Engine Life

[DaninGreenBay]

Here's a question. ...What is the average engine life before going thru a major overhaul on a 3 cylinder diesel like on my Kubota BX?
I know, I know, it all depends, so lets makes some assumptions:
1. it will be used 85% of the time for residential mowing(2 acres), 5% for light FEL work, 5% for tall grass and brush hogging, and 5% for snow blowing.
2. oil, fluids, filter changes and all other scheduled maintenance will all be performed on or before recommended intervals.
3. the tractor will not be abused by lugging, over reving, or overheating.

I heard one dealer say about 5,000 hrs but that seems high to me. Another said about 3,000 hrs.
Anyone have any thoughts or better yet any actual experience they can share?
(With the low hours I will putting on, the question is probably moot, as either way the little tractor will probably outlast me..../w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif)

 

[hayden]

I'm not sure about the BX, but the warranty on the Bs is for 2000hrs or 2 years. Only commercial users will ever hit the 2000hrs before the 2 years runs out, but it makes it clear that Kubota thinks 2000hrs should be completely trouble-free. I think 5000 is a perfectly reasonable number. I also don't think is matters at all unless you are using it all day every day. It's VERY rare that I see a used tractor with even 1000 hrs on it. A heavy home owner might put 250hrs per year on a tractor, so 5000 hrs is 20 years.

 

[JohnMiller3]

Kubota BX ~~~40 years... or 100 hrs/yr = 4000 hrs... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[hwp]

My F2400 ( 3 cyl. 24 hp diesel) belonged to a small town for about 10 years before I bought it. At that time the hour meter was broken but showed about 4500 hours. My assumption was that it had about 6000 fairly hard hours. Despite that it runs great. The local Kubota dealer told me that those engines should last at least 8000 hours. I run around 100 hours a year so by the time the engines dies, I won't be far behind.

 

[Egon]

Hayden:

The Kubota dealer where I buy my filters has told me of one B7100 with 10,000 hours on it with only a clutch replacement. Tractor works in a green house type environment.

As an aside this deall sold about 285 units several years ago.

Egon.

 

[MarkV]

Gordon's 3710 had over 7600 hrs on it when he traded in for a 4310. Many of those hours were logging hours which are not the easiest hours on a tractor. I don't worry about the tractor lasting---with regular fluid changes---but every year I worry about me lasting a little more./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

MarkV

 

[BobinCols]

You will not wear it out for your use unless something unfortunate happened like overheating and continuing to run the engine. As you stated, most of our tractors will outlast us.

 

[milkman]

Danin, in 1998, i traded in a diesel that i had since new in 1993, it had 28,800 hrs on it, 1,200,000 miles, it had not had a problem at all with the engine, only replaced external parts like waterpump and alternator, a/c, etc. It was serviced at 20,000 intervals, although it held 40 qts oil and had three oil filters. I don't think you have to be concerned with engine life if you keep it maintained.
The refer trailers have a four cylinder Isuzu diesel and i asked a Thermo King dealer how long they run before rebuild, he said with scheduled maintainance, they'd go 30,000 hrs. That's a long timed.