my kubota rebuild

[mattbatson]

Old saying, Best is the enemy of better.

that old saying is really ringing true with me....
I need to just get this thing running, then go back and restore stuff at a later date.

of course this didn't keep me from beginning to disassemble the center console/instrument panel to grind off some rust and do some painting...



but, I've promised myself that I would do no more painting until the tractor is running, lol

so, started to install the fuel tank support ledge thing, and it is asymmetrical so I tried to figure out which way it went on



when I realized that there was a hole on one side for the fuel line,



I was pretty sure there used to be strip of padding/cushion on there for where the fuel tank rests, so I found some old auto hood weather strip that I had lying around and taped it down on there...it wont go anywhere once the fuel tank is bolted down on top of it.



so, couldn't bolt the tank down as the center console needs to go on at same time, and waiting for the paint to dry, lol, so I took shots of an area I need to figure out.




it is a spring, and the diagram shows it as a clutch release spring, and I think one end goes through a hole on a piece of steel bar spanning the clutch cover and it looks like the other end just goes under the nut of a zerk fitting?
I cannot see anywhere else it could connect, and the diagram isn't clear...



hard to see up there with everything in the way...
not sure why the spring is needed there, as there is a huge spring on the clutch pedal that pulls it back


anyways, tomorrow I hope to have the tank and center console all bolted up...then the steering wheel

couple of shots of the other dog...




and my four yr old with the other dog...

 

[mattbatson]

mounted up the center console/instrument panel and started wiring...

put plenty of dielectric silicone on the connectors



found a couple of wires that I need to figure out...will check the shop manual some more and figure it out





the fuel vent lines were really stiff and old, so put on some silicone ones I had left over from a car project...might eventually just get some normal black ones from the auto store

hooking up more linkages (there seem to be a million so far)


bolting the fuel tank to the console


drained engine oil and filled with some of this stuff...



need to figure out some wiring, fill up the HST and trans with Kubota hyd, and might have to get a new battery...then couple other little things...then maybe fire it up

 

[mattbatson]

well, I have been working on it, but not posting...
I wanted to have my next post be a video of it running...but I ran into problems and it isn't running yet.

the battery is good. Had it tested at advanced auto and it is good. Power tested to the starter.
but, when I turn the ignition key, there is no click at the solenoid...nothing.

anyways, to bring you up to date...

I added Kubota hydraulic


new air filter


got the dash plugged in



battery hooked up and turned the key on...


then turned it one more notch for glow plugs


then tried to start and nothing.

Now, I know about the safety switch at the clutch lever. Must engage clutch to start.
However, the prior owner bypassed the switch, in a less than elegant manner...


and I have this mess here


so that is where I'm at now....



so from here, I do have one wire under the dash that isn't connected to anything, and I don't know what it goes to...nothing obvious anyways...
I am going to study the wiring diagram and see if I can figure out what that wire does.

otherwise, all the plugs are plugged in and tight.

more later.

 

[sixdogs]

What about a seat switch?

 

[mattbatson]

yes, another thing I looked for right away
there is nothing there.
the seat has two brackets to hold it on, and is bare underneath otherwise.

what's more, the wiring loom that goes back there has no wires coming off it for a seat switch.

I'll post up more findings later

 

[dfkrug]

Now, I know about the safety switch at the clutch lever. Must engage clutch to start.
However, the prior owner bypassed the switch, in a less than elegant manner...

Looks like the clutch safety switch is bypassed by splicing the red wire to the the black/yellow wire. Seems
like a clean modification with zip ties. The only thing I would do differently is not use a crimp splice (blue),
in favor of a soldered connection instead.

I bypass the clutch interlock on my HST tractor, too. The HST itself provides plenty of safety.

Nice work, MB.

 

[mattbatson]

ok, so I went poking around some more...
I think the fusible link has been bypassed...not sure, but I think this was it...


also the safety switch has been bypassed...


I started unwrapping wires down near the starter...where the previous owner had hacked away, lol...so I could get a better look and try to figure stuff out.


still had one wire with a female connector that I wasn't sure where it went (I figured it out a little later...I'll get back to that)


so I started testing voltage up the big red starter solenoid wire, as it went from connector to connector, until I got up to the connector just before the key switch, and it all tested fine.


one thing I noticed was that when I turned the key two clicks to the glowplug, the voltage dropped two whole volts down to 10.3...

anyways, kept searching and found a fuse holder with two 25amp fuses...one of which looked like it melted.


so cleaned out the holder and put in new fuses with some dielectric silicone...

So, for some reason, I went back down to the starter and looked at that stray wire again and noticed it was hanging on by a thread and when I pulled on it, it broke.
So I respliced it and heat shrank it and it is all good now...

that is when, for some reason, something just clicked.
In all my years working on cars, I suddenly recognized that connector. I put my light over to look at the other side of the solenoid and there it was...


I had missed it and I sure filled like a dope after.

I immediately knew this was the problem , jumped up into the seat, depressed the clutch, and turned the key and it turned over!
I tried again, and it caught, puffed a little smoke, and started running!

Good grief, to finally hear it run after all this time and work was just music to my ears.
My wife was inside the house when she heard it running and she ran outside and gave me a big hug.

so, it idled for a couple of minutes then died.
I checked the fuel filter petcock switch, then started it again. It ran for another couple minutes then died again...so there is something going on, but none of that was enough to quell my enthusiasm for the fact that it ran.

more later!

 

[ddb123]

Looks good so far!

 

[sixdogs]

Excellent photos and comments. It's great to follow the updates and chain of events.

 

[wmonroe]

Congrats on getting it running. Is your fuel filter new? What about the lines from the talk to the filter?