ZD28 -How long do they last ?

[Ranger1969]

Dad bought a new Kubota ZD28 diesel mower back in 05 or 06. I inherited it last year and it was in sad shape. I replace both rear tires, the starter, battery, replaced the oil cooler, deck rollers, oil, roters and fuel filters etc. The engine ran great. Last week I was talking to the dealer about trading it in on a new unit. They asked how many hours and I checked - it was hard to read but I could just make out 735 hours. I told the dealer the hour meter had 735 hours and it had stopped working. Today I jumped on it for a spin and after I was done I check the hour meter again...,and it read 736. So I think it was working the whole time and I guess the machine has 10,736 hours. Question is how many hours do these machine typically reach before failure ? How many hours did yours get to? Thanks

 

[Redlands Okie]

Why 10,736 ? Seems to be about 10 years and 5 months a year at 5 days a week of mowing thats over 10 hours a DAY.

Why not 736 ? Seems to be about 10 years and 5 months a year of mowing thats a bit under 4 hours a WEEK or so.

No idea on what was mowed or occupation but that seems more reasonable for most users.

Yes i know that not answer your question on how long the engines normally last. Just curious on the numbers.

 

[Ranger1969]

I guess I just jumped to the conclusion that the hour meter had rolled over and never considered 736....seemed too low but perhaps it right ��. So the question is now...how may hours do you have on your mower? What typical life span of one of these diesels?

 

[CharlieKtractor]

I guess I just jumped to the conclusion that the hour meter had rolled over and never considered 736....seemed too low but perhaps it right ��. So the question is now...how may hours do you have on your mower? What typical life span of one of these diesels?

just changed oil in my ZD28--shows 4756 hours---very stout machine

 

[Redlands Okie]

Wow. If that was a vehicle engine averaging 50 mile a hour thats about 237,800 miles. Stout they must be

 

[4570Man]

I seriously doubt the hour meter has rolled over. How long do they last? Well I've never seen one that was completely used up and didn't suffer a catastrophic accident. My F2560 doesn't have a working meter but I suspect it's got thousands of hours. I see commercial equipment for sale all the time with thousands of hours.

 

[Ranger1969]

just changed oil in my ZD28--shows 4756 hours---very stout machine

Wow looks like my ZD28 was just getting warmed up compared to yours - what kind of maintenance have you done to keep your mower running? Did you buy it new? Thanks

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I don't think it has over 10k hours on it lol, if so you must only have memories of your dad mowing the grass or running it to get groceries and leave it idle for most of that time lol.

Sorry for your loss if that was the reason for the inheritance.

A liquid cooled diesel that's been well taken care of, easy 2-3k hours the rest of the machine will most likely fall apart around the motor. I wouldn't be surprised to see one with twice that.

But you said it wasn't taken care of and was in rough shape?

Just as a start I would check and change EVERYTHING, fuel filter, coolant, grease everything ext. adding a additive to your diesel would be a good idea also, I add 2 cycle oil to my diesel but you can add everything from ATF to name brand diesel additives, the older diesels are used to more sulphur in the diesel.

 

[Redlands Okie]

. adding a additive to your diesel would be a good idea also, I add 2 cycle oil to my diesel but you can add everything from ATF to name brand diesel additives, the older diesels are used to more sulphur in the diesel.

Ok..... any more info on this adding 2 cycle oil or such to a older diesel fuel ?

Not trying to hi jack the post. Just curious.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

. adding a additive to your diesel would be a good idea also, I add 2 cycle oil to my diesel but you can add everything from ATF to name brand diesel additives, the older diesels are used to more sulphur in the diesel.

Ok..... any more info on this adding 2 cycle oil or such to a older diesel fuel ?

Not trying to hi jack the post. Just curious.

It's a very highly debated subject from everything from onroad trucks to off road equipment running "low sulphur" or "ultra-low sulphur" diesel fuel.

http://www.duramaxforum.com/forum/a...need-fuel-additives.html#/topics/96567?page=1

Do we NEED fuel additives/lubricants? - Diesel Forum - TheDieselStop.com

http://www.mytractorforum.com/76-cu...st-diesel-additive.html#/topics/229824?page=1

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/.../236739-there-need-diesel-fuel-additives.html

Yesterday's Tractors - Talk of the Town: Modern Diesel Fuel in an Old Tractor

Read up and you can come to your own conclusion, all I know is my tractor was running and I dumped 2.5oz bottle of 2 cycle oil into the fuel tank on my tractor and just that little bit quieted the tractor down after a few mins, 2 cycle oil is cheap, I'm running a 05 JD. Tank was nearly full and holds 14 or 15 gallons.

Depends on who you talk to I guess, at the least it's cheap insurance, a gallon of 2 cycle at Walmart is like $13, If you did 1oz per gallon it still will last awhile.

It can damage a newer diesel motor, but the older stuff seems to like more oil in the diesel.