Okay so long story short we had bad fuel in our farm fuel barrel, we had to change all filters and treat remaining fuel in our l3901 and now it only runs till it gets to operating temperature and dies, so the only code we got was massive fuel leak and it does not have a massive fuel leak that we can find and the red service light comes on and according to the manual it says to contact your dealer. I have since flush the fuel system and and still having the same problem. Has anyone else had this issue? I'm going to start pulling fuel lines and checking them today. For reference we have run over 30 gallon through it since the bad fuel issue and now this. Side note, the fuel in the rail was almost boiling hot when it died the first time and a few other times but the engine was not according to the gauge and to feeling everything also cleaned out the radiator which didn't help at all but was very packed. We have never had any problems with this. From what I know, this is the biggest engine you can get in a 3901 without DEF.
L3901 no start and dreaded "call for service light"
- Thread starter Langebartels Farms
- Start date
I might also add I did an auto regen while tilling about 15 gallon of fuel before all this happened.
whitetiger
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This does not mean that fuel is leaking externally, it means the high-pressure system is not seeing the fuel rail pressure it expects to see.
This is almost always caused by restricted fuel filters.
I would change the spin-on fuel filter again. Be very cautious about what filter you put on as a lot of the after-market filters are as small of a micron as the Kubota requires. Trying to save $2.00 can cost you $7,000.
RCW
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@Langebartels Farms - - -
whitetiger is not guessing. I would pay VERY close attention to his advice.....
whitetiger
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Kubota tech..BX2370, RCK60, B7100HST, RTV900 w plow, Ford 1100 FWA
There is only one engine available in the L3901 tractor. You will not run into DEF until you get into the M series, approximately 75 HP and up.
You said that you had bad fuel, but you didn't say what was wrong with the fuel. Could you elaborate on the "bad fuel"?
Might this have damaged the high-pressure system or the fuel rail?
whitetiger
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Probably not as it is mounted to the side of an engine that runs 200 degrees all day long.
Well I accidentally fixed it.. the bad fuel left a algae layer, I'm guessing, and it broke up and clogged the outlet, I went to pull the line off to check it and the grommet came out with the elbow unleashed a almost full tank all over my shop along with all the nasty crap I had to pull out of the hole while it was draining everywhere! Rinsed the tank and put new fuel in and good as new! Sometimes it's the simple things and saved me a lot of money!
Well we been using the Wix one since it's been available for it and haven't had any trouble, thoughts on it?
Unsure just know it was milky and chunky, not buying bulk fuel anymore just 3, 5 gallon jugs as needed
Russell King
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You should probably treat the fuel in the tank with algaecide and then replace the filter after you get a half to full tank of fuel through the filter.
Most people here use Kubota filters since they know what they’re getting and they don’t cost much more than anything else. A fuel filter will last several years unless you constantly have the algae problem.
Wix or Donaldson filters are sometimes recommended here but why not just use the filter the manufacturer produces for the tractor?
Most people here use Kubota filters since they know what they’re getting and they don’t cost much more than anything else. A fuel filter will last several years unless you constantly have the algae problem.
Wix or Donaldson filters are sometimes recommended here but why not just use the filter the manufacturer produces for the tractor?
Well here in Iowa where I live the closest dealer is over a hour away and the filter is more than 3 times the cost of Wix, definitely going to get some algae treatment in it
Russell King
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You can get the filters delivered to your door through online dealers but the cost difference is a stumbling block for sure.
whitetiger
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I can not find the micron rating for the WIX WF10383 filter listed anywhere.
Some of the fuel filters that Wix crosses to Kubota common rail injection engines are 10 to 15-micron filters. The Kubota filter is 5 microns as required by Bosch and Denso, the suppliers of Kubota's common rail fuel components.
fried1765
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Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
WIX 33390, 10 microns and my cost is $7, Kubota wants $23.98 and also 10 microns, with the climate changes here we replace yearly
whitetiger
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The Kubota #HH1J1-43172 FILTER is $36.00 and the WIX WF10383 is around $45.00 from what I am finding.
just curious whether your bulk transfer tank has a filter on it or not. I havent had any issues yet, and our red diesel is supposed to come pretreated with Algaecide. It’s a fairly dry climate but now you have me thinking about cutting the line on the transfer pump and adding an inline filter beyond just the screen pickup filter.
whitetiger
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Kubota tech..BX2370, RCK60, B7100HST, RTV900 w plow, Ford 1100 FWA
The Wix33390 is not even a filter Wix crosses to as it is for a mechanical injection engine. Your L3901 has a common rail injection engine which Wix listed as WF10383 to replace the Kubota HH1J1-43172 fuel filter.
The L3901 requires a 5-micron fuel filter HH1J1-43172, so the Kubota filter you referred to as 10-micron is also the wrong filter, especially as you state it is $23.95. The correct Kubota filter is about $36.00.
You may have to get your dealer involved, as running the wrong filter may have damaged your injection system.
I would run some biocide fuel treatment as it sounds like the bad fuel had some algae in it. I did a bunch of repairs when a customer decided to fuel 100% biofuel in their equipment and got some algae in the 5000 gallon tank. If I remember correctly it was made by Lucas(if needed I can get to the shop and verify this).