# 9N running hot, or is it?



## Fredneck (May 25, 2012)

i've recently gotten a 1946 9N. it seems to me like it's running hot - it has no temp gauge, but when i shut it off, i can hear it boiling. however, it has never boiled over, except momentarily one time when i shut it off pointed steeply downhill in order to change the PTO. and when i remove the cap, no steam escapes. am i misunderstanding what i'm hearing when i shut it off? is this normal? i know the thermostat and water pump must each work, at least somewhat, as the radiator does get hot.

am i just imagining a problem here? thanks for any insight


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## Sanddawg (Apr 11, 2012)

A good read on the Ford-N cooling system:

http://www.myfordtractors.com/cooling.shtml


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## Fredneck (May 25, 2012)

thanks, dawg. i've bookmarked that now. but before i go to the length of tearing the thing apart, i'm still not convinced that it's actually running (unusually) hot. if it is, i can't understand why it hasn't boiled over yet. i still wonder if i'm not misinterpreting what i'm hearing.


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## Ken N Tx (Sep 20, 2003)

Mine sounds the same..I let it idle while I shut the gas

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 off for the day..


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## etemplet (May 6, 2012)

Before you take anything apart, install a temperature gauge. I have a not so long story about an 8N running hot for years but rest assured, if the 8N ran hot, it boiled over. Most engines that run hot lose power as well. It's good to listen but you need to use your other senses as well and nothing beats a gauge that is working properly. LOL

OK, the not so long story. When I was 12 years old and we were working on the 8N, we had just gotten it started and I noticed, "Hey, the fan is blowing the wrong way (the air was coming out of the front of the radiator)" My older brother said, "Don't be so stupid !" The tractor pushed water out of the radiator under heavy loads on occasion for 20 years till an old mechanic said, "Hey, the fan is blowing the wrong way that's why your tractor is overheating." My brother (15 years older than me) always knew everything and still does, just ask him.


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## Fredneck (May 25, 2012)

thanks for the replies, everyone.

and i'm with you there, etemplet. i ordered a thermostat friday. altho i think maybe i'm going about this the wrong way still. maybe i should just ask your brother


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## Fredneck (May 25, 2012)

duh, sorry, not sure who was typing that for me 

i ordered a gauge, not a thermostat. DOH.


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