B7001D drain hole mystery?

Olive Farmer

New member

Equipment
B7001D
May 15, 2019
12
1
3
UK
Hello All,

I am a new member but have been reading top tips and information from the forum for about a year and I thank you all for you help so far! I farm a small holding in the UK, and have a B7001D to help me with the heavier work - which is mainly cutting grass.

I have a conundrum which I'm hoping somebody can help with....

I recently overheated my B7001D (I had not noticed the radiator getting clogged with seed heads etc) and the lower radiator pipe split, I shut the engine down straight away. After a quick in-field repair I got the tractor back and parked up and replaced the rad pipes. I later noticed there was a pinkish liquid leaking, it was dripping from around the bottom of the front axle, but it wasn't coming from there. It isn't engine oil (that is pretty dark and dipstick shows okay) it doesn't appear to be hydraulic oil, again, dipstick shows tank is full, it isn't radiator fluid, wrong colour.

I did wonder if it was a diesel leak, the colour is similar. So I cleaned up the entire engine applied some talc powder around a few parts of the engine to try and trace the leak. No clear leak from the fuel system, or anywhere around the engine bay really...

Then I found what looks like a drain point under where I think the clutch is. There is no plug in it, but it is a threaded hole.

I'm not sure how the leak would get from here to where it was dripping on the axle, but stranger things have happened.

I have uploaded a picture, I took it from under the tractor looking forward, you can see the drive shaft for the front wheels. Can anybody tell me if it is a drain point, and if it is, where do I fill this area from, and what grade oil?! I cannot find it in the manual (I'm using a B7100 manual).

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate it! The thistles have sensed the disaster and are growing faster by the day...!
 

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D2Cat

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L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
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40 miles south of Kansas City
Olive Farmer, the plug you have in question is a drain plug. In Kubota's early days their tractors were primarily used in Japan in rice paddies. When water got in the clutch housing it was released there. Not much in there to leak unless a rear seal is bad, and I think there may be a freeze plug up high. I'd drain it and keep and eye on all fluids and eng. temp.

Sometimes, on various equipment, you may see a hole with a cotter pin loosely hanging out. Those are also drain holes, and the cotter pin helps keep dirt and mud dobbers from making residence there and by constantly being jiggled around keep the drain open!
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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Sandpoint, ID
Yep, what D2Cat said, no fluid should be in there, and if it is something is leaking, it's not going to hurt anything if you leave the plug out. ;)
 

Olive Farmer

New member

Equipment
B7001D
May 15, 2019
12
1
3
UK
Hi D2Cat and North Idaho Wolfman,

Thanks for your quick replies, and the advice and information is very much appreciated.

That cotter pin trick is good, you answered a question I didn't even know I had. When I changed the radiator pipes there was what looked like a corroded washer in the bottom inlet of the engine, I bet it was for that purpose. It is just the sort of cavity that could get clogged up. I took it out! Looks like I'd better drain down and put one back in...

I think I'll add some temperature gauges, I have seen some posts on the forum of how others have done it.

I will keep an eye on fluids and temperature and keep mowing.

Thanks again!
 

D2Cat

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
12,901
4,269
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40 miles south of Kansas City
If you have an infrared temperature gauge, it's an ideal tool to monitor your system with. Check the upper radiator hose, the lower hose, and the back of the block (by the firewall) to get readings. Then you have a base for your machine and keep watch.

They've become inexpensive in the last few years and are very handy to keep an eye on anything that heats up...like cooling systems and bearings.
 

Olive Farmer

New member

Equipment
B7001D
May 15, 2019
12
1
3
UK
Thanks D2Cat, I just looked those up and a basic one is similar in price to a fixed sensor, but as you say, you can use it all over the machine. I will definitely invest in one of those and get a baseline working temperature.

I might add a bolt on temperature transducer to the radiator, with a simple gauge as an early warning of increasing temperature (for when I'm running). It's a bit quick and dirty, but that might be all I need, I can always stop and flip the bonnet.

Thanks!
 

D2Cat

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
12,901
4,269
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
Olive Farmer, In the US the infrared guns can be found for $20 at many stores.

One of the uses for the thermometer is if you think an engine is not firing on a cylinder (gas or diesel) you can measure the temperature on the side of the engine or the exhaust manifold and find out quickly if one is running cooler. Then you can check spark plugs or injectors on that cylinder and start working backwards to determine the problem.
 

Olive Farmer

New member

Equipment
B7001D
May 15, 2019
12
1
3
UK
Hi D2Cat,
I just picked one up, they start at a similar equivalent here (£16), I went for one a bit higher as it had better reviews.

I am going to record some temperatures over the next few days, it is good cutting weather. I'll add to those some measurements of the ports either side of the block, and the hydraulics. I don't suspect any issues but I'll add it to my list of baseline temperatures. I'll record the ambient too. I'll post the results next week. I know all machines vary, but when you don't know what okay looks like for your machine, all information is good.

Thanks for all the advice on this!
 

Olive Farmer

New member

Equipment
B7001D
May 15, 2019
12
1
3
UK
Off topic but I'm wondering what olive variety/cultivar you are using in the UK. Western Oregon has similar weather.
Hi Nickelplated5s, I have all Spanish hardy varieties - Picual, Hojablanca and Arbequina. My trees are about 10 years old, which would be near production in the Mediterranean, but here the trees are a way off the same level of maturity due to stunted growth. I'd say the UK is about 10 degrees higher than the top of the usual cropping longitude of olives. The wetter climate makes things tricky as they don't tolerate wet roots. I know somebody trying Italian cultivars, they have not adapted as well. It's a long game for sure, but every year I'm making progress.
 

Olive Farmer

New member

Equipment
B7001D
May 15, 2019
12
1
3
UK
Hi D2Cat, After a lot of temperature checking I have come up with the attached. The numbers are in ranges to make it easier for me to use another time. I did it all in Celsius, so for the lower numbers it's roughly double the C and add 30 for Fahrenheit. Up at 97C it is 207F.

The first number in blue are the idle temperatures about 20mins after startup. I hadn't really done any thing the ambient was about 10C (50F) degrees.

The second number in black with the +/- figure is the range those parts got to when flail mowing grass and thistles which I'd average about 600mm (2'). The temperature got up to about 19C (66F) degrees in the day

It is hard to put anything more accurate to this as there are so many influences, the grass, the air temp, the revs etc. I was mainly mowing in 3rd, sometimes 2nd in really thick and high grass.

I noticed a few things:
  • The right hand axles were consistently a degree higher than the left.
  • While the inlet of the engine could be hotter or colder than the outlet they were never more than 10 degrees apart (I measured the block where the manifold attached as it was easier)
  • The hydraulic spool for the loader bucket was about 10 degrees cooler than the hydraulic tank, so touching that was a fairly effective measure of temperature.

It's definitely a useful tool.

I also traced the fuel leak back to the source thanks to a bit of talc. Can I pick your brain again please. I have attached a photo. It is coming from a bolted plate under the accelerator arm. The bolts were not very tight as I was able to give them a quarter turn very easily but didn't want to go further without looking into it a bit more. I'm assuming this is an access plate, I have not found it in the manual.

Thanks!
 

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