Hours on a engine?

DevilDog

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L3540 HST3, 72" Woods Rear Finishing Mower, L3584" Land Pride BB, 72" York Rake,
Feb 1, 2011
45
5
8
upstate N.Y.
I would imagine thousands of hours as long as the maintenance is kept up. My neighbor a dairy farmer with big IH tractors, 1066, 1486, 9,000 and 10,000 hours on them and running all the time.
DevilDog
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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Jun 9, 2013
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That answer depends on a bunch of factors over many years of use.
Air filter, Oil, Oil filter, fuel and fuel filters all play a critical role in how many hours they can give.

Use / misuse is the second part of the formula.

If it's been maintained well, given clean fuel, normal wear and tear without over heating it, I've seen easily 4k and more.
But on the flip side of the coin, I've seen failures that happened way too soon.
 

CapnDean

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Feb 22, 2018
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I have a generator powered by a 3 cyl kubota that has well over 10,000 hours on it. The engine has worn out 2 generator heads in it's life. Oil is changed every 300 hours whether it needs it or not (lol). Only problem with it now is that it seems to be using about 1/2 quart between changes.

The motor runs a steady 1800 rpm for days on end. Probably the secret to longevity is the fact that once it is started, it will run unimpeded for a week.
 

Bulldog

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M 9000 DTC, L 3000 DT
Mar 30, 2010
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Rocky Face, Georgia
Aside from being kept up with quality lubricants and filters proper warm up and cool down time is a factor in my opinion. On top of that I believe one that's used daily or at least several times a week will last better than one that sits most of the time.

My Cat 980G was warmed up every day even during the summer. I never moved it cold. When I got my new loader it had 28,000 hrs and the engine had never been touched. Didn't burn a drop of oil between changes and ran as good as new.

It's more than just changing oil that makes a piece of equipment last.
 

JerryMT

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Kubota M4500, NH TD95D,Ford 4610
Jun 17, 2017
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The Palouse - North Idaho
Was just thinking,how many hours should a person get out of a well maintained 3 cylinder Kubota 26 HP?
A lot of John Deere's, Ford's, Internationals, Case's in heavy tillage use go 6-7000 hrs before they need an overhaul. Some go even longer.

Maintained per the manufactures instructions and not abused, I don't see why a Kubota would be any different.

A lot of subcompact tractor users don't use their machines enough and they collect condensate in gearboxes, sumps and the crank case which have an adverse effect on engine and component life. Low sulfur diesel fuel positively moderates some of these effects on the engine oils but tractors nee to be used regularly to heat fluids up and get the condensate evaporated to ensure long life.
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