L200 questions - noise?

[StorminN]

Hi guys,

Newbie to the forum -- I found it by doing some info searching about a Kubota L200 I'm thinking about buying. I'm in Washington state and the tractor in question looks to be an L200 in good condition. Not sure what year it is, but it has the lights on the fenders, not the in the grill... I'm guessing it's around a 1972?

Well, here's a question for those guys on here that own an L200 or a similar older two cylinder Kubota diesel... I went to check out this tractor the other day and when the owner started it, it took a while to start... cranked over for a bit. It was a 60F day or so, and he used the glow plugs, but I did not confirm that they were actually working. If I recall correctly, it smoked white smoke as it turned over, and maybe black smoke once it started to catch. I don't have any experience with these two cylinder diesels, just bigger stuff like six cylinder John Deeres, and newer Kubota three and four cylinders. The only two cylinder I've run was a little Yanmar tractor (and it made a racket!)

Anyway, it seemed like this thing cranked over for too long (for my liking, and it has a brand-new battery) and when it did get going, it ran noisy and rough for the first little bit, like you would expect on a cold day, not a 60F day. So my question is... is this normal for these little engines, or should they start up quicker and not have so much rattle and clank? The one little Yanmar I have run did clank like crazy, it sounded like a rod was loose, but the owner of that one told me that was normal...

Second question is - if this behavior indicates something wrong with the top end on the engine, are these sort of parts available for Kubotas of this age?

FYI, The owner is asking $1,200 for this tractor, which does start, run, shift, PTO spins, no major leaks, cosmetically looks good... not beat up, tin is straight, etc... it comes with a Rankin PTO mower, too...

Thanks in advance for any advice.
-Norm.

 

[Carl_NH]

Norm,

I had a 1980-81 L175DT 2 Cyl 17.5 HP. It would take a bit to start also. The glow plugs were a button on the dash - hit that for 20 sec, pull the decompression knob and turn over.

With the compression off the engine spins much faster however with fuel going in it would spit black diesel fuel/soot on the walls as it was warming up.

As far as white smoke - none - more bluish/black right after starting. If its white thats a caution sign.

Regarding noise, they made a bit of a racket until warmed up at low idle, but when running it should smooth out around 12-1800 RPM and no engine noise.

Parts are likely still around or can be ordered. The price for a running machine with a mower seems decent - is it 4wd? Whats the mower size 4' - finsh type or brush hog?

 

[StorminN]

Hi Carl,

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to go back and try it out again, and pay more attention to the smoke color and noise.

This tractor is 2wd, new tires on the front, older ones on the rears. Mower is brush hog type, at least 4', maybe bigger?

Thanks,
-Norm.

 

[StorminN]

Do any of you folks have a loader or any other external hydraulics on your Kubotas? I have seen some L200's in the internet with loaders, but it's my understanding you have to modify / replumb the hydraulic loop a bit to do it... anyone know what's involved?

I left a message with the owner that I want to buy this tractor, so wish me luck...

Thanks,
-Norm.

 

[Carl_NH]

Norm,

The early Kubotas used a separate pump off the front of the engine, and the hyd. tank is part of the loader. I had a L185 with that setup - worked well - could lift the back end off the ground - translation would lift more than it should scaring the bejezzes out of the op tiltiing on a slope!

In the front you would need to add a hyd pump, then tank, then the front end loader, and if you want a tractor with a FEL, buy it - dont convert it unless you have a donor or like to weld.

These loaders attached back to the rear axle so finding a new unit to adapt would be $$ (3-4K)and take time so at the end of the day a newer unit with FEL would be a better choice. But for a good mower or brush hog its fine.

 

[StorminN]

Hi guys,

I picked up the tractor this past weekend... I'm pretty excited! I picked up a 3pt carry-all yesterday, and have a line on a grader blade and some other attachments, too... can't wait!

If anyone on here knows how to tap into the hydraulic system on this, I'm all ears. It has a hydraulic pump on the front of the diesel engine, and the hydraulic reservoir is built into the front part of the fuel tank. Hard lines run back to a single valve back under the right side of the operator's seat. I'm going to make a post specifically about this subject... thanks!

-Norm.