling noise" seems to be normal. Coolant overflow is not. That should be going into the overflow bottle.

Is the overflow hose intact and connected to both radistor and bottle? Any sign of a crack or hole (leak) in the overflow bottle? Does the overtemp warning light come on? If it does you need to stop running the engine the instant it comes on.

Dan

 

[lmichael]

Honestly if you (as you say) are not "mechanical" I think I would avoid further (if any) damage to the machine and stop running it until a qualified mechanic can look at it. It's already telling you it's hurting. Don't continue hurting it. If it was a horse you would not do that

 

[Peter C]

I have a G2160 and G2460. The "boiling noise" seems to be normal. Coolant overflow is not. Does the overtemp warning light come on?

No warning light, even with overflow.

 

[Peter C]

Honestly if you (as you say) are not "mechanical" I think I would avoid further (if any) damage to the machine and stop running it until a qualified mechanic can look at it. It's already telling you it's hurting. Don't continue hurting it. If it was a horse you would not do that

Fair enough, but just trying to work through any simple steps to take either to find a solution or to have more information for the mechanic.

 

[TheOldHokie]

No warning light, even with overflow.

Turn the ignition switch to off then back to run but do not start the engine. Does the overtemp light come on then go out after a few seconds? If it does not come on it is not working - lamp burned out or sender/wiring malfunction

Check the radiator overflow hose and connections. One end should be connected to a hose barb on the neck of the radiator and the other end to a hose barb on the bottom of the coolant bottle.

Dan

 

[Peter C]

Hoses fine but temp light doesn't come on. Should have checked ...

 

[GreensvilleJay]

There was an overflow cap recall on my 2018 BX23S, maybe a similar problem for you ?
seems the yellow cap was plugged (mfr defect ) and did not allow the coolant to go in/out of the cooling system properly what can happen is hot coolant goes in to the tank but not back into the engine.
left this was you can destroy the engine......

simple test..remove cap blow into hole where hose goes..air needs to come out .....

may not be your problem, but one more thing to eliminate.

 

[TheOldHokie]

Hoses fine but temp light doesn't come on. Should have checked ...

Apparently the warning light is malfunctioning - that needs to be diagnosed and fixed. But overflow should not be going onto ground - it should be going into the bottle. Add some coolant or plain water to the bottle and check for leaks.

If no leaks and fins on radiatior and screen are clean my first suspect would be a stuck/malfunctioning thermostat.

Dan

 

[TheOldHokie]

There was an overflow cap recall on my 2018 BX23S, maybe a similar problem for you ?
seems the yellow cap was plugged (mfr defect ) and did not allow the coolant to go in/out of the cooling system properly what can happen is hot coolant goes in to the tank but not back into the engine.
left this was you can destroy the engine......

simple test..remove cap blow into hole where hose goes..air needs to come out .....

may not be your problem, but one more thing to eliminate.

Coolant reservoir cap on a G2160 does not connect to radiator - it dumps to ground. Normal operational radiator overflow and return goes to bottom of reservoir.

Dan

 

[Peter C]

simple test..remove cap blow into hole where hose goes..air needs to come out .....

Blows through fine.