Kubota L1500

Anonymous Poster · Oct 1, 2001

We inherited this tractor from my father...we can get it to turn over, however, not to fully crank. I am trying to find a repair manual for this. I have been unsuccessful. Also, any suggestions would be great. We were using it the other week, but were having to pull it off to get it to crank, then while mowing/bushogging the property...it just flat out stopped on us...now, it will turn and the fan and belt turn, and it'll do the smoke thing for the diesel, however, it won't finish turning over and cranking....we have also even tried to jump start it and that does not make any difference. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Also, any ideas on how old this tractor is?

Anonymous Poster · Oct 24, 2001

Your Kubota is what they call a "Grey Market" tractor. Kubota Dealers will lead you to believe that these tractors are not fit for use in the US. Your tractor has been imported in a used condition (not by a Kubota Dealership). The US version model number is a L175. It is a two cylinder, glow plug assist for starting. As far as your problem??? It could be many things. I would start with your battery and the battery cables. The negitive side cable has to be grounded very good. I would get new cables and get the nest bigger size. You have to make sure that where it bolts on to the frame, it is ground down to bare metal. I would then check the battery. Take it to your local Auto?one or Wal?art and have them hook it up to there machine to see if it is performing properly. The next thing would be the fuel system. Is there water in the fuel? Have you changed the fuel filter. Can you smell diesel fuel when you crank it? Is there oil in the crank case? When it turns over, does it crank slow or fast? One major thing it could be is there isn't enough compression for it to start due to the pistion rings.

There is an manual you can buy that covers major items that you can get from a supplier other than Kubota. The age could be 1980 to 86 or some where around there. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0872886468/104-9004513-2629552

http://www.ssbtractor.com/wwwboard/Kubota_tractors.html

JRP · Nov 3, 2001

Have you fixed the starting problem?

To start you must have air, fuel, compression, and sometimes heat from the glow plug.

Compression is a big one. The engine must crank fast. A gas engine will start if cranked slow, a diesel will not.
If you have compression problems from rings the engine will crank fast because there is less resistance from the engine. If the engine cranks fast you can eliminate battery problems and look for fuel issues.

You engine probably cranks slow. If so, you could have problems in four areas:

1. Not enough power from the battery. This results in low voltage. Put a volt meter on the battery and watch the voltage while you crank. Should be 9.6 volts or higher while cranking.

2. Not enough voltage at the starter. This can be caused by poor battery cables or connections, or a defective solenoid. A solenoid is like a relay and the contacts can go bad. If you battery voltage is good but you crank slow, put the volt meter across the aluminum starter frame (-) and the brass strap coming from the solenoid and going into the starter motor (+). This will measure the voltage that actually gets to the motor. Crank and watch the voltage. If it is a lot lower than in step 1 you have a cabling or solenoid problem.

3. A bad starter motor can draw too much amperage. If with a new batter the voltage is still low and the motor cranks slow, pull the starter motor and have it checked at a good starter repair shop.

4. Mechanical. If you ahve bad bearings or something froze up it could causing so much load on the starter that it won't turn over the engine. With the fule shut off and the stop knobbed pulled, try to turn over the engine slowly with a wrench on the front of the crankshaft. You should be able to turn it.

If the engine cranks fast, look for fuel problems.

good luck

JRPoux

Some things to check: