BX2660 Boken Engine Mounts

[Popfizz7]

Good afternoon all. I am in some severe need of assistance. I have a 2008 BX 2660 that I bought new in 2009. It has an FEL and a 60MMM. The tractor is used 95% for mowing about 5 acres. The other 5% of use is split between grading my 1500' driveway, snow removal and doing some light excavating (moving dirt). Currently it has about 420 hours on it and has always been well-serviced.

I am having issues with the tractor breaking engine mounts. It happens every year, sometimes twice. Sometimes the rubber piece with studs breaks in two. Sometimes the welds break/crack on the bracket that mounts to the engine. The first time this happened, during the first year of ownership, it actually broke both motor mounts on the right side of the motor. This caused the engine to rotate inside the chassis and the cooling fan actually moved up enough to break out the fan shroud and the fan itself. All of the following years it has been a combination of the rubber mount(s) breaking and weld breaking/cracking on the engine adapter plate.

I have had other issues such as hydraulic leaks from broken fittings, cracked lines and the rear engine seal leaking. I will not get in to the details of these right now, but I thought it would be worth mentioning.

My dealer has been awesome about replacing the parts with no charge, even for the labor. As you well know this tractor has been out of warranty for some time now, so I feel like the dealer has been going above and beyond their responsibility and I cannot thank them enough.

I am concerned that the root cause has not been found and I hate dealing with this every year. I am convinced there is an issue that is not being resolved and believe there is a vibration problem.

Has anybody else had this issue? What is causing these engine mounts to fail?

Just another side note, this tractor does NOT idle for lengthy periods of time. Just enough to warm the engine up before use. The current idle speed is about 1550 RPM.

Any information you have will surely be helpful. My tractor is currently sitting in the shop at my dealer for the 5th time for this same issue. A Kubota representative has been involved since it happened last year.

Regards,

Michael

 

[Tollster]

Normally its the airfliter bracket that snaps on mine.. I am on my third one...BX-23

 

[Jeff F.]

All BX 2660 owners know the violent shake of the engine. I would check the frame itself for any defects as this May allow more vibration than normal. Also my personal low idle preference is about 1650. It seems quite smooth there.

 

[zenosan]

I had a BX2200 that broke the two front engine mounts and the air filter bracket. The air filter brackets I could understand because it shook violently at low RPMs and the brackets were not strong enough for the air filter unit. I rewelded the air filter brackets with some extra bracing. Replaced the motor mounts but never figured out what caused them to break at the rubber unless the rubber was just not strong enough. Metal brackets never broke and the rubber mounts never broke again. Sorry I can't give you any more than that. My guess is that the fuel injectors needed to be cleaned causing it to run rough at low speeds so I ran some fuel system cleaner through it and it smoothed out the engine somewhat.

 

[kuboman]

Something is out of alignment. I am betting that your motor mounts are out. One is likely out from the others. That would put a lot of strain on the mounts. Can you loosen them all and then check to see which one is not seating properly.

 

[dodge man]

That problem seems unusual. They idle pretty rough and they shake a lot when you shut it down. I have a BX2350 with about 460 hours and so far no motor mount problems. Does yours shake bad when you shut it off? I agree with Kuboman, something isn't right but I can't tell you what.

 

[Popfizz7]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, it does shake violently when it is shut off. The Kubota dealer told me that this was normal on the BX tractors and hasn't seemed to concerned about it in the past. Is there any way to minimize the shaking when it is shut-off?

The Kubota Rep is supposed to be in town today to speak with the service manager about the motor mount issues and to look at the tractor. So I will just have to wait and see what they come up with I guess. Hopefully they can come up with a permanent solution. I am guessing, however, that they will probably just replace both motor mount brackets (again) and all 4 rubber mounts (again).

It's just extremely inconvenient that it happens ever year and it is usually in the shop for two weeks. Which means I cant mow for two weeks.....

This has just all been very discouraging. I assumed when I bought this tractor that it would be much more reliable that it has been.

 

[dodge man]

I have left the RPM's up on mine and shut it down and its not such a rough shake. I don't do it on purpose but have just forgot to throttle down before shutting if off. Mine has almost the same hours as yours and I've never replaced a motor mount so something is different. Maybe the slightly larger engine shakes more?

 

[Gator6x4]

Years ago we used to fasten a chain to the block side of the motor support and to the frame to prevent the engine from shifting when a support broke in the cars we placed high performance engines in.

 

[Leejohn]

What about injector timing would that help?