Rolled my Tractor and it blew up ???

[TripleR]

Scary stuff indeed, glad you weren't hurt, but maybe this will save someone else. I use to mow with my hand on the pull knob on my older tractor when on slopes, but no longer do so with my newer machines. I may not have my hand on the key, but it will be in my mind and I will know what to do, as will my sons if it ever happens.

Very sorry this happened to you and surely hope everything works out well for you.

 

[IXLR8]

Glad to hear you are okay. Maybe you got lucky and the engine quit when it ran out of oil, but didn't run long enough afterward to toast the engine. Here is hoping that after you clean things up and make sure there is no more oil in intake track.... that the engine starts up and runs fine. Keep us posted.

 

[txdon]

Don't rule out homeowners insurance.

 

[varmint]

If it was actually running on its own lubricating oil for 10 minutes, maybe the engine is still salvagable- as someone said, let it drain, replace all the filters and oil, and hope for the best. Doesn't sound like it hydro-locked on oil. Better look at the tranny fluid and battery, as well. On the positive side, this could have had another outcome, where the engine wouldn't be your concern, now or ever.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Glad you weren't hurt. If the engine is toast it certainly won't hurt to inquire with Kubota as well as your homeowners or any other insurance you have that might apply.

Thanks for posting - this is a very educational topic. It looks like the options for a rollover induced runaway are:

Block the air intake. If the crankase ventilation system is vulnerable go after that.

Use compression release

Fire extinguisher (Would Halon be best? It seems like the common dry chemical would get filtered out, hopefully blocking the air intake)

Put it in high gear, apply the brake, and release the clutch. Scary if the engine is overspeeding.

I just had the idea of putting a tarp over the whole thing so it recirculates and runs out of oxygen. Some kind of hose or other improvised way of recirculating the exhaust might also work. If you're in the woods it might be hard to find something.

Would it work to axe the exhaust pipe and kink it to restrict flow? Once you overcome the compression ratio it should lose the ability to draw in air. Of course the muffler might blow out and possibly cause injury.

Brad

 

[jenkinsph]

Glad you were not hurt:thumbsup:
The tractor can be fixed. As for all the ideas to stop the runaway engine I think most people might be hard pressed to get it shut down if it is hard to block the intake. I wouldn't spend too much time over analysing this trying to figure out what you could have done. Standing too close to a runaway engine not knowing for sure what else may fly loose could be dangerous.

There is a lot of armchair answers going on but you made it thru this and that is the important thing. What to do next time? I bet there won't be a next time.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

A 2007 tractor should not have enough wear on the engine to allow enough oil past the rings or valve guides to run wild. I would be talking to kabota. An engine has to have excessive wear, a bad turbo or bad blower(detroit) in order to run wild. I have had trucks at work laid over and they never ran wild. I am glad the OP is alive and well to tell us about this. I would see if Kabota could give me a logical answer. They are probably off the hook because the tractor was on its side, but I would want an explanation.
Bill

 

[Gordon Gould]

Wow what a story. Thank goodness your oK.
I can't imagine the feeling you had watching that thing keep running.

I rolled my 4-wheeler on a side hill once. I rolled ahead of it. Luckily it stopped upside down against a tree - still running. I remember being so disoriented from the roll and the wheeler being upside down that it seemed like forever before I found the kill switch. It was a 2-cycle and shut right down without damage.

gg

 

[Grandad4]

Glad you were not hurt:thumbsup:
The tractor can be fixed. As for all the ideas to stop the runaway engine I think most people might be hard pressed to get it shut down if it is hard to block the intake. I wouldn't spend too much time over analysing this trying to figure out what you could have done. Standing too close to a runaway engine not knowing for sure what else may fly loose could be dangerous.

There is a lot of armchair answers going on but you made it thru this and that is the important thing. What to do next time? I bet there won't be a next time.

Amen to that! As pilots sometimes say, "Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing." Same thing applies to tractor incidents.

 

[KTurner]

I've seen several mentions of using a CO2 fire extinguisher to deprive a runaway diesel of air. What would the CO2 do to an engine?

As in, is the CO2 in the intake as safe as turning off the ignition, or is this a "its going to die anyway so put it out of its misery before it throws a rod at you" solution?

Keith