My forklift has been acting up lately but I thought it was just due to the dropping temps. Finally pulled my head out of my but and realized there were bigger issues so I pulled it into my heated shop. After letting it warm up I fired it up and let it run at a slightly elevated idle. Within 5 minutes I could smell smoke so I went to check on it and I could hear and smell it was way too hot and the evaporator was covered in frost.
Before I noticed the overheating issues, the forklift would start and run fine for a little while and then it would die (acted like it wasn't getting enough fuel). It would also really smell like propane after it died. Let it sit for a while and then it would start again.
Pictures showing smoke and evaporator
https://imgur.com/a/nfxGfbR
Showing items 1 - 5 of 5 results.
Coolant is the same as you would use in any other IC engine. If you think you may have a leak, you could just fill it with water to test for the leak.
Do you happen to know what kind of coolant to use?
Check for coolant leak but if it was run low on coolant long enough it may have accumulated a significant amount of tar, requiring rebuild or replacement.
Might be a leak or a bad thermostatic valve.
Solved this one myself.
I thought I had already checked the coolant level... I had not. I learned that the coolant travels through the vaporizer and keeps it from freezing up. A low coolant level was causing the engine to run hot and to ultimately freeze up the vaporizer. I'm going to fill it back up and look for the leak.
Forkliftaction accepts no responsibility for forum content and requires forum participants to adhere to our rules of conduct. Click here for more information.
If you are having trouble using the Discussion Forums, please contact us for help.