Starting and quitting

[WarrenPFJr]

Hey all,

I have a B3200 Kubota and I’m having issues keeping the machine running. It will start, it will idle for a few seconds and then quit. Sometimes it will run for a minute or two so I can move it around but then it stalls out again . it does this over and over. It’s like it’s not getting fuel. I thought maybe I had an empty gas tank and my fuel gauge just wasn’t working. So I filled the tank full of fuel. I had recently replaced my fuel filter, blew out my lines, took out my gas tank, cleaned it completely and I’m still having this issue. I’m wondering if I could possibly have a bad fuel pump? Are there any other quick fixes to try or thoughts on this?
This past summer I had a similar issue, and I thought it was related to my fuel injectors so I took out all my fuel injectors had to replace one and the machine ran fine for a few months. This was when I replaced the fuel filter, blew out the lines and cleaned the gas tank.

Thank you,

Warren

 

[Eagle1]

Check the shut off solenoid. May not be holding in the run position but retract in start.

 

[Hay Dude]

Does your model have the small electric fuel pump? My larger ones had a pretty cheap, small electric fuel pump. Check that and make sure it’s working properly

 

[RjCorazza]

Have you bled the fuel lines after opening up the fuel system?
There will likely be a bleeder valve on the fuel filter or at the injectors.

 

[George2615]

Is it possible your fuel is gelling? Temps have been pretty low lately.

 

[WarrenPFJr]

I spoke to a repair guy at the dealership this morning. He said a common problem with my machine fitting the description of my problem has to do with the assembly on the fuel filter. Where the hoses attached to the top of the filter at the inlet outlet sometimes that part wears or wiggles loose and allows air to suck into my system. He thinks I may be having an airlock issue and suggested I replace that part. So for $30 I’m gonna start there.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm not familiar with your tractor, so this is more of a generic reply of things that I've found on my tractors.

Do you have a metal fuel tank? Debris can build up on the bottom of the tank and plug the inlet. If there is a return line going into the tank, can you swap the lines? The supply line is usually close to the bottom of the tank, the return line is usually a lot higher up in the tank.

Does your fuel pump have a filter inside the fuel lines where the line attaches to the pump? Is there another filter inside the pump? Some of these filters are just metal mesh screens that are shaped like a thimble. They gunk up and need to be removed to be cleaned.

Did you test your fuel pump to make sure it has pressure? Remove the fuel line after the pump and see if fuel shoots out when turning over the engine.

If you have air in your system, you will need to loosen the injectors. Since it starts and dies, air in the system doesn't seem likely. Once it starts, the air clears out pretty quickly.

 

[WarrenPFJr]

Thank you all for the responses and great advice. I wound up swapping the whole fuel filter assembly based on the tech recommendation. His thoughts by the description was that air was leaking through those hoses into the fuel filter assembly at the top. By replacing the whole thing, it stuttered a few times trying to get it started this morning, but after a few tries, she started right up and she kept an idle for a while, at least long enough for me to put her away back into the garage, thank you again for all the support.

 

[DWD.IN]

Have you bled the fuel lines after opening up the fuel system?
There will likely be a bleeder valve on the fuel filter or at the injectors.

Is it repaired completely now? Are you planning to repair of park it? It appears you just wanted it running long enough to stow it?? Not sure, keep us posted on repair.

 

[WarrenPFJr]

Things seem to be running fine now but in all honesty I haven't put much seat time in since the repair. This time of year i use the machine for bringing in pallets of firewood and snow removal so I have only run her maybe 30 minutes since last week. No news is good news for now. Ill post an update if anything changes. Thank you all again for the support.