D1703 repairs for L35: Are the amazon/ebay cylinder head kits any good?

[RustyPitchfork]

I took down the engine on my non-starting L35 after a mechanic told me I would need to buy a new engine and pay him lots of money. Everything looks good except that the inlet/exhaust valves are worn down and also heavily covered in soot in certain spots but not others, so are not holding pressure.

I priced everything I need out on the kubota shop and it comes out to around $1200 (a couple other maintenance items thrown in and a propeller shaft, so really around 900 for the engine).

Looking around on amazon and ebay I see kits for a whole cylinder head assy whole cylinder head assy. This would save me quite a bit. The lower and upper gasket kits are $400 alone via kubota.
So the question is, does anyone have any experience with such kits. It sounds like they are coming from china. Would I be throwing away time and money trying to use one of these?

 

[PaulL]

That link says out of stock when I click on it (may be because they don't deliver to my location), so I can't see the price. But my big question would be - how much money do you need to save to be worth the risk? For me, I wouldn't tear my engine down twice for $1000 of savings, and since you're only spending $900 on parts, it'd have to be better than free to be worth it. But different people have different financial situations.

 

[Nicksacco]

I went to the link you provided and found the info I was looking for.
IMO it appears to be one of hundreds of chinese companies on Amazon, Ebay and whatever.
I can't recall all the details, but our gov't opened up this market to china a while ago without much oversight or rule-following.

Something else to consider is recently I purchased some bushings for my L35 from Messicks and they had "Made in China" stickers on them.

Let's see if anyone on the forum has purchased kits like this and hopefully will have some good results.

Here's a Youtube by Den of Tools on one of these chinese companies. I have some products from Vevor and what I have works well. But this isn't meant to be a suggestion to purchase.

 

[fried1765]

I took down the engine on my non-starting L35 after a mechanic told me I would need to buy a new engine and pay him lots of money. Everything looks good except that the inlet/exhaust valves are worn down and also heavily covered in soot in certain spots but not others, so are not holding pressure.

I priced everything I need out on the kubota shop and it comes out to around $1200 (a couple other maintenance items thrown in and a propeller shaft, so really around 900 for the engine).

Looking around on amazon and ebay I see kits for a whole cylinder head assy whole cylinder head assy. This would save me quite a bit. The lower and upper gasket kits are $400 alone via kubota.
So the question is, does anyone have any experience with such kits. It sounds like they are coming from china. Would I be throwing away time and money trying to use one of these?

DO NOT DO THE CHINESE KIT!
Buy ONLY OEM Kubota internal engine or transmission parts!
Why?
I bought a Chinese (E-Bay) clutch for my Ford 1920.
I am now an expert clutch replacer.
Did it TWICE!

 

[RustyPitchfork]

That link says out of stock when I click on it (may be because they don't deliver to my location), so I can't see the price. But my big question would be - how much money do you need to save to be worth the risk? For me, I wouldn't tear my engine down twice for $1000 of savings, and since you're only spending $900 on parts, it'd have to be better than free to be worth it. But different people have different financial situations.

Its about $400-500, so really not too much savings but I would have an entire new cylinder head instead of my 20+ year old one (which seems to be in decent shape). Heres another link for an ebay one.

Based on what Fried is saying Im probably better off just spending the extra dough once and not deal with the headache.

 

[007kubotaguy]

If there is nothing wrong with your cylinder head by a aftermarket kit for the head . take it to reputable machine shop and have the head rebuilt. I have used many parts from kumara brothers. Have not had any issues with them. I always use a genuine Kubota head gasket.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

This a safer bet:

Kubota D1703 Complete Cylinder Head Engine Parts for Sale

KumarBorsUsa manufacturers suppliers of kbota D1703 complete cylinder head engine set. D1703 complete cylinder head used for L3410DT, L3410GST, L3240DT, L3240HSTC, L3240F, L3240HST.

www.kumarbrosusa.com

The gasket kits that come with those kits is lacking quality.

 

[PaulL]

Its about $400-500, so really not too much savings but I would have an entire new cylinder head instead of my 20+ year old one (which seems to be in decent shape). Heres another link for an ebay one.

Based on what Fried is saying Im probably better off just spending the extra dough once and not deal with the headache.

Ah. If it's a new cylinder head instead of rebuilding one yourself, that's something to recommend. And lots less time probably too. But I'd be pretty wary of a third party head without a good brand.

 

[RustyPitchfork]

This a safer bet:

Kubota D1703 Complete Cylinder Head Engine Parts for Sale

KumarBorsUsa manufacturers suppliers of kbota D1703 complete cylinder head engine set. D1703 complete cylinder head used for L3410DT, L3410GST, L3240DT, L3240HSTC, L3240F, L3240HST.

www.kumarbrosusa.com

The gasket kits that come with those kits is lacking quality.

Good to know. I decided to just spend the extra money on genuine parts so I wont have to take apart the engine again if the gaskets are shoddy or if the cylinder head ends up being junk.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Good to know. I decided to just spend the extra money on genuine parts so I wont have to take apart the engine again if the gaskets are shoddy or if the cylinder head ends up being junk.

I guess you missed that the was a genuine Kubota head.
I hope the dealer gave you a good price on it.

 

[mikester]

I trust Amazon for buying dollar store quality parts from mystery vendors that disappear faster than cheap 3-tabbed shingled roof installers you find in a 10 year old subdivision.

 

[Henro]

I guess you missed that the was a genuine Kubota head.
I hope the dealer gave you a good price on it.

I think what the OP means is, he’s going to rebuild his existing head, which he believes is in good condition.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think he meant he is going to buy a whole new complete head from Kubota.