Kubota overheated!

[Dale in MI]

I was pulling a 5 foot rotary mower through thick weeds yesterday when my MX5100 diesel died and started smoking a lot, all over the engine. It would barely turn over at that point. I waited 45 minutes and got it started. It seemed normal after a minute of smoking.

I think the temperature gauge is broken. I saw some new smoke coming out in advance but never thought about overheating.

I started it again just now and it smoked a lot for a minute and then was fine.

Should I be worried about antifreeze in in the oil? Any other concerns?

 

[crashz]

What color is the smoke? Does it smell sweet?

Why did it overheat? My tractor with half the power will pull a 5ft brush-hog in tall stuff (working hard). Yours should do so easily, without overheating.

Before running it again, I'd try to find out what's going on. Radiator clogged? Low coolant? Bad water pump? Then change the oil, check air filter, check coolant, fix the temp sensor or gauge. If its running and smoking you may have damaged or gummed up the rings.

 

[5030]

I think you Euchered it. Ever bother to blow out the radiator, or the air filter? Good dealer in Coldwater that will rebuild it for you, for a price. One in Adrian as well but I don't recommend them. They don't know a turd from applebutter.

Kubota's don't like to be neglected and overheated, that tends to cause a failed head gasket, stuck rings or even a scored bore or two.

 

[Thomas]

May need to carry portable air tank blow out filter and rad.

 

[big bubba]

sorry man for that, get back on how you think it runs afterword. has it balked before in thick growth? does your radiator pull in a lot of debris? were you aware beforehand that your temp gauge was out? that's the key, the gauge. if you knew it was out well, .... all the best, get back on the incident.

 

[4570Man]

Is the radiator clean and full of coolant? Was it puking out any coolant when it overheated?

 

[5030]

None of it matters now anyway.

 

[JohnnyMX]

I could mow for about 30 minutes before needed to blow out the radiator and oil cooler. Mowing at the wrong time of the year means too many fluffy seeds getting stuck. As soon as it even blips above the middle on the gauge I'm stopping to blow everything out.

 

[number two]

The coolant temperature gauge does not work if there is no coolant to measure the temperature of.
Good Luck!

 

[crazyal]

I'm guessing thick weeds means your radiator most likely needs to be cleaned out. I would change the engine oil and send out a sample of the old oil for analysis. They will easily tell you things like antifreeze level in the oil and bearing wear.

 

[5030]

I find it interesting that the OP stated his concern that the coolant temp gage was inoperative but never took the time to check the sending unit, nor the fuse, or anything and just carried on. The sending unit costs a whopping 20 bucks and is readily accessable to replace as well. Did the OP ever bother to check the coolant level in the coolant bottle? (his Kubota has a plastic coolant recovery bottle but you do have to put the hood up to observe it). Was the rad ever blown out? Was the water pump drive belt intact? Did he even bother to check anything at all or did he just jump on it and start mowing until the motor got so hot it started smoking?

Before I use either of my M9000's, I check ALL the fluid levels, look at the rad screens to make sure they are clean (which they usually are because they get cleaned before they are put in the barn).

In reality, there is no plausable excuse for lack of checking common everyday maintenance items, except a euchered engine and once a Kubota engine ties up (even if it restarts after it cools off), the internal damage is already done.

Tractors as well as motor vehicles of all types require daily maintenance checks and when you don't bother to perform them, bad things happen.

 

[LD1]

All these small tractors that are low to the ground....and barely large enough cooling systems anyway, need the screen in front of the radiator cleaned frequently.

I try and avoid mowing if its above 80. And keep to the cool of the morning, and the damp vegetation due to the dew keeps alot of the chaff from blowing around and plugging the radiator.

With regards to what damage you may or may not have done to the engine.....being on the internet and 100's or 1000's of miles away....NO ONE can answer that question.

But Id drain the oil ASAP and look for anything unusual. Metal shavings, etc. Check coolant level as well. and while the oil is drained, its not hard to drop the pan and pop the caps one at a time and look at the bearings.....and from the underside you can see the cylinder bores and see if you notice any deep scoring.

The bad.....you cannot inspect the cam or balance shafts.

I had an ordeal a few years back.....pre-covid and pre-rapid inflation. My engine was not rebuildable. And a new one back then was $7500 +/-

You may get lucky. Or this may turn into a costly lesson for you to keep an eye on that radiator screen.

Do you have K-tac insurance? Because that may just be a lifesaver

 

[deezler]

In reality, there is no plausable excuse for lack of checking common everyday maintenance items, except a euchered engine and once a Kubota engine ties up (even if it restarts after it cools off), the internal damage is already done.

Full agree, but mainly just responding to note that it's interesting you use the term "euchered" to say the engine is blown/shot/junk LOL. I wonder if people outside of the upper midwest even have any idea what card game you are talking about.

 

[5030]

Full agree, but mainly just responding to note that it's interesting you use the term "euchered" to say the engine is blown/shot/junk LOL. I wonder if people outside of the upper midwest even have any idea what card game you are talking about.

it's the game of choice around here with 'Spin the bottle' coming in a close second....lol

 

[deezler]

Haha. I grew up in the northeast and never heard of eucher until we moved to Michigan. I'm still not very good at it; sure is a fun group card game though.

 

[big bubba]

around here, sedge bloom can quickly diminish the radiator efficiency. as mentioned, smaller tractors like the MX series are prone. fortunately on the M series, this has not been an issue at all with me. being aware of a defective temp gauge beforehand is courting disaster. good luck with everything

 

[LD1]

Full agree, but mainly just responding to note that it's interesting you use the term "euchered" to say the engine is blown/shot/junk LOL. I wonder if people outside of the upper midwest even have any idea what card game you are talking about.

Best card game there is.

Everyone can have their poker.....euchre is the only card game worth playing. Unless you are playing go-fish with the kiddos

 

[prs]

I had never heard of a euchered engine before; I reckon it means shot rings and scored cylinders and such. From the French word "euchre" as in defeated???

Before tearing it down I would investigate. Check the coolant and dump the oil and check that too for contamination. If those check out, new oil and get the compression tested and compared to specs. If that is OK; count your probably lucky stars. It if runs well, run it. Get that temp gauge fixed for sure and maybe add an alarm. Always start the day with clean rdiator and screens and do the pre-use checks. Let us know the outcome.

prs

 

[loggin]

All these small tractors that are low to the ground....and barely large enough cooling systems anyway, need the screen in front of the radiator cleaned frequently.

I try and avoid mowing if its above 80. And keep to the cool of the morning, and the damp vegetation due to the dew keeps alot of the chaff from blowing around and plugging the radiator.

With regards to what damage you may or may not have done to the engine.....being on the internet and 100's or 1000's of miles away....NO ONE can answer that question.

But Id drain the oil ASAP and look for anything unusual. Metal shavings, etc. Check coolant level as well. and while the oil is drained, its not hard to drop the pan and pop the caps one at a time and look at the bearings.....and from the underside you can see the cylinder bores and see if you notice any deep scoring.

The bad.....you cannot inspect the cam or balance shafts.

I had an ordeal a few years back.....pre-covid and pre-rapid inflation. My engine was not rebuildable. And a new one back then was $7500 +/-

You may get lucky. Or this may turn into a costly lesson for you to keep an eye on that radiator screen.

Do you have K-tac insurance? Because that may just be a lifesaver

LD1, you mentioned you had an ordeal a few years back and the engine was not rebuildable. Was that engine in your MX5100?? What was the cause of the engine failure??

 

[big bubba]

You may get lucky. Or this may turn into a costly lesson for you to keep an eye on that radiator screen
loggin

& maybe more importantly, have an operating temp gauge