1772 radiator issues?
 

I was using my 1772 last week and started smelling anti-freeze. I tore into it last night only to find the fan was hitting the radiator.

When tearing it apart, every bolt was tight , except the top center radiator support bracket that runs to the top of the grill support. The nut on the radiator side was loose. There are still 4 side bolts holding the radiator and those were all tight. Cant believe the loose top bracket would let it move back?

The fan bearings are tight, with no noticeable play.

Now hoping the radiator shop can repair it... Cub shows the radiator is NLA. :(


Anyone have any ideas on what could have moved?

If the radiator didn't move than the engine might have moved?? Worth checking all the engine mounts before your repaired or replacement radiator gets wrecked also. Also check the fan mount too. :bigthink:

Check the motor mounts and the bearings in the fan. :bigthink:

Fan bearings appear to be good..no wobble or end play.

This morning, before going to work, I did try to move the motor by pushing on it by hand. It seemed to be tight... but I think taking a closer look at motor mounts might be my next thing to do...

Here are pics of damage.. from approx 5 oclock to 10 is heaviest damage area.

A good shop should be able to re-core that or fix it depending on how bad it is.

Yeah, one of my best friends used to run a radiator shop..but retired 4 or 5 years ago. Took it to the guy that bought my buddy out... hoping he is as good. Should know repair direction in the next day or so..

Did a very quick check tonight and the motor mounts look to be in good condition. I have no idea what to look for next? Might have to wait til I start re-assembling it and go from there.

When I first did a drive shaft conversion for my 1572 with one from a 2000 series drive shaft, everything worked fine until while snow blowing with it and the drive shaft "uncoupled" from the engine and the little blue rubber drive barrels destroyed.
In order for that to happen the distance between the engine and the rear axle had to increase. Since the rear axle is bolted in place, most of the movement had to come from loading or forces to cause the engine to move forward on the isolation mounts or from frame twist. There is not a lot of space between the fan and the radiator even on the best of days. So maybe you ran into a worse case scenario where you may have had minimal clearance to start with, then adding that loose top radiator support bracket along with a little more wear on the isolation mounts resulted in contact between the fan and radiator. How was the tractor being used when the problem showed up? Could problems in the driveline push the engine forward?

How did it look before you took it apart? Was the fan touching the radiator?

I was just mulching leaves at the time with the mower deck. Wasnt pulling a cart or any other attachment. Didnt hit or bump into anything. Was about half way thru the yard when I noticed the anti freeze smell.

Last night we were talking of the possibility of the engine moving forward in the mounts. The engine seems tight in the mounts when trying to move it by hand. It didnt have any noticeable lateral play, but I didnt have to look real close. Do the mounts or frame have any type of adjustment? .. and / or can they wear that could allow it to move forward? I'm think of loosening those bolts and see if I can pry the motor back at all?

Thankfully, the shop was able to repair the radiator. If I get home early enough, I hope to start re-assembly tonight.

Do you have any idea how much clearance would normally be between fan and radiator? ...and thanks for all the suggestions!!!

Use a pry bar to see if you can move the engine around. Shaking it by hand isn't sufficient. That motor will move around more on it's own than you could ever shake it by hand.

I think the loose upper mount was likely the issue, but i can't look at your tractor, you can.

When you do get it back together, start it up for a short time with the fan belt off of it. Try different RPM's and maybe even kick the deck on and watch the engine. See how it moves around. With the belt off, at least you won't damage the radiator again if you overlooked something.

You can slot the four holes that mount the fan and move it back I did it on one of my builds to get more clearance

I think the plate on the motor only has two mounting holes. The fan shaft runs thru a "pillow block" assembly, also with two holes. If I slotted anything to move the bracket back, I wonder if the fans pulley would be mis-aligned?

...a couple more fan pics.

I also wonder if there is anything I could grind off the front of the fan to gain extra clearance?

I would disassemble that fan bearing housing and check the internals for the correct parts order as well as dimensions they give on the spacers in the parts blow out. Specifically items 11 and 12. I can’t see what controls the end play in the parts schematic in the bearing housing but I would make sure there’s nothing funky going on in there. Are items 36 and 8 there and tight as well?

http://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/AR...0-A/0029400025

Started to put the tractor back together tonight. Had a little more time to scope things out. I have the radiator bolted in place by the two bottom bolts.

Using a pry bar I tried to move the engine...the motor mounts appear to be rock solid. The fan shaft has no noticeable lateral or end play.

Soooo, as of now, I am going back to my original issue of the nut on the top center bracket being loose.

Look at the attached diagram... there are two larger bolts holding the radiator at the bottom. The only other "locating" bolt is at the top center. of bracket (#3)...if the nut (#8) on this stud is loose. (as it was) ...it looks to me like the top brace (#4) would be loose and the radiator could move back..into the fan.

I still have a LOT to put back together ...and will continue to check clearances as I do so.

Thanks again for all the suggestions! ...stay tuned! lol

How were the bolts #5 adjusted against the bracket for the brace? If I remember correctly, the holes in the bracket were slotted. So if the bracket was put on with the bracket positioned away from the radiator, it may actually push the radiator towards the fan when the brace is attached. If it is positioned closer to the radiator, then it may pull the radiator away from the fan when attached to the brace.

That bracket is slotted. Problem is if I set the bolts to maximum clearance between fan and radiator, there is no room for the screen... it drops between the bracket and front of the radiator.

Once I get the grill housing back on I will check to see what I have for fan clearance again. If I need more clearance, I'm thinking I can modify (shorten) the center brace (#4) a bit. That should pull the radiator forward and still allow room for the screen.