Kubota overheated!

[Gord Baker]

All of the above!

 

[Rod in Forfar]

I was pulling a 5 foot rotary mower through thick weeds yesterday when my MX5100 diesel died and started smoking a lot, all over the engine. It would barely turn over at that point. I waited 45 minutes and got it started. It seemed normal after a minute of smoking.

I think the temperature gauge is broken. I saw some new smoke coming out in advance but never thought about overheating.

I started it again just now and it smoked a lot for a minute and then was fine.

Should I be worried about antifreeze in in the oil? Any other concerns?

 

[Rod in Forfar]

I was pulling a 5 foot rotary mower through thick weeds yesterday when my MX5100 diesel died and started smoking a lot, all over the engine. It would barely turn over at that point. I waited 45 minutes and got it started. It seemed normal after a minute of smoking.

I think the temperature gauge is broken. I saw some new smoke coming out in advance but never thought about overheating.

I started it again just now and it smoked a lot for a minute and then was fine.

Should I be worried about antifreeze in in the oil? Any other concerns?

When you get it going again, clean the radiator and its screen, but also drop down a gear in the heavy stuff.

 

[LD1]

When you get it going again, clean the radiator and its screen, but also drop down a gear in the heavy stuff.

WHy even make such an irrelevant comment? We have no idea how fast he was mowing, AND its a 5' little mower behing 51HP. And might not even have gears for that matter

 

[Hay Dude]

Thanks. It looks like my post last night did not work right. So I was pouring water in the radiator and watching run right out on the ground. The coolant hose going in front of the oil filter had broken off the block. I am going to call the dealer today and see if they have that part that goes in the block. If it is a standard thread, I might try to make a temporary fix. I need to find an extractor to get that out of the block.

I searched the Messick site last night and could not find the part.

So apparently that hose piece broke off at some point and drained the radiator. Because I did not see steam or boiling water, the radiator was apparenlty drained at that point. The tractor seems fine now, but parked until I can get some coolant in it.

Keep an eye on the color of the exhaust and the oil level.
Not a guarantee of anything, but an indicator of what may have happened.

Sorry this happened to you. There’s a lot to keep an eye on, especially when you have a lot of things on your mind.

I was delivering a large round bale to a feed hay customer late in the day yesterday. My radiator screens were partially blocked from mowing. The bale further blocked wind flow into the front of the engine. Before I knew it, I was very close to the red zone.

 

[5030]

May need to carry portable air tank blow out filter and rad.

I use a Radiator Genie, one nozzle for air, the other for water. Too bad you cannot get a reversible cooling fan for Kubota's. You can for other makes. The fan's have a switch that changes the blade pitch from 'suck' to blow'...

 

[5030]

OP stated early on the coolant temp sender was inoperative. I know if mine was, it would be replaced immediately. Not knowing what is transpiring far as engine temperature is like playing Russian Roulette. That one loaded chamber can kill a motor.

 

[alpha&omega]

Full agree, but mainly just responding to note that it's interesting you use the term "euchered" to say the engine is blown/shot/junk LOL. I wonder if people outside of the upper midwest even have any idea what card game you are talking about.

That’s because most people outside of the tri-state area play spades. When you can count cards and learn how to stack a deck it’s nearly the same card game. We often played both on our down time while on deployments.

The fuel gauge and temperature gauge were smashed by a tree limb. Anyone have an idea how difficult it would be to replace the instrument panel?

The instrument panel is not bad at all to replace. As someone mentioned earlier, it’s just a few screws holding it in place and then a couple connectors in the back. If it’s your first time you might consider disconnecting the battery so you don’t short anything or shock yourself while your back there.

With regards to your rad screens. Does your tractor have the “pre-screen” in front of the coolers/radiator? If so, keep an eye on this and carry a small hand sized whisk broom in your tractor. I had an older model BX that was notorious for collecting chaff. So long as the front grille and that pre-screen were kept clean, the coolers/radiator wouldn’t get too bad. On my JD, it’s a different story and they require cleaning more often.
Best of luck with your instrument panel replacement and finding a fitting for your water return mount. If you can’t find the fitting through Kubota or anywhere online, you might have luck taking it off the machine and into somewhere like Napa. They might have a similar replacement or multiple pieces that you could thread together to make work temporarily. Keep us all posted on what happens.

 

[alpha&omega]

I use a Radiator Genie, one nozzle for air, the other for water. Too bad you cannot get a reversible cooling fan for Kubota's. You can for other makes. The fan's have a switch that changes the blade pitch from 'suck' to blow'...

I wasn’t impressed with their build quality. They cheaped out on their materials after the first year, similar to flexzilla. Awesome products during their first 1-2 year release, and then after that things went downhill.

I switched over to IPA for my air cleaning nozzles. They make all different sizes and I’ve had MUCH better luck with them than I ever did with any other brands. Great customer service as well - almost non-existent with the others.

24″ Air Comb® Filter & Radiator Cleaner | Multi-Port Air Gun

The AirComb® 90° Multi-Port Air Gun blasts 5X more air to clean filters, radiators, and condensers without damage. High-volume airflow. Available in 4 lengths.

ipatools.com

The 24” might be too much for a compact tractor, you might be better off with the 12” or the elbow wand. Be mindful that you need to turn down your pressure and don’t try to use it in “full auto” (a.k.a. constant squeeze of the trigger) if you buy the elbow wand. Short bursts work much better. Careful though, they all have some kickback.

 

[5030]

Mine are around 10 years old so the newer ones may be cheaply built. I'll take your word on that.