Oil & Fuel Kubota L4600 ran it out of diesel, emptied fuel filter bowl... won't start...

[thepumpguysc]

OH MY GOD DUDE.!!
NEITHER.. follow those steel lines up.. they will dead end AT THE INJECTORS.!!
Loosen the lines AT THE FLIPPING INJECTORS.!!

 

[thepumpguysc]

The top nut is B.. top nut/delivery valve holder on the pump..
A- is the injector line that connects the pump to the injectors..(in the head)

 

[etpm]

You did make sure fuel was squirting from the bleeder valve, right? I know you tried starting it with the bleeder valve open but I didn't read anything that said fuel was coming out. Maybe you did say that and I missed it.
Eric

 

[glenintenn]

thanks. thclimer's post hadn't come through to me yet.

Kubota parts diagram has no inidicator these were the injectors... I get it now... injector... cylinder... it's injecting into cylinder at the cylinder side. I think the teardown video i referenced for a BX model indicated that the senders were "injectors" (e.g. injecting into the line and sending it down the the cylinder)-- confused terms.

fully understanding your frustration.

jswhite said: I'm surprised the bleeder valve didn't work. Usually it will fire right up when you do that, but if they're really dry it can take some cranking.

me too... hopefully it's not as pumpguysc said and there's air past the bleeder but... could be so. Now that I've been schooled on senders versus injectors... hopefully I can nix the neophyte agitation.

 

[glenintenn]

You did make sure fuel was squirting from the bleeder valve, right? I know you tried starting it with the bleeder valve open but I didn't read anything that said fuel was coming out. Maybe you did say that and I missed it.
Eric

No that's an additional step I need to take. I assumed it was just allowing pressure equalization but not allowing fuel to flow out of it (how it would do that now that you mention it is... a thing of imagination not reality). The fuel filter must be screwed or the large o-ring is not seated. have to get replacement parts and try that before cracking the injector connectors.

 

[jshwhite]

thanks. theclimer's post hadn't come through to me yet.

Kubota parts diagram has no inidicator these were the injectors... I get it now... injector... cylinder... it's injecting into cylinder at the cylinder side. I think the teardown video i referenced for a BX model indicated that the senders were "injectors" (e.g. injecting into the line and sending it down the the cylinder)-- confused terms.

fully understanding your frustration.

No worries, we're all here to learn and help. On the teardown video pic you had, you were looking at the injector pump. On these tractors fuel is delivered by gravity flow to the injector pump, which then pressurizes the fuel into the steel lines going to the injectors - to put it simply. To bleed the air off, you need to loosen the nut closest to the injector, which is up on top of the engine. It doesn't take much loosening - less than a whole turn usually.

You did make sure fuel was squirting from the bleeder valve, right? I know you tried starting it with the bleeder valve open but I didn't read anything that said fuel was coming out. Maybe you did say that and I missed it.
Eric

I don't think these will vent the fuel externally, so you might not see fuel squirting out. It's been a while since I've done it but that's what I remember.

 

[thclimer]

Sounds like you got it now Glen,

I just added additional wording on my post #18 to open the nut until fuel comes out, then tighten and proceed to the next nut...

Hope it works for you once you get the new O-ring.

 

[glenintenn]

Also getting some line wrenches. a metric set is $15 @ Harbor Freight (might as well buy them before they're $50).

 

[jshwhite]

Sounds like you got it now Glen,

I just added additional wording on my post #18 to open the nut until fuel comes out, then tighten and proceed to the next nut...

Hope it works for you once you get the new O-ring.

Agreed. Personally I wouldn't open them all up. Just one at a time.

Also getting some line wrenches. a metric set is $15 @ Harbor Freight (might as well buy them before they're $50).

Line wrenches are ideal, but not necessary on these if you're careful. A good quality open-end wrench will work.

 

[glenintenn]

Line wrenches are ideal, but not necessary on these if you're careful. A good quality open-end wrench will work.

given the discussion above, I need all the help I can get.

 

[plastikosmd]

“Just LOOSEN the lines AT THE INJECTORS a couple of turns.. and crank the engine until fuel squirts out and tighten.. start engine”

It doesn’t always work. I just had to get my deutz running from being out of fuel.

despite injection bleed and plenty of flow, no go
Had (someone who knows what they are doing) feather a bit of ether in the air intake 5sec of crank and bingo. This was after someone killed a battery and jump pack from trying.

I had flow through lift/separator/filter/hp pump and injection lines. Only injectors and intake were left

 

[glenintenn]

got it started

good video on the topic for Kubotas... it doesn't have the bleeder valve so it must be a bit older yet than 2013 but gives good visuals on the guidance provided by forum members above (minus the fact that they do mention up front not removing the injector feed pipes at the pump side but then they show removing and reconnecting the injector feed pipes at the pump side! avert your eyes @pumpguysc! ) :

In the meantime, I ordered this for my Kubota's key chain.

 

[thclimer]

Glad to learn she is running for you!

 

[kpsp50]

On most diesels I will crack open all the lines at the injectors OPEN THROTTLE and crank till I see fuel coming out of the injector line. I like to close them while this is happening (sometimes it will start then) then close them all up and start it (here goes the haters) then a light spray of either. Your tractor though, do as you see fit.

Doing 1 at a time is better. Start with the first line off of the pump. Should start if not. Then when you spray either in air filter have some one crank the engine over. Should have 2 people to do this. Spraying either in while NOT turning engine over can damage the engine. Good luck

 

[Surshot]

Being in the timber business, two things I never allow to run out of diesel, a tractor or a fork lift, either can be a real nightmare to get restarted in the field.
I try to never allow a tractor to go below a quarter tank.

 

[glenintenn]

Doing 1 at a time is better. Start with the first line off of the pump. Should start if not. Then when you spray either in air filter have some one crank the engine over. Should have 2 people to do this. Spraying either in while NOT turning engine over can damage the engine. Good luck

In another thread someone expressed concern that this could lead to one of the cylinders not firing because it doesn't get fuel (et al. that injector doesn't ever get fuel if air is trapped between sender and injector)-- thus damaging that cylinder... Is that an old timer diesel issue or ... a non-Kubota issue?

 

[fishdrivel]

On most diesels I will crack open all the lines at the injectors OPEN THROTTLE and crank till I see fuel coming out of the injector line. I like to close them while this is happening (sometimes it will start then) then close them all up and start it (here goes the haters) then a light spray of either. Your tractor though, do as you see fit.

Do not use ether on a Kubota!
Do not burn up the starter.
Clean up your tractor's spilled diesel - before running enough to warm up the exhaust manifold.
Have a fire extinguisher handy when you warm it up the 1st time.....

 

[Gord Baker]

Geeeeezzzzzzeee Louise!
When you are too close to being out of fuel and it starts to die. Shut it off. Put sufficient fuel into the tank and loosen at least one INJECTOR line at the INJECTOR if it will not start. Pumps do not handle air so by loosening at least one line it allows the air to escape so fuel can follow. Crank it til it starts to fire and then tighten the line(s). Done.

 

[glenintenn]

Mine (2013 L4600H ) has a bleeder valve below the senders in the fuel pump but this did nothing to help. I don't know if it was the fact that it stalled on a downhill slope (probably why I had near zero warning... every last sip of diesel was sent down to the fuel filter on that last pass downhill) and so the bleeder didn't help in this particular situation or.. the bleeder is of no use on this model.

Maybe loosening one injector had the desired effect. I saw no fuel coming out of the fuel line after loosening the line to the injector closest to the steering wheel. After a lot of cranking, hoping that would push fuel out of that first line, I gave up and put the line back on. Tried it again with the bleeder open and then with it closed and then open again and closed again. On the last "closed again"... after a few more cranks it caught on at very low revs for about 20 seconds and then slowly built up to full power.

That's why I posted the question about possibly fuel-starving one cylinder with this method... if you don't loosen every line and see fuel coming from every line... is that a bad approach?

 

[Fxfymn413]

A faster easier solution is to spray WD-40 into the air intake, The engine will run on the WD-40 until it picks up the fuel. As stated earlier DO NOT use ether.