Brush loosened an oil plug my L2950

knightgang · Feb 6, 2016

I was bush hogging on our land today, getting closer to being ready to break ground on our new home construction.

The brush loosened up one of the oil plugs and it dropped while I was working and I did not know it. As soon as I saw a puff of smoke, I removed my ear protection and heard the knock start and immediately shut it down.

I went and got another oil plug and oil and refilled it. It is not locked as it will turn over a few revolutions and then stop, but will not crank up.

I know I need to drop the pan on it to further access the damage and I am hopeful that I can just replace the main and rod bearings and all be okay. I know this is probably wishful thinking, but one can hope.

So, I am beginning to look for parts, what Engine is in my Kubota. It is a L2950 DT GST 4WD, About a '93 Model. Other than the dealer, where would be a decent place to buy engine parts?

Has anyone seen another engine that experienced this? Any chance that the pistons and rings will be okay and I will be able to get by with just the lower end bearings. Man this tractor ran great before this, 3500 hrs. on it and did not leak a drop of oil.

North Idaho Wolfman · Feb 6, 2016

The engine in that model is very RARE.
D1462-DI-AE
The only good source of parts for that engine is going to be Kubota, no other aftermarket sources that I know deal in that engine.

Sadly you're going to need to pull the engine and do a full rebuild.
When these engines lose oil pressure the scar several different locations, mains, rods, cylinder walls, valve guides, oil pump and many other points.

knightgang · Feb 7, 2016

Would it be feasible to put a V1902 engine in this chassis?

If that could be done, would that effectively turn this into a L3450? It is the same chassis and transmission, so engine power is the only difference, correct?

Please educate...

I am recovering the machine today, so I should have an idea how severe the damage is in a day or two...

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North Idaho Wolfman · Feb 7, 2016

The D1462-DI-AE is a 3 cylinder (D) and the V1902-DI-AE is a 4 cylinder (V).
The frame, hood, and side panels are all longer on a L3450 to accommodate the extra cylinder.
So no not very feasible to just swap the two over, it would be like trying to stuff a V8 where a V6 was meant to be.

If you do all your own wrench turning, a rebuild will run you about 2K if it didn't take out any hard parts.

chieffan · Feb 7, 2016

I never wear ear protection when using equipment like a tractor or chain saw. I have hearing aids and simply turn them off. I can hear what is going on around me a lot better that way than with ear plugs or protectors.

Grouse Feathers · Feb 7, 2016

chieffan said:
I never wear ear protection when using equipment like a tractor or chain saw. I have hearing aids and simply turn them off. I can hear what is going on around me a lot better that way than with ear plugs or protectors.

I don't understand. You already wear hearing aids and you are not protecting your remaining hearing? Hearing aids do not replace natural hearing they just are a poor supplement for the hearing you still have. The more damage the poorer the supplement.

knightgang · Feb 7, 2016

chieffan said:
I never wear ear protection when using equipment like a tractor or chain saw. I have hearing aids and simply turn them off. I can hear what is going on around me a lot better that way than with ear plugs or protectors.

I already have high pitch hearing loss and I can tell it has gotten worse over the last 5 years. Put me in a room with a lot of ambient noise like a room with 20+ people talking at once and I cannot hear anything. I have to protect what I have.

That said, they don't muffle everything and I can hear the engine through them.

Tooljunkie · Feb 7, 2016

I prefer to not wear hearing protection either. My last hearing test showed i have avove average hearing.when using very noisy equipment i wear earmuffs. And when running my air hammer, i always use hearing protection.

By the time knocking started it was probably too late.
As mentioned a full teardown is necessary.
Guess i would start with pan and head off and get a good look at crank rod and main journals. Drop gear off cam and see how it rolls, likely its not bad as it runs half speed of crank.
Good luck, lets hope its not too serious.

knightgang · Feb 7, 2016

North Idaho Wolfman said:
The D1462-DI-AE is a 3 cylinder (D) and the V1902-DI-AE is a 4 cylinder (V).
The frame, hood, and side panels are all longer on a L3450 to accommodate the extra cylinder.
So no not very feasible to just swap the two over, it would be like trying to stuff a V8 where a V6 was meant to be.

If you do all your own wrench turning, a rebuild will run you about 2K if it didn't take out any hard parts.

I did not realize that they lengthened the hood and side panels for the 3450. That makes perfect sense and why I asked the question.

I recovered it from the woods today and have it on a trailer. I will drag it home tomorrow. I am going to go ahead and price a rebuild kit from a couple of different Kubota suppliers in my area.

After this happened yesterday, the rain came back again and I guess it rained all night. Right now there is water standing in places that I have never seen water in the last 10 years I have owned this land. Maybe I can get this fixed in the time it will take to dray out the property.

I do usually do my own wrench turning. Wolfe, are you saying that all new bearings, pistons rings and gaskets are going to run $2K and maybe more if a cam or crank is needed. I hope you misstated that, I guess I will find out tomorrow.

I am not sure when I will get that pan dropped, but I will report the findings as soon as I can.

knightgang · Feb 7, 2016

North Idaho Wolfman said:
The D1462-DI-AE is a 3 cylinder (D) and the V1902-DI-AE is a 4 cylinder (V).
The frame, hood, and side panels are all longer on a L3450 to accommodate the extra cylinder.
So no not very feasible to just swap the two over, it would be like trying to stuff a V8 where a V6 was meant to be.

If you do all your own wrench turning, a rebuild will run you about 2K if it didn't take out any hard parts.

Is there another engine model that will fit and work as a swap for the V1462 that is not so rare and produces the same or more HP?
Just trying to cover all of my options.

Thanks

chieffan · Feb 7, 2016

That is one drawback with Kubota, basically no parts available except through Kubota. They protect their dealers that way and rightfully so but they could be a little easier on the prices they charge. Of course anything for a diesel engine, regardless which brand will be more expensive than a gas engine.

knightgang · Feb 7, 2016

chieffan said:
That is one drawback with Kubota, basically no parts available except through Kubota. They protect their dealers that way and rightfully so but they could be a little easier on the prices they charge. Of course anything for a diesel engine, regardless which brand will be more expensive than a gas engine.

I own 3 Ford Powerstroke Diesels, so I am well aware.

Yes, Kubota could be easier on prices, especially dealers here. It seams that dealers here think that their parts are plated in gold by the prices and that they are the only source in the country as if UPS and FedEx did not exist to ship something in form outside the area.

I have two sources here that I know of. I will be checking both as well as dealers in Jacksonville, Atlanta and Charleston.

henrysbe · Feb 7, 2016

Had an oil drain plug come out on me and immediately turned off engine when the light came on. That was about 375 hrs ago and so far no evidence of engine damage. The dealer was last to change the oil in the tractor, 9 months prior, so have not gone back to them since. I change my own oil now as the next closest dealer in my area has been great but a little too far away.

D2Cat · Feb 7, 2016

These folks have very fair prices. I get virtually all my Kubota parts from them.

http://www.colemanequip.com/Kubota_Parts.asp

North Idaho Wolfman · Feb 7, 2016

knightgang said:
Is there another engine model that will fit and work as a swap for the V1462 that is not so rare and produces the same or more HP?
Just trying to cover all of my options.

Thanks

No, there is no engine that will replace it that is the same HP, you can get close 29hp with a D1402-DI-AE
There really shouldn't be any need to replace it, just rebuild the one you have, it will probably be cheaper as D1402-DI-AE or other D1402 variations are expensive 3.5K range.
Also if you do go looking at other engines, need to be real picky, details matter, as they made several versions of the D1402 one huge difference is a DI (Direct Injection) to IDI (Indirect Injection), and there were other older D1402's that were lower HP and not set up the same.
The Letters mean a lot in the make up of the motor, Like you said "V1462", it's not a V engine (that's a 4 cylinder) it a D engine (3 cylider) and yes they do make some variations like a V1402 not the motor you want.
the letters after the numbers are important too, they are variations into the build of the engine internally and externally, a D1402-A will not work where you need a D1402-DI-AE.

Yes my 2k assessment is probably about right for a rebuild.
You'll be looking at around 1.4K in pistons, liners, bearings, rings, gaskets, seals, and such, then somewhere in the range of .6K for the machine work on the head and crank and that is if the head is not worn to heavy to machine into spec.
I'm not trying to be doom and gloom, just trying to give you a realistic view of what's involved

chieffan said:
That is one drawback with Kubota, basically no parts available except through Kubota. They protect their dealers that way and rightfully so but they could be a little easier on the prices they charge. Of course anything for a diesel engine, regardless which brand will be more expensive than a gas engine.

Chieffan,
That's not true, there are 100's of thousands of parts for Kubota's from Non Kubota manufactures, it's just not available in this case, because it's a very odd engine size, with limited production.

D2Cat said:
These folks have very fair prices. I get virtually all my Kubota parts from them.
http://www.colemanequip.com/Kubota_Parts.asp

I'll second D2Cat's Link for parts source, they are 100% Kubota parts, but way cheaper than most local dealers!
I buy almost all my parts through them.

hodge · Feb 8, 2016

I hope that I don't make you mad; I will speak my mind, though. I don't believe that brush would or could loosen a drain plug- if the brush were hitting the bottom of the tractor violent enough to do that, it's hard to imagine what other damage could occur. The plug must not have been tight, and worked its way out. You need to question who serviced it last, because it certainly was human error, not brush.
It's unfortunate, it hurts the wallet, and it's an inconvenience. But, it was also avoidable. Take steps- hold someone accountable, check the plug every once in a while to make sure oil isn't weeping past the threads and that it is tight, etc..

If I'm wrong, weld a ring (or half ring) on the pan to protect the plug from impacts.

chieffan · Feb 8, 2016

Grouse Feathers, if you had ever been in the situation to wear hearing aids you would know what your talking about. Aids are Not a "poor supplement" for the hearing one has. They increase the tone that one has a problem hearing and levels the playing field. They are designed for NORMAL sounds, and being around tractors, etc. is not a normal sound. It is amplified to the point of being unbearable. Even an air compressor running if I walk by is way to loud. That is why my remote has an OFF setting and the aids become ear plugs, basically. Don' need any muffs, etc.

Daren Todd · Feb 8, 2016

Hodge expressed what I was thinking. Our kubota spent years cutting brush and logging. To say the tractor has been through hell and back would be an understatement. Never had an issue with it.

I could see one of those plastic fill plugs with the dipstick being knocked off by a stick or brush. But not a drain plug.

If it was serviced by a dealer, I would be having a serious discussion with the dealer about what they were gonna do to fix the motor.

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85Hokie · Feb 8, 2016

Daren Todd said:
Hodge expressed what I was thinking. Our kubota spent years cutting brush and logging. To say the tractor has been through hell and back would be an understatement. Never had an issue with it.

I could see one of those plastic fill plugs with the dipstick being knocked off by a stick or brush. But not a drain plug.

If it was serviced by a dealer, I would be having a serious discussion with the dealer about what they were gonna do to fix the motor.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Daren, Both you and Hodge typed my thoughts too.......

I could beat a plug with a two by four and never get it to move, I blame the human that placed the wrench on the plug, or maybe that WAS the problem, the plug never got "snug and some" to begin with!

knightgang · Feb 8, 2016

hodge said:
I hope that I don't make you mad; I will speak my mind, though. I don't believe that brush would or could loosen a drain plug- if the brush were hitting the bottom of the tractor violent enough to do that, it's hard to imagine what other damage could occur. The plug must not have been tight, and worked its way out. You need to question who serviced it last, because it certainly was human error, not brush.
It's unfortunate, it hurts the wallet, and it's an inconvenience. But, it was also avoidable. Take steps- hold someone accountable, check the plug every once in a while to make sure oil isn't weeping past the threads and that it is tight, etc..

If I'm wrong, weld a ring (or half ring) on the pan to protect the plug from impacts.

Daren Todd said:
Hodge expressed what I was thinking. Our kubota spent years cutting brush and logging. To say the tractor has been through hell and back would be an understatement. Never had an issue with it.

I could see one of those plastic fill plugs with the dipstick being knocked off by a stick or brush. But not a drain plug.

If it was serviced by a dealer, I would be having a serious discussion with the dealer about what they were gonna do to fix the motor.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

85Hokie said:
Daren, Both you and Hodge typed my thoughts too.......

I could beat a plug with a two by four and never get it to move, I blame the human that placed the wrench on the plug, or maybe that WAS the problem, the plug never got "snug and some" to begin with!

You guys can think what you want, but here are the facts...

I bought this tractor late last summer. Since then, we have put nearly 100 hours on it clearing land. In some cases we are pushing over 2-3 inch diameter trees and going through very rough brush that has not been touched in over 20 years. Sometimes we are pulling forward and backing up with 3-4' sumps from these 2-3" maybe even 4" diameter trees popping back up under the tractor. At least two or three times in a 6-8 hour day of clearing I have to shut the tractor down to reconnect the from loader quick disconnect fittings because the brush and broken trees have pushed on the spring rings and topped them loose.

In the 100 hours that we have run this tractor on this land, the oil has not yet been changed as the manual dictates 200 hour service internal.

The tractor was just run the day before and trailered as it is every weekend. There has never been and still has not dropped one drop of oil on the trailer so that plug was not loose at the beginning of the workday, or I would have seen a few oil drops on the trailer. The trailer has a new deck on it so any oil spots would have been noticed.

Also, if this plug had been loose from the last service, it would have worked loose long before this past weekend.

I firmly believe that some of the smaller cut trees happened to wedge against the hex of the plug bolt in a way to loosen it and it worked its way loose. Yes it is hurtful on the wallet and a lesson learned.

Prevention steps: There are a couple that some to mind..
1. It has been aggravating to loose hydraulics while working in the woods and having to stop and shut down to reconnect hydraulic lines. I have been thinking about making a shield to surround the hydraulic connections to prevent this from happening. This shield will now most likely be more like a bottom skid plate to keep the trees form rubbing down the sides of the oil plugs.

2. As a precautionary procedure, implementing an every hour walk around inspection of the machine. I had been operating for 1 1/2 hours when this happened. If I had checked the machine over well at the hour mark, I might have caught this. Although having an oil plug rubbed loose is not something that I thought about, even after all the hours of watching that brush and small trees getting bent over by the front of the tractor and rubbing the belly of the machine all the way back until if hit the mower...

It got me this time, but it will not happen again... Sometime even the most unlikely of circumstances actually happens....

Brush loosened an oil plug my L2950

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