L3540 will not start. Fuel issue

[cyberc0p]

All started with my daughter helping by filling up the tractor. She put in a Blue container that I can't guarantee was diesel or not contaminated.

By chance, when barely started it wouldn't move much. Now after her trying to get it going, she managed to get it away from my shop now it is dead.

I drained gas, replaced fuel filter and it just turns over. I tried cracking one injector to see if I see bubbles but didn't see much.

I finally found out about the bleed vent valve and opened it. Turned over a bit then start juttering like it wanted to start. After that nothing.

Pulled the fuel filter again just to make sure I was getting gas.

Any ideas? Just keeps turning over. Scared I will burn up the starter.

Before the questionable gas, it ran fine.

 

[Workerbee]

All started with my daughter helping by filling up the tractor. She put in a Blue container that I can't guarantee was diesel or not contaminated.

By chance, when barely started it wouldn't move much. Now after her trying to get it going, she managed to get it away from my shop now it is dead.

I drained gas, replaced fuel filter and it just turns over. I tried cracking one injector to see if I see bubbles but didn't see much.

I finally found out about the bleed vent valve and opened it. Turned over a bit then start juttering like it wanted to start. After that nothing.

Pulled the fuel filter again just to make sure I was getting gas.

Any ideas? Just keeps turning over. Scared I will burn up the starter.

Before the questionable gas, it ran fine.

Gas? Hopefully you meant diesel fuel

 

[cyberc0p]

Gas? Hopefully you meant diesel fuel

I should have said Fuel.

 

[Russell King]

There is a work shop Manual on Kubota books dot com. There are three sections and are free but you can make a donation to keep the site active. I did not look at them but I am sure they will have some troubleshooting guides for you to bleed the fuel system.

If you have an operation manual it will cover how to properly bleed the lines.

I think it is a pretty standard diesel injection system but if it happens to be a common rail system you probably need to get the dealer involved to fix it. If it is standard injection pump then you will need to get it bled for it to run. You will need to do that in short bursts of the starter for thirty seconds to a minute and then let the starter cool for a few minutes like 5 to 10 minutes. I would suggest you do three cycles of that and then wait for the starter to cool down for quite some time, 30 to 60 minutes so it is cool to the touch if you can touch the starter. If you have any method to decompress the cranking use it - but I don’t think you will have that available. (There is a knob to pull on the dash of my old L185).

Since you have located the bleed valve on the injection pump, I would open it up and let some fuel run out of it into a pan so you get all the air out of the lines from the tank through the new filter to the injection pump. You can probably open the valve and let it drip for 5 minutes you are sure the filter is full and all air is gone. Some tractors have an electric pump that will pump the fuel out of the bleed valve. That will be much quicker if you have that. Other tractors are gravity fed and others have a mechanical pump, so if the tank is lower than the injection pump you will have to use whatever pump is there and crank the engine if it is mechanical.

Then I would loosen all the nuts at the injectors (don’t mess with the lines down at the injection pump) and shove some type of rags under the nuts to catch the diesel fuel so it makes less of a mess. Then put the throttle to maximum and crank the engine (per above). You will eventually see fuel and air bubbles at the injector line. When the bubbles stop you are mostly done but go ahead and do another bleed cycle just to be sure. Then tighten the injector lines and try to crank it.

Your battery may be low after you have bled the lines so you might want to charge it overnight (using a smart charger) before trying to get it running. If it starts, then drive it back to the barn and let it idle there in case it wants to die again.

Good luck and thank your daughter for being helpful. Then show her a diesel can (that should be yellow) and tell her what is in your blue can (which is a mystery).

 

[RCW]

Any ideas what was in the blue container? Do you still have the blue container to check/smell it? Could it have been waste oils or hydraulic fluid? Water? (Blue often denotes water?)

What did the fuel smell like when you drained it? Gasoline?

Do you still have the container you drained into? Does it look clean or not? Is there water in the stuff you drained off (will be on the bottom)?

Oils and hydraulic fluid will typically mix with diesel, so hard to discern when they mix together.

 

[cyberc0p]

Any ideas what was in the blue container? Do you still have the blue container to check/smell it? Could it have been waste oils or hydraulic fluid? Water? (Blue often denotes water?)

What did the fuel smell like when you drained it? Gasoline?

Do you still have the container you drained into? Does it look clean or not? Is there water in the stuff you drained off (will be on the bottom)?

Oils and hydraulic fluid will typically mix with diesel, so hard to discern when they mix together.

I am rather sure it was diesel, since they (son and daughter) filled it and wrote Diesel on it. It was the blue can I usually use for Kerosene. Can't promise there was no contamination.

Definitely didn't smell gasoline (see what I did there).

I will download the manuals and get to reading.

Thanks all for the help

 

[cyberc0p]

I am rather sure it was diesel, since they (son and daughter) filled it and wrote Diesel on it. It was the blue can I usually use for Kerosene. Can't promise there was no contamination.

Definitely didn't smell gasoline (see what I did there).

I will download the manuals and get to reading.

Thanks all for the help

BTW, my typical Diesel can is yellow. Time to get another second yellow and LABLE the crap out of them.

 

[cyberc0p]

downloaded the manual and all it talks about is opening the air vent cock, which I have tried numerous times.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Have you made sure the valve (green) is open?

Take the fuel line off the lift pump (yellow), you should have good fuel flow to it.

Let us know what you find.

 

[cyberc0p]

Have you made sure the valve (green) is open?

Take the fuel line off the lift pump (yellow), you should have good fuel flow to it.

Let us know what you find.

View attachment 151072

Yep, the petcock is straight up and down. I did remove both the fuel line and what I am guessing is the breather line. Fuel was pouring from the fuel line and I was able to blow through the breather line (I could hear gurgling (not sure if that is a word) in the fuel tank.

Thanks for the detailed reply. Much appreciated.

 

[D2Cat]

Sounds like you have the problem on a down hill run. I'd suggest you always use the word "fuel/diesel" when referring to your tractor. It sounds foolish perhaps, but when others hear the word "gas" they think gas. Folks need to be trained DIESEL only goes into a tractor and part of that training is hearing the word diesel.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Yep, the petcock is straight up and down. I did remove both the fuel line and what I am guessing is the breather line. Fuel was pouring from the fuel line and I was able to blow through the breather line (I could hear gurgling (not sure if that is a word) in the fuel tank.

Thanks for the detailed reply. Much appreciated.

On now pull the small line (return line) off the jet start valve.
With it off crank the engine are you getting pluses of fuel out of the jet start valve?

 

[cyberc0p]

Does anyone know what the torx screws at the bottom of each injector is for? Bleeding without loosening the injector?

 

[cyberc0p]

So I took off the hose on the back of the filter, the one that seems to take fuel from the filter not send fuel to the filter. I was stopped up once again. So I sucked and blew (NO COMMENTS) in it until I got air going thru again.

The engine sputtered for a few seconds. Tried some more letting the starter cool. Back to the same cranking forever.

I then "recleared" the same hose. Once again it was blocked up. Tractor began sputter again for a few seconds then back to cranking.

It goes to something on the engine then goes to the fuel vent thingy I opened to start it.

What keeps blocking it up. It seems to go past the filter so I would not think it would be trash.

 

[RCW]

Trust me, I don't know the first thing about your tractor, but I wouldn't expect those torx bolts are to bleed your injectors.

You have a bleed valve already at the lift pump. There are other methods to bleed injectors by the hex nut that connects the hard fuel line at the top of each injector, but not via a torx that I'm aware of.

Seems like you're chasing different stuff in different places, and now a plugged fuel line is cropping up.

I'm not certain what fuel line you reference as being plugged. Is that the water separator/filter?: " So I took off the hose on the back of the filter, the one that seems to take fuel from the filter not send fuel to the filter. I was stopped up once again. So I sucked and blew (NO COMMENTS) in it until I got air going thru again. "

Maybe start with parts diagrams of the fuel system, and ensure that you're getting fuel from tank, to water separator, to lift pump, to injection pump, to injectors......

Parts diagrams, like @North Idaho Wolfman posted earlier, can be had here.

Kubota Tractor Corporation - Illustrated Parts List

Do you have the Workshop Manual for your tractor?

If not, advise you get one. 3 parts at https://kubotabooks.com/homepage/

I'm not much help but hopefully can help you get in a systematic mode to diagnose your problem.

Best wishes.

 

[cyberc0p]

Trust me, I don't know the first thing about your tractor, but I wouldn't expect those torx bolts are to bleed your injectors.

You have a bleed valve already at the lift pump. There are other methods to bleed injectors by the hex nut that connects the hard fuel line at the top of each injector, but not via a torx that I'm aware of.

Seems like you're chasing different stuff in different places, and now a plugged fuel line is cropping up.

I'm not certain what fuel line you reference as being plugged. Is that the water separator/filter?: " So I took off the hose on the back of the filter, the one that seems to take fuel from the filter not send fuel to the filter. I was stopped up once again. So I sucked and blew (NO COMMENTS) in it until I got air going thru again. "

Maybe start with parts diagrams of the fuel system, and ensure that you're getting fuel from tank, to water separator, to lift pump, to injection pump, to injectors......

Parts diagrams, like @North Idaho Wolfman posted earlier, can be had here.

Kubota Tractor Corporation - Illustrated Parts List

Do you have the Workshop Manual for your tractor?

If not, advise you get one. 3 parts at https://kubotabooks.com/homepage/

I'm not much help but hopefully can help you get in a systematic mode to diagnose your problem.

Best wishes.

Yeah, I found out what the torx screws were for.

Yes, water Seperator/fuel filter. Same unit on my tractor.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Yes the tamper proof Torx screws are (DO NOT MESS WITH THESE) screws.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

So I took off the hose on the back of the filter, the one that seems to take fuel from the filter not send fuel to the filter. I was stopped up once again. So I sucked and blew (NO COMMENTS) in it until I got air going thru again.

The engine sputtered for a few seconds. Tried some more letting the starter cool. Back to the same cranking forever.

I then "recleared" the same hose. Once again it was blocked up. Tractor began sputter again for a few seconds then back to cranking.

It goes to something on the engine then goes to the fuel vent thingy I opened to start it.

What keeps blocking it up. It seems to go past the filter so I would not think it would be trash.

You need to be exact:
Line in to the fuel filter keeps getting clogged or the line out of the filter is getting clogged?

 

[cyberc0p]

You need to be exact:
Line in to the fuel filter keeps getting clogged or the line out of the filter is getting clogged?

I would say line out of the filter

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Pull the filter Housing off of the tractor and take it all apart, looking in all the ports for a blockage.