Kubota Response to Questions

[sheepfarmer]

I would suppose that they have conservative recommendations on the fuel lines because rubber or whatever they are made of deteriorates at different rates depending on the conditions the tractor is stored and works under. Some tractors live pretty tough lives and temperatures can get really high under the hood. Some are stored outside where the sun can hit parts of the lines, some in cushy pole barns. The high pressure rail increases fuel temps. There is a fuel cooler in the system for a reason. They have no way of knowing either the conditions or how many heating and cooling cycles the lines have seen in 4 years, and the consequences of deteriorating fuel lines could be pretty expensive. It is their best guess. You and I get to take our best guesses as to what our conditions will do to the lines and choose accordingly.

 

[Orange Man Good]

re: Kubota wants you to replace the fuel line every 4 years regardless of condition. Why???

Probably cause they're 'Made in China' and Kubota has zero confidence that they'll last 8 years of 'normal' use ? I seriously doubt anyone does extensive actual 'Real World', proper testing of the hoses(combnations of heat,cold, fuel additives, vibration,variable pressures,etc.) .Yyeesh, it's 'just a hose' ,right ?? They just buy the cheapest they can( increases profit) and get the new owner to 'replace every 4 years', betting it'll last at least 5, just past the 'we told you so' time limit.

Now if you want 'lifetime' hoses, make them from steel tubing or use hydraulic hose. Yes, up front cost is higher BUT over say 40 years, you should have replaced the OEM one 10 times !

Correct me if I am wrong but it is my understanding that the fuel lines are steel tubing.

 

[Orange Man Good]

I would suppose that they have conservative recommendations on the fuel lines because rubber or whatever they are made of deteriorates at different rates depending on the conditions the tractor is stored and works under. Some tractors live pretty tough lives and temperatures can get really high under the hood. Some are stored outside where the sun can hit parts of the lines, some in cushy pole barns. The high pressure rail increases fuel temps. There is a fuel cooler in the system for a reason. They have no way of knowing either the conditions or how many heating and cooling cycles the lines have seen in 4 years, and the consequences of deteriorating fuel lines could be pretty expensive. It is their best guess. You and I get to take our best guesses as to what our conditions will do to the lines and choose accordingly.

You make a lot of valid points but aren't the fuel lines metal tubing?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

not on my BX23S.....

 

[sheepfarmer]

You make a lot of valid points but aren't the fuel lines metal tubing?

Not most of these. See first picture in this thread:

https://www.orangetractortalks.com/...-systems-in-new-common-rail-l-tractors.34418/

 

[ExT-six]

Yes I have encountered the same thing. I had a question about maintenance schedule requirements that seemed totally unnecessary and they would not answer the question. Finally I sent a letter to Kubota Southeast Division and was contacted by the guy that is over my whole area and he thoroughly addressed all my of my questions and concerns. I will give you a little advice that took me my whole career to figure out. Don't waste your time calling a major corporation. Those people answering the phones are not there to help you. They are not customer service. They are bureaucrats/claims agents for the company and their job is to mitigate the company's losses and liability. The only way you will get to a real person is to send them a certified letter. Once you do that your communication now becomes official record and starts the legal process. They will then take you serious and treat you very differently.

It's called the "Parts Department Sales Volume Improvement Plan".

 

[Orange Man Good]

It's called the "Parts Department Sales Volume Improvement Plan".

Sounds about right

 

[DustyRusty]

The fuel lines on my 2004 BX22 are 17 years old, and haven't been an issue yet. Looking at some of the maintenance items on the schedule are not very reasonable for the way that many of us use our tractors. If a tractor is working in a quary then some of the items should be done daily, and if it is cutting grass in a pasture, then once a month might be fine. It all has to do with the environments that the tractor works in. Oil and filter are inexpensive to change on a 50 hour schedule, but if the tractor is working 50 hours a week, some operators will think that 50 hours is excessive, and might go to 100 or even 200 between oil changes. This is why a lot of commercial operators don't hold onto equipment very long. The will sell it at 1000 hours, because they know that it is still in warranty, but it is rapidly running out, and expensive repairs can take the machine out of service, which will cost them even more than the repairs. The cost of the machine is an expense on the tax return, so in the end, it is more profitable to do very little maintenance, and trade or auction the machines often and buy new.

 

[ItBmine]

Email Kubota Canada. They always get back to me by the next day with answers.

Then they contact my dealer and he calls me.

 

[Orange Man Good]

They have no way of knowing either the conditions or how many heating and cooling cycles the lines have seen in 4 years, and the consequences of deteriorating fuel lines could be pretty expensive. It is their best guess. You and I get to take our best guesses as to what our conditions will do to the lines and choose accordingly.

So why not choose different language such as "Service As Required" instead of "Replace Regardless Of Condition" ?

 

[Orange Man Good]

Not most of these. See first picture in this thread:

https://www.orangetractortalks.com/...-systems-in-new-common-rail-l-tractors.34418/

Thanks for posting this. So I took my time to study all the pictures and read the thread that you provided and I was surprised to find out that all those lines were fuel lines. I was under the impression this whole time that they were electrical lines. Every day I learn something new here. So after seeing your pictures and re reading the Maintenance Schedule what you realize is Kubota wants us as owners to replace every rubber hose under the hood within 2 to 4 years. Fuel hoses, Coolant hoses, Air hoses, Emissions related hoses and Hydraulic hoses. Every hose.

 

[Orange Man Good]

Guys I just figured out why Kubota is requiring all the hoses under the hood to be replaced in 2 to 4 years. I had a hunch this morning and it turned out to be right. The answer to this mystery can be found on page 7 and 14 of the Owner's Warranty Information Guide. I have uploaded a highlighted copy for you all to see. It starts on page 7 where it states the Powertrain Warranty does not cover external engine components such as fuel, cooling, intake and exhaust components. However, all of those components are covered under the "Emissions Warranty" until the first scheduled replacement. Ah ha! Which means Kubota has effectively cut the warranty on some of those components down to less then half of the full emissions warranty. This is the reason why they specifically used the language of "Replace Regardless of Condition" instead of "Replace As Required" They were writing themselves a way out of the federal emissions warranty.

 

[DustyRusty]

Maintenance item on the emissions parts is the owners responsibility, but the hard parts, are the only parts that they have to maintain. I had a Mercedes turbo diesel, and the particle trap used to clog, and take out the turbo. Mercedes was responsible for repairing these under the warranty for the life of the car. After they replaced my turbo for the second time, I was told that the next one would be on me, no matter what had caused it. Somehow, they got the EPA to let them off the hook on the lifetime emissions warranty that they had agreed to when they first started importing the diesel cars. I loved the car, but didn't want to spend $6000 the next time that the turbo went out, so I traded it for a gas model.

 

[BobInSD]

...
Some questions like yours about replacing parts on a time table probably do not have a right answer. My manual says something about replacing all the fuel lines after so many years, like 2 or something. After I looked at what seemed to be a hairy awful job, I have voted to just keep an eye on them. It may be foolish because you can’t tell by looking at the outside if the inside is crumbling or not, and rubber crumbs in the injector region would be bad. I might compromise and replace everything in the fuel circuit AFTER the fuel filter...those high pressure components are thousands of dollars.

I've had this issue on older (gas obviously) motorcycles. A spec of fuel line in your float needle can wreck your whole day. Of course, I still forget to replace them and we're talking cheap, low pressure, fuel line.