Berniep
Platinum Member
I will be very interested to find out what all is involved.
The sweet smell of my bx23 exhaust
- Thread starter EricBX2200
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- kubota bx23
Taiser
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2005
- Messages
- 466
- Location
- Northwestern Ontario, Canada
- Tractor
- Kubota B7800 with Loader and Backhoe, Cub Cadet 2160
Yeah you can repair a head in certain cases (gas ones anyways) but it's not the prefered solution. Not sure about diesels though, there is a lot of compression being generated in there, don't know if I'd trust a repair job, but then again, I don't think a kubota head is cheap + all the labor to switch out/replace the valves,springs etc...
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EricBX2200
Bronze Member
O.K. I finally got around to tearing the tractor apart this weekend and what I found was worse then expected. Dang it!!!!
The cracks in the head seam pretty extreme. I can trace it back to 3 or 4 years ago when my wife was brush mowing. She called and said the tractor just died and the arrow thingy was pointing at the red mark. My bad for not properly training her. I knew it wasn't good but it didn't seem to be a problem except for disappearing anti freeze and occasional bubble overs. I couldn't figure it out until recently when I could clearly smell the anti-freeze. I thought i lost the gasket but not the whole head.
Until the dealer opens on Monday I won't know what it will cost. I found a used head on eBay for $795!!!! Double dang it!!!! I don't even know if welding repair is an option. What do you guys think?
Anybody know a good source for a new or rebuilt head?
The cracks in the head seam pretty extreme. I can trace it back to 3 or 4 years ago when my wife was brush mowing. She called and said the tractor just died and the arrow thingy was pointing at the red mark. My bad for not properly training her. I knew it wasn't good but it didn't seem to be a problem except for disappearing anti freeze and occasional bubble overs. I couldn't figure it out until recently when I could clearly smell the anti-freeze. I thought i lost the gasket but not the whole head.
Until the dealer opens on Monday I won't know what it will cost. I found a used head on eBay for $795!!!! Double dang it!!!! I don't even know if welding repair is an option. What do you guys think?
Anybody know a good source for a new or rebuilt head?
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Berniep
Platinum Member
Ouch that looks pretty bad. Is the center cylinder wall rough or is that reflection? On the bright side it will run a lot better when you are done. Looks like you were losing compression beteen cylinders.
OP
EricBX2200
Bronze Member
Berniep said:
The cylinder walls actually look great. I at least have that going for me ;-) I waiting for the dealer to call back with pricing....
OP
EricBX2200
Bronze Member
I got the job done and it is back purring like a kitten. It runs great!
It cost $750 for the head and $100 for the gasket kit.
A couple of pointers, if forbid you should have the same misfortune and have to do this.
There is an items that are not included in the head gasket kit that you will need also. There are copper gaskets under each injector that should be replaced.
There are heat shield shrouds that sit under the nose of each injector that needs to be transferred over from the old head or purchased. I almost didn't notice this. It is not mentioned in the repair manual. I used a drift pin to gently tap them out from the combustion side through the injection hole.
Another surprise is that the head did not come with studs for the exhaust or rocker arms. I would have bought them if I knew. The rocker stud came out easy. The exhaust manifold studs were taken out with a combination of double jam nuts, needle nose vise grips, and a propane torch. Heat the metal around the stud, not the stud directly. Try wrenching the jam nut and assist with vise grips as necessary. I only had to do this on the first one and chewed up the threads, but the bad threads are hidden in the thickness of the manifold.
Make sure you change the oil and coolant before starting back up since there will definitely be cross contamination.
I dropped my radiator off at a shop to have it cleaned out and pressure tested for good measure. That was just a $20 insurance policy.
Thanks to the forum for the help!
It cost $750 for the head and $100 for the gasket kit.
A couple of pointers, if forbid you should have the same misfortune and have to do this.
There is an items that are not included in the head gasket kit that you will need also. There are copper gaskets under each injector that should be replaced.
There are heat shield shrouds that sit under the nose of each injector that needs to be transferred over from the old head or purchased. I almost didn't notice this. It is not mentioned in the repair manual. I used a drift pin to gently tap them out from the combustion side through the injection hole.
Another surprise is that the head did not come with studs for the exhaust or rocker arms. I would have bought them if I knew. The rocker stud came out easy. The exhaust manifold studs were taken out with a combination of double jam nuts, needle nose vise grips, and a propane torch. Heat the metal around the stud, not the stud directly. Try wrenching the jam nut and assist with vise grips as necessary. I only had to do this on the first one and chewed up the threads, but the bad threads are hidden in the thickness of the manifold.
Make sure you change the oil and coolant before starting back up since there will definitely be cross contamination.
I dropped my radiator off at a shop to have it cleaned out and pressure tested for good measure. That was just a $20 insurance policy.
Thanks to the forum for the help!
Ductape
Elite Member
Eric,
Out of curiousity, did you buy a head of off Ebay? Or, was this a remanufactured,or used head you found somewhere?
Scott
Out of curiousity, did you buy a head of off Ebay? Or, was this a remanufactured,or used head you found somewhere?
Scott
OP
EricBX2200
Bronze Member
Sorry I forgot to mention that. I was surprised that the dealer offered a brand new bare one for $718 + tax. Still very high, but the cheapest brand new option I found at the time.
I found one on eBay used, but complete for $795 + shipping. There is a guy that is selling new aftermarket Kubota heads for $285, but not for my model engine. He offers to change over the valves, rockers and other parts for free if you send him your parts. That could have been a smokin' deal since it took about 4 hours alone to transfer all the parts over to the new head. 8 hours total including the extra radiator maintenance.
I found one on eBay used, but complete for $795 + shipping. There is a guy that is selling new aftermarket Kubota heads for $285, but not for my model engine. He offers to change over the valves, rockers and other parts for free if you send him your parts. That could have been a smokin' deal since it took about 4 hours alone to transfer all the parts over to the new head. 8 hours total including the extra radiator maintenance.