New Kubota with DPF Filter

[Rmart30]

Predict there is going to be an awful lot of angry tractor and equipment owners (orange, green, red) out there if DPF issues exist as described. I would have kept my older 2011 Kubota ZD331-72 Zturn mower had I known the risk couple of months ago. :shocked:

All colors will be effected. OTR trucks started with just DPF as tractors have now. They had a lot of problems so then a few yrs later they added DEF fluid systems to try and counter those problems.

I drive a 2006 KW service truck with 400k on it that we bought new. We ordered a identically spec'd truck in 2007. Only difference was it had a DPF system on it. My 06 has been to the shop zero times for engine related problems. The 07 with DPF went back to KW 3 times in the first yr and half we had it. The third trip they put a new DPF filter on it under warranty.
Had same problems with it after that. Bout 2 years later when out of warranty back to KW. Diagnosis. Needs Filter replaced. They got the truck back and had the DPF system deleted on it.

Problems will start to show on tractors in a few years with some more hours of usage.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Not enough hours on these tier 4 tractors yet for the complaints to start. Give it 3 - 5 years and 1000+ hours of use for a more accurate appraisal
.
I work on construction equipment from small forklifts to large excavators. DPF have added a lot of problems and cost to machines.
I have a customer with 2 Yale forklifts right now with kubota engines that arent 3 years old that both need the DPF replaced at a cost of about $3k each.
Hours are 2200 and 2600 and these machines are ran hard all day long and not let to sit idle or babied to cause the problem.
We need a thread in about 2020 on this topic for the real consensus of how they have worked.

Glad you posted this. It has taken a lot of worry off my mind. Kubotas (Which is my brand) 2200 and 2600 hours of employees/non owners hard running and needs service!!! I won't do that many hours and type abuse in 5 life times so no concern for me. This all reminds me of back some years ago when cars started being mass produced with no clutches and had those bound to break automatic transmissions with fluid and had filter screens that would always be clogging up and have to be replaced or cleaned. Yep, it did happen on some of them and over the past 50 or so years there have been some expensive bills to repair those automatic transmissions just like the doom sayers said that didn't want to learn any new ways of doing their job.
All new technology goes thru "break in" periods and there are people that are always working on coming up with the fix. This isn't exactly new technology now in 2017. It has already gone thru many changes and updates and they will continue by the manuf and the independent thinker wanting to make a smaller buck with the cheaper fix.
Talking calculators cost $600 for blind people some year ago then they could be bought for under $20 not many years later when they become massed produced. Filters for tractors will go thru the same process if they are $3000 or ways to do the same function cheaper will come up but again, no concern to me and my 100 hours a year tractor use.

 

[Rmart30]

Glad you posted this. It has taken a lot of worry off my mind. Kubotas (Which is my brand) 2200 and 2600 hours of employees/non owners hard running and needs service!!! I won't do that many hours and type abuse in 5 life times so no concern for me. , no concern to me and my 100 hours a year tractor use.

But see, you are proving one of the points that will be a problem for DPF. You think because they were run long and hard that its bad thing.
For a DPF machine its not. DPF work best by running long and keeping the exhaust hot enough to burn the particulates. One of the worst things you can do with any DPF equipped machine wether its passive or active dpf is to putt putt around with it at low RPM, let it sit and idle, or to crank it up and just set something off a trailer with it real quick before the exhaust gets up to high temp.
With the last scenario it doesnt get the exhaust temp up hot enough to start the burn process. Whats not burned will collect and harden inside the DPF. Over time things like this will cause it to stop up prematurely and need cleaning or replacement.

And yes, 2200-2600 hours is very early to be doing maintenance of that cost. We keep service records of everything done to our machines from the day they are bought. We have some diesel equipment from the late 90's with 8000-9000 hours on it that have not had anything done to them engine related other than normal oil and filter changes.

As I previously said these need time before problems will start to show. 2020 will be long enough to get some hours on these and see how people think they have done by then.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

But see, you are proving one of the points that will be a problem for DPF. You think because they were run long and hard that its bad thing.
For a DPF machine its not. DPF work best by running long and keeping the exhaust hot enough to burn the particulates. One of the worst things you can do with any DPF equipped machine wether its passive or active dpf is to putt putt around with it at low RPM, let it sit and idle, or to crank it up and just set something off a trailer with it real quick before the exhaust gets up to high temp.

Nope, you missed it. I did the putt putt to the work before and let all my other tractors (About 15 of them) idle at low rpm but ran them up when working. With my current L3901 I do a very short warm up and then it's run way up on rpms for the hour/hours of work at high rpm. I do understand they have to be run at high rpm and do run it at high rpm and for plenty of time to get totally heated up. Your thinking of the wrong guy, not me. Now to say more hours is better than less hours is,......... well i guess that doesn't require a response.

 

[bookmyer]

I'm really surprised that my L4701 has not been through a regen cycle yet. It only has 27 hours on it so far but I would of thought I'd hit the first regen by now. I guess I could have missed it but I doubt it. My SSV75 has done the regen several times and the smell is noticeable in the cab and the light flashes. I'm not too worried about the tractor as I think the best thing to do is just leave the thing alone and let it do the regen on its own.

 

[kduncan]

I'm really surprised that my L4701 has not been through a regen cycle yet. It only has 27 hours on it so far but I would of thought I'd hit the first regen by now. I guess I could have missed it but I doubt it. My SSV75 has done the regen several times and the smell is noticeable in the cab and the light flashes. I'm not too worried about the tractor as I think the best thing to do is just leave the thing alone and let it do the regen on its own.

My L4701 has 48 hours on it and has done 3 regens. Seems like a big waste of fuel.

 

[The Deerslayer]

My L4701 has 48 hours on it and has done 3 regens. Seems like a big waste of fuel.

When running and idling, what are the RPM's?

 

[Fallon]

My L4060 just had its first regen a week or 2 ago an hour or so before my 50 hour maintenance warning showed up. Surprised me it took that long as I'd done a lot of lower RPM puttering & utility work.

 

[sunnyside360]

My ZD1511 has done 3 regens in 32.1 hours. That's at running full throttle 2600 rpms 99% of the time --- other 1% is about half throttle until engine warmup. This is how the Kubota tech said is best to operate DPF system.

 

[MHarryE]

I just traded off my M135GX entering its 5th season. Regens ranged from 15 to 30 hours. The L6060 I bought last October now has 145 hours and has done 3 regens. Most of the hours have been snowplow work but also a lot of low speed hours running a grain auger where the DPF percentage definitely rose at a higher rate, but then would drop off 10% or so roading 3 miles back home. My new M7 just had its first regen at 31 hours. So in my 5th year of Kubota DPF experience with no indication I have a DPF other than the light coming on to indicate a regen was happening. Without the light, I would not have known anything was happening.