Source of trash is water separator filter??

[HCJ]

This weekend my 4 year old Kubota M6800 began to lose power and then shut down, and would not restart. It seemed fuel related so I removed the water separator screen/filter and found it packed with what looked like red clay or sediment. I just had a major service in November and the hours are minimal. Since that service (when they changed all fluids and filters, or so they said) I have used maybe 4 or 5 tanks of diesel, always carried in 5 gallon containers. After I cleaned everything and bled the line of air, it runs fine. Where did all of this come from? Surely the fuel was not that dirty. I wonder what composed the muddy looking sediment. I also wonder if my dealer did not really service it properly. I must admit that I have not bled any water from the separator since that service. Could water build up cause this sediment? How often do you guys have to clean this filter screen and bleed any water?

 

[dodge man]

I'm not sure what they would have done to cause the problem, short of dumping something in the fuel tank. Is there a chance the fuel was bad? I've read alot on this site about stuff growing in the diesel, the bio-diesel makes it worse. Some kind of algae or something like that can grow in the fuel. They make stuff you can add to the fuel that can help prevent this. Just a guess on my part.

 

[Kubotawally]

South Carolina location??? Dirt Dobbers in the fuel tank vent tube?

 

[RickB]

Pretty obvious to me that the water separator wasn't cleaned when the rest of the service was done.

 

[HCJ]

Thanks for the ideas. Where is the "fuel tank vent tube"? Dirt dobbers certainly love to build nest on this tractor. I am always knocking them off the engine. Did not expect them to get inside anything important however.

As far as my service, I am not too confident in my dealer. They just don't seem to have their act together. Problem is there are not many tractor dealers or service centers around here. I may try the John Deere dealer in Anderson, S.C. next time I need something I cannot do. I wish I could find a good mechanic and hydraulic expert around here that I could trust.

 

[CurlyDave]

Do you have a locking fuel cap?

My dealer explained to me that kids sometimes like to dump stuff in the fuel tank of construction equipment. While the "they didn't clean it" scenario is much more plausible, I bet a kid and a handful of dirt would produce the same result.

 

[jimpa]

could there be a gasket some where that came apart or was there a sealer used on it.
they may have used a gasket sealer on it

 

[ibnxe]

I've owned a BX23 since new, and have always been careful about fueling the tractor with fresh clean fuel. At about 200 hours, coming up my steep driveway, it began sputtering and loosing power. It felt like a fuel starvation issue, so I pulled the fuel filter first. Out came what looked like rusty red mud. I cut the filter open and found it full of this disgusting muck. After installing a new filter the engine ran again as usual.

I have a little more than 300 hours in the meter now without a repeat, but plan on replacing the filter again soon. No dirt daubers or delinquent kids anywhere near, so the contamination is puzzling. I have heard that there are some kind of organisms that thrive in diesel fuel, and wonder if that is what fouled my filter.

 

[HCJ]

I've owned a BX23 since new, and have always been careful about fueling the tractor with fresh clean fuel. At about 200 hours, coming up my steep driveway, it began sputtering and loosing power. It felt like a fuel starvation issue, so I pulled the fuel filter first. Out came what looked like rusty red mud. I cut the filter open and found it full of this disgusting muck. After installing a new filter the engine ran again as usual.

I have a little more than 300 hours in the meter now without a repeat, but plan on replacing the filter again soon. No dirt daubers or delinquent kids anywhere near, so the contamination is puzzling. I have heard that there are some kind of organisms that thrive in diesel fuel, and wonder if that is what fouled my filter.

That's exactly what I found in my filter. I also don't suspect vandalism. It's still a mystery what causes the buildup. I checked all of my 5 gal. containers and don't see any obvious debris inside.

 

[RickB]

That's exactly what I found in my filter. I also don't suspect vandalism. It's still a mystery what causes the buildup. I checked all of my 5 gal. containers and don't see any obvious debris inside.

That's why tractors have the various filters.To trap stuff that shouldn't be there in the first place. Dirt haoppens.