Fuel tank leak

[DonRybak]

Well, another issue to deal with. Friday I was mowing in the pasture and when I got down to the last bar on the fuel gauge I went in and filled the tank completely then went back to mowing. The area I was mowing was pretty rutted up so it was bumpy. I mowed about 30 minutes to finish up and as I was heading back to park the tractor I looked at the fuel Gauge and thought, "Man that took quite a bit of fuel". When I got off the tractor I noticed that the whole rear end was soaking wet and there was something dripping down. I got some on my hand and smelled it. No wonder it took so much fuel. It was leaking out. I thought that probably the fuel line was leaking but then I noticed that it was running down the back of the tank and down the back wall of the cabin. I parked the tractor and called the dealer and he told me to bring the tank in. Yesterday morning I went out and the leak had stopped when the tank got down to about 1/4 tank. I drained the tank, removed it and took it to the dealer. There was a crack at every threaded insert that the mounting bolts attach to except one. I took the tank to the rep and he said that he just replaced the tank on another 37HC last month for the same reason. He went and brought out the other tank that he had replaced and the cracks were around the same holes. He said that the 37 non-cab models have tanks designed differently and he hadn't heard of any issues with those. He took pictures of the tank to submit. Said he was going to order me another tank and should have it in 6 or 7 days.

I thought that maybe the tank being full and me going over bumps might have put a strain on the tank mounting bolts but I don't think so now that I have it removed. The tank is actually supported by two brackets that it sits on and the back of the tank rests firmly against the back wall of the cabin with the bolts going through the wall into the threaded inserts. It's a pretty sturdy setup. Not sure if maybe TYM got a bad batch of tanks or if it's a design flaw.

 

[radios1]

it's probably an attempt at saving money, and it backfired badly!..

 

[DonRybak]

Got a call from the tractor rep at my RK and the tank came in today. When I took the old tank to him Sunday he said that the last one took 6 days to arrive so I was expecting maybe late this week. I'll pick it up Saturday and hopefully if hurricane Dorian isn't on top of me, get it installed. Very easy 10 minute job.

 

[DonRybak]

Picked up the tank Saturday and installed it yesterday. It was a real bear to get to slide back in so I wondering if maybe they have modified the tank or increased the thickness of it. Last tank made it a year so we'll see how this one does for the next year over rough terrain.

 

[Fine409]

I have about 300 hours on my 37 hydro cab. Same thing. Fuel tank started leaking and I took it off and 5 of 6 bolt holes on back of tank were cracked. I called my RK store and the tractor guy said he would order me one. Said there was a factory problem with those tanks and they have introduced a new one with different brackets and it would be $200+. I told him order it. That was on Friday. Today, Wednesday July 5th, he call me and said it would actually be $417.95. Now here’s the ass kicker. I emailed the company on Friday and got a quick response from customer service saying how sorry they were and the “appropriate department “ would be notified. I emailed them again today after getting the bad news from my store and was told if I was contacted by the store then the “appropriate department “ had responded. This is a safety issue and should have been a recall. I think all 37 cab owners should come together and file a class action lawsuit against them.

 

[DonRybak]

I don't think you should have to pay since this is a known issue with those tanks. After my incident a few months later I was talking to my local rep and he told me that a third tank had cracked. I would think that there would be no time limit on replacing items know to be a manufacturing defect. That would have been late 2019. What year is your machine?

 

[Fine409]

I don't think you should have to pay since this is a known issue with those tanks. After my incident a few months later I was talking to my local rep and he told me that a third tank had cracked. I would think that there would be no time limit on replacing items know to be a manufacturing defect. That would have been late 2019. What year is your machine?

I got a call from the maintenance supervisor in Waverly. He asked for pictures. I sent them and he called me back within 30 minutes. Said they were shipping a new tank with revised bracket to my store and there would be no charge. Installed the tank and fuel gauge even works now.

 

[5030]

Interesting. The saddle tanks on my Kubota M9's (20 gallons each side) are secured with tank straps (just like a big truck's fuel tanks are). Had one start leaking soon after I bought the cab tractor in 2004. Had a bad weld on the bottom drain plug on the right side tank and Kubota sent my dealer a new one, which I replaced myself and returned the leaking one to my dealer.

 

[DonRybak]

Great news......... The only issue I had after installing the new tank was that either the tank sat up about 1/16" higher or the connector plug for the tank sensor was a little beefier causing the cover plate to make contact with the plug. I guess the slight flexing on rough ground would cause the plate and connector to put pressure on the wires and the fuel indicator would be erratic. I just put a couple flat washers on each of the 4 screws holding the plate to act as spacers and the problem was solved. The RK37 non-cab model has the tank mounted on the side as 5030 mentioned on his Kubota. Fine, you mention Waverly, what state are you in?