Kubota blowing steam
- Thread starter Denise
- Start date
Where is the steam coming from?
Check the coolant level in the makeup tank if it has one, and the radiator.
What are you doing when it steams?
Are all the dust screens and radiator fins clean?
Check the oil level and appearance and report back!
Welcome! I'm sure someone will be able to help you but will need more information.
We cleaned the screens. Oil level. Is good. The steam is coming out of the rad.
We were just mowing the lawn. This started a couple hours after we started mowing.
Try cleaning the Rad out, Just cleaning the screens with out cleaning the rad is half the job. Clean it from the fan side toward the grill with low pressure compressed air followed with a flush of water from a garden hose. There are specialized wands for the job that will do a better job but the hose and compressed air will be sufficient for now.
Problem is, if you overheat a Kubota motor, you are flirting with head gasket failure.
Problem is, if you overheat a Kubota motor, you are flirting with head gasket failure.
Too soon to panic. If you don't run it hot you won't have to rebuild the motor. You need to systematically check out the cooling components asap. As mentioned above clean radiator fins are critical. Clean as flip suggests. Can get a vacuum attachment and vacuum loose dust off front, and or blow compressed air through the fins from the back. Be careful not to bang the fins they bend easily. Then use detergent and water.
Do you have a shop manual? Does this model have a belt driven fan?
Once you rule out the cheap things then time to move on to the circulating pump and other things.
I have a feeling that the Rad is clogged up. but check the fan belt to make sure it's tight. Kubota water pumps rarely fail. Not sure about the radiator caps, I replace mine every few years just as preventative measure. Rad caps loose their spring pressure after a while and you need that pressure to pressurize the coolant and raise the boiling point. They are cheap too.
When engine is cold remove radiator cap,start engine & look inside radiator neck for air bubbles, bubbles would indicate compression leaking into cooling system. Also be sure fan belt is snug & back of fan belt is above or even with pulley edge.
I’m not subscribing to the theory the cap-springs lose their tension ...but I know for a fact the rubber gasket beneath (above actually) the thin sheet-metal check-plate will harden and/or crack and release coolant contributing to low/no pressure retention and loss of coolant. Check the gasket and check-plate or replace the cap every decade or so.
Well George, it's a known issue on the Ford 7.3 diesel that the pressure cap spring looses it's tension after many heat-cool cycles and the cooling system looses it's pressurization and then the coolant boils in the block and bad things happen to the engine. I replace mine every 2 years, only 6 bucks. Better than an in frame. I apply that to Kubota rad caps as well and they are also cheap.
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If it was run low on coolant or run with the radiator screen blocked, and run hot, sadly the chances of a cracked head are very high.
Like Tx Jim said, pull the radiator cap and fill it full and check for bubbles while running.
Like Tx Jim said, pull the radiator cap and fill it full and check for bubbles while running.
Thank you for your help. I'll give it a go. Going to Kobuta to get a manual. I appreciate all the help.