L3250 Injector Related Issues

[J03bota]

Hi Wolfman, I did take several measurements of the valve train parts and they all met the spec on the new side. I did not however measure the spring tension since I guess I will need a tool for that Also the SEAL Fit was tight. They look new everything looks new the liners look brand-new the Piston tops look brand new
Dick believes that two of my three piston rings on All 4 cylinders are stuck based on my feeler gauge test. I believe that the previous owner rebuilt the engine and did everything right except for the piston rings and it's been blowing oil since day one and all these problems that I'm having all caused by oil in the combustion and exhaust path
I measured the liners and they all measure out to be a stock dimension so I have no idea how a mistake could have been made with probably stock rings maybe they were defective
I wish there were an easier way of getting at the Rings hahaha dang

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

The exhaust valve guides and seals take a bigger hit because of the flow path of the heat.

I'm not saying you don't have bad rings, as that is highly probable too.

 

[J03bota]

Great related question RCW.
Wolfman, Is there a leak test and/or measurements or a link you suggest I do.
Thank you very much.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

If you can slip any feeler gauge in between the rings and the liners you need to rebuild it.

You'll need to strip the block and have either new liners installed or have your's bored out .5mm over and get new pistons and rings.

As far as the head goes take it to a head shop and let them rework it, they will measure everything and rebuild it to spec.

 

[J03bota]

Thank you Wolfman.
Working on getting access to the pistons from the oil pan opening:

Trying to remove the front drive shaft so I can get the oil pan off.
Pulled the outer sleeve back and pulled the spring pin but the connecting sleeve wont slide out of the way. Maybe there's a piece of the pin still stuck inside. I sprayed with WD40 then quit for the night. Will try moving the sleeve again later. This is not an easy tractor to work on. The manual is often useless to an inexperienced user.

Once I free up the front connection I'm assuming there must be another connecting spring pin just past the oil pan. Bloody outer sleeve is difficult to slide.

I drained the front gear oil to be safe. Turns out I didn't need to drain the gear oil but I'm glad I did because the oil was very dirty and the right wheel had quite a bit of water trapped inside.

Thank you.

 

[D2Cat]

You can go to the Kubota site and look up the propeller shaft.

There is a roll pin at the front and the rear. You can rotate the shaft so it's easy to get to. Use a small dia. punch to remove the pins. On the back one it a bit more difficult to reach. I took a 5/16 welding rod and knocked the flux off of it and cut it off so it's about 7-8" long and use it to drive the rear one.

Once both pins are removed the sleeve will slide, the cover will slide, and if you're not careful you'll have a shaft on you! It's not heavy, but it will surprise you!

I'd suggest you make sure you have the shaft clean as possible and soak it with your favorite crud buster. If it's not clean at the rear pin, you won't see it to work on.

 

[J03bota]

Hi D2Cat, Okay Ill take a look.
Thank you.

 

[J03bota]

Hey D2Cat, Right On!!! Had a heck of a time pushing/pulling/cutting out the rear roll pin but finally got the front wheel drive shaft off this afternoon with a roll pin punch kit and other tools. The other pins pushed out no problem.

New problem: there are 2 oil pan screws that are behind the front drive shaft connecting/axle assembly. Cannot get a wrench on them??? WTF?? Tried jacking up the front end. Helped but still not enough clearance. Will build a platform for my jack so I can lift the front end a bit higher with the hope that I can get a wrench on the 2 screws. I'm I on the right track or do I need to pull the axle???

Thank you...

 

[SDMauler]

I saw a problem similar to this on a gas engine that was caused by improper staggering of the ring gaps caused by an inexperienced "mechanic" rebuilding the engine. I would think this would show up in a compression test though. Could be improper end gap size though. Just my 2 cents worth, and remember, you get what you pay for!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Hey D2Cat, Right On!!! Had a heck of a time pushing/pulling/cutting out the rear roll pin but finally got the front wheel drive shaft off this afternoon with a roll pin punch kit and other tools. The other pins pushed out no problem.

New problem: there are 2 oil pan screws that are behind the front drive shaft connecting/axle assembly. Cannot get a wrench on them??? WTF?? Tried jacking up the front end. Helped but still not enough clearance. Will build a platform for my jack so I can lift the front end a bit higher with the hope that I can get a wrench on the 2 screws. I'm I on the right track or do I need to pull the axle???

Thank you...

Most designs you will need to drop the axle to get the pan bolts off.

 

[D2Cat]

Yes, what North Idaho Wolfman said, remove the front axle. Actually you only need to remove the 4 bolts that hold the pivot rod. Put a jack under to frame to life it a couple of inches, the you can get to those bolts.

 

[J03bota]

Hi guys thank you very much.
D2Cat: the 4 bolts that hold the pivot rod they must be on the front side of the axle. Doing so must back out the connecting shaft thereby freeing up the connecting assembly.
Wow awesome. That should be pretty easy. Okay, I'll give it a whirl next weekend
Thank you again

 

[D2Cat]

There's two bolts on each side of the pivot. When you jack up the frame you then have enough room to get those two bolts out of the oil pan that seem impossible.

When I dis-assemble something like an oil pan or water pump, head, etc. I get a piece of a cardboard box and make a sketch of the items shape. Take a screwdriver and punch a hole in the approximate location of each bolt. Then when I remove that bolt I insert it in the hole in the cardboard pattern. Then when re-assembling I know I don't have a short bolt in a deep hole and eventually find a long bolt that won't go in to required depth. Just saves time.

 

[J03bota]

D2Cat, Yea, that's a GREAT Idea!!!! I will be doing that for sure.
Thank you D2Cat!

Regarding SDMauler's comment on "you get what you pay for":
- What Sites do you guys recommend when buying parts ?
- Or should I say, what Sites should I stay away from ?
You often can't tell the difference between Sites selling pistons, rings, rods or gaskets and Kubota parts are way overpriced.
*** It's not like buying drill bits where you can shop around looking for the best price on Dewalt Titanium bits.

Thank you.

 

[Jim L.]

Messick's in Penn. is a good place to shop, and it is close to you. Internet sales and brick stores.

Best wishes on your progress.

 

[J03bota]

Hi Jim, thank you
I have purchased quite a few parts from Messicks. They can be a bit expensive I've seen better prices and a bigger selection at Kumar Bros but not sure if the quality is the same???

 

[rbargeron]

I've thought Kumar Bros parts are from the same specialty sources as factory originals. I've had good experience with them. Not everyone sings their praises - the phone sales rep can promise more than the supply chain can do on obscure items - but on most stuff they're pretty good.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Kumar Bros parts are factory original

NO, they are not KUBOTA parts, they are chinese, or korean knock offs.
I'm not saying they parts are all bad, they just are not up to kubota standards.

 

[J03bota]

Interesting.
I have seen notes from Kumar Bros, stating i.e.: made By Kumar Bros or Genuine Kubota part.
- So maybe when Kumar Bros (and other bigger sites like Coleman, Walts, Messicks,...etc,) mark a part as genuine Kubota then it probably is.
- Otherwise, if no note is present, then you cant be 100% sure that it is genuine. Especially if the price is much less.

Most parts don't have to be genuine to function perfectly well. But there always is a savings trade-off risk of installing a non genuine part that could fail big.
*** For me gaskets, seals, o-rings, rubber washers, etc are not worth the savings.

Thank you, best regards...

 

[J03bota]

Hi guys The pivot shaft support that D2Cat referenced was the same part I was having trouble with. When I realized that it was the same part I ordered a set of offset and S-shaped wrenches and was able to get the 2 bolts off with the offset wrenches Then finally pulled the oil pan and god forbid removing the pistons gave me 0 trouble.

Much to my dismay the piston rings were not stuck?? They seem to look pretty good on all 4 cylinders

On a side note.
I starting cleaning the valve train parts. From the picture I posted a few weeks ago the exhaust values were horribly dirty. As I'm cleaning them I can see that the seat wear mark that goes around the valve is crooked. The prev owner probably used a drill to lap the valves?
Will be taking lots of bore piston and ring measurements this weekend.

I watched a YouTube video on measuring bores and was shocked when I realized how perfect they need to be
Willing to bet my problem is the sleeves

Thank you very much for ALL your valuable inputs. Hopefully I am getting close to finding the problem