Realistically, how many hours can I get out of a BX1500?

[bxowner]

I've seen some listed for sale with 300 hours for not a whole lot less than I paid for it...

I figure I'll put ~40-50 hours per year.

At that rate, figuring I maintain it and don't abuse it, can I get 10 years out of it? 20?

 

[Mike5252]

I suspect it will rust out long before it wears out. I've always thought a well maintained diesel SCUT ought to last 2000 hrs.

 

[kwolfe]

I recall seeing a thread a while back that should bx owners with up to a thousand hours on there machines and they were still running very strong.

I don't see why you wouldn't get as many hours out of a SCUT as you would of most any other tractor. I have seen older Kubotas for sale with 3000hrs on them that are still fetching a fair price.

I hope my 1500 is the last machine I ever "have to" buy (note I said have to, not want to ).

 

[john_bud]

My OPINION, is that large diesels can go a billion revolutions. Small diesels about 1/2 that. Your power point is about 3000 rpms so you should be able to get 2700-3000 hours.

Your maintenance habits can make that dramatically lower or higher. Dirty air will wear the cylinders out FAST. Dirty oil hurts too, but not as much as dirty air.

If you put your 50 hours on a year, a unit with 300 hours on the clock should be able to go 30 more years with good maintenance. Check the air filters on the tractor. If they are dirty -- that's a bad sign. Take off the filters and white glove test (seriously) the intake passage the filtered air takes. If it is dirty that's a sign of pizz poor maintenance and one that would sour the deal for me.

jb

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

typicaly we expect about 4500-5000 hours as end of life. Occasionaly you see them going longer than that but often the owner has put money into them to keep it going.

 

[Sully2]

I've seen some listed for sale with 300 hours for not a whole lot less than I paid for it...

I figure I'll put ~40-50 hours per year.

At that rate, figuring I maintain it and don't abuse it, can I get 10 years out of it? 20?

Bottom line? More years than you'll be able to sit on it to use it!

 

[RobertN]

My B8200 was made around '85 or '86. It is a HST 4wd(It is basically the great greand parent of the B2710). It has 1025 hours on it, and works like a champ. I got it with 400 hours I think; have to look in the records. The was in 98. I used it for a side for a couple years. Otherwise, I run 50-75 hours a year. I change the fluids and filters regularily.

IF you take good care of the tractor and don't abuse it, it should last a long time. My Farmall is a '41, and still goes strong, although I mostly use it for parades.

 

[redlevel]

Your maintenance habits can make that dramatically lower or higher. Dirty air will wear the cylinders out FAST. Dirty oil hurts too, but not as much as dirty air.

Don't forget to change the air in the tires every few years.

john is right. That air filter is very important.

 

[Charliebrn]

I had an experienced diesel mechanic tell me that a dirty filter can actually be better on an engine than a new one. His rationale was that the dirt fills in some of the gaps in the media and actually leads to more dirt being picked up by the filter. He said to only change the filter when it starts causing the engine to starve for air, hence the pressure differential gauges on most diesels.(my BX does not have this, and I want to add one). He also said to never clean an air filter by blowing it out, which can damage the filter media. Only replace it. Is he right?

 

[john_bud]

I had an experienced diesel mechanic tell me that a dirty filter can actually be better on an engine than a new one. His rationale was that the dirt fills in some of the gaps in the media and actually leads to more dirt being picked up by the filter. He said to only change the filter when it starts causing the engine to starve for air, hence the pressure differential gauges on most diesels.(my BX does not have this, and I want to add one). He also said to never clean an air filter by blowing it out, which can damage the filter media. Only replace it. Is he right?

I've heard that about K&N filters mostly. But it should be true in general, once the bulk of the pores are full, there is less opening size and only smaller dirt can pass --- until the pressure delta rips a spot and your filter is passing dirty unfiltered air.


My kubota manual says to replace the outside air filter yearly or every six times of cleaning it. I would agree with your mechanic if you have a single filter system. the 'bota has an inner and outer filter. Only the outer is cleaned.