I barely got 2 acres of alfalfa baled this morning when a previously "repaired" problem showed it's ugly head again. My tractor started bogging real bad again, looked like white smoke but hard to tell in the dark. The RPM was jumping up and down about 1000 rpm like it wanted to die or was running out of fuel. Not fun with my big baler hooked to the PTO!

It did this a couple years ago when it was brand new. The dealer came and got it and had it for 3 months till they claimed it was fixed. I was so pissed over not being given a loaner that I completely lost my cool about it all but that's another story. The idiots there had my injection pump rebuilt. I knew that wasn't the problem. They replaced my fuel filters several times. Tried blaming my fuel till I had a sample tested and shut them up about that. They completely trashed my bleeder valves and I had to threaten them to get the filter heads replaced. Somehow in all this my ac compressor adjuster bracket got broke and that one just put me off the deep end. They claimed I did it. I kept insisting it wasn't getting fuel and since the lift pump on the engine was the only thing they had not replaced I made them replace it. They gave me some stupid story about how the warranty wouldn't pay for a 22 dollar fuel pump but the 3500 bucks worth of other stuff they threw at it was just fine!
See how fed up I am?
Oh they also cleaned my tank at least three times. After they finaly got it running right they claimed, On the third cleaning and after replacing my lift pump that they pulled 2 handfulls of dead bugs out of my fuel tank and that it was intermittantly plugging the pickup tube, which has no sock on it. Someone almost got hit upside the head when they told me that and tried to make me pay for all the "repairs"!

Well, it's doing it again! I'm about to put 8 rounds of 45 acp in the block I'm so mad right now.
Both my fuel filters are new, have about 6 hours on them and are baldwin, NOT new holland. I've been running that brand since warranty ran out.
air filters are both same age and clean. There are 2 small fuel leaks on the bottom of the injection pump now on a couple o rings. Of course I have to take the darn thing off to fix it but I don't think that is letting air in. It's possible but it's been leaking ever since these crack heads rebuilt it and I was too pissed by then to ever let them look at it again!
Anyone believe their story about bugs in the tank? They drained it into a barrel 3 times that I know of and pressure washed the inside of the tank then poured the same fuel back in so I got a feeling that is how bugs, if they were real, got into it. I ONLY fill it from the big tank in the back of my truck and it has a filter on it which is changed monthly and I have never seen get dirty. I also use that same tank to fill my truck tanks and I have never had a fuel problem with it before. They didn't believe me about that at the tractor dealer! Oh man I'm pissed now and it's only 5 AM. Too early for some tequila!

 

i would find what the lift pump supply pressue is supposed to be and test the lift pump. also closly inspect the lines from tank to lift pump for leaks. it almost sounds like the lift pump is sucking air.


if it was me, i would fix that turd and dump it for a big green tractor.

 

I just checked all the clamps on the supply lines for tightness and leaks. All seemed fine. No leaks evident on the filters or bleeders. I am waiting on the sun to come up before checking the screen on top of the lift pump. Those idiots painted the hell out of all the bolts and screws so "they said" they would know if I ever tampered with it. Good thing all those mechanics that worked on it are gone now. And the service manager! I don't know where any of them live! What used to seem to work for me before was taking off the supply line from the lift pump and blowing back into the tank with air then repriming it. Not sure why but it did. Any ideas for installing a sock or some kind of filter on the pickup in the tank? I guess I'm going to pull the fuel back into the truck tank today and drop the tank to mess with it. That's easy I found out. I can just reverse the wires on the pump and suck it back in through the nozzle with a piece of garden hose attached. I've done this a couple times.
No way I'd buy a green one either. They are all the same thing now, just different colors. Untill you get over that 120 HP and 100k price tag all of them are imports from Germany and turkey. Or CHina! No way I'd own one of those! I should have gotten the Kubota this size. I have worked at a Kubota dealer and loved them but the 95 HP like mine was 15k more. Only reason I went blue.

 

Check your fuel tank pick up tube for cracks, if its cracked it will suck air. on some tractors and equipment, i have had to cut the pick up tube about 1" shorter, because it was almost touching the bottom of the tank and would suck up any trash that got into the fuel tank and plug up, if you have a vacuum pump, plug off the fuel line to the fuel tank and fuel pump, draw a vacuum and see if it will hold vacuum in the line, its just a test for fittings and fuel line to see if there is a air leak, white smoke on a diesel a lot of times is caused by timing, your main injector pump could be bad, or it could be sucking air at the o rings that you mentioned on the injector pump, when you get the problem fixed, Like Tom said, trade it in for a Big Green Tractor hope you get it fixed, Take care, Chellie

 

Good idea with the vac pump. I never thought of that but will certainly try it this morning. Thanks! I might cut a inch off the pickup too. I've been thinking about doing that for a while. It's a hard stainless steel line in the tank and goes to a little pocket down there where the drain valve is. If there ever is crap in the tank that's where it will go!

 

Your right Kubota Makes a great Tractor, i have worked on them.

 

Just took out the screen in the top of the lift pump. It was clean as a whistle. Also took off one of the timer covers on the bottom of the injection pump so I can take the o ring in there to town with me. I need to get a couple replacements. Both sides of the timer spring are leaking! I have to pull the IP to get the cover off the other side. This sucks!

 

i wonder if one of the bad o-rings is letting it suck some air?

 

mehhhh.
them 95 hp versions are garden tractors.
i said replace it with a BIG green one, not one of them there tonka toys.


hell, a 50 year old 4020 will outwork these new junks, and still only cost ya around $10 grand.

 

It's possible one of those rings let it suck air but I doubt it. Pressure from the lift pump goes directly into it on one side with high pressure fuel on the other side of the piston. The spring and piston in there look at the difference to determine load and constantly adjust internal pump timing. Basically.

My neighbor has an old 4020. Piece of junk too. No cab either. It does run though. I feel for him when he is baling his hay. We have to do it at night in these parts. The mosquitoes will eat you alive without a cab. Also mine is sealed with charcoal filters so I can spray safely. I use a lot of 24D here. Same exact thing as agent orange so you can imagine I'm not doing it without a sealed cab.
I've been trying to sell this thing for 2 years now. All I get calling is broker idiots offering me nothing for it. It's still worth 35K by any book or auction results out there. Easily 35 K. The highest offer any broker has made was 9k. That's not going to happen. Next one will be orange if I ever get rid of it.

 

This is just unbelieveable! I found TWO banjo bolt seal washers missing!

the shut off lever that the fuel shutoff solenoid attaches to had one bolt falling out and the other stripped out. That was my fuel leak.

They COMPLETELY stripped out the threads on the two threaded holes on the injection pump gear that are used for attaching a puller to. That took me 4 hours with no room hardly to work to rethread them so I could pull the stupid gear.

1 of the three bolts holding the injection pump itself on was completely stripped out. Had to helicoil that one.

I ended up making two trips to town for different seal washers and o rings. Spent a grand total of 8 bucks but I'm still so pissed off I want to find the goon that did this. THIS IS WHY I REFUSE TO WORK AT GARAGES ANYMORE! I had to deal with this kind of mechanic too much.

Believe it or not, After completely disassembling the injection pump because I was worried what else they may have screwed up and putting it back on to the CORRECT timing marks, it cranked up instantly. It's been running a half hour now and not a drop of fuel of puff of smoke has come out. I didn't even prime it. It's got that manual priming lever on the lift pump and the cam was on the wrong side for it to work so I got in and bumped the engine over and it started. Now why couldn't these idiots at new holland do that? 3 months they had it. Took me all of 8 hours including trips to town.

All I can figure is the paint job they did on the right side of my engine because they were so worried about me tampering with it was all that kept the fuel in for the last year. I had a tank of straight bio in it last time and it eats paint.

Anyone wanna go mechanic bashing tonight give me a call ok. I'm definitely in the mood!

 

Glad to hear you got it going again. Sounds like maybe you have less an issue with a tractor of inferior quality and more an issue of having a bunch of know-nothing idiots working on it! You ever get that issue with your Cub Cadet squared away?

 

I got the new fan for it but haven't had time to mess with it yet. It's still sitting in the garage waiting it's turn. Yesterday I had to rebuild my power steering pump because my kid took my spare and then I had to replace his starter. Tried to rebuild that but he really fried it. Finished my transmission this past weekend. And transfer case. Shifts like new now. You know about today. Tomorrow I'm going to Dallas to fix a neighbor of ours truck out there. Another mechanic out there just did intake gaskets on it, 91 5.0, and now it's barely running. I'm sure he didn't know how to set the timing. At least I hope that's all it is. The guy was supposed to be the local Ford "expert" too. Oh, and in doing the intake he was apparently standing in the engine bay and broke the air intake hose and high side line going to the condenser. The owners not happy.

 

it sounds like you are surrounded by idiots claiming to be mechanics.

 

Unfortunately we all are. Flat rate and greedy shops ruined any integrity they may have had in the past. The only honest shop I have ever worked at was a Mennonite owned tractor dealer. We got paid and charged hourly no matter what the job. Even for rebuilding engines and stuff. Customers really liked it and so did I. No pressure really to be fast. Just to do it right. Farmers need their stuff to work! One nice thing about that shop was the lack of flat repairs or road guys did. Not many rubber tires in that area. I hate moving around huge liquid filled tires!