Kubota 3910 ran out of water and will not run

[tonynz]

any insurance cover? seems like the engine is not seized as it turns over which is good. I would talk to the insurance people before trying any home remedies. Make sure you state that it was an "accident", ie branch dislodged hose. In future make sure you double clamp any hoses near the front.

 

[sunandsand]

I've had branches get lodged here and there. Dislodged fuel strainer cup twice, first time I wondered why I had gone though half a tank of fuel in five minutes, got off and looked, wriggled it back into place (almost) and had JUST enough fuel remaining to get back to the shop where I had the tools to fix it. Second time was same thing, but I caught it immediately and I was only 100 feet from the shop.

Had a branch lodge in the throttle linkage, locked it up until a bit of choice cussing and some brute force removed it.

Radiator gets clogged from mowing Cogon grass, have to stop frequently to clean it off. The tip-off is the temp gauge starts to rise.

Regularly lose some nuts, bolts, lynch pins, stuff loosens up, etc. It pays to check everything before I start and make sure all the bits are still there when I'm done. (I think I'm going to develop a checklist for "preflight" and "postflight" beyond simply checking the oil and other fluids before I start.)


As to OP and the Kubota insurance, I wish him luck, because yes, this does sound like it is going to be expensive. Hopefully his dealer will go to bat for him.

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[Smokeydog]

Thinking about this post while moving many grapple loads of oak limbs.
Smell? Open station tractor but with dryer sheets and peppermint oil strategically placed to keep mice from nesting is quite skunked. Add oil and gas smells from carrying a chainsaw. Monitoring coolant temp but really useless from loss of coolant. After moving about 20 tons, about 20, 16-18’ wide full grapple loads went to shop to inspect. Removed radiator and engine covers. Checked coolant in overflow tank to be full. Blew out radiators, screen, outer air filter. One mouse nest under fuel tank. Moved a few more loads with no real change in coolant temp. Unfortunate stories like this help us to become more vigilant in always monitoring the tractor’s operation.

 

[pwdby460]

These are just like any older vehicle, the temperature sensor has to be in contact with the coolant to read properly. If the coolant had already drained out prior to you using it, the sensor would never see coolant temperature. Thus the gauge would read a much lower temperature then the engine truly is around the cylinders. If there’s no fluid to transfer the heat from around the cylinders to where the sensor is the guage will not read the high temperature.

 

[jasontdi]

I am posting this for my next door neighbor. He has a fairly new Kubota 3910 and was bush hogging when his tractor suddenly stopped. Checking it, he saw that the lower radiator hose had been pulled off and there was no water in it. He said he had been watching the temperature gauge and it hadn't moved but maybe with no water in it, there was no hot water to measure the temperature of.

After it cooled and he put a new hose on he attempted to start it. The starter turned over at the normal speed, not real fast like it would do if there was no compression but it would not start. He tried using ether but it still did not even putt. He has never owned one of these newer models with all the pollution junk on them and doesn't know if they have any type of electronics on it that might prevent it from starting under these circumstances or if his engine is just toast. Any ideas?

First thing to do is get it to someone who isn't going to cause more damage to it. Starting fluid and either is a big no-no in CR diesel engines. Never do it.

Was the hose torn? It had to have been because it wouldn't just "pull off". I know that tractor . I'm in agreement that he cooked it and damaged the head/head gasket. It'll never read hot on the gauge of there is no coolant in it. They don't t just run "water". And pollution junk...well it certainly beats breathing in all the particulates. I've been in the German diesel repair business for 20 years. I jave the asthma to prove what diesel particulate can do to you.

 

[aircommuter]

ETPM in post #24 --- Great story. Worth more than the last 25 posts I have read! "Moose pee" ingredients essentially caused me to spew a mouthful of coffee all over the room.

VERY interesting comparison between your van and this incident with the Kubota.

A couple of observations:
Your van was probably an in-line-six gasoline type. This Kubota L3901 is a 3 cyl diesel. So if roughly parallel things happened, you had to conk out the majority of 6 cylinders to stall it while all this guy had to lose was 1 or at most 2 cylinders of his Kubota before it stalled out. I do not see why pouring some oily stuff (be it Moose pee based or not) in the intake of a diesel would do any more or less harm than it did in your gas job unless a sensitive turbocharger is in the picture. If I really thought that was the problem though, I would take off the rocker cover and find a way to rotate the engine while directly lubing the valve stems instead. Probably in the case of this OP's friend/neighbor, the important thing is that things be done in a sensible progression -- check the radiator pressure retention first, then track down the cause if it is dropping, etc. A danger would be if the mechanics working on it fail to consider stuck valves they might do some very unnecessary and expensive things. I can think of several dealers and repair shops who would not always do that in the best interest of the customer. Like for example replacing the head would fix it and cost 25 times as much.

p.s.: if valves are stuck due to overheating of lubricant then the valve seals are almost certain to be shot as well. I would have guessed your van used some oil due to leakage around the valve stems after that fix. Do you remember if that happened?

If the valves are stuck one could remove the valve cover and watch. Some engines are interference and stuck valves would be hit by the pistons. Also it’s a good idea to just look things over once in a while. Like hoses!

 

[Catchthedig]

Sure wish we'd hear back from Tallyho8 on how his dry-engine neighbor made out. Sad to hear if a near-new tractor bought the farm.

 

[1Mech]

Many years ago, I had a 1970 Pinto (car) with the 2.0 liter engine, best engine they ever put in those little cars. My wife was in the hospital, giving birth to our daughter. My son and I went to visit one Sunday afternoon, the heater would not work (in March), I figured it was a bit low on coolant, would check it when I got back home, since it had been and currently was running well. The car did seem to bump around a little more than normal, but it was a cold gusty day, figured it was the wind.
On the road home, (about 15 miles) I got off the highway and the car died at the bottom of the off ramp. Opened the hood to see everything covered in oil, then I looked down and the nipple in the bottom of the radiator was hanging loose, still clamped to the hose. I figured it was toast! I called my father in law after walking home, no cell phones in those days. We towed it home, stuck the nipple back in, added oil, then got in to see what it would do, if anything. The darn thing fired right off and purred like a kitten!
I had the radiator fixed and dove that thing quite a few years after that. Tough little engine!

 

[Robin Veerman]

You lost oil out of the radiator?