Brand new kubota L4701, knocking and pouring out white smoke from exhaust.

[GreensvilleJay]

hmm, take pictures or video of it running, send to Kubota head office, ask them when they'll send someone to fix it !
when they say...'not my problem', send pix/vid to media and Kub JPN.

 

[notforhire]

First the disclaimer.
I'm not a mechanic.
I had a JD 5055e several years ago that suddenly started acting as you describe.
Turns out a fuel line was pinched. The way it was explained to me was, the injector pump could not inject enough fuel so there was incomplete burning white smoke etc
Is it possible that your dealer pinched or folded a fuel line while installing the aux. equipment?

 

[fried1765]

First the disclaimer.
I'm not a mechanic.
I had a JD 5055e several years ago that suddenly started acting as you describe.
Turns out a fuel line was pinched. The way it was explained to me was, the injector pump could not inject enough fuel so there was incomplete burning white smoke etc
Is it possible that your dealer pinched or folded a fuel line while installing the aux. equipment?

IMHO, the OP should not spend one single minute of his personal time trying to troubleshoot a defective new (10 hour) Kubota L4701!

 

[notforhire]

IMHO, the OP should not spend one single minute of his personal time trying to troubleshoot a defective new (10 hour) Kubota L4701!

I agree that he shouldn't have to troubleshoot a new tractor.
The selling dealer is the real problem here.
If everyone did their job correctly, what a wonderful world it would be.

Maybe a member's suggestion will lead him to discover something simple like gasoline in the fuel or a kinked line is the issue. Sometimes a problem like that is resolved requiring less of his personal time and expense than trucking the machine out to another dealer in hopes that he'll get better service.

I guess it all depends on how the OP wants to spend his time and money.
His statement "i appreciate the tips, I was hoping for some ideals to check out before my 6 hour round trip back to the dealer" is pretty clear.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

The dealer is the one that SHOULD be making the 6 hr trip.....

 

[lynnmor]

Whatever you do, pull two fuel samples now, keep one and pour the other in a Styrofoam cup. If the cup dissolves, there is gasoline in the fuel. The one you keep is to CYA for later warranty denial.

 

[ve9aa]

also "not a mechanic", but I was under the impression "white smoke" was indicative of a blown head gasket and antifreeze/water getting into the cylinders.

-Smell the fuel in the tank.

-Look in the rad for oil slime

-Look in the oil pan (dipstick or pop the oil drain plug) and look for water.

Or:

Send it back IMMEDIATELY, if not sooner.

My 2c CDN

 

[Rdrett]

On my way down to the farm to do a full inspection and pick it up. I appreciate all the advice. I will keep everyone updated.

 

[jimr63]

They sold me rear tire ballast and the manual says that no rear tire ballast should be in the tires with the backhoe installed, when I asked them about it they said kubota doesn’t know what they are talking about and it “should” be okay.

All kubota manuals have the same note about no rear tire ballast with a backhoe I think. The best explanation I’ve heard about not having ballast in the rear tires with a backhoe on, is the ROPS not being rated for the added weight if you roll the machine. I‘ll take that chance and keep mine filled. My L47 is useless without ballast in the tires with the backhoe removed and I’m not paying $500 every time i take the backhoe off to service the tires with rim guard. Just my 2 cents…

 

[number two]

All kubota manuals have the same note about no rear tire ballast with a backhoe I think. The best explanation I’ve heard about not having ballast in the rear tires with a backhoe on, is the ROPS not being rated for the added weight if you roll the machine. I‘ll take that chance and keep mine filled. My L47 is useless without ballast in the tires with the backhoe removed and I’m not paying $500 every time i take the backhoe off to service the tires with rim guard. Just my 2 cents…

After much reading on this subject,I also agree!
Don't sweat the loaded tires.
This fire does not need any more fuel.
Good Luck!

 

[Chanceywd]

After hearing the no ballast if you have a backhoe it looked at my manual too. Found the part saying that and I am stumped why my dealer put it in the sale except maybe the extra $400 charge?
I know from a year of using it it would be near useless backing up even a gentle slope with a full bucket and the backhoe on without the ballast. Mine is in to stay!

 

[fried1765]

After hearing the no ballast if you have a backhoe it looked at my manual too. Found the part saying that and I am stumped why my dealer put it in the sale except maybe the extra $400 charge?
I know from a year of using it it would be near useless backing up even a gentle slope with a full bucket and the backhoe on without the ballast. Mine is in to stay!

Perhaps machine size makes a difference?
With full bucket, backhoe on, and NO TIRE ballast, My L48 TLB will back up a "gentle slope" just fine.

 

[jyoutz]

"Going to warranty repairs at the dealer"

To the selling dealer?.......Who is very obviously a total moron?

Any dealer is authorized for warranty repairs.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Don't touch the thing. Yeah, I know your dealer situation is bad, but find a good one and get that tractor to him. 3 hours, 5 hours, whatever. If you touch it, you will probably void your warranty.

Don't touch it.

 

[steveh]

I bought my 4701 couple yr ago. I have not had the collection of problems you have, but I have had the white smoke and rough-running bit. In each case, this was on cold days, in the range of below 15 deg F. I read somewhere that this can be caused by water vapor freezing in this or that part of the exhaust train. Not just in the 4701. However I have not verified this.

I have found that 1200 RPM at idle or operation is too low. Up nearer 2000 or so works well. I live on very steep terrain and must often run at 1500 RPM due to safety [tipping over danger, etc.]. Therefore, I can rely on a regen' around every 30 hours operation.

It does sound as if your problem is more than what causes mine. Good luck with the dealer, my service manager at the dealer had no clue, or said he didn't, about what was causing my white-smoke thing. In fact, he asked me to contact him and tell him what I found out, when I did, and what I did to "fix" it. I wrote Kubota, who in the past with other tractors have responded with good info', and the reply was that I should take it to the dealer's service dept. Useless.

 

[notforhire]

Update?

 

[Snowman7]

Please let us know and I am sorry for the absolute crap that dealer is putting you thru.