Oil pan cracked

[toylets]

i have a L4400 4wd. I guess while brush hog-in i hit a rock and sent it into the oil pan. At least that is my best guess. well the pan cracked next to where the dent is. I was wondering what is the easiest way to remove the pan. the front shaft runs right under the pan and i don't see how i would take it out. It has a plastic sleeve that covers the shaft and looks like it goes into the housing. kubota wants $810 to replace it. 250 for the pan and 69.95hr for labor. said it would be a min of 8hr if they didn't run into any problems. Also thought about seeing if someone could weld it but haven't looked into that yet.

 

[dieselfreak]

Cast iron can be welded, but it is a long process. Has to be heated to a certain temp, then welded with nickel rods. Have you called welding shops yet?

Not sure how long it would hold up, but when you consider what is on the line, maybe replacing it is the way to go.

Hope others chime in here.

df

 

[dex3361]

I don't think it would be that hard to pull the pan off. If you have no experience welding cast I would take it to a weld shop. Another option would be to braze the pan. I would not pay anybody $600 to put on a new pan though.

 

[thetooth]

i would check out a epoxy . do a google search of cast iron epoxy's . i don't know the implications though if it might affect the oil .

 

[wvpolekat]

Epoxy/JBWeld. It is a low pressure environment. Certainly better than hundreds of dollars for a replacement.

 

[leonz]

i have a L4400 4wd. I guess while brush hog-in i hit a rock and sent it into the oil pan. At least that is my best guess. well the pan cracked next to where the dent is. I was wondering what is the easiest way to remove the pan. the front shaft runs right under the pan and i don't see how i would take it out. It has a plastic sleeve that covers the shaft and looks like it goes into the housing. kubota wants $810 to replace it. 250 for the pan and 69.95hr for labor. said it would be a min of 8hr if they didn't run into any problems. Also thought about seeing if someone could weld it but haven't looked into that yet.

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my apologies if i am wrong in advance but these things are built like continuos miners-from the bottom up. if you remove the hood and the grille that should expose the engine and the engine cradle if it has one and you should be able to investiage further as the engine was dropped in over the front propeller shaft and front axle when the tractor was assembled.

like most of all of their smaller motors it should have its own cradle and lifting eyes as most of the small and smaller Kubota engines are multi purpose designed with the same engine for several machines as well as generator and compressor sets and irrigation pumps.

 

[radioman]

nay on epoxy stuff for oil pans. If it shakes loose/fall off, you are back to square one. losing oil and losing engine. I'd call a portable welder outfit and have them look at it. They surely have experience with these things. If it cost same as replacing it, then replace it. Do you have a WSM for your L ? It would outline the oil pan removal I'm sure.

 

[gotrocks]

I question, if the oil pan cast iron. That seem very unlikely to me.

If it is stamped steel then I would not hesitate to try JB weld or some other good epoxy.

Even if it is cast iron epoxy would work. Just make sure the iron is not hairline cracked past the obvious hole.

Just be sure the surface is clean and oil free, then butter the hole up and let it set.

 

[soarkrebel1]

I don't think the pan is cast iron. I would remove it and have it welded.
Then build you a skid plate!!!!!

 

[Willl]

If you choose to weld, it'll have to be removed.

If it was mine and I went through the steps to remove, I'd replace with new.

That said, I'd JB it and monitor.

 

[bstrom]

I used JB on a truck radiator that I owned. It was leaking pretty good. I think I drove it for about 5 years after that with no problems. Might be worth a try as long as you check the oil every day. If you've got the money fix it right though, that dent is pretty ugly.

 

[luc]

i have a L4400 4wd. I guess while brush hog-in i hit a rock and sent it into the oil pan. At least that is my best guess. well the pan cracked next to where the dent is. I was wondering what is the easiest way to remove the pan. the front shaft runs right under the pan and i don't see how i would take it out. It has a plastic sleeve that covers the shaft and looks like it goes into the housing. kubota wants $810 to replace it. 250 for the pan and 69.95hr for labor. said it would be a min of 8hr if they didn't run into any problems. Also thought about seeing if someone could weld it but haven't looked into that yet.

I looked a the part diagram for your tractor and it will seems that you can remove the front shaft (propeler shaft) exactly like on my L2900 and it's very easy.
The cover is made of 2 pieces bolted together with 2 small bolts.
1/ Remove those bolts and slide the smaller OD cover in the larger OD cover,
2/ Move those covers to the rear.
3/ You will see a coupler connecting the shaft to the front axle with a pin in the center of the coupler ( you could need to rotate the shaft to see it)
Drive the pin out.
4/Move the covers to the front.
5/ repeat #3 on the back coupler
6/ move the covers to the center
7/move/slide both couplers toward the center and the shaft will drop down.

On my tractor , to remove the oil pan, I will have to move the front axle forward by a couple of " and to do so, I will jack-up the front of the tractor frame in the center, remove the 6 bolts ( 4 rear, 2 front) holding the 2 front axle pivot point brackets and move the full axle slightly forward, sill attached by the tie-rods.
That would give me plenty of room to drop the oil pan.

Hard to imagine the job taking more than 2 hours.

 

[Baby Grand]

Judging by the bosses on the bottom of the pan it's a casting. From the dent and the smeared metal I'd guess it's aluminum.

 

[Baby Grand]

Judging by the bosses on the bottom of the pan it's a casting. From the dent, the smooth surface finish where the paint is still fresh and the smeared metal where it isn't, I'd guess it's aluminum.

 

[savageactor7]

A while back I put a hole in our oil pan too. When I went to take it off none of our 4 different socket sets could get close to the nuts.

Thought about it and used Marine Tex 2 part epoxy to repair the hole after proper preparation. It's been holding up for years now.

 

[Tractor Factor]

A while back I put a hole in our oil pan too. When I went to take it off none of our 4 different socket sets could get close to the nuts.

Thought about it and used Marine Tex 2 part epoxy to repair the hole after proper preparation. It's been holding up for years now.

As long as you're vigilant I don't see what you've got to lose with this approach. Even if you drain the pan, though, how do you get a hole/crack like this completely clean and oil free for the epoxy to bond?

 

[abeal]

You didn't happen to finance your tractor with Kubota and get their insurance did you?

 

[Volfandt]

That is one very interesting setup, splitting the pan like that to run the driveshaft, interesting and very ingenious.

I had a short corn stalk bend the steel oil pan my my old TE20 just enough to cause a small leak at the oil filter access hole. I replaced the pan.

I also had a couple fuel leaks around some seams on the fuel tank. I drained it down and removed all vestiges of liquid fromt the cracks and sanded them down to nice shiney metal. I then used J B weld to seal the seams up. It held for the 6 additional yrs I owned it and may still be holding for the new owner. The seams were at stress points where the tank bolted to the tractor and the J B weld held quite well, even when bolted back down.

If you were to leave the pan in place and try the J B Weld, you'll need to drain the oil and let the tractor sit a couple of days to ensure all the liquid (oil) is drained away form the crack. Sand the area, apply it then let it sit a day to cure befoe you add oil.
it may or may not work.

If I went to the trouble of removing the pan to weld it, I'd probably just get a new oil pan.

Good luck
Dave

 

[dieselfreak]

The 1600 Series MF are like that too, except they have a crossover tube between the 2 pan sections, guess to help keep oil ven between the to lower halfs.

df.

That is one very interesting setup, splitting the pan like that to run the driveshaft, interesting and very ingenious.

I had a short corn stalk bend the steel oil pan my my old TE20 just enough to cause a small leak at the oil filter access hole. I replaced the pan.

I also had a couple fuel leaks around some seams on the fuel tank. I drained it down and removed all vestiges of liquid fromt the cracks and sanded them down to nice shiney metal. I then used J B weld to seal the seams up. It held for the 6 additional yrs I owned it and may still be holding for the new owner. The seams were at stress points where the tank bolted to the tractor and the J B weld held quite well, even when bolted back down.

If you were to leave the pan in place and try the J B Weld, you'll need to drain the oil and let the tractor sit a couple of days to ensure all the liquid (oil) is drained away form the crack. Sand the area, apply it then let it sit a day to cure befoe you add oil.
it may or may not work.

If I went to the trouble of removing the pan to weld it, I'd probably just get a new oil pan.

Good luck
Dave

 

[rbargeron]

Judging by the bosses on the bottom of the pan it's a casting. From the dent, the smooth surface finish where the paint is still fresh and the smeared metal where it isn't, I'd guess it's aluminum.

Yes, it looks like an aluminum die casting. The material color says aluminum too. If it is a die casting, it may not be a weldable aluminum alloy - the heat may just burn it away and make it worse.

But the JB Weld idea would be inexpensive, easy, and probably work very well. Rough up the surface around the patch so the epoxy has some tooth to grab onto, and cure the patch by placing a light bulb close enough to keep it warm a few hours. No need to take the pan down - just drain the oil, spray some carb cleaner at the crack and let it dry. If you get the surface clean, the JB Weld will stick very well. Keep an eye on it for seepage and fix it again if needed.