Loader Flipped my L48 Kubota

DrivewayMan · Feb 5, 2016

Head gasket came late yesterday so i never got it put in until today. Not Good. Put head on. Filled radiator, and cranked it over. Hydro-locked again. Pulled glow plugs and water came out from rear cylinder glow plug hole. Put more water in and sure enough, it ran right out of last glow plug hole. I'm thinking i must have blown a hole through the air chamber and the water chamber. Looking like a new head. Unless someone out there knows where this water is coming from. She will run as long as the radiator is empty. Gone to do a compression test tomorrow before i pull the head again.

ultrarunner · Feb 5, 2016

That sucks... was really pulling for you.

It doesn't take much for coolant to leak... I had one that was giving me fits and found a hairline crack... it was in the head of a Nissan pickup.

Took it to a place that only repairs/reconditions heads... they welded it up, did a valve job and resurface it... cost just under $400 10 years ago and as far as I know the truck is still on the road...

DK35vince · Feb 5, 2016

You can get the head pressure tested to check for leaks.
Our local Napa store pressure tested the heads for our car.

Soundguy · Feb 5, 2016

Rubber blowgun and air the glowplug hole with rad off, if it bubbles, you can quit diagnosing the head and pull it.

A leak that 'runs out' as you fill the rad will be visible.

I'm sorry for the OP, but I knew this wasn't going to be a head gasket fix...

Keep us posted.

Got a pic of the combustion chamber on that hole, underside of the head?

Ps, how'd cyl wall look in that hole? Parent bore or liners? If liners, dry or wet with orings?

Oldpath05 · Feb 5, 2016

My run away engine story, In 88 I had a 84 Bronco 2, one day in January stop at the store, wife came back out with this and that, hit the gas petal, started it back up, not knowing that the throttle cable stuck wide open, jumped out open the hood up yank on the linkage, got the Bronco idled back down, about a week later started it up, the 2.8 V-6 ran rougher then a mountain goat, call a garage down the road, guy came up started it sort of, diagnoses broken crankshaft. That's one reason why I don't mess carburetors, I doubt that would happen to a tractor engine, I think there totally different.

Soundguy · Feb 5, 2016

Well, both gas and diesel tractors had mechanical linkages too, so not so dis similar

MossRoad · Feb 5, 2016

I took my '77 RD400 drag racing on a really hot day, then rode it home. The next day, when I kick started it, if fired and pegged the tach in one stroke! Diagnosis: There is a plastic tube under the gas tank right above the heads that contains a spring and cylinder. On one side of the cylinder is where the single throttle cable attaches and the other side is where the two carb cables attach. The heat from the previous day's racing had warped the tube, and it cooled in a crooked position. So when I gave it a bit of gas when kick starting it, the spring in the tube didn't have enough force to close the throttles when I let off the hand throttle, and pop, zoom, PING! 0-bazillion RPMS instantly and scored cylinder walls. $600 damage, but hey, I won $15.00 racing the day before! :laughing:

ultrarunner · Feb 6, 2016

I had a car that was a beater... it threw a rod and the engine seized... at least this is what I thought.

Happened about a block from a friends house so we pushed it to his driveway and I confirmed by dropping the pan...

Being resourceful and naive... I took his cutting torch and burned off the rod end, buttoned it back up and drove it home.

Ran rougher than a cobb going through detox... but it ran enough to get it home and later I found a used engine and made the swap.

MossRoad · Feb 6, 2016

ultrarunner said:
I had a car that was a beater... it threw a rod and the engine seized... at least this is what I thought.

Happened about a block from a friends house so we pushed it to his driveway and I confirmed by dropping the pan...

Being resourceful and naive... I took his cutting torch and burned off the rod end, buttoned it back up and drove it home.

Ran rougher than a cobb going through detox... but it ran enough to get it home and later I found a used engine and made the swap.

Nice! :laughing:

Oldpath05 · Feb 6, 2016

Well that was a couple of nice broken motor story's, but could use a little clarification on this >77 RD400< , sounds like a high price low profit wining machine of some sort.