2003 GC2300 broken radiator.

[5030]

Kind of curious, did you peruse the tractor salvage yards for a radiator?

Modern radiators are a lot different than old ones. Usually, the top and bottom tanks are plastic and sonic welded to the tubes and really cannot repaired. Kind of planned obsolescence and really not repairable. If it still leaks slightly, I believe I'd add some stop leak as well. Back in the day, we used an egg white as stop leak. Works pretty well actually.

 

[ray66v]

Kind of curious, did you peruse the tractor salvage yards for a radiator?

Modern radiators are a lot different than old ones. Usually, the top and bottom tanks are plastic and sonic welded to the tubes and really cannot repaired. Kind of planned obsolescence and really not repairable. If it still leaks slightly, I believe I'd add some stop leak as well. Back in the day, we used an egg white as stop leak. Works pretty well actually.

I dealt with salvage yards, and buying used parts in my trade, since the 1980's. You probably have a much better chance of being hit by lightning, than finding a used radiator. These tractors, aren't like cars, there aren't salvage yards full of them.

If it's damaged from some sort of accident, they are valuable enough that the chances are it's going to be rebuilt and sold, not parted out. The only common way one would be sold for salvage and parted out, is if it was in a fire. A plastic and aluminum radiator, from a tractor that's a total loss from a fire, is probably not any good. And, I would bet they have people already looking for it, if they did get one in.

They also aren't stupid. They are not going to sell it, for peanuts. They have the internet too. They can look it up to see what a new one costs. When we bought a used part that was rare, we usually paid a high price for it. Buying a used radiator for a GC, to save $200, is not worth it. And, I would bet, that's around where you would be.

 

[MattB4]

It held water so I went ahead and put it back into the tractor. I ran it for a some time until warmed up and noticed no leaking so I buttoned everything up. I then went out and mowed some lawn for little more than 1/2 hour with the Temperature near 80F outdoors. Tractor got plenty warm but not overheated. After parking back on the concrete in front of my shop I looked all over for signs of leakage. Could not find any. So for the moment the repair is holding.

Yeah the tank has the blow molded plastic top and bottom. It really is not designed for repair. But if they wanted to sell replacements for something that has maybe $5 worth of material in it they should set the price more reasonable. Like $200-$300.

How long it will last is anyone's guess but for now it is working. Thanks everyone for your advice and help.

 

[ray66v]

I don't know of a single part on these that's "reasonable", as far as price goes.

If you haven't replaced the rubber washers that mount the steering controller, you haven't seen anything.

Last time I got them, was before Covid. It was $64 then, for some rubber washers, and 4 small steel bushings. Easily, less than $2 worth of stuff.

I'm going to make my own washers next time. I only bought the bushings because they were redesigned, slightly shorter.

 

[JWR]

It held water so I went ahead and put it back into the tractor. I ran it for a some time until warmed up and noticed no leaking so I buttoned everything up. I then went out and mowed some lawn for little more than 1/2 hour with the Temperature near 80F outdoors. Tractor got plenty warm but not overheated. After parking back on the concrete in front of my shop I looked all over for signs of leakage. Could not find any. So for the moment the repair is holding.

Yeah the tank has the blow molded plastic top and bottom. It really is not designed for repair. But if they wanted to sell replacements for something that has maybe $5 worth of material in it they should set the price more reasonable. Like $200-$300.

How long it will last is anyone's guess but for now it is working. Thanks everyone for your advice and help.

I really hope it holds and you solved your problem. These incidents are always at least somewhat educational for all of us ...similar to a bunch of old men sitting on a sagging bench in front of the Post Office porch in a country town solving world politics...
What puzzles me is that I bought a radiator off Amazon last year for a similar sized Kubota compact. Brand new, though aftermarket, & not Kubota branded. I paid $124.43 for it, delivered. What on earth causes such huge price differences?

 

[MattB4]

I don't know of a single part on these that's "reasonable", as far as price goes.

If you haven't replaced the rubber washers that mount the steering controller, you haven't seen anything.

Last time I got them, was before Covid. It was $64 then, for some rubber washers, and 4 small steel bushings. Easily, less than $2 worth of stuff.

I'm going to make my own washers next time. I only bought the bushings because they were redesigned, slightly shorter.

The hydraulic cylinder seals on the loader were like that. IIRC it was over $50 for a couple of nylon bushings and rubber O-rings.

 

[ray66v]

What puzzles me is that I bought a radiator off Amazon last year for a similar sized Kubota compact. Brand new, though aftermarket, & not Kubota branded. I paid $124.43 for it, delivered. What on earth causes such huge price differences?

Simple, one is OEM qualtiy, and there are several people handling it, who all mark it up, including the dealer.

The other is an aftermarket, low end, Chinese copy, bought almost directly from the company who made it.

There are a lot more Kubota's, so there is enough of a market for them to chose to invest in making aftermarket parts, because there is a good chance of recovering their investment.

We can't even get Fram to make an oil filter for us. And, I'm not kidding, I asked them.

 

[MattB4]

Just in case you need an oil filter Wix 51360 works good.

 

[etpm]

Simple, one is OEM qualtiy, and there are several people handling it, who all mark it up, including the dealer.

The other is an aftermarket, low end, Chinese copy, bought almost directly from the company who made it.

There are a lot more Kubota's, so there is enough of a market for them to chose to invest in making aftermarket parts, because there is a good chance of recovering their investment.

We can't even get Fram to make an oil filter for us. And, I'm not kidding, I asked them.

Much of the stuff made today is only made in China or Taiwan or India or etc. What finally made me go directly to the Chinese suppliers was when I was buying German tooling for my CNC machines. I was talking to a fellow machine shop owner and he showed me some Chinese ER collets he had just received. They were in the exact same packaging as the German collets I was buying for 6 times the price. It turned out that the German company had moved all their production to China. Moved all their machines. I checked the accuracy of my "German" collets and my friend's Chinese collets. No difference. WTF? Anyway, I just gave up and bought Chinese. Because the OEM stuff was made in China but priced like it was made in Germany. I am finally retired and no longer need to make these decisions. Good thing too. For my mental health.
Eric

 

[ray66v]

Much of the stuff made today is only made in China or Taiwan or India or etc. What finally made me go directly to the Chinese suppliers was when I was buying German tooling for my CNC machines. I was talking to a fellow machine shop owner and he showed me some Chinese ER collets he had just received. They were in the exact same packaging as the German collets I was buying for 6 times the price. It turned out that the German company had moved all their production to China. Moved all their machines. I checked the accuracy of my "German" collets and my friend's Chinese collets. No difference. WTF? Anyway, I just gave up and bought Chinese. Because the OEM stuff was made in China but priced like it was made in Germany. I am finally retired and no longer need to make these decisions. Good thing too. For my mental health.
Eric

While it is true a lot of the production is done in china, Kubota has standards that they require that manufacturer to meet.

A knock off generator, has NO standards whatsoever.

I had to work with aftermarket crap all my life. Radiators, condensers, Bumpers, sheet metal parts, headlights, taillights, all inferior. And, ridiculously poor tolerances.

A lot of the time, it didn't fit at all, or required modification to use, if you could at all.

There is a definite difference in quality of aftermarket parts. It's just that most people don't have enough experience with the stuff to see it. They used this, or that, and think they can make conclusions from it.

If your vehicle is 12-15 years old, there can be times where it makes sense.

The exception to all this is, sometimes, the same company that made the OEM part, will sell it direct. It doesn't happen a lot, but it can. The thing is, you don't always know if it is genuine, or not, when you buy it. They aren't always completely honest.