tipped b7800 onto its left side

[gbparn]

Yesterday I flipped my B7800 on its side. As it was a slow motion roll at a slow speed, I was able to clear the tractor as it came over and was not hurt, just rattled. The tractor ran for no more than 10 seconds while on its side and I was able to get it up right after about 45 min to an hour. I then pulled it to a level spot. I have not tried to start it so its been upright on a level drive for nearly 24 hours. While on its side I saw maybe a quart to 1.5 quarts of oil (appears to be crankcase oil) coming out of an open hose that is on the left side of the frame. I had not noticed that hose before so maybe it some sort of oil over flow. Currently, the engine dipstick isn't showing any oil on it, so obviously before cranking I have to add oil. The only other fluids that I saw was diesel from the fill on the tank.

I have been scouring the internet to figure out how to proceed. Most post say to prevent hydrolock and damage to the rods, remove the glow plugs and hand crank it so that any oil above the piston can be pushed out. Then I saw another post that there is a by pass of some sort that I could crank the engine with the starter. This bypass apparently doesn't let the valves seat and no pressure in the cylinders can build so any oil in the cylinder should go....where? up into the valve cover area? What then? Will it just burn off? If the B7800 has some sort of pressure bypass lever or switch, will that work for this scenario? or should I just pull the glowplugs to be sure any oil in the cylinder gets pushed out? How much oil would likely come out? Would it be a few ounces or just a spray/mist?


Any sort of procedure someone might have for this situation would be very helpful. Thanks.

 

[Daren Todd]

There may not be much oil in there. The main point is to relieve any pressure that might be there. The units that i have had flip didn't have glow plugs so i would pull the injectors. Spin them over with the starter and blow out any crap that had got on top of the cylinders. Reinstalled the injectors and was good to go. Glow plugs are easier to remove. not sure bout one with a compression realease.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Fill the crankcase to level before cranking, also check the radiator.
The hose on the left side is a vent hose off of the valve cover.
Also check the battery, I've seen many of them flip over in a roll over situation.

Pull either the glow plugs or the injectors, and use the starter to blow out any oil in the cylinders, just put an old towel over the top to catch any oil that comes out, might not be any.

If you pull the injectors, you will have to bled the lines before it will start.

 

[gbparn]

I pulled the glow plugs and hand cranked the engine about 15 turns and nothing came out. I put it back together again. Added some oil to the crankcase, checked the rest of the fluids and the battery. Turned the key and she started right up. Thanks for every ones input. On the B7800, I think pulling the glow plugs was the way to go. Of course there may not have been any oil in the cylinders anyway so it may have started fine as soon as I got the tractor back up right. I just didn't want to chance it.

 

[phaser]

Yesterday I flipped my B7800 on its side.

Glad you were OK, and you got the engine started.


I'm interested about the the roll over, from a how to prevent perspective.

What caused the roll over?

Were the tires loaded with fluid or wheel weights?

ROPS did its job without damage?

Out of curiosity, were you using a seat belt?

.

 

[jasonTDI]

You got lucky. Hand cranking will not push the excess oil out. You need to crank it to get enough speed. Half a teaspoon can bend a rod......

 

[gbparn]

JasonTDI thanks for the update on cranking it with the starter rather than hand cranking. I had seen in a post somewhere to hand crank it. Maybe that was the way to check if it was hydrolocked. So it appears I was fortunate twice this weekend.

As for how it happened, I was actually creeping up a fairly steep but short slope (4 to 5 foot rise over 10' to 12' run) with my FEL about half full of dirt and about 5 foot off the ground. I went at the slope at about a 30 degree angle. I was moving a small bush to a new location and also had it attached to the FEL. I felt the machine starting to roll and I knew I needed to get the bucket down, but I hesitated for a second or so because I didn't want to crush that stupid bush and then it was too late and I knew it. I jumped clear and she came on over right behind me. My poor wife was standing about 60 feet away (thankfully) watching and said later that it seemed all in slow motion but over in an instant.

No, I wasn't wearing the seatbelt, but the ROPS was up. In this situation, the tractor actually rolled over onto my drive way which is a flat surface and so if the ROPS had not been up I don't think the tractor would have continued to roll. I know what the manual says about a deployed ROPS and wearing a seatbelt, but in this instance I am glad I wasn't wearing it. If I had been, I think I would have been slammed into the driveway. I am sure that the tractor would not have been able to crush me with it up but I don't see how I would have kept from banging my arm/shoulder and head on the ground when I hit. Having just typed the above, I also recognize we really aren't choosing where we want to have this type of accident to occur. If it was to happen again (heaven forbid), the only way to keep from being crushed may be to be wearing the seatbelt. As difficult of a habit as it may be to develop, its probably in my best interest to wear it and make sure ROPS is up when working on the tractor.

Other factors were I normally run around with a 5 foot box blade or 54" tiller to keep my center of gravity lower, but I had changed implements to a post hole digger. Because the TPH sets pretty low to the ground on the b7800 I had the boom set to lift high so I could drive around with the auger on and not tear up ground. That situation also probably raised the center of gravity also. Certainly higher than what I was accustomed too.

My wheels are not filled so that is something I should probably do and will look into.

So there you go, loaded bucket lifted to high, attacking a slope at an improper angle, rear TPH also with implement creating a higher center of gravity, not wearing seat belt with ROPS, not having enough ballast on a light tractor, I'm sure there are other factors.

Thankfully, I walked away without a scratch and what appears to be only scratches to my equipment. Certainly the most damage was to my ego. Then the salt was added to the wound when I had to ask my neighbor to bring his red Mahindra to right my Kubota. He was a good neighbor for helping me and keeping the jabs to me and my tipped B7800 at a decent minimum.

 

[phaser]

Thanks gpparn, I appreciate the educational commentary. There's always stuff to learn and put to personal good use from such incidents.

.

 

[ShaunRH]

...Certainly the most damage was to my ego. Then the salt was added to the wound when I had to ask my neighbor to bring his red Mahindra to right my Kubota. He was a good neighbor for helping me and keeping the jabs to me and my tipped B7800 at a decent minimum.

I don't think I'd ever feel wounded by a Mahindra pulling my Kubota back upright. It's a bit like having a Yugo pull your stuck Mercedes out of a snow bank. It has nothing to do with the vehicles, just the conditions. The situation could easily be reversed.

As for rolling a tractor, my father has rolled our D-17 a couple of times but with the backhoe on it, it never goes 'over'. He bailed on the tractor both times but he's injured himself doing it. It's not fun or something I look forward to. I purchased a clinometer for mine, it's made for a jeep but it doesn't care what the vehicle is. It would let me know if I'm getting into danger but I have no idea what the max/min degree ratings for an L3200 are... I'm hoping to note when it starts feeling 'tipsy' and not exceed that.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Smittybilt-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item35ccb95c21&vxp=mtr

 

[olthumpa]

... I'm hoping to note when it starts feeling 'tipsy' and not exceed that.

I have never tipped a tractor over "yet". I say that because if you play long enough, you pay sooner or later.

I have had one or two tires off the ground a number of times. The last time was about three weeks ago. I was spreading loom on a section of side hill. I had been doing it for about 5 hrs and had one bucket left to move and spread. I raised the bucket about half way, like I had been doing, and started to dump it. I was fully aware that I was tempting fate. The right rear tire came up 2+ feet before I could go from dumping the bucket to dropping the whole FEL to the ground. There was no "starts feeling 'tipsy' " It went up with out warning.

I knew I was pushing the limits and was prepares to respond immediately, that is what saved me from going over, that and being very familiar with my tractor. O, and don't forget luck.

 

[ShaunRH]

... There was no "starts feeling 'tipsy' " It went up with out warning.

I knew I was pushing the limits and was prepares to respond immediately, that is what saved me from going over, that and being very familiar with my tractor. O, and don't forget luck.

What you experienced is what I was euphemistically calling 'feeling tipsy'. Yeah, I know it's almost instant when it actually happens and you have to react to counter it. Generally speaking, I've had it happen on a couple of tractors and the best indicator was a loss of traction on the tire that was about to lift. I get all 'hyper alert' when on slopes of any kind.

The times my father rolled it was on slope edges where the slope gave way... you get no warning and the tractor is rolling. So also watch how close you drive to the edges of wet or loose slopes...

 

[BadDog]

I'm no expert, but I've worked with tractors a few times over the last 4 decades, and LOTS of experience with rock crawler buggies. Obviously weight down low is good, weight up high is bad. Following that lowers the center of gravity, and thus increases the incline angle at which the vehicle will roll (ignoring inertia, you can't roll till the vertical plumb line of the CoG crosses the (a) contact patch axis (generally the line between 2 tires on the down hill side). As has been discussed here, loaded tires, and rim weights are good to help keep the rubber side down. But you also mentioned the loaded bucket high, which would seem to be the problem. Just like working with a loaded fork lift, or engine hoist. Always best to keep the load as close to the ground as possible for MANY reasons. But most importantly, if the ground is not level, you don't want any weight up high if you can avoid it. Also likely to need ballast on the back in general. I've used my box blade with 4 2" thick AR plate slabs (about 70 lbs each) clamped onto it. Makes a huge difference when using the loader.

 

[aeblank]

I suppose i've had a few "emergency" bucket drops too. Or a change in wheel angle or direction of travel. Seems to go with the territory.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[gbparn]

I agree with you BadDog, a loaded bucket needs to stay low. I had shoveled the dirt from the shrub we were moving and just forgot about the dirt being in the bucket while I was moving the shrub.

I will be the first to admit that I got a bit comfortable and in this instance there was just one too many things that was working to tip the tractor over. If I had done the emergency FEL drop, I'm pretty sure the back wheel would have come back down and then let me back down and try a different approach to the slope. I had already backed up the hill to the same place I was going when the tractor tipped. Actually, I was practically in the same tire tracks going up, except I had backed up the slope to auger the hole where the bush was going AND my bucket was low where it should have been.

 

[jasonTDI]

The important part is you learned what you did wrong. Glad you weren't hurt.