New B2601 Engine Oil Leak

[Dontwannaflip]

I discovered a significant oil leak today on my new B2601 with just 10+ hours on it. I'm pretty sure it is engine oil and it appears to be coming from the right side of the engine in the vicinity of where the front axle frame is bolted to the engine block. It's cramped in there, so it is a little hard to tell exactly where it is coming from. I did a cursory check of tightness of the oil pan bolts-- not actually determining their proper torque, but just making sure none were actually finger-loose. I did not find any that were finger-loose.

The photos might be hard to judge context. One shows the oil pan and frame section that collected the oil before dripping to the floor. The other shows the area between the engine block and axle frame where oil seems to be coming down. I am guesstimating that I've lost a 1/4 cup of oil in maybe an hour of operation.

I checked around the framing near the front end of the engine by the fan drive pulley, thinking I might see oil if a crank seal was leaking there. No oil was pooling in that area.

I'm currently in denial that my new (expensive) friend might need a significant repair already. Is there any possibility that this is something simple to fix? Do those frame bolts go all of the way through the block into the oil region? It would be hard to believe if those bolts were going into through-holes. Could it be as simple as pulling them and resealing them?

I'll be calling the dealer tomorrow.

 

[jcy110]

If you just got it, and only have 10hrs on it. Call the dealer and let him pick it up..........

 

[85Hokie]

From your second picture - it seems it could be coming from the oil pan/gasket area. Then again,like you said - hard to see exactly.

Question - when you wipe the excess away - does it reappear? - thinking that any engine oil that was poured in could have been spilled at the dealer.......

Being new - I would do as JCY said, call the dealer - have them look at it, and by all means - report back, tell us what they found.

 

[Dontwannaflip]

I was hoping that it was residue from some earlier spillage, but it does come back after a good wipe-down. I also didn't notice the issue after about the first two hours of life when I did a careful look around for issues. (I did find and correct a 22mm FEL frame bolt that was backing-out during that first good inspection ).

My new thought is that it could be leaking from around the base of the dipstick guide. If oil was coming from that spot, it would give the exact leak location symptoms I am seeing.

The leak only seems to accumulate when it is running, so I'll run it later today to see if I can catch it in the act of leaking at the base of the dipstick guide before I call the dealer for help.

 

[Dontwannaflip]

Sure 'nuff, hiding in plain sight is oil seepage around the base of the dipstick guide tube.

At higher RPM the seepage is worse. The base of the guide tube has a little wiggle-room within its port, which makes me wonder if the o-ring is missing. After sitting for a while with the engine shut down, the oil sneakily works down away from the leak point, and just leaves the shiny new engine block paint to confuse me.

If the o-ring is present and undamaged, does this leak indicate some other problem like excessive crankcase pressure? I don't know if that is really "a thing" or not. If I lift the dipstick out a little while the engine is running, no oil shoots out, so I'm thinking it is not excessive pressure.

At least I feel little better prepared with specific info before I call the dealer.

 

[Tooljunkie]

I would just fix it. Remove,clean and if no o ring , put one on and add a little wipe of silicone sealant for good measure.

 

[Dontwannaflip]

The oil leak was definitely from a failed o-ring at the base of the dipstick guide tube. I ordered a new o-ring last week and it came in today (minimum order 5 for $1) and I replaced it pretty easily. Just one wire harness clip and one 12mm bolt and the guide tube just lifts out.

The original o-ring was cut and it even looked like a piece was missing. Hopefully it’s not in the crankcase, but I suppose the filter would take care of it if it got picked-up in the oil suction. I didn’t see any signs of sharp edges in the o-ring groove or any signs of a burr in the engine block port.

Hopefully that’s the last of the oil leaks for a while.

 

[mdhughes]

Dontwannaflip, I did a little image manipulation with the old o-ring and put it over one of the new o-rings and there definitely a piece missing. I wonder if it could have been "cut" off when they put the tube in the block?

Thanks for sharing your follow up.

 

[85Hokie]

The oil leak was definitely from a failed o-ring at the base of the dipstick guide tube. I ordered a new o-ring last week and it came in today (minimum order 5 for $1) and I replaced it pretty easily. Just one wire harness clip and one 12mm bolt and the guide tube just lifts out.

The original o-ring was cut and it even looked like a piece was missing. Hopefully it’s not in the crankcase, but I suppose the filter would take care of it if it got picked-up in the oil suction. I didn’t see any signs of sharp edges in the o-ring groove or any signs of a burr in the engine block port.

Hopefully that’s the last of the oil leaks for a while.

Excellent fix - always nice when it boils down to a simple O ring!!!

 

[Dontwannaflip]

With the advantage of eyeballing the o-ring in person, I came to the same conclusion you did via the photo regarding the missing o-ring piece. The severed tips also do not match with each other, so it is not a case of a too-small o-ring that just split.

It was almost as if they held the o-ring in place on the engine block port and pushed the dipstick guide through the o-ring and port hole to seat it. But, they slightly missed and cut a piece of the o-ring off and didn't give it a second though.

Makes me wonder if there is a Kubota help line that I can call to tell them that an engine serial number such and such had this assembly defect. They might want to check the batch/lot for others with the same issue. Maybe a new guy was on the assembly line that day and was not aware of the correct o-ring technique.