Oil & Fuel Fuel Starved?????

[Mike_B]

My B7500 is acting up. Forget the fact that I just paid it off last week! Oh well...

I was mowing last week and all of a sudden it lost power. I disengaged the PTO and brought it down to an idle. It spit and sputtered and finally shut down. I pulled the fuel filter, re-installed it and it started and ran fine....for a few minutes.

After following this routine two more times, I went out and got a new fuel filter, thinking this would solve the problem. It did not. Today, when I mowed, it would shut down sporadically. Starting with a cold engine, the first shut down happened after about 20 minutes of mowing. The second only two minutes later. Sometimes I can go 5 minutes sometimes one minute. Each time, I just let it sit for a minute and it fires up and sputters to life.

You guys have any thoughts on what the problem could be. I don't mind taking it in to my Kubota dealer but with all the heat, rain, and rate of grass growing down here he has become very busy and I may not see it for a couple of weeks. If it is something simple, I will take care of it myself.

Thanks in advance...

 

[Gatorboy]

It could be water in your fuel. Do you have a water separator? If so, you may want to drain it to see if water comes out.

 

[wushaw]

Pull the fuel line coming from the tank and drain about a pint into a clear jar and check for water. Water will settle to the bottom of the jar.

 

[AntrimMan]

I don't understand why it will start up and run fine for a while if it is a water problem. Why would the water show up all of a sudden and then go away after a while?
Leave the fuel tank cap loose a little bit and see if it still happens. Do this with the tank 1/2 full or less to avoid spillage. I think you may have a vent clogged. The tank must breathe just like you and I.
I am dumb as a stick, your mileage may vary.

All the best,
Martin

 

[v8dave]

This type of problem has been reported several times here on TBN. Several of the problems turned out to be a plugged fuel tank vent.

Try taking the fuel filler cap off next time the problem occurs. If the engine picks up and continues to run the problem is a plugged fuel tank vent. The vent is usually in the cap--an easy fix.

 

[Mike_B]

Just eliminated fuel vent as a cause of the problem. I ran without a cap for a few minutes and the problems still exists.

I will try to look into water in the fuel next.

Mike

 

[botalvr]

White smelly smoke as well when it starts happening? I am a old pro at water in fuel - no more since I get all my fuel at a farm co-op.
And my Mr. Funnel is leaking, so there goes my confidence in that thing. Twice I called them and have to talk to the owner. I am going to start calling every day until they replace it.
Not very good service IMHO.

 

[rbargeron]

Mike - My rig acted like that - it would be ok at idle or with a full tank, but would starve going up hill or with a load. I replaced the transfer pump (on the side of the main diesel pump) but that didn't help. I found some fiber-like debris obstructing the outlet pipe in the tank (not the vent). The stuff was like strands of yarn - it had caught on the sharp edges of the outlet tube where it is welded. It obstructed flow enough to allow the filter vent to pull air, starving the engine. Hope this is useful. Good luck.

 

[Mike_B]

Thanks Guys,

I know it has been a while since I've responded but this is where we are today. I drained the fuel and re-supplied the tank with fuel from a different gas station just in case it was bad diesel from that station. No Luck.

This is a wierd one. Sometimes I can go 15 minutes, sometimes it happens every 2 minutes. Maybe I do have something clogged in the bottom of the tank.

Is there a screen in the tank?

Mike

 

[rbargeron]

Not sure if yours is the same as mine - but my tank has no screen on the outlet. It has a small round cup welded on the outside and the outlet pipe runs from the bottom of that. Inside the tank there is a square plate over the cup, leaving 4 crescent-shaped openings into the cup - it is hard to see and work in there. I rigged up a small bulb to hang in the tank so I could see in thru the filler neck - then I ran a wire in through the outlet pipe to push the cruft into the main part of the tank where I could snag it with another piece of wire. Took some doing but its all better now.

 

[Bob53]

http://www.tractorsmart.com/Kubota%20Service%20Tips/Kubota%20Engine%20Service%20Tips.htm

sure you've done some searching , not sure if you seen this link.

 

[HammerFour]

I had a similar problem, did all the steps you mentioned already, the problem ended up being debris in the tank itself.

The tractor would start and run fine for a while, then something would get sucked over the tank outlet and the thing would sputter and die.

I drained the tank and took the thing out and flushed and dumped it until crud stopped coming out. There was a cap to a quart of oil, a big leaf, several bugs, and some sort of clear vinyl like pieces, probably from a gas can lid or something.

Once I got all that stuff out and reassembled everything it started right up and ran better than ever.

I didn't allow any of that stuff to get in there, but I am the tractors third owner so I blame it on them.

Next time the tractor won't start, take your fuel line loose from either the bottom of the tank or the input side of the fuel filter and see if anything is coming from the tank.

 

[RobJ]

Simular problem on my L2500. I had just serviced the filter. Didn't think air would be a big problem on a gravity feed system. It'd run perfect then lose power then fine. Then just stopped and ran perfect. I added a Racor filter/water separator this weekend and it started doing the same thing, full tank of fuel to. Just bleed the heck out of it and it's working well.

 

[rbargeron]

<font color="blue"> something would get sucked over the tank outlet and the thing would sputter and die.
</font>
On my tractor there is a Tee on the fuel outlet hose - with a vent line running up to a high point on the tank. This extra vent makes fuel flow very sensitive to any cruft in the tank. I plugged it to elliminate the sensitivity - has worked fine for years. (Also cleaned the junk out of the tank). I asked about the purpose of the vent Here in 2001 but found no reason to keep it. Sure has worked better without it.

 

[MrFunnel]

Mr. Funnel is now under new ownership, and we would be happy to replace your funnel under our warranty policy. Visit our website, and email us for more information. Thank you for being a Mr. Funnel customer.