4 Vs. 3 Cylinder Diesel

[Bluegill]

I have to say again, our old 5 cyl Kubota is by far the smoothest diesel engine I've ever been around. Our 3 cyl L3800 is smooth, but not even close to the 5 cyl...

 

[G-Man]

And to add what Stumpy said. I had a Honda Goldwing GL1800 which was a flat 6 and boy oh boy was that a smooth engine. I could balance a coin on the engine valve cover and it not fall over when the engine was running and even burping the throttle would keep the coin standing up.

 

[KenB2920]

Well, under your equipment it appears you have a B3200. If you are interested, I just posted my B2920 for sale yesterday. Runs perfect with 284 hrs. If you are interested shoot me a message.

 

[daudav]

I am interested in three and four cylinder engines but not the vibration problems. I am interesting in a four cylinder 148 cubic inches vs a three cylinder 111 cubic inch displacement. Both rated at aprox 50 hp. Both are tubocharged. Obviously the 111 cubic inch displacement engine must be running at a higher turbo boost. This example is the Kioti NX and the Kubota L5060 series. My gut tells me that the Kubota L5060 with a higher displacement and lower boost to get the 50 hp must be stressed less and would last longer. Any thoughts?

 

[Daren Todd]

There's gonna be marginal differences between longevity in the two motors. My case in point, and gotta use a green motor as example since it's what I have the most experience with . I have the JD 4045 motor in about half my fleet of rental equipment with two different horsepower ratings. One is 45hp and the other is 60ish hp. The difference between the two set up's is a 60 hp unit has a larger turbo, more fuel through the injectors, ect..... Both set up's on the engine last about the same. It all depends on how the motor is maintained

I wouldn't be concerned with which engine has the more boost causing stress. I would have only one concern between the two engines since they are the same HP rating. And that is Which one gets the better fuel economy

 

[motorhead]

My take on the three VS four cylinder is this. ODD Cylinder diesels are inherently smother than the four cylinder engines. I would also base my choice on some other factors too like, How long has EACH engine been in production and what, if any are the problems with each engine. I had a 3 cylinder in my tractor that I had before my 4 cylinder B3200. The 3 cyl was much smoother. I have owned several 4 cylinder and 5 cylinder 77-85 Mercedes diesel powered cars. The 5 cyl was hands down much smoother that the rattle trap four cyl.