L260 injector pump problem?..maybe?

pejepscot

pejepscot

New member

Equipment
Kubota L260
Aug 12, 2014
60
1
0
Topsham, ME
My L260 has developed a problem where it will periodically fail to start. Warm, cold or in between.

It cranks strong, but there is no white smoke from the exhaust while cranking. I have found that a light tap or two with a mallet on the side of the injector pump immediately cures the fault. The white smoke returns and she starts right up and runs strong and normal.

I am not a diesel mechanic and my manuals are very cryptic so I am at a loss. Any ideas besides carrying a hammer with me at all times?
 
pejepscot

pejepscot

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Equipment
Kubota L260
Aug 12, 2014
60
1
0
Topsham, ME
The oil in the pump looked nasty - kind of a combination of old oil thinned with diesel with a trace of moisture. I drained it and filled it with fresh oil, drained that and filled it again and once more for good measure.

My issue is that in refilling the oil, when I put in about 125 cc's of oil (as per the manual) the forward dipstick reads overfilled and the rear dipstick reads bone dry.

Not sure what the heck is going on here - seems as though the oil is not making its way back there, yet the drain plug is on the bottom of the rear section and I can drain the oil out through it...any ideas?
 
North Idaho Wolfman

North Idaho Wolfman

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Sound like the Injector pump needs pulled and completely cleaned out. ;)
 
K

Kmo

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I am not a diesel expert, but I'll relate my hands-on experience with my L260.
When I got my L260 it would only fire on one cylinder while cranking and would not run. Found evidence of moisture, a stuck pump plunger and a broken plunger return spring. I removed the stuck plunger and polished it with the finest steel wool I could find and replace the broken spring.
I am not a believer in snake oil additives, but after observing the results of others I have become a believer of Seafoam. To clean the injection system, I changed the fuel filter and pre-filled the filter bowl with Seafoam. This should resolve any sticky pump plungers.
If the plunger tappets are sticky, you can remove the cover from the side of the pump (rectangular cover held with one hex head screw) and run the engine while spraying a solvent such as carburetor cleaner into the tappet area. This should help clean any varnish that may be causing the tappets to be sticky. This will also help clean varnish off the governor rack & pinion assembly. This was an issue on mine because the governor rack was stuck in a wide open position. I was fortune enough to immediately shut the fuel off before it had a chance to run itself into destruction.
As for the pump oil, I was too scared to drain the oil out the bottom of the pump. Instead, I siphoned the oil out with a piece of small plastic tubing inserted into the dipstick holes. I have a manual stating the capacity of the camshaft housing (front dipstick) is approximately 1 pint and the governor reservoir (rear dipstick) is about 1/4 pint.
The old L260 now starts reliably and runs great.
 
pejepscot

pejepscot

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Equipment
Kubota L260
Aug 12, 2014
60
1
0
Topsham, ME
KMO, I had the same thing happen to me with my L260 last week... Pretty scary. Were you able to correct the sticky rack and pinion by spraying carb cleaner? I have tried WD40, but it stuck again this morning. I appreciate your thorough response, thanks! Ren
 
Daren Todd

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pejepscot said:
KMO, I had the same thing happen to me with my L260 last week... Pretty scary. Were you able to correct the sticky rack and pinion by spraying carb cleaner? I have tried WD40, but it stuck again this morning. I appreciate your thorough response, thanks! Ren
Click to expand...
Use pb blaster or kroil on it. Wd40 doesn't really lubricate well. Then coat with a little oil after it moves freely.

Hows your oil pressure? My l1501 did it this spring. Started really digging into it and found i wasn't developing much oil pressure. Ended up having a cam shaft plug fall out. Fixed the oil pressure issue and it's worked great ever sense
 
pejepscot

pejepscot

New member

Equipment
Kubota L260
Aug 12, 2014
60
1
0
Topsham, ME
Daren, this old L260 does not use engine oil for lubrication, the injector pump / governor unit has its own oil reservoir, so I imagine my engine oil pressure is not a factor. I followed kmo's suggestion this evening and sprayed a whole can of wd40 around the rack and pinion as well as in the governor unit while suctioning out each assembly. Got some really nasty looking stuff out of there, then I sprayed everything with 10w-30 oil before topping off each unit with 10w-30. The rack seems nice and free and no evidence of sticking. I'll try it out and report back...Ren
 
pejepscot

pejepscot

New member

Equipment
Kubota L260
Aug 12, 2014
60
1
0
Topsham, ME
I hope it is fixed...that "runaway diesel engine" baloney is not something I want to experience ever again! Darned scary!
 
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