operating temperature

that's a little warm. At what load factor are you working the tractor when that occurs? Is the cooling system holding any pressure when running. The higher the pressure the warmer you can continue to run. First thing is to wash out the outside of the radiator core. If you have a front mounted Hyd. system, that's a good place for trash to build up tn the core.

Check the gauge old gauges are old,new can be junk even with a good company's name on it.But as Bill was saying you need air flow or it will not cool.
Ray

I well check that stuff . it is at my local steam show right now for show next week so I well have lots of people to quiz also . this is first time I really noticed this. would boil some before but gasket was bad on radiator cap so I changed that . gauge looks to be the original one .

might check with heat laser thing also once its warm to get actual temperature . it ran this temp today and never seemed to go any higher either. what is normal about 180 or 190 degrees.could it be a gauge in Celsius possibly well look at this to.

Hi mark,
my old EARLY Caterpillar Diesel Engines Servicemen's Reference Book tells us that the T/stat full open temp is checked by heating the t/stat suspended in a pan of water so it does not touch the bottom or sides.
The water is heated and stirred to ensure good flow around the T/stat bulb.
The T/stat should be "fully open" at 180#F +/- 5#F. The stroke from closed to open on 3 3/4" and 4 1/4" bore engines is 11/32" (8.7mm).
All other engines have a T/stat stroke of 3/8" (9.5mm) with the same temperature operating range.

The radiator pressure relief valve is set to keep the system at 6psi.

NOTE
if there is no T/stat fitted, the engine will run hot as the water is pumped too fast thru the radiator core to properly give up its heat to the core and on to the air flowing thru the fins.

Blocked radiator core both internal and external causes heating problems too, as mentioned above, as well as a loose and or hard fan belt that slips, loose water pump packing--should always drip a few drops per minute to keep the packing lubricated but air can be drawn in if the core is blocked internally too.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

Quote"would boil some before but gasket was bad on radiator cap so I changed that "

Water does not boil at 180F, though it should start to show steam vapor at 200F.
You should be able to run that tractor at a Steam Show with no cap as I don't believe you would ever be working it at its full potential. I agree with these guys to get some actual known temperature measurements. When you get it home, remove all the guards and covers that you can to be able to thoroughly clean the radiator fins/core. Then think about getting crazy trying to flush the block and radiator core.
After all it is Show Season, who wants to be broke down, but yet not have a good dependable runner with no underlying issues?

If keeping it simple doesn't cure it, then come back and ask some more, then we'll dig deeper into your issue!

didn't actually boil sorry about that. would steam some but did leak around cap before I replaced the gaskets on it . I am gonna try to blow out radiator today run it some more.

Blew out radiator and grill screen. Wasn't to bad.started machine and found a coolant leak between cylinder head and pony motor .it sprays out once system start to warm up.

Mark,
if you have a light touch, you can slip a new gasket in there. The "gasket" is more like a squishy rubber/neoprene blob that takes up the space. If you ever pull the pony motor, Cat's guidance is to grind down the sharp edge on the head or manifold, whichever one has it, so that going forward, you can replace that gasket without issue.