Blew up Kubota motor

[LD1]

Had a bad day.

Apparently my oil pressure light is burnt out and I never paid attention.

Just changed oil about 5 hours ago so didn't even think to check. Last mowing job must have had a stick dislodge the oil dipstick. Was 4-5 qts low. Spun front end bearing. Damage done. Lesson learned..(always make sure dash lights work) why we cannot have fail safes in place to shut an engine down when low oil, or no oil pressure is beyond me. A $500 pressure washer has this feature, but not a $20-$30k tractor?

Anyways, tractor is split, engine pulled.

Where is the best place to buy a new or rebuilt engine? Don't really have the time or ambition to want to disassemble and rebuild myself. Would rather just bite the bullet and get back up an operational.

Not really any local shops I would trust.

 

[CincyFlyer]

Have you actually tallied the engine damage? You may not want to mess with it, but these engines are relatively simple. I've even seen a spun bearing where the crank could be cleaned up without machining. Maybe a piston or two is scored. Unless you need to replace the cam and lifters, or bore the block, it could be relatively simple.
A new engine will only be available from Kubota. Your internet search will be as good as mine at finding engine rebuilders, but not much on how well they do their jobs.

 

[mddorange]

Wow, that is really a bummer. How many hours did you have on it?

 

[jeff9366]

Last mowing job must have had a stick dislodge the oil dipstick.

Do you have KTAC insurance?

KTAC Should cover repair less $250 deductible.

KTAC is very easy for you to deal with, very easy for Kubota dealers to deal with.

 

[prichard]

Are you kidding? You've only had that tractor a year or 2, haven't you? Man that sucks.

 

[thepumpguysc]

Engine Power Source.. EPS in N.C. engines ready to go..

 

[atsah]

why we cannot have fail safes in place to shut an engine down when low oil, or no oil pressure is beyond me. A $500 pressure washer has this feature, but not a $20-$30k tractor?.

Agreed, they put sensors on everything else and can't put one so that the tractor shuts down before a catastrophe failure when light bulbs fail..

 

[LD1]

Only 800 hrs on engine.

May be a cheap simple fix to attempt to clean crank and spin a new bearing in ... But not my style. All the shavings through out the system....turbo, stuff imbedded in bearings doing damage. I am not looking for cheap and easy. I am looking for done right with no worries.

No I don't have ktac

Probably too late to call and get it now to cover this damage.

With regards to other damage....no haven't tore it apart yet. So unsure. But #1,3,5 cam bearing journals....it's blue around the camshaft like it got hot. But odd that 2 abdn4 aren't. So don't know if that's a heat treatment or if there is damage.

Just don't want to chance it. I know it's gonna cost $$$$ but I want it right. But on the same tolken, don't want to spend $6k on an engine if some place sells them for $4k

 

[Oldoak]

I would tell you what we used to call oil pressure lights that replaced an actual oil pressure gauge in autos, but I do not want to offend the O.P. And really no offense implied.

And yes, there are many automatic safe guards to shut down engines during a low oil pressure situation. But people are complaining about the high price of the tractors now. How much more is the general public willing to shell out?

 

[thepumpguysc]

I don't know if they were an "option" or not.??
Theres a co that makes them.. called>> Murphy gauges/switches. & they're a PITA..

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Man I hate to hear this and I feel for you.

I would not be afraid to tear it down completely and rebuild it.

Keep us posted on what you do and the prices you get for a new engine. Would the new engine be complete with turbo too?

 

[boomer1025]

Had a bad day.

Apparently my oil pressure light is burnt out and I never paid attention.

Just changed oil about 5 hours ago so didn't even think to check. Last mowing job must have had a stick dislodge the oil dipstick. Was 4-5 qts low. Spun front end bearing. Damage done. Lesson learned..(always make sure dash lights work) why we cannot have fail safes in place to shut an engine down when low oil, or no oil pressure is beyond me. A $500 pressure washer has this feature, but not a $20-$30k tractor?

Anyways, tractor is split, engine pulled.

Where is the best place to buy a new or rebuilt engine? Don't really have the time or ambition to want to disassemble and rebuild myself. Would rather just bite the bullet and get back up an operational.

Not really any local shops I would trust.

Call the dealer and see if a short block, long block or a complete engine is available and the prices. Then decide how you want to go from there.

 

[plowhog]

Regarding:

"Where is the best place to buy a new or rebuilt engine?
Not really any local shops I would trust.
I know it's gonna cost $$$$
I want it right.
I don't want to spend $6k on an engine if some place sells them for $4k."

Seems you need to find what works for you. I sympathize with your plight and wish you good success finding what satisfies you.

 

[CalG]

Tuff break!

I do wish all engines were fitted with an oil pressure gauge. Such a simple device. Not expensive either. No electronics, no coupling to the Engine Control Module. Just a needle position that you get used to when everything is right, and you notice when it's NOT.

 

[Einthewoods]

I from time to time wish there was an oil pressure gauge, but in reality I doubt it would be much help. For one, I am not staring at my dash while I am out working the tractor so I likely wouldn't see it after start up or the occasional look. Secondly, if you happen to look at the dash and see the gauge at zero, you may well be to late. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I worked in a auto garage. If you would have asked someone what there gauge read when they had a problem they likely wouldn't have had a clue, or they wouldn't have known what it was 5 seconds before the problem either.

An auto shutdown is an actual benefit. As soon as the computer sees a low pressure issue (not zero, but low) it shuts down. Stops things before the problem gets worse.

As someone else said above though, there are lots of things I wish would have been included in my tractor though I would have complained even more about the higher price.

 

[ericm979]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear this.

If it was me I'd tear down the engine, measure it the crank and cylinder bores and whatever else may have been damaged, and have it reground or bored as needed. It should not be too hard to find competent machinists to do the work. Nothing on a tractor engine should be difficult or unusual. I'm assuming that oversize pistons and undersize bearing shells are available. If you have already split the tractor and examined the crank you're clearly experienced enough to handle the rebuild, farming out the actual machine work. Might need to buy micrometers and a bore gauge.

 

[LouNY]

The IH Magnum series have an auto shutdown that will activate for several things, there is also a bypass button that can be pushed to keep it running there is a beeper that goes off for a few seconds before it shuts down. We have only had one of them that tripped and that operator couldn't reach the button fast enough after he figured out what was going on. He got lucky it shutdown just before he would have turned down hill which could have resulted in a runaway with serious problems. So they are available, or were I don't believe they are a good idea I do like a loud buzzer along with the lights and or gauges.

 

[newbury]

Sorry to read about that. Reads like you are going to do it right.
Reading 1 post like this encourages me to check oil and hydro every time I start up.

Please document w/ pictures.

 

[oosik]

I DO check the engine and hydraulic oil every time prior to startup. I will DEFINITELY give each dip stick more than a brief glance from this point forward.

Your situation is frightening.


NOTE - - LD1-does your homeowners insurance cover your tractor. My State Farm homeowners insurance does while I'm on my property. May be worth a call to your insurance company.

 

[RayfromTX]

I from time to time wish there was an oil pressure gauge, but in reality I doubt it would be much help. For one, I am not staring at my dash while I am out working the tractor so I likely wouldn't see it after start up or the occasional look. Secondly, if you happen to look at the dash and see the gauge at zero, you may well be to late. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I worked in a auto garage. If you would have asked someone what there gauge read when they had a problem they likely wouldn't have had a clue, or they wouldn't have known what it was 5 seconds before the problem either.

An auto shutdown is an actual benefit. As soon as the computer sees a low pressure issue (not zero, but low) it shuts down. Stops things before the problem gets worse.

As someone else said above though, there are lots of things I wish would have been included in my tractor though I would have complained even more about the higher price.

I doubt an oil pressure gauge is going to add much to the cost. They already have a sending unit and and indicator. It would not be a new system added.

When I'm using my road grader and hear anything a bit different, I first check the gauges. If the oil pressure said 0 I would be shutting it down pronto. It's a 1974 model I've had for 8 years. In that whole time the gauge reads in the 40s on start up and in the low 20s after it's warmed up. I've considered using heavier oil but I suspect it's the start up where that would be a bad idea and also where the wear is the greatest. I don't want to line those two things up to coincide.