have a John Deere XUV 4 X 4 Diesel Gator.
The first few years the little Kawasaki engine performed flawlessly and the engine still starts and gives no trouble.
Then, the fan would kick on and the overheat warning light would come on followed by a loss of power and the engine dying until it cooled off. The next annual dealer service included their fix for the OVERHEATING PROBLEM. They changed the thermostat and replaced the water pump. That did not fix the problem. I took the machine back to them and the fix this time was: COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM.
After reading some on line fixes, I tried the air relief at the bolt behind the carburetor. This would help for about a week and then the problem would repeat even on a cold winter day. I tried several other John Deere dealers for a solution. The best they could come up with was there was air getting into the cooling system some way. I should look for a loose hose connection or leaking radiator. The Gator is parked on a cement slab and no leaking was ever detected. All of the hoses looked to be in great shape.
I finally found an old retired small engine repair mechanic and he guaranteed he would fix the problem for me. He did the usual air bleed at the engine (like I had done many times) and showed me how to tell of the water was circulating: “stand at the left front of the Gator with the hood open after the Gator has been warmed up. The with your hand facing forward slide you arm down until you can feel the bottom radiator hose”. If the hose is warm, the cooling fluid is circulating. If the hose is not warm then the water is not circulating. I figured the problem was fixed. But, the Gator overheated again as soon as I got it home. This overheating was occurring within a mile of travel.
When I talked to the shade tree mechanic again, he asked me if I was checking the cooling level by opening the radiator’s cap. I SAID YES. THAT IS YOUR PROBLEM HE SAID. EVERY TIME YOU OPEN THE RADIATOR TO LOOK IN, YOU LET IN A SLUG OF AIR. He suggested I buy a new radiator cap and once again bleed the air at the engine. Then NEVER OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP UNLESS YOU ARE CHANGING THE FLUID.

His approved method of checking the cooling fluid is to look at the overflow tank. Keep the fluid between the two lines and make sure the rubber transfer hose is not sticking to the bottom of the tank and preventing fluid from sucking back into the system from the overflow tank. I replace the radiator cap and once again bleed the air out of the system. I made sure the overflow tank was between the lines and the return line was an inch off of the bottom of the tank.

I HAVE HAD NO FURTHER PROBLEMS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS.

Happy Happy Happy

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