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powermax 4040 oil cooler not sufficiant


Elvis

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I have a 1972 Powermax 4040 thats in excellent condition.The guy I bought it from didn't seem to know much about it.I searched and am learning alot about it.I have the original manuals for the tractor and 60" mower deck.Hour meter shows 800 some hrs.Also came w/snow blower attachment and plow.Very heavy attachments.Has rear pto,with no connector in between the clutch and shaft,but has a 3 pnt hitch.I had to rebuild the carb and now runs great.My problem is the oil cooler on it just doesn't seem to keep it cool enough to mow longer than half hour.I changed the trans oil and filter.I've read from others that this tractor is known to run hot.Anyone know of another cooler I could add to it or other suggestions??I would like to keep it,since it mows really good.But if I can't solve the cooling issue,it'll have to go.I'm not a collector,but like the old tractors...very solid!!
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I thought I disconnected the line from the cooler that goes back to the trans,and ran it and had fluid flow,but maybe not enough.I will check the rubber lines again.Also the cooler feels pretty warm when the hot light comes on,so I assume fluid is going through it,but I will check the lines again,Thx!!
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Elvis. Don't assume that the oil cooler is the only cause of your hot light coming on. Check for air flow from flywheel fan over cylinders and heads. Are all factory shroud pieces present and in good condition? Do you have recommended proper spark plugs installed? Is engine timing spot on? Is it running lean? Just some more things to check before you condemn oil cooler function. Good luck finding a cure to the hot running problem. B10Dave.
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B10Dave,Yea,at first I thought it was the engine.All shroud peices are there and the fan fins are all there and working fine,blowing lots of air past the engine and around the cooler.Also the manual says that the hot light is for the trans/hydro oil.It says to switch to a lower gear.Well I'm already in 1st.Everything is like new on this tractor,like someone restored it,but the paint,tires..etc. look original.Someone online said they used valvoline w720 and got another hour out of it before overheating.Haven't tried that yet.I keep the cooler fins clean too.It runs fine once I push in the clutch.My father thinks the hydro pump is seizing up from the hot oil.It's like Simplicity put too small of a cooler on it from the factory.Maybe thats why the powermax 16 hp was made only 1 year??Maybe I'll just put it in the front yard as decor!
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Hello Elvis, I apologise for not reading through all the relpies (I'm at work) but did anyone ask if the lower frame cover is on the tractor ? There is supposed to be a close off plate under the frame to force all the engine cooling air to be drawn through the hydro cooler. If the belly pan is missing, the cooler does not do much. Good luck.
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This hydro should not overheat from just mowing grass. Do you think your temperature sensor is accurate? I am not sure what the limit is but I think it is in the 180 to 200 range. How hot is your oil filter getting? Mine runs warm but I can put my hand on it. Do you have the heat shield between the engine and gas tank to keep hot engine air from being sucked back through the cooler?
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Yes,the belly pan is there!No missing parts on this that I know of.Thx
quote:
Originally posted by arnoldir
Hello Elvis, I apologise for not reading through all the relpies (I'm at work) but did anyone ask if the lower frame cover is on the tractor ? There is supposed to be a close off plate under the frame to force all the engine cooling air to be drawn through the hydro cooler. If the belly pan is missing, the cooler does not do much. Good luck.
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I thought of the sensor,but how would it being wrong make the tractor bog down??And like I said,the tractor runs fine as soon as I turn the mower off,push in the clutch,and what ever else that takes the load off the hydro pump.The trans and cooler get pretty warm.I can put my hand on them,but not for very long.Also the only thing in between the muffler and the cooler,is the engine.So yes,alot of heat from the muffler is sucked through the cooler even though there is alot of air blown past the motor the other way.There is a small shield in between the motor and cooler.
quote:
Originally posted by JimS
This hydro should not overheat from just mowing grass. Do you think your temperature sensor is accurate? I am not sure what the limit is but I think it is in the 180 to 200 range. How hot is your oil filter getting? Mine runs warm but I can put my hand on it. Do you have the heat shield between the engine and gas tank to keep hot engine air from being sucked back through the cooler?Maybe I'll reconfigure the exaust so that it's not all under the hood?? I'd like to keep it original though.
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OK, here is hydraulics 101 in a nutshell. For every 1HP you put into fluid, 1HP must come out. Due to inefficiencies of a hydro system some leakage is built in to cool the parts. BUT, too much leakage internally causes tremendous heat buildup in the oil. Also if the hydro pump/motor is failing then the charge pump is working harder to compensate for the leakage and draws a lot more HP. This may not seem like much but it can really add up fast. Since you have a 16HP 4040 it's underpowered to start with so the Onan is bogging down in rpm's and this adds to the problem with the charge pump not keeping up which uses even more HP. But before you condemn the hydro look at all the other simple stuff first. Is the tractor easy to roll when hot and on smooth surface and in gearbox neutral? In neutral does just the hydro put a large load on the engine. You may have a bad bearing in a drop housing, a bad bearing in the tranny, or a bad hydro, or just a weak engine. The one year tractors were because they found a few shortcomings in the first model. They added a few more HP to the CCK engines, beefed up the axles and added dual lift controls for front and rear separate control. I'll ad that I have several extra engines so I have everything you need to convert it to 20HP if you want to. But you'll need to find the heating problem first. It's not because of the cooler size. I mow and brush hog all day in 100 heat with not heating problems. Hope this helps.
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Thx for the info Dave!! I'll look into all that.Thats all what I was afraid of.Yea,I know the motor is under powered and was thinking of changingit.But like you said,i gotta find the heat prob.Thx
quote:
Originally posted by D-17_Dave
OK, here is hydraulics 101 in a nutshell. For every 1HP you put into fluid, 1HP must come out. Due to inefficiencies of a hydro system some leakage is built in to cool the parts. BUT, too much leakage internally causes tremendous heat buildup in the oil. Also if the hydro pump/motor is failing then the charge pump is working harder to compensate for the leakage and draws a lot more HP. This may not seem like much but it can really add up fast. Since you have a 16HP 4040 it's underpowered to start with so the Onan is bogging down in rpm's and this adds to the problem with the charge pump not keeping up which uses even more HP. But before you condemn the hydro look at all the other simple stuff first. Is the tractor easy to roll when hot and on smooth surface and in gearbox neutral? In neutral does just the hydro put a large load on the engine. You may have a bad bearing in a drop housing, a bad bearing in the tranny, or a bad hydro, or just a weak engine. The one year tractors were because they found a few shortcomings in the first model. They added a few more HP to the CCK engines, beefed up the axles and added dual lift controls for front and rear separate control. I'll ad that I have several extra engines so I have everything you need to convert it to 20HP if you want to. But you'll need to find the heating problem first. It's not because of the cooler size. I mow and brush hog all day in 100 heat with not heating problems. Hope this helps.
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