How big a job replacing water pump? M4050

Airgator

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Kubota M4050
Jan 22, 2022
31
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8
Florida
How many things do I have to pull off to replace the water pump? Can the radiator stay in place? Do I have to take the fan blade off? Thank you. As you can tell I’m not a mechanic. I appreciate your wisdom and experience,
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North Idaho Wolfman

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If you can get to and take out the 4 fan bolts then you don't need to remove the radiator.
then it's easy to remove the water pump.
 
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Jim L.

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Jun 18, 2014
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A trick is to use cardboard to keep the radiator fins from getting dinged.
 
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Russell King

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You will probably save time taking the radiator out if it is relatively easy to do. On my older tractor there were two lock plates and four bolts holding the fan on. They were sunken into the fan and could not be seen from above or sides since the fan shroud extended a bit past the fan.

Removing the hood took about ten minutes and taking the radiator off took about another ten or fifteen minutes since I didn’t want to cut the hoses off so struggled with them a bit. After that getting the fan off and back on took about five minutes (fan tips had been damaged before I bought the tractor).

Your tractor seems to have some foam seals around the radiator that might need to be replaced if they are old and fragile so that might make it more trouble and expensive to remove the radiator. You may consider getting some inexpensive snake style camera to get a view of the fan bolts and how to remove them.

Good luck!
 
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JohnDB

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A trick is to use cardboard to keep the radiator fins from getting dinged.
Or thin plywood... anything that will stop you accidentally bending the radiator fins or damaging the tubes. Only takes a spanner to slip, or the pump suddenly freeing from the block ...

Or use the Russell King technique.
 
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Airgator

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Equipment
Kubota M4050
Jan 22, 2022
31
2
8
Florida
You will probably save time taking the radiator out if it is relatively easy to do. On my older tractor there were two lock plates and four bolts holding the fan on. They were sunken into the fan and could not be seen from above or sides since the fan shroud extended a bit past the fan.

Removing the hood took about ten minutes and taking the radiator off took about another ten or fifteen minutes since I didn’t want to cut the hoses off so struggled with them a bit. After that getting the fan off and back on took about five minutes (fan tips had been damaged before I bought the tractor).

Your tractor seems to have some foam seals around the radiator that might need to be replaced if they are old and fragile so that might make it more trouble and expensive to remove the radiator. You may consider getting some inexpensive snake style camera to get a view of the fan bolts and how to remove them.

Good luck!
Thank you!!!
 

Airgator

Member

Equipment
Kubota M4050
Jan 22, 2022
31
2
8
Florida
Or thin plywood... anything that will stop you accidentally bending the radiator fins or damaging the tubes. Only takes a spanner to slip, or the pump suddenly freeing from the block ...

Or use the Russell King technique.
Thank you!!!
Or thin plywood... anything that will stop you accidentally bending the radiator fins or damaging the tubes. Only takes a spanner to slip, or the pump suddenly freeing from the block ...

Or use the Russell King technique.
Thank you!!!
 

Mark_BX25D

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Bx25D
Jul 19, 2020
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Yes, protecting the radiator is a must if you try to do the job without removing the radiator. If you don't have some kind of protection, you may wind up removing the radiator to install a new one. It's really easy to damage it.

But even a rookie can do this job. Just take it slow and easy, and take pictures along the way so you know how it came apart. That's so you know how to put it back together!

Pro-tip: Sour cream or cottage cheese containers are great for holding nuts & bolts while you're working. Don't just lay them anywhere, or you'll will be sorry you did. It's really hard to see them, but they DO have legs! 😁

But, uh, keep the wife happy. Use EMPTY ones. She's probably not going to like it much if you use the half-full one in the refrigerator. Especially if you put it back when you're done! o_O

IF you decide to remove the radiator, take a very close look at those hoses. If they are iffy, this might be a good opportunity to replace them. New hoses are a lot cheaper than an overheated engine. (y)(y)
 
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Runs With Scissors

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I have no personal experience with that machine, but in general when replacing water pumps, I just remove the radiator.

Most of the time, it is usually as simple as, draining the coolant, loosing 2 hose clamps, and then removing a few bolts and a shroud holding it in place.

It will give you a ton more room to work and decrease the chances of damaging the radiator.

I would advise to get new coolant as well, if you haven't changed it recently.
 
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