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?

 

[Popfizz7]

So the Kubota rep met with the service manager and they "looked" at my tractor. The reps assessment was that it appeared the motor mounts the dealer installed last year may not be the newest part available. It seems to me that possibly Kubota was having at least some issues with these motor mounts failing and redesigned the motor mount assembly. So the rep told the dealer to order the newest part number available (which is the same part number they ordered last year) and compare the assembly to the motor mounts that are currently installed.

I can only hope they are different and that the ones that were installed last year were just packaged wrong or something. If not, the dealer plans to replace them anyway. He said if it breaks again, then they are not sure what they are going to do. He did reassure me that they would not leave me hanging and that Kubota almost always does the right thing in these situations.

I am just grateful that my dealer and it's service manager have been easy to work with. ....

I will keep you all informed of what happens.

 

[Zick]

Do tractors have lemon laws?

 

[AStanton]

Stuff happens. My budddy just traded his 2-year-old BX-25 for a new Ditch Witch loader. With it's second time out, the loader cylinder popped on the Witch. The sales rep did mention that Ditch Witch was having problems with the cylinder when he delievered it. My buddy is now sorry he let his Kubota go.

 

[Popfizz7]

I picked up my tractor from the dealer where it was getting new motor mounts installed again. The new mounts are different from the originals. They now have hard stops that minimizes how much the engine can "shake" inside the cradle. Essentially these hard stops are 1/4 plate steel about 4 inches tall that are welded perpendicular to the main engine plate. This allows about 1/4" (or less) of travel on each side of the engine between the chassis and the motor. I would like to add that these new mounts are NOT more robust than the originals. They look exactly the same as the originals with the exception of the hard stop. I and my dealer both agree that this should take care of the problem. If not, it will go back once more and they will help me through it again.

A word of advice for tractor newbies....TALK TO YOUR DEALER! Mine has been awesome in assisting me with all of my issues from day one.

One more thing.... "stuff happens" is not an acceptable response to someone that reaches out to others more qualified for assistance. Especially when the same failure has multiple occurrences.

Thanks again guys and girls for your feedback.

 

[Hedgy]

I've just had this bracket failure on a BX24 (900+ hours). The symptom was a loose metal rattling/clanking noise. The front tab on the left hand engine support has fractured where it joins the engine support bracket), leaving the small fragment still bolted to the rubber cushion but no longer attached to the engine. It fractured near the weld but not at the weld. I was able to unbolt the fragment attached to the cushion.

Although the tractor still works, running on three engine mounts invites a second mount failure with worse symptoms. I doubt this is something I can fix as I assume it requires the engine to be pulled (or at least lifted).

This is the only thread I could find relating to this problem so it does not seem to be a common problem. I'm also wondering whether, if the engine has to be pulled, I should have the RH support replaced at the same time to guard against a similar failure. It appears to be a $46 part K2581-22110, superceded by K2581-2213.)

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Keep idle time to a minimum run at 2/3 throttle or higher and everything runs smoother.

David