BX2660 Fuel Tank Blockage

[Fxfymn]

I am having a fuel delivery problem with the BX2660. It runs out of fuel and when I disconnect the hose from the rear filter very little fuel flows from the hose. When I blow air back through the hose the fuel flows freely, so it is pretty obvious that I have something blocking the fuel line on an intermittent basis.

I have searched the forums, so I know this is not uncommon, but I did not see any solutions short of removing the tank. Has anyone come up with a way to clean the tank out without removing it?

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Which side of the filter are you disconnecting? Dumb question I know, but it has to be asked. If yours is like the BX 25 removing the tank is a bear. Let the fuel run down, jack up the left side. Open the filler, strong flashlight. Bang on the tank and see what floats or rolls down under the filler pipe. Use one of those snatcher tools to pick out what you see. If it is too small to grab it should flow into the filter. At 300 HRS my filter at the tank was plugged solid with black gunk and grit. I always pump into the tank through a 5 micron filter and water trap.

Ron

 

[jb62901]

This happen to Me a few years ago, pulled the fuel line before the filter. Put a vacuum pump on the line and what ever it was come through the line.

 

[Fxfymn]

Back (fuel tank) side of the filter. I tried draining and fishing around with a clean rag tied to a rod and a piece of heater hose on the end of the shop vac. We'll see.

I also tried to pressurize the tank with the vent to push the obstruction through. No luck.

I don't get why Kubota didn't put a pick up of some kind in the tank that would prevent this. A horizontal tube with slots would work.

This happened on the 3430 as well, and frankly I'm at the point where I will not buy another Kubota product. A $14K machine that is 3 years old should not be unreliable, but that is what the 2660 is.

 

[aczlan]

I don't get why Kubota didn't put a pick up of some kind in the tank that would prevent this. A horizontal tube with slots would work.

But it would also suck in air when the fuel is low or could get clogged with algae in the tank which is why nobody does it anymore

This happened on the 3430 as well, and frankly I'm at the point where I will not buy another Kubota product. A $14K machine that is 3 years old should not be unreliable, but that is what the 2660 is.

Never had a problem with our almost 4 year old BX2660 (other than the hard line that runs across the back springing a leak and it had to be replaced), or our older L3830 or B7500 that wasn't caused by the loose nut behind the wheel.

Before pulling the tank, I would do as jb62901 suggested and hook a vacuum pump on the line before the filter and try to suck the crud through the line that way.

Aaron Z

 

[wawajake]

This happened on the 3430 as well, and frankly I'm at the point where I will not buy another Kubota product. A $14K machine that is 3 years old should not be unreliable, but that is what the 2660 is.

Seems to me is that it is not your Kubotas that are unreliable , it is the fuel or fueling habits you are using that is unreliable

 

[Fxfymn]

Seems to me is that it is not your Kubotas that are unreliable , it is the fuel or fueling habits you are using that is unreliable

Sorry, not trying to get into this, but when the builder puts a 3" wide fill on the tank, the occasional small bit of crap is bound to get in sooner or later. This is a poor design and the number of posts that relate to this issue show that. No system should be designed that will allow a small item to block fuel flow before it reaches the filter. If nothing else they should incorporate a screen into the fill.

OBTW I'm looking for help not to be slammed. Not helpful!

 

[aczlan]

Sorry, not trying to get into this, but when the builder puts a 3" wide fill on the tank, the occasional small bit of crap is bound to get in sooner or later. This is a poor design and the number of posts that relate to this issue show that.

Better let Deere, Cub Cadet, Exmark, Huskvarna and most any commercial ZTR maker know then as they all have wide filler necks like the BX2660 does. IIRC, the idea is that you can fill from a 5 gallon can without needing the spout.

No system should be designed that will allow a small item to block fuel flow before it reaches the filter. If nothing else they should incorporate a screen into the fill.

Please look at the other brands out there and try to find one that ISNT setup virtually the same as the Kubota (ie: drain on the bottom, then a hose, then the filter).
Screens in the fill for a tractor would require either a huge screen or very slow filling and most of the time the problem comes not from objects getting in, but bad/watery fuel which grows algae and blocks the outlet... The only ting that till stop that is a water block filter on the tank you are filling from.

Aaron Z

 

[GolfAddict]

...
OBTW I'm looking for help not to be slammed. Not helpful!

Looking for help from Kubota owners, while slamming our choice of tractor, but you're not looking to be slammed. ok...

 

[Fxfymn]

Fellas; Chill out. Look at my profile. I've owned three Kubota's, but facts are facts; they have a design problem. Not a slam just a fact. When a machine is unreliable it is worse than useless; Period. They are a tool to me, not a religion.

Maybe the other builders have the same issue, I don't know since I have been a loyal Kubota owner up until now, but I did not spend the kind of money I spent on this machine for it to crap out with a problem that is basically not fixable unless you replace the tank, (4 to 6 labor hours per the dealer plus the tank)carefully screen each fuel fill after that, and pray that a bug doesn't happen to fly into the tank while it is being filled.

And you can't tell me that it is a good design that requires you to remove the mower deck just to change the fuel filters.

I do use a water filter and fuel treatment. I use so much fuel that I have never had an algae issue.

Before everybody gets their a.. on their shoulders read the original post; Has anyone come up with a good way to clean the tank without removing it?