kubota 800 hour engine valve adj maintenance=worth it?

[namesray]

my b7800 has 880 hours on it now. since last fall it has started starting rough. just the first start of the day. all other days starts it fires up like normal. warmer weather here now and it is starting up better, but still not right.

the manuel says to have the "engine valve clearance adjusted" every 800 hours. my dealer said this might be the solution to my problem. i got a price guestimate from them and after talking to them, i wanted to ask everyone here as well, is doing the engine valve clearance adjustment worth it? who here has done it? do you reccommend doing it or not? dealer said most of the ones they did still were within tolerances even over 1000 hours. cost range is around $350. i do not believe i could do it myself and really don't want to attempt it.

if it means anything, when temp is below 50*f. i glow plug it for 15 sec. tractors always starts, but sputters for about 5 sec and spits smoke for the time it is sputtering. then seems to run fine. all other starts that day start good. it never did this until last fall. 6 years old. thank you for your opinions.

 

[EE_Bota]

my b7800 has 880 hours on it now. since last fall it has started starting rough. just the first start of the day. all other days starts it fires up like normal. warmer weather here now and it is starting up better, but still not right.

the manuel says to have the "engine valve clearance adjusted" every 800 hours. my dealer said this might be the solution to my problem. i got a price guestimate from them and after talking to them, i wanted to ask everyone here as well, is doing the engine valve clearance adjustment worth it? who here has done it? do you reccommend doing it or not? dealer said most of the ones they did still were within tolerances even over 1000 hours. cost range is around $350. i do not believe i could do it myself and really don't want to attempt it.

if it means anything, when temp is below 50*f. i glow plug it for 15 sec. tractors always starts, but sputters for about 5 sec and spits smoke for the time it is sputtering. then seems to run fine. all other starts that day start good. it never did this until last fall. 6 years old. thank you for your opinions.

I did my own in the BX2200, and I always do my own. It is a very rare thing that I have adjusted the valves, and it helped anything obviously but clatter noise... On a Honda Trail 90 and an OSSA trials bike, the bike would not start and run until I adjusted the valves, so that was the obvious problem.

I doubt your valves are your problem, but if they are, it will become a BIG problem. Valves cool themselves (generally) by transfer of heat to the head while fully closed. An exhaust valve particularly is prone to "burning" if it cannot fully close.

I don't think this is your problem, but you could check without actually adjusting a single thing. Just an idea that could eliminate that as an issue, yet you could enlist the aid of a buddy if in fact you discover it is your problem.

Heck my BX2200 smokes and acts funny too when it starts, but only or (guessing) a second to a 11/2 seconds. Could be you have a burned out glow plug or so?

Good Luck, and I'll be watching this thread.

 

[BeezFun]

I'd check some simple things first, like you might have a little moisture in the fuel. Might throw a little heet in, or run the tank completely empty then add some fresh.

 

[Verticaltrx]

I'd bet good money that if you check them at 800hrs they will still be well within spec, save your money. I wouldn't worry about it until twice that number of hours IMO.

Not sure what to tell you on the hard starting, my B3200 has behaved that way since day one, I have about 500hrs on it now with no change.

 

[Deano]

I did my own on my BX24. They needed adjusted, but only small adjustments. Did not notice any difference. Since I did it myself, I would not skip it. If I had to pay for it....???

My thread from when I did mine, http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/218655-bx24-800-hour-engine-valve.html.

Deano

 

[namesray]

I'd check some simple things first, like you might have a little moisture in the fuel. Might throw a little heet in, or run the tank completely empty then add some fresh.

dealer said to change fuel filter, as might have moisture. thing is tractor is run throughout the year. kubota rtv 900 i have hasn't had the fuel filter changed for over a year and doesn't get run over the winter much. the tractor fuel filter is changed every 100 hours. i believe it was causing me trouble last fall before i changed the fuel filter at 800 hours (tractor has 880 now). changing the filter made no difference. i always fill the tanks when i park it at night (less moisture built up). have put power service in all fuel since late september until last month, march. i am not seeing how it can be the fuel/filter. rtv gets same treatment and still starts great. b7800 always started great with 5 to 15 sec of glow plugs until about 800 hours/last fall when it started getting cold. i know some have said their tractor has done it since day one, but mine never use to and now it does=something changed/wrong.

question. if it is water in fuel/filter, would that just bother it on first cold start of day? seems like it would be every start and even affect running. my b7800 only starts rough first start of day. after it quits sputtering/smoking (5-10 sec.) it sounds fine/normal. any other start starts good/normal. if i put my electric space heater near the engine and let that pre-warm for 2 hours, then it starts great first cold start of day. if it is not valves, then i can only think weak/bad glow plugs.

if i did let the 800 hour valve adj. go, and it was off bad enough and just kept running it, how much damage could that cause and what gets damaged? and wouldn't it be a good idea to just check them now and then i would know for next time and maybe then double up on the 800 hour interval if the valves were still with in specs this first time?

i don't know. i am much more an operator then a mechanic. i really appreciate your help and opinions.

if it is glow plugs, how do you check them? volt meter? and where are they located? it does "seem" if i glow plug it longer (25 sec) then it starts a little better, but still not like it use to. thanks for any and all advice.

 

[BeezFun]

if it is glow plugs, how do you check them? volt meter? and where are they located? it does "seem" if i glow plug it longer (25 sec) then it starts a little better, but still not like it use to. thanks for any and all advice.

Yes, measure the resistance. If you do a search you'll find a few threads where people have posted what the resistance should be. I can see how a bad glow plug would make it start hard, but don't think it could cause the rough running you are describing. My B2710 runs just like your B7800, barks a little for 5 seconds then settles right down. I think the valve thing is a distraction. If you have a compression tester you might check the compression of each cylinder. If you have one that's getting bad it might be causing a more noticeable problem until it warms up. But unless you've neglected the thing it shouldn't have a compression problem this early in life.

 

[namesray]

I can see how a bad glow plug would make it start hard, but don't think it could cause the rough running you are describing. My B2710 runs just like your B7800, barks a little for 5 seconds then settles right down. I think the valve thing is a distraction. If you have a compression tester you might check the compression of each cylinder. If you have one that's getting bad it might be causing a more noticeable problem until it warms up. But unless you've neglected the thing it shouldn't have a compression problem this early in life.

don't really understand. starts hard. not rough running. only sputters for around 5 seconds immediately after start. i attribute that to starting hard.
thanks for the info. i will try the search to get some more info. friend recommended a thermometer heat gun to tell the temps the glow plug area is heating up to. if one is throwing less heat then that one(ones) bad. don't know the exact temp the glow plugs are set to heat up to on a v 1505 engine.

dealer did say that might have to do compression test if other remidies don't work first. it has not been neglected. been maintained to the book and then some. only reason it was not taken to dealer to do 800 hours valve maintenance back closer to 800 hours (tractor has exactly 880 hours now) is because dealer said better do do it when weather gets warmer, due to how valve adj. is done. better at spring type temps to measure and adj after letting it sit overnight in these temps.

tractor does not turn over much more then it use to before it fires. it does fire up, but just sputters and smokes for first 5 seconds about.

i am leaning towards having the engine valve adj done anyway. then go from there. i think my problem is in the glow plugs though. do the valve adj for insurance purposes and my peace of mind. try the fuel filter and heet soon too as close to 900 hour change.

still open for suggestions and opinions. love the stuff i learn here at tbn.:thumbsup: thanks all so much.

 

[EE_Bota]

don't really understand. starts hard. not rough running. only sputters for around 5 seconds immediately after start. i attribute that to starting hard.
thanks for the info. i will try the search to get some more info. friend recommended a thermometer heat gun to tell the temps the glow plug area is heating up to. if one is throwing less heat then that one(ones) bad. don't know the exact temp the glow plugs are set to heat up to on a v 1505 engine.

dealer did say that might have to do compression test if other remidies don't work first. it has not been neglected. been maintained to the book and then some. only reason it was not taken to dealer to do 800 hours valve maintenance back closer to 800 hours (tractor has exactly 880 hours now) is because dealer said better do do it when weather gets warmer, due to how valve adj. is done. better at spring type temps to measure and adj after letting it sit overnight in these temps.

tractor does not turn over much more then it use to before it fires. it does fire up, but just sputters and smokes for first 5 seconds about.

i am leaning towards having the engine valve adj done anyway. then go from there. i think my problem is in the glow plugs though. do the valve adj for insurance purposes and my peace of mind. try the fuel filter and heet soon too as close to 900 hour change.

still open for suggestions and opinions. love the stuff i learn here at tbn.:thumbsup: thanks all so much.

Reread my post above, it explains that you can CHECK them and the consequences of neglecting them. Remember, I don't know the difference between what you don't want to do, don't know how to do, or feel uncomfortable doing, so I don't let me push you in any way. But above you seem to be interested in both how the tractor works, and learning more about how to take care of it.

I doubt your valves are causing this...and as far as problems go, your problem seems very minor. Your tractor starts fine, balks for about 5 seconds, and then works fine the rest of the time. Were it me, I'd lower my level of concern about that, and instead get a service manual and start reading. I'd CHECK my own valves, and if I felt confident and comfortable (I do) I'd adjust them if needed.

In a car...sometimes it is best to just "turn up the radio." On a tractor, maybe you yell at it for 5 secs when you first start it "Ha! Ha! Get UP! Ha!" I'm joking..but less than you may think. I have to manage myself with I interact with equipment..any little noise, any little difference, I'm on it. But I can justify that..I'm an engineer for a maintenance department...always trying to learn, especially how to diagnose.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Smoking a few seconds at initial startup sounds like the glow plug isnt working or not working properly. Easy to check if you can get to the connections easily and you have a elcheapo test meter. Just put it on ohms and touch the leads to the contact and ground. It should show a dead short between the two, just same a touched the test leads together. If it doesnt then you have a bad one and needs to be replaced. I would concentrate on that first and make sure they are working right before attempting anything else. I think most of them also have a relay on them that cuts them out after a period of time, your relay may not be working or cutting out prematurely before the element gets hot enough. On my Kubota RTV it only takes a few seconds for the glowplug light to kick off and I am assuming that when the light goes off, the current is stopped also. But it will start on fairly cold days without waiting for the glow plugs but it will kind of miss and stutter a few seconds till it warms up. I never really turned around and looked at the exhaust.