Kubota v1505 woes

[MattyF]

So , I noticed a large pool of oil on the sump guard on the tracked chipper yesterday afternoon, it definitely was not there half hour before as I was checking that the rad was not blocked due to chipping in to a breeze blowing debris back … any way it appears to be coming from the crank seal at the front .. opinions on what to do next ! Either rebuild in full or just do the crank seal and is this an easy task ?  .. I’m also not sure if it’s due to a frozen or stuck injector as there seems to be a stupidly high level of oil still in the machine which could have caused this although I have a feeling it could be due to over tightening the alternator..

 

 

[dumper]

If oil is high in machine check not contaminated with diesel, 

[Jase hutch]

I spoke with a Kubota dealer this week and they just happened to mention they've had issues with front crankshaft oil seals. 

 

[openspaceman]

1 hour ago, Jase hutch said:

I spoke with a Kubota dealer this week and they just happened to mention they've had issues with front crankshaft oil seals. 

 

But for the OP's sake can they be changed with the engine in situ?

 

Over high oil level does point to unburned diesel running down the cylinder walls to the sump and if the alternator belt being tight affects the seal it will be because the bearing is worn too I suspect.

 

In days of yore when crankshaft oil seals were not so good the crank had a spiral thread that acted as an Archimedes screw to push out back into the bearing.

[Ratman]

I’ve had cracked pulleys on kubota’s before, yanmah’s too causing seals/oil leak issues, have changed seals in situ where accessible

[Ratman]

Reading your first post again, are you saying there is more oil than normal according to the level on the dipstick? i.e its reading over max. Or, are you suggesting that because the front seal is leaking you would expect a lot lower oil reading on the dipstick? 
even if the crank seal is passing and forming a pool it won’t give a significant oil level drop for a good while, oil leaks always look and suggest worse than they are at first. 
if your oil level is above max then it could suggest an injector issue which is not unheard of on kubota’s. They can be a nightmare to get out sometimes which can result in head off and a send away job. They are pretty bomb proof regards cranks, big ends, mains etc unless they have done colossal hours of work, even with bad maintenance and lack of oil changes in my experience. In which case i’d just sort the head and injectors and not bother with a full overhaul. If it has done colossal hours etc then its up to you regards cost of doing a full overhaul against the age of machine and other ware and tare items that go with it. 

[MattyF]

20 minutes ago, Ratman said:

Reading your first post again, are you saying there is more oil than normal according to the level on the dipstick? i.e its reading over max. Or, are you suggesting that because the front seal is leaking you would expect a lot lower oil reading on the dipstick? 
even if the crank seal is passing and forming a pool it won’t give a significant oil level drop for a good while, oil leaks always look and suggest worse than they are at first. 
if your oil level is above max then it could suggest an injector issue which is not unheard of on kubota’s. They can be a nightmare to get out sometimes which can result in head off and a send away job. They are pretty bomb proof regards cranks, big ends, mains etc unless they have done colossal hours of work, even with bad maintenance and lack of oil changes in my experience. In which case i’d just sort the head and injectors and not bother with a full overhaul. If it has done colossal hours etc then its up to you regards cost of doing a full overhaul against the age of machine and other ware and tare items that go with it. 

More oil than I expected … especially for the puddle under it! 
it’s got 1500 hrs on it which I didn’t think is high , I’ve ran them past 3000 and never had issues with kubotas in the past.. I’m just surprised this one had done this. 
hopefully the mechanic who was supposed to look this morning can shed some light on Monday on the best course of action. 

[Ratman]

If oil level is still max or below then just doing the seal should be fine, just inspect the pulley for being cracked, can be hard to see sometimes but like i say not unheard of. Get him to reset valve clearances too, an odd tight valve clearance, usually on inlet valve can cause injector dribble, noticeable on start up with exhaust smoking but will clear within a minute once cylinders reach temp. If level is over max then you may have a possible injector issue.

[htb]

If you suspect diesel in the oil, have a sniff of it or if you think there is a lot of diesel in it, put a few drops from dipstick onto a sheet of white paper, You will get a dark mark on the paper from the oil if you have a paler halo around it that will be the diesel as its thinner,

Had it a few times with cracked head on Land Rover TD5's

[spuddog0507]

7 minutes ago, Ratman said:

If oil level is still max or below then just doing the seal should be fine, just inspect the pulley for being cracked, can be hard to see sometimes but like i say not unheard of. Get him to reset valve clearances too, an odd tight valve clearance, usually on inlet valve can cause injector dribble, noticeable on start up with exhaust smoking but will clear within a minute once cylinders reach temp. If level is over max then you may have a possible injector issue.

It wont be the injectors ,its more than likely the diaphragm diesel  pump that is located to the left of the injector pump, it runs off the cam shaft and a replacment is about £45, takes about 10 - 15mins to do,,

Edited December 10, 2022 by spuddog0507