Rough Running BX

[dodge man]

Glad you got it sorted out. We are expecting a pretty good storm here today, my BX will get a couple of hours or more put on it. They are calling for more snow on Saturday also.

 

[chanceihs]

Re: Rough Running BX *SOLVED*

Thank you for putting this information up. I seem to have the same problem, my BX23 will run fine then bog down, stall, barely run for a while. Then all of the sudden it will be fine which seems to coincide with filling it with fuel. I thought it might be a fuel filter or pump, but being intermittent, this would make more sense.

 

[dodge man]

I would still replace the rear fuel filter first, that's the most common problem.

 

[torrin]

This is going to sound odd. Is the tank at the station where you get your fuel above ground? I had the problem with my BX1500 the first year I got it and so I switched fuel dealers to one with an underground tank.

I talked to some local farmers and they told me the above ground tanks get water in them from condensation and temp changes. Underground tanks have a much more consistent temp and condensation does not seem to be a problem.

i hope that someone or I have helped.

 

[ericher69]

We seem to have the BX running good again (Yay!). Was advised that pouring new fuel into a cold tank was a bad idea immediately preceding the start of this trouble. The tank has been near empty and the air temp had been running negative zero for the better part of two or three weeks, so it was a very cold tank. Anyway, for the fix to this problem he put a small heater up behind the tractor in the barn and warmed up the tank. Then poured Kerosene (# 2 Fuel) into the tank. It has been working like a champ for the past three hours and we have most of the snow cleared again, just in time for a new storm to come in tomorrow or Wednesday. So, to recap what we did, we changed both fuel filters, put fuel stabilizer in, heated the fuel tank before starting the engine, and when warm, added Kerosene. Hoping that it will work for us now for a good long time. I will be sure to ask the guy to fill the tank when he puts it back up in the shed tonight.

Why are you running Kerosene in a bx?

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

 

[danfromsyr]

Thanks OP for posting this, as I've had this same recurring issue for longer than I'll care to admit.
always at a pain in the moment and I'd have to crawl under and blowgun the fuel line..
coincidentally it's at the lower portion of the fuel tank and I attributed it to either algae slime or a spiderweb of some sort.. not sure I'm happy to find out it'll be a $50 fuel gauge.
to get me back running (clearing snow midwinter) I spliced in a 1.5gal lawn tractor tank mounted on the safety triangle bracket..
this'll get me by till warmer weather and I'll have to disassemble the tank before grass starts growing.

 

[quarencia]

I'm having the same problem with a bx2230, but with a complication. The BX22, 2200, 2230 & 23 all have a small second fuel tank mounted on the frame below the main tank. This small tank is fed from the main tank, feeds the fuel filter and pump, and has the return line from the engine. It also has two vent lines back up to the top of the tank. If the sender has rusted, then both tanks will need to be cleaned. And if you're trying to blow rust out on one of these models, you may have to blow back from fuel filter and also blow back in the line between the main and second tank. Just blowing from filter back to second tank may not clear main tank as some or all air would probably go back up the two vent lines rather than into the bottom of the main tank. You can see what I'm talking about on attached parts diagram of 2230.

 

[RaydaKub]

I'm having the same problem with a bx2230, but with a complication. The BX22, 2200, 2230 & 23 all have a small second fuel tank mounted on the frame below the main tank.

Are you referring to Fig. No. 101????
I don't know what it is called. It just seemed like a pass-through / Y in the line. I would never have called it a fuel tank, though. I was looking at mine during my mower height control thread. It was a real pain the rear to get in there and I debated pulling this thing out, but was afraid to do it because there were so many lines onto it I was sure I'd screw it up.

 

[quarencia]

Are you referring to Fig. No. 101???? ... I would never have called it a fuel tank, though.

Yes, A101 on the diagram. I would never have called it a fuel tank either, but that's what it's called on the Kubota parts list. It is a PITA to get at and is an octopus of fuel/vent lines (five total). I've never figured out why it's even there. The first time I saw it under the tractor, I went to the parts breakout to see what it was. Couldn't figure out why anyone would ever add that much complexity to the fuel system. Later models did away with it and just plumbed the main tank dierctly to the filter and the return line back to the main tank.

Regardless of what its called or its usefulness, it's a small container (~1/2 cup) between the fuel tank and the filter that can also get clogged with rust particles.

 

[ultrarunner]

My guess is it is part of the emission system.

 

[shadowshack]

I'll give you something else to think about. I had the same intermittent problem with the engine bogging down. Sometimes it would take fifteen minutes of work, at other times it wouldn't occur even after a day's work. My Kubota dealer's mechanic said mine was from the emergency brake not fully releasing. I argued the point, not understanding how it would continue to bog down, try to recover, bog down, and so on, for ten minutes or more, even with the brake off and engine in neutral. Lo and behold, my BX25 is running like a champ so far. I guess I should emphasize, "so far." I'll continue to follow this thread and report if it reoccurs.

 

[JnDPgh]

I had a similar issue with my B8200 where it would run fine for 20-30 minutes then begin to run rough and stall. The reason for my issue was that a small crack in one of the rubber lines that lead from the fuel tank down to the injectors. Once the fuel in the lines had been used it began to suck air through that crack leading the engine to run rough and stall. Replacing that rubber line solved my issue.

 

[JWR]

I had a similar issue with my B8200 where it would run fine for 20-30 minutes then begin to run rough and stall. The reason for my issue was that a small crack in one of the rubber lines that lead from the fuel tank down to the injectors. Once the fuel in the lines had been used it began to suck air through that crack leading the engine to run rough and stall. Replacing that rubber line solved my issue.

See thread at "bx2200 runs rough when it gets hot"
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/248308-bx2200-runs-rough-when-gets.html Several good ideas (including this one about the rubber lines) are shown there plus my own example case with a BX2200 which had these symptoms. Obviously quite a few folks have had this and similar issues.

 

[JoeP19934]

I'm glad I found this post. I just purchased a used BX 2350 and it ran great for a while and it started to sputter and stall and not run at times.
The first time I thought it was water in the lines so after blowing out and checking the filters I didn't see much water coming out so I ordered filters and replaced them both.
Well that last a little while and it started again, so I decided to replace the rear filter even though it wasn't clogged and got my grass done that day but it started to sputter under a load so fir sure it's not the filter.
I didn't think to try and blow the line back into the tank but I will now.
I'm 100% sure its the fuel gauge sender rusting and causing a issue with fuel starvation I have a funny feeling.
A new sender is like $134 not including shipping so if that's the case I will remove it cut off all the metal and not replace it for that much $ that's crazy.
It's not made of gold is it instead the new sender looks like plastic to me - I can look in the tank to see when fuel is running low - LOL
I saw someone who cut a hole in the tank under the seat to access it and clean it I was thinking of doing the same thing but if its the sender it would only temporarily solve it.
He installed an access port to make accessing the tank for clean-out while in the tractor.
If the sender is bad the only thing to fix it for sure is tank removal and replacing the sender or doing away with it.
I plan on digging into it over the next few days wish me luck

 

[JoeP19934]

I'm glad I found this post. I just purchased a used BX 2350 and it ran great for a while and it started to sputter and stall and not run at times.
The first time I thought it was water in the lines so after blowing out and checking the filters I didn't see much water coming out so I ordered filters and replaced them both.
Well that last a little while and it started again, so I decided to replace the rear filter even though it wasn't clogged and got my grass done that day but it started to sputter under a load so fir sure it's not the filter.
I didn't think to try and blow the line back into the tank but I will now.
I'm 100% sure its the fuel gauge sender rusting and causing a issue with fuel starvation I have a funny feeling.
A new sender is like $134 not including shipping so if that's the case I will remove it cut off all the metal and not replace it for that much $ that's crazy.
It's not made of gold is it instead the new sender looks like plastic to me - I can look in the tank to see when fuel is running low - LOL
I saw someone who cut a hole in the tank under the seat to access it and clean it I was thinking of doing the same thing but if its the sender it would only temporarily solve it.
He installed an access port to make accessing the tank for clean-out while in the tractor.
If the sender is bad the only thing to fix it for sure is tank removal and replacing the sender or doing away with it.
I plan on digging into it over the next few days wish me luck

OK so I got home from work and siphoned some fuel out and not to my surprise after seeing all the similar symptoms I'm having it was filled with rusty metal ( magnet picked it up out of the diesel ) and some what likes to be tank plastic.
I am going to see if I can just pull the float level assembly out and gut it and just stick the plate back ( I may just make a plate ) on I am not going to pay $134 + dollars to replace it.
I also plan on cutting the tank to gain access to clean it and install an access port to close it up.

 

[JoeP19934]

CONFIRMED!
Rusted and flakey sender.
I ripped the float assembly off and cleaned the base off and sprayed it with epoxy spray paint and was going to install it without the sender but I found a cheap replacement that works somewhat. The gauge goes to over half.
I'm happy I found the issue but very upset that a dealer could sell me this tractor used and not even checking a known issue! I found a sender that was close to the original.

 

[ultrarunner]

The selection of components comes up short for the application...

Some have found always keeping a full tank helpful but in the real world not always possible.

Selecting better suited components impervious to rust would be a quality move.

Im curious if there have been sending unit revisions to overcome this known problem?

 

[JoeP19934]

The selection of components comes up short for the application...

Some have found always keeping a full tank helpful but in the real world not always possible.

Selecting better suited components impervious to rust would be a quality move.

Im curious if there have been sending unit revisions to overcome this known problem?

It looks like the replacement uses some kind of plastic and possibly a stainless steel rod but don't know for sure - https://www.messicks.com/images/parts/55/ku_k2771-613700.png

 

[ultrarunner]

Stainless would be a great improvement...