Problems after using no-till drill and engine

Brian62 · May 8, 2019

I had a problem yesterday and need a bit of help.

I was planting seed using a no-till drill with my Kubota M6040. The first day no problem. On the second day I hooked the no-till and it would not lift up when I applied the remote control shift lever. I check the hydrophilic fluid and it told me nothing, so I added a little fluid and ran the engine for a bit. I applied the lever once again but one side was still low and would not go up fully. So I added some more fluid and the no-till went up completely. So drove out I went to seed. When I got back to the barn and as I was letting the engine idle down, and I noticed a line of oil on the gravel. It was motor oil not hydrophilic fluid. It was also all over the engine. I check the motor oil level and it almost empty.

I am at a loss as to what happened and is going on. Any help would be appreciated.

Shaneard · May 8, 2019

First thing you need to do is identify where your leaks are coming from, you're obviously loosing hydraulic fluid and engine oil. Identify the source and see if you can fix it. Could be a blown hose, seal, cooler, etc.

Brian62 · May 8, 2019

I'm not losing hydraulic oil, and there are no blown hoses that I can see. But it is engine oil. I'm thinking it could be a gasket, but I can't see it dripping from any one point; most likely because the oil was lost during the time of tilling.

Tx Jim · May 8, 2019

Welcome to TBN
I suggest to check engine air intake & filter for blockage. I'm curious does your tractor have a hyd oil dipstick(key 090) similar to my M7040 because you mentioned adding hyd oil but not checking hyd oil? It should have a dipstick.

Brian62 · May 9, 2019

Thanks for the replies. It had nothing to do with the hydraulic oil. I thought there was a connection, and there wasn't one.

So yesterday, I headed to Walmart and got some "Super Clean," and sprayed the engine down and washed it off; and then topped off the oil. Then I started it and after about a minute I found the oil leak. It was at the timing chain housing. I'm pretty sure it's the gasket.

Brian62 · May 9, 2019

It (2010 Kubota M6040) does have a dip stick, but it is so small (short), I'm not sure what i can actually measure.

Brian62 · May 9, 2019

TX Jim, thanks for the welcome. This being my first post I have to say I have been reading this site for years, but because the discussions are so thorough I have never needed to post until now. I have to say TBN is an amazing site.

I'll add that I am glad TBN is still vibrant when so many good discussion boards have fallen away due in large part to Facebook. I do participate on FB concerning my farming applications, but it is really a memory hole after a day or so. The discussion board style is so much superior for deep searching, I'm glad TBN is so active.