Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan

   / Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan #1  

donn12

Platinum Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2008
Messages
617
Location
Great Falls Virginia
Tractor
B2920 TLB turfs and loaded ags
I was very proud of myself for changing the fan belt in my backyard then 1/2 hour later a branch took out all my HST fan blades. The funny thing is I was holding off on the skid plates for no good reason.
Anyone have any luck cutting the replacement fan in half them gluing it together?
 
   / Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan #2  
It sounds like you have just joined the elite broken fan club. I think a number of BX owners have asked the question about cutting and somehow reattaching the fan. On the bright side, the replacement fan is rather inexpensive just not easy to install. From some of the other threads on the subject, it is possible to loosen and pry the engine forward enough to release the drive shaft, then get the fan bolted in.

I haven't purchased a skid plate for my tractor yet either. I guess I keep thinking, "It won't happen to me". Better put it on my Christmas list... or become the next victim.
 
   / Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan #3  
Why do 'both' the orange and green tractors of this size suffer from the same 'busted fan' syndrome ?
 
   / Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan #4  
While the plastic fan is an awful design, the fact that the transmission filter is down there open to the world too is just as wretched (though not exclusive to just Kubota.)

I can't recommend the Bro-Tek rear skid plates strongly enough. I just had a 50hr service done on my 2660, and the service guy from my dealership was very impressed with it's function. The fact that you can use a mower deck while it's on is just icing on the cake.
 
   / Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan #5  
Get skid plates. Every time you run over a twig you'll thank yourself.

I have done the glue trick with my HST fan. I cut through it once at a point halfway between the two mounting bolts. After twisting it around the drive shaft and bolting it down, it felt quite sturdy. I gave it a test run. I wasn't considering calling it finished at that point but I figured if it held together reasonably well at that point, the glue might just have a chance.

After revving the engine to about 3K, the fan didn't even seem to flex. Before gluing up, I wrapped a zip tie around the fan hub. Then mixed up a batch of slow-set epoxy and slathered it across the cut and also around the zip tie to help it stay in place.

I've put about 20 more hours on it since then and it's holding up fine.

Side note: the replacement fan isn't as sturdy as the original. The plastic is thinner. I got it from the dealer. I assume it's factory.
 
   / Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Thanks for the info. I am going to try this on Sunday.
 
   / Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan #7  
I just went through the fan thing on my 2 month old BX2660. I had the MMM off for some box blade work and a small vine hit the right spot and took out most of the blades. I got the tractor to the dealer to give me an estimate on the repairs since from what I could see there wasn't room to change out the fan without major work. They contacted the Kubota warranty department and they covered it under warranty. My dealer is great for supporting the products they sell. With this kind of support I see a bigger orange machine in the future for my larger acreage.

Thanks for the link to the skid plates. They are on my short list for tractor farkles.

JM
 
   / Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan #8  
more than 11 thousand hits on Kubota HST fan failures. You'd think Kubota would be listing a bit. This is as dumb a design as the big block chev in a camaro which took removing the engine to change the spark plugs!

You would think that the Kubota dealers would be helping us get out of this nasty delema or at least preventing it. My dealer said that he never hear of a Bro-Tek skid plate..can he be that dumb? ..afterall it's his business?:eek:
 
   / Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan #9  
more than 11 thousand hits on Kubota HST fan failures. You'd think Kubota would be listing a bit. This is as dumb a design as the big block chev in a camaro which took removing the engine to change the spark plugs!

You would think that the Kubota dealers would be helping us get out of this nasty delema or at least preventing it. My dealer said that he never hear of a Bro-Tek skid plate..can he be that dumb? ..afterall it's his business?:eek:
Is i knot wrong or do JD and MF have the same fan set up also?
 
   / Bad BX day: fan belt broke, overheated, fixed, broke HST fan #10  
Is i knot wrong or do JD and MF have the same fan set up also?

Just because other colors have the same problem doesn't make it any less dumb.
 
 
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