Can't identify part that fell off tractor.

[Frostbyte]

The mystery is SOLVED!

I found this picture of the underside of an OEM Kubota fuel cap from Kumar Bros. on eBay and this is definitely the piece that I found laying on the ground under the tractor. The problem wasn't finding a picture of an OEM cap, it was finding a picture of the UNDERSIDE of an OEM cap.

The first pic is the one from Kumar Bros. and the rest are of my cap for comparison. They're all OEM fuel caps for Kubota tractors.

Thanks to all of you for helping and most especially thanks to TractorMac who first identified the correct part and made it possible to verify that this is indeed what we are looking at. TractorMac got the answer to the mystery and thank you very much for that. It was making me a little nuts ...

If you have a cap like this and you pinch the rubber underneath enough to get a grip on it, it pulls right off and the inside looks like the original picture I posted. This picture, with the part in place where it belongs, is beyond a doubt the same and correct part.

 

[Racer X]

The mystery is SOLVED!

I found this picture of the underside of a Kubota fuel cap from Kumar Bros. on eBay and this is definitely the piece that I found laying on the ground under the tractor.

The first pic is the one from Kumar Bros. and the rest are of my cap for comparison.

Thanks to all of you for helping and most especially thanks to TractorMac who first identified the correct part and made it possible to verify that this is indeed what we are looking at. TractorMac got the answer to the mystery and thank you very much for that. It was making me a little nuts ...

If you have a cap like this and you pinch the rubber underneath enough to get a grip on it, it pulls right off and the inside looks like the original picture I posted. This picture, with the part in place where it belongs, is beyond a doubt the same and correct part.

So was it from your fuel cap, or was it a stray from the factory that had been riding along all this time?

 

[Missouribound]

Years ago I found a small rubber plug, about 2" in diameter in my driveway. I never figured out where it went. But your story reminded me of something one of the mechanics would do at a shop I worked at. It was a small engine shop with 2 full time mechanics and me (when they needed to catch up).
The two mechanics rarely got along, the senior always belittled the apprentice and picked on him. What he would do is wait until he was nearly completed with a project then take a spare part and lay it under the machine. When he apprentice was finished he would roll the machine off the table and find the part, thinking he missed it during assembly. I figured your part was one of those stray parts since you said it was covered in hydraulic fluid and not diesel.

 

[kuboman]

So if it is from your fuel cap how did you lose it without noticing and how did it get hydraulic oil in it??

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

The first pic is the one from Kumar Bros. and the rest are of my cap for comparison.

So I was right..sort of, it is an aftermarket fuel cap, hence why it doesn't look like a factory cap.

 

[Frostbyte]

So I was right..sort of, it is an aftermarket fuel cap, hence why it doesn't look like a factory cap.

I have no idea where you got that idea. It's the original OEM cap. It's the same as any other diesel fuel tank cap on this model and several other models of Kubota. You can buy just this rubber part from Messicks or you can buy the whole cap, but it's the same cap that came on the tractor.

My next door neighbor has exactly the same cap on his Kubota.

I re-read my post above and maybe I wasn't clear, so I edited it to be more understandable. The picture of the cap from Kumar Bros. is an OEM cap and I only posted it to show the part in its proper place from a source other than me. This confirmed to me that the part goes where I put it. My cap is an OEM cap, my cap is just like other OEM caps. This particular OEM cap has a rubber breather gasket/diaphragm that is fitted to the underside of the cap to allow the tank to breath while still keeping unwanted foreign objects out.

 

[Frostbyte]

So was it from your fuel cap, or was it a stray from the factory that had been riding along all this time?

It appears to have come off of the factory installed standard OEM fuel cap that came with the tractor.

Now, how it got where it got to when it got hydraulic fluid on it and fell off on the ground I have no idea. I've owned the tractor for two years and it must have been riding somewhere out of sight that whole time.

 

[Frostbyte]

Years ago I found a small rubber plug, about 2" in diameter in my driveway. I never figured out where it went. But your story reminded me of something one of the mechanics would do at a shop I worked at. It was a small engine shop with 2 full time mechanics and me (when they needed to catch up).
The two mechanics rarely got along, the senior always belittled the apprentice and picked on him. What he would do is wait until he was nearly completed with a project then take a spare part and lay it under the machine. When he apprentice was finished he would roll the machine off the table and find the part, thinking he missed it during assembly. I figured your part was one of those stray parts since you said it was covered in hydraulic fluid and not diesel.

Lol, now that's just dirty!

It was covered in hydraulic fluid because of the back pressure that made fluid squirt out of the dipstick hole, not because it came from a hydraulic fitting. Which is something I did not know when I started this thread.

The spurting fluid must have knocked it loose or lubed it up enough to fall out of where it was hiding. It had probably been riding somewhere out of sight for a long time, possibly since the factory. I have no idea how it got where it got to nor why, how or when it came off the fuel cap. I just found it laying on the ground.

 

[Frostbyte]

So was it from your fuel cap, or was it a stray from the factory that had been riding along all this time?

It was from my cap and I agree with you 100% about the benefits of binding sunlight in water.

 

[Frostbyte]

So if it is from your fuel cap how did you lose it without noticing and how did it get hydraulic oil in it??

Yes, it's from my OEM fuel cap. I'm certain I didn't lose it without noticing, it either came from the factory that way or the previous owner lost it. It got covered in hydraulic fluid from the back pressure incident I described previously. I have NO idea where it was when it got the hydraulic fluid on it, I found it laying on the ground with hydraulic fluid all over it.

 

[skeets]

I just love a happy ending

 

[jpf]

and I was just about to put another bag of popcorn in the microwave.

 

[Frostbyte]

I just love a happy ending

Me too, especially when it's MY happy ending. I was a little concerned about causing damage or wear on wherever this came from. Now I know there's no such problem and all's well that ends well.