Flipped tractor on side now it will not start

   / Flipped tractor on side now it will not start #1  

Froggychic

New member
Joined
Apr 29, 2012
Messages
1
Location
Farmerville, LA
Tractor
Kubota BX2360
We were working on our dirt hill yesterday and flipped our Kubota bx2360 on it's side someone please help! When it flipped over the motor was still running and we took key out and it still ran for a few more seconds. Now it will not start you can turn key on and all u hear is clicking noise! Help!
 
   / Flipped tractor on side now it will not start #2  
It is likely hydro-locked. Motor oil has gotten into the cylinders and oil does not compress like air. I recommend bringing the tractor to your dealer to get it repaired. Do not try to start it with oil in the cylinders....... it will bend connecting rods and lead to very expensive engine repairs. If it continued to run after it tipped over, you may already be in for expensive repairs. Sorry for the bad news. :(
 
   / Flipped tractor on side now it will not start #3  
First off you can damage the tractor if you try and start it too quickly after it's been upside down. *If* too much oil found it's way into the cylinder around the piston rings. Some say to crack the glow plugs and make sure you can spin the engine around freely.

If it's clicking, I would first check the safety switches and the battery to make sure it's all good and connected.
 
   / Flipped tractor on side now it will not start #4  
Yesp, check all the safety switches, if everything checks ok there, check to see if you can manually bar the engien over two completel revolutions by had/pry bar/ wrench..etc.
Once all that checks out, pull the glowplugs of fuel nozzles, which ever is easier and spin the engine over... Be careful that nobody is standing directly infront of the glowplug or fuel nozzle holes... Fluid being shot out of the cylinders can be potientially dangerous.
 
   / Flipped tractor on side now it will not start #5  
First, the good news is that you didn't mention anyone being hurt.
The clicking sound you hear I think is the fuel pump which on our BX23 runs when ever the switch is on. When the hired man rolled our BX23 we tipped it up as soon as we could. It probably had about 30 minutes on its side. We towed it to the barn and let it set overnight. The next morning I tried to pull the fuel injectors out so we could turn the engine over without any resistance. I couldn't get them out so I gambled and tried to start the engine knowing that if I lost the gamble I would do bad things to the engine. We crossed our fingers and the engine started right up and has run well ever since. It sounds like you didn't run the engine very long while it was on its side so I doubt that it got hurt much that way but if any oil did get past the rings while it was laying on its side you want to make sure you deal with that by letting the tractor set and preferably taking out the injectors and turning the engine over to pump the oil out of any affected cylinder. My feeling is that a hydraulic lock in a cylinder shouldn't cause a bent rod if it is just the starter trying to turn the engine over. Bent rods come from one cylinder firing when the cylinder with oil in it is coming up on its compression stroke trapping the oil. By virtue of the fact that diesels depend on heat from the compression stroke to ignite the fuel I'd be real surprised if you have any bent rods. When I was an aviation mechanic in the navy in the 60s and worked on the R2000 radial engines on C-54s we had to worry about bending rods if you had a hydraulic lock but there you had 13 other cylinders with electrical ignition trying to get you.
One thing you might want to check is that if the tractor rolled to the left and didn't shut down right away when you shut the switch off maybe the stop solenoid got affected by the roll over and it is staying in the cutoff position. That would prevent it from starting but the starter should still turn the engine over.
Let us know what happens. I need to get ready for church now but if the sermon is boring I'll do some more thinking and write some more if I think of anything.
ametcalf
 
   / Flipped tractor on side now it will not start #6  
I would for sure make sure it isn't locked. Make sure you can roll the engine over with a socket and breaker bar, not matter how inconvenient it is.
 
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   / Flipped tractor on side now it will not start #7  
If oil ran past the rings to get on top of the piston wouldn't it make sense that if given time that same oil would go the other way back to oil pan?
 
   / Flipped tractor on side now it will not start #8  
Have you checked the battery. It is possible, depending on how long the tractor was on it's side, that you lost enough electrolyte where the battery does not have the current to turn over the engine.
 
   / Flipped tractor on side now it will not start #10  
I liked your answer... I seem to have the same thing going on. I can't get the injectors out either. How would I go about rolling the engine by hand,,,???? I am a complete, non mechanical, girl ...so if you could explain the steps to make it understandable to an idiot. Thanks
 
 
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