B6000 making metal in the oil

Russell King

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L185F, Modern Ag Competitor 4’ shredder, Rhino tiller, rear dirt scoop
Jun 17, 2012
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Just get a stock bearing / bushing for them to use as a reference to repair it. ;)

In other words get the correct bushing from the dealer and have the machine shop bore the shaft bushing to fit the outside of your new stock bushing.


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wisc6000

Member

Equipment
B6000
Nov 20, 2011
67
3
8
Wisconsin under duress
Hey guy, can you send me a picture of the pilot hole for the crank? I need one to show the machine shop what it is supposed to be. Mine has been bored out to almost 1 1/2 in.
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I'll have my crank back from the grinding guy in a day or two and I'll take measurements and pics for ya.

In the interim, yeah they hacked the hell out of your crank to hammer in some aftermarket auto pilot bushing. They also beat the snot out of the crank end so have that trued up.

So here's what's supposed to be in there. A thin wall sleeve pilot with a teflon bore and an oil seal.
NOTE: Measure the diameter of the input shaft to make sure it's the same as the bearing in the pic. There is some discrepancy as to the correct one as two sizes are listed. The discrepancy in the parts list is shown as 18 or 19mm which I'll assume is the bore in the crank for the bushing. Therefore I may assume that the input shaft will have a correspondingly smaller or larger diameter.

Once you machine a press in plug to get back to stock dimensions this bushing will work for you assuming the bore suits your input shaft. The hole in the flywheel is smaller than the seal OD and that will keep the insert you'll make and the seal from popping out if the press fit isn't too tight.. Push a little moly grease in the pilot hole.
 

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wisc6000

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Equipment
B6000
Nov 20, 2011
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8
Wisconsin under duress
^ Yes you have to pull the front cover then the crank gear, and don't forget the bolt through the side of the block that goes into the center main bearing carrier.

Regards, Steve
 

wisc6000

Member

Equipment
B6000
Nov 20, 2011
67
3
8
Wisconsin under duress
Still no crank.

Getting this thing balanced on a crank grinder is a problem. It seems Kubota did a smart thing way back then when making these cranks. The metal in the counterweights is denser than on the throws. But this effects balance and drives the grinder guy nuts.

He sent it to another guy that says he can do it and I was all fat and happy. But the guy simply took off to go fishing for a couple weeks so here I sit. And sitting here way pissed off.
 

bakeroldfolks2

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Jan 3, 2017
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Boron California USA
Don't you just love it when they think you have all the time in the world to get your project done! I bet they'd scream like hell if it's done to them. Send pics when you can, does the crank have a lip where the pilot seal goes? This one is so messed up you can't tell anything. They didn't even put the cam plug in it . What a mess it made!! No pin to hold main shaft in either so it slides back and forth . Well got a lot of work to do on it. Thanks again , Bruce

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wisc6000

Member

Equipment
B6000
Nov 20, 2011
67
3
8
Wisconsin under duress
The crank guy has a Van Norman grinder. A bigass thing but being an honest guy he won't grind it since he can't balance it.

So he has another guy doing it. Two weeks ago the guy (retired lazy ass) was going to do it but at the last minute took off to go fishing for a week. I believe it will be done Wednesday. But I ain't gonna bet on it.

Make plugs out of steel for both ends of the crank. Hammer them in and put a spot of weld on them.
 

D2Cat

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Mar 27, 2014
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"Make plugs out of steel for both ends of the crank. Hammer them in and put a spot of weld on them."

If you have any tapered roller bearing laying around, a roller from one makes a good plug. When you weld be sure to have a good ground and as close to the area being welded as possible.
 

wisc6000

Member

Equipment
B6000
Nov 20, 2011
67
3
8
Wisconsin under duress
Being excited today my crank is done. Or,,, was supposed to be done. This time the reason is rather solid. The guy doing it committed suicide yesterday. Sad but this overall comedy can only happen to me. My guy is picking it and other cranks up from the guy's widow tomorrow.
 

shooter56

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kubota L185 w/fel
Sep 25, 2015
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CT.
Damn, sounds like he was a depressed man. It's very debilitating, some people can't cope.
 

wisc6000

Member

Equipment
B6000
Nov 20, 2011
67
3
8
Wisconsin under duress
Yeah, as the story unfolds, He was divorced and working at a guy's shop doing machine work. His wife and kids live on the property so that ate him alive.

And to continue the saga, I took the crank to another shop and discussed it with the guy as it's critical to not mess with the radius on the pins and journals. If these are not maintained at a specific radius and finish it's a stress riser and the crank will fail.

We took it in the shop and determined he has a grinding wheel that is narrow enough to work. This week's bottom line is that he'll get to it next week.
 

wisc6000

Member

Equipment
B6000
Nov 20, 2011
67
3
8
Wisconsin under duress
Got the crank today, now the work begins.

I'm wondering in your case if you just can't get another aftermarket bushing like you have and machine it to the diameter of the pilot on the input shaft + about .005" for clearance. Bear in mind that the bushing should be about 9mm recessed into the crank so you don't bottom it out on the trans shaft thus binding up the works.
 

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bakeroldfolks2

New member
Jan 3, 2017
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Boron California USA
Thanks Steve, the guy at the shop told me that he doesn't think it's going to be able to be fixed they took to much off it and weaked shaft. Now I have to get a crank. Hope you have a great time with your's mines going to have to wait for now. Thanks again for the help

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wisc6000

Member

Equipment
B6000
Nov 20, 2011
67
3
8
Wisconsin under duress
Baker, you better start searching now. There are NO cranks in North America. The only way to get a crank now is to buy a parted out tractor. And to date there's nothing on ebay. edit: Check this! A crank in China. You better contact the seller fast! https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.8.62651e15JToMpV

It took me a lot of searching for parts and here's a couple sources.

Here's a parts list with the correct part numbers. Yes it's tor the hydrostatic transmission version but all engine part numbers are correct and current. Login with your email addy to view it.
https://www.messicks.com/ku/84573

There is a gasket that holds the rear main to the rear main cover which is NLA. You'll have to make one as I found the last one in America. Make it from .010-.012 thick material. The gasket to hold the cover to the block is available.

Bearings for mains and rods will be sourced from this company in Australia or this one in Cyprus. Kubota doesn't have all the mains, only standard rod bearings. Both companies are super to work with.

For the Aussie company they're listed by engine model, ZL600 http://www.kubotaparts.com.au/index.php?route=product/category&path=12 Pay the extra for fast shipping, about 4-5 days. My undersize rods and mains cost ~ $130 shipped.
* I have a set of std rods and mains if you need them. My crank was ground to .25-.25, or .010"

Cylinder sleeves came from Stavros Sava in Cyprus. https://www.stavros-savva-co-ltd.com.cy/parts-filter/?make=1&model=36&cfm=Kubota&cfmo=B6000 They ship fast!

There is a B6000 rebuild kit from China on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/ZL600-Over...680057?hash=item3b3430bdf9:g:DZUAAOSwgMxdFfOJ Note that by the picture the sleeves look wrong. They appear straight whereas you would bore the factory sleeve to fit these. I would recommend sleeves from Stavros Sava as they're drop in wet sleeves and a clone of OEM.

I'll post more as today starts the build up.
 
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wisc6000

Member

Equipment
B6000
Nov 20, 2011
67
3
8
Wisconsin under duress
Woo hoo!! It lives.
100 psi oil pressure cold. 60 psi hot, 40 psi hot idle. It runs like a new machine.
Quite the improvement from the 20 psi prior to the rebuild. My kid will be running it 40 years from now.

Now I'll add up the receipts. Pistons, wrist pins, rings, liners, .010 machined crank, oil pump body, pressure plate and disk and so on. Any guesses as to what the cost will be? Place your guesstimates here.