Kubota BX25

[taralogan]

Need to know how to repalce fan on end of drive shift on a BX25. It keeps the tramsmision cool.

 

[Jeff F.]

Do a search on the owning/operating forum. There are quite a few threads there. Good luck, it doesn't sound like a fun project.

 

[Artisan]

Welcome,

...and after you get it fixed look into a Brotek or Bxpanded skid plate(s).
I have read about many a guy doing this repair. I do not think it will
be rocket science. Perhaps remove the FEL and store it far away
then remove the engine cowl using the 2 hand knobs right
under the Left & Right headlights you will see w/ the hood up.
Remove the screen your toes kick while your in the seat.
Now you can see a LOT...

Buy the fan, ask for the installation instructions if they are not
in the box!

Good luck, if your savvy to pics and forums, posting
up a tutorial would be cool!

 

[Cobranut]

Artisan, he's talking about the HST fan, not the engine fan.
You pull the floorboard and disconnect the driveshaft and rear HST drive hub. The fan is bolted to the hub.
It's an inexpensive part and a relatively easy fix, probably an hour or two max.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Artisan, he's talking about the HST fan, not the engine fan.
You pull the floorboard and disconnect the driveshaft and rear HST drive hub. The fan is bolted to the hub.
It's an inexpensive part and a relatively easy fix, probably an hour or two max.

If you can do this repair this quick and easy you are the only one I've heard of that can over the past several years. This is considered the "worst" problem of BXs. This plastic fan costs just a few dollars for the part and hundreds of dollars for a dealer to replace it. On the Kubota Owners forum you can read many, many articles of the many tried fixes and so far I haven't seen a really great one other than the way the dealer does it. Some people have cut the fan in half and came up with different methods of getting it back to one piece to get it back to working.
Go here for actual owners experience.
Kubota Owning/Operating

 

[BXman98]

Replacing that fan is tricky to do because the replacing of the HST fan involves taking off the deck of the tractor so you can move the drive shaft around better. You should look into seeing how much it would cost you to have the dealer replace that for you, but if you do it yourself that would be great, try messaging and guy on tractor by net by the username of 4shorts, he has done that kind of work before. He can show you how to do it.

 

[junkyardwarrior]

It's not that bad. Removing the fenders and floor, can be done that way. I usually don't, however, just because it's a pain to do so by myself. Normally loosen the engine mounts and let the engine move forward just far enough to slide the shaft off of the transmission, then drop the shaft just far enough to get to the bolts. Not that the second method is "easy" by any means, but it can be done, and if you're doing it by yourself, it usually results in the least amount of newly invented words.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Where are all our enterprising after market parts guys. Seems like a simple part to make in a light manufacturing environment to fabricate a fool proof 2 piece fan that will bolt on. I have heard that Kubota did it that way as all the shielding after market products restrict the air flow enough to cause HST overheating in hot weather and heavy loads. I would pay $100 to not have to mess doing it or tying my tractor down at the dealers for 2 weeks plus.

Ron

 

[Sodo]

I'd cut the old fan off, and cut the new one in half.

=============

Also the 'skidplate' doesn't have to survive a nuclear blast. ALL it has to do is reduce the chance a stick can get in there and break the fan. The 'skidplate' can be made of plywood. Full coverage and restricting airflow is not necessary. Its sole task is to prevent sticks from getting to the fan.

 

[junkyardwarrior]

It is one piece for a reason. It turns at engine speed (about 3500 RPM). When it gets loaded with grass, mud, etc, if it were 2 piece it would be mroe likely to fly apart. If it were metal, a stick jammed into it would increase the chance of it grabbing the stick or debris and destroying other stuff in that area.

Plastic, and one piece, is really the best option given it's location. One could design a complete 1/4" steel box around the fan and 100% guaranteed someone would destroy the guard and the fan and then gripe about how hard it is to replace it saying that it's a factory defect.

You can't please everyone. Especially not with tractors.

BTW, as someone who's been messing with the Kubota stuff for a very long time, I've not seen but 2 or 3 broken fans-and they're all on the BX23/24/25's. Never the 1500, 1800's, 2200's, 2350's, 2360's, etc. And even then, it's not the end of the world to replace it if you have just a little bit of mechanical ability. 2 or 3 broken fans out of a thousand (or more) that I've looked at during normal servicing is pretty good. My biggest gripe is that fuel filter in the middle, that requires removal of the mower deck for access. :yuck:

Kind of reminds me of the spark plug issues on the old 5.4L Ford engines. It was not a huge problem, but became well known because of the processes that were needed to fix it (either replace the head or machine the plug hole). And I've had several of those, 2 were Lightning engines and never had a plug come out like "they" said was such a big problem. I have, however, fixed one. And it ain't that bad. Just like the BX series HST fans.

 

[Sodo]

3500 rpm, that's one hotrod BX! I hardly ever ran mine at full RPM (which I think was 2400?) usually just enough RPM to get the job done. Plus low RPM saves the hourmeter. I sold my BX - it was a great tractor but I needed more lift capacity & bigger wheels.

If a plastic fan was out of balance I don't think you could possibly know it. In fact if you lost a couple blades you wouldn't know it either. If anybody can offer a link to the best how-to thread (replacing the fan) I bet the OP would appreciate it.

With regards to the aftermarket, a low-cost and easy to install "fan guard" (just a grating to block sticks) could be a useful BX accessory that could not impede air circulation. For most sales it should be "bolt on", most customers won't drill a hole. I've seen the big BX skidplates and think they are overkill. I never bought one because it's like swatting a fly with a hammer. Many customers prefer overkill.

 

[junkyardwarrior]

3500 rpm, that's one hotrod BX! I hardly ever ran mine at full RPM (which I think was 2400?) usually just enough RPM to get the job done. Plus low RPM saves the hourmeter. I sold my BX - it was a great tractor but I needed more lift capacity & bigger wheels.

If a plastic fan was out of balance I don't think you could possibly know it. In fact if you lost a couple blades you wouldn't know it either. If anybody can offer a link to the best how-to thread (replacing the fan) I bet the OP would appreciate it.

No, one does not know if the fan is broken or out of balance. It's an inspection point, just something I look at while I'm under there changing the fuel filters and/or power steering hoses when they break.

3500 RPM is the rated speed for the engine on the BX and as such, is what the PTO's and hydraulic pump gets it's rating from. At 2400-2500 RPM, the little baby hydraulic pump is SLOOOW. It idles at 1200 RPM. It's a baby engine and needs RPM to make power. The engine cooling fan and water pump and HST charge pump also need speed (cooling comes from fluid flow through the cooler core, then from a fan blowing/pulling air across the core fins). I suggest to run it at full throttle most of the time. Hour meter runs off of the key switch. Long as the key is on, hours run up. On the old 2200's and some of the 1500/1800's, there was a way to run the engine without running up hours (it was easy and I have caught some of my customers doing it for warranty purposes), but the BX50 series and newer stopped that problem. Running the engine slower doesn't slow down the hours. Friend of mine has a BX24, bought it from the original owner. The original owner kept bringing it back to me complaining that the hours kept running up on their own, while the tractor was parked in the barn/shed. I looked at it and as long as the key was off, no hours were counting. Anyway after several visits and the owner telling me I don't know what I'm talking about, I suggested to put up a cheap game camera in the shed to see what is turning the key on, if nothing else but to eliminate what was going on. Turns out that one of the barn cats was playing with the key chain. It had a paracord style key chain that kind of dangled and the little cat kept batting at it. One pic showed cat playing, few frames later, key was turned on. This went on for about 2 years, and ran about 4500 hours up on the hour meter and he bought 3 batteries in 2 years because once they'd sit all week or several weeks at a time, the hourmeter and sometimes the lights would run the battery down. I told him to pull the key out, and that fixed that problem.

I stand behind the statement, it could be made of concrete and steel but owners will still find ways to break them.

The HST fan does 2 jobs. It helps push air across the HST cooling fins, and it helps keep dirt and debris from staying on the HST. A pressure washer under there once in a while makes a big difference in the longevity. If ya'll have ever had to replace an HST on a BX, you'd think that the HST fan R&R was easy (and it isn't hard).

 

[ultrarunner]

There was a thread by someone the machined a two piece aluminum fan when his broke... looked to be a great solution.

The only fans I have noticed broken have been on used tractors for sale...