B2620 leaking head Gasket?

[mike paulson]

Only 370 hrs on a five yr old B2620 that has been maintained and babied and absolutely never overheated. I open the oil drain plug and get about a shot glass worth of coolant after a good sit. Must be really slight because I haven't had to add coolant to radiator or overflow. Called Kubota and asked them if this is something common for this little 3 banger and was told it's unheard-of. Also asked for an estimate and was quoted 1500 hundred bucks which pretty much says I'll be doing this myself.
So anyone out there experience this or heard of this? Just wanna check all bases before I pull this apart. Any info on needing the head milled or spots to check in the block. Thanks in advance...

 

[RCW]

Oh geez, not a good sign.

One thing to check is running it at idle with the radiator cap off. If you see bubbles in the radiator it’s also an indication of a head issue.

Maybe someone with more experience with heads and their diagnosis will have some better recommendations.

 

[Jim L.]

Sadly, the chances are real good that the head has cracked. The best way to know is to take it apart to inspect it.

Before doing so, I would get a parts list together and make sure that all of the gasket(s), head, injectors and glow plugs seals, etc., are available.

Sorry for your worries.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

It sounds more like a freeze plug leaking under the front gear case cover than it does a head or head gasket issue.
Very very rarely will a head gasket leaking cause coolant in the oil.

How long ago did you change oil and filter?

 

[RCW]

It sounds more like a freeze plug leaking under the front gear case cover than it does a head or head gasket issue.
Very very rarely will a head gasket leaking cause coolant in the oil.

How long ago did you change oil and filter?

Wolfman - a leaking freeze plug would NOT make bubbles in the radiator, correct?

I should have been more clear/certain with OP Mike Paulson...don’t tear it down until further diagnoses are done.

A freeze plug can be a pain, but a much less involved and expensive repair.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Wolfman - a leaking freeze plug would NOT make bubbles in the radiator, correct?

Correct,

To test the freeze plugs, drain the oil and then pressure up the radiator, if you get coolant out the oil pan then a tear down is in order.
With that test, it still may not be a freeze plug, but it's more likely than a head gasket.

 

[mike paulson]

Guys I'm reporting back and will start off with saying I'm alittle embarrassed. Here's what I found out. I use Shell Rotella 15w40 motor oil. To start off it has a "GREEN TINT" to it, something I just discovered when seen thru the right light.
Here's the story in detail. When dumping drained motor oil from tractor into my waste barrel I stand at the open garage door where daylight streams in. When pouring oil from my pan into the barrel it looks like normal waste oil till I get to the end of the pour which thins out and and permits the sun to shine thru, and there is a noticable green tint to the oil. And it's usually at the end of a pour where you see coolant which has settled to the bottom in my experience. As a Chevy mechanic I've opened drain plugs on 5.7L motors to see a quart of pure coolant pour out before any oil would start to flow.
So I immediately went and Googled Shell Rotella green color and saw a bunch of Rotella users reporting the very same thing I noticed with this green tint. Some reported it's an additive others report it's just the color etc.
Two things that tripped me up, first I never added coolant to the system of this tractor but I was so convinced what I was seeing at the end of the pour was coolant I just said "It's Coolant and it's got to be coming from the cooling system. Stupid me.
The second thing is when taking out the engine drain plug and watching the oil gush out there was no green color because the oil stream was heavy and lack of sunlight under the tractor. And this is on a cold engine that has sat for a day.
Just to sum this up my reason for draining oil on a cold motor was to lower the level which I had slightly over filled on a previous oil change I did days before.
So I feel stupid but very relieved and figured you guys might get a good laugh over this. Thanks all for great responses to my situation.

 

[RCW]

Hey Mike, anyone that says they never made a mistake is either lying or doesn’t do anything.!

So glad you regrouped and realized what was happening!!

All good!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Excellent to hear!

 

[jnschnit]

That is one heck of a cheap fix. Since I use Rotella, Thank You for the update.

 

[DrankTheOrangeKoolaid]

No laughing here. Glad it was an easy "fix". As they say, "I used to be young and stupid, I'm not so young anymore."

 

[GeoHorn]

The second thing is when taking out the engine drain plug and watching the oil gush out there was no green color because the oil stream was heavy and lack of sunlight under the tractor. And this is on a cold engine that has sat for a day.
Just to sum this up my reason for draining oil on a cold motor was to lower the level which I had slightly over filled on a previous oil change I did days before.

A simple way to avoid this “overfilling” and having to “drain” excess oil.... is easy.... get an evacuator.
(While an evacuator may not be ideal in all situations... (example, a Kubota DT that has a tunnel-sump with two drain plugs)... An evacuator IS GREAT for removing too much oil without making a mess, having to open a drain, etc. etc.

I used to not like evacuators. Then I bought a new boat with a Yamaha F150 and that mfr’r recommends evacuation (sucking) the oil out during oil changes. So I bought a cheapie and tried it and then accidentally overfilled the engine with new oil. Grrr... Then, “BINGO”! I used the evacuator to suck new oil back out and directly pumping it back into the new bottle it had come out of, thereby SAVING that new oil for the next oil change.

I used to believe evacuators probably didn’t remove as much oil as a drain plug. NOT TRUE in many cases. I recently had to remove the sump/oil-pan from my Ram truck and found the drain plug is NOT at the lowest point at all, but an evacuator-tube goes ALL the way to the bottom.

OK... sorry for the thread drift... I was just triggered by the need to remove excess oil and the resultant troubles which an evacuator might have simplified. Back to our regular progamming....

 

[Mark_BX25D]

That's one of those times you are very glad to be stupid!

Glad you got it sorted out!


Hey, just for the sake of anyone reading this thread later, here's a tip:

Any time you suspect a blown head gasket or cracked head, before you tear anything apart or buy any parts, spend 20 bucks and test for exhaust gasses in your coolant.