Kubota L185

[Ggoodson]

Hello,

Just recently purchased an older kubota L185 2 cylinder diesel. Old owner said it ran fine a few months ago but has been having some issues recently. Got it for 500$ so not terribly mad about it and not afraid to put a little money in it to get it running good Anyways I have bled injectors,bypassed tank an used a bottle to supply fuel directly to injection pump. I'm thinking the injection pump may be failing or already bad, it will spit small wisps of fuel when injectors lines are cracked but this may be normal im just used to big fuel flow on cummins an cat's,. I bled lines with full throttle and decompression lever engaged. Will run for a few seconds then die out. Got it to idle for about 5 min or so,but throttle it up an it Will rev up an then die.

 

[Russell King]

First if you want to off load it let me know since I have a L185 and would like to have some spare parts and turf tires.

Anyway hope you can get it running, they are great little tractors.

Here is what I would be checking:
Air filter is it clean and is passage to engine clean?

Move tractor to where fuel spills won’t kill the grass or be a problem. Use some catch pans like oil change plastic container.

Fuel flow out of the tank. Mine rusted the tank on the inside and would stop up all fuel flow out of the tank. If flow is slow then blow back through the line and see if it improves the flow.

If you have good flow out of the tank then see if you have good flow through the filter and to the injection pump by removing the hose at the pump and seeing if the flow is similar to what you saw from the tank.

Then use the bleeder valve on the injection pump. I think it looks like a bolt head un top of a larger nut. Hold the larger and turn the smaller one CCW and let fuel flow out. Then tighten it again after you get no bubbles in the fuel.

Then bleed the injector lines at the injectors not at the pump. Pull the decompression knob out and crank for a few seconds then let starter rest for a full minute to cool off. Have the hand throttle at wide open (pulled as far to the rear of tractor as possible). Repeat several times until you don’t see any bubbles in the fuel. Then repeat two or three more times for good measure.

Then let starter cool for a long time, at least 30 minutes. While waiting get some penetrating oil like PB BLASTER (not WD-40) and spray the decompression lever where it rotates. Follow the cable to front of the valve cover and it will connect to the lever (cables pulls lever into decompression mode). Spray the lever where it rotates and move it by hand in both directions. Make sure the cable lets the lever move as far as it can into the position to have compression (to the right if seated on tractor). Be sure it can move with only the spring return when cable is pushed down.
Put hand throttle at about 1/4 to 1/2 of full throttle.

Use glow plugs for about 20 seconds before cranking, pull decompression lever, spin engine until up to speed and push in decompression lever while continue to crank. It should start.

If it starts then loosen the fuel cap on the tank and see if it stays running for several minutes. Then tighten the cap and see if it still stays running for several minutes. The caps can become clogged and not let air into tank.

If it doesn’t start I would really repeat the whole bleeding process again just to be sure.

Then move onto more checks like compression, injector spray patterns tested, replace glow plugs, or have injection pump repaired by professional.

Post back if it still won’t start and I’ll see if I can figure out more checks.

Do you have the operator manual or and Work Shop Manual? I can email those to you if you provide me with your email address.

 

[Ggoodson]

Thank you for the good info Russel, I did pretty much exactly what you posted, so I got it run half a$$ but still not running the way it's supposed to, fuel filter is bypassed so I have a fuel line strait from tank to pump with plenty of flow,bled air from fuel tank to pump,then from pump to each injector at the injectors numerous times ,however i did find a small pinhole fuel leak on front injector spraying fuel out an hitting valve cover. So now I'm gonna go ahead an replace both injectors. Maybe a pump if I can find one, it will sit there an run on maybe an 1/8 throttle, I had it running for 5 min or so like that but when I throttled it up it revved up for a few seconds then fell on its face an died.

 

[Russell King]

I would suggest you get some filter between the fuel and pump. You may be damaging the pump?

I would suggest that you get the lines amp pump clean before installing the new injectors. If I was you I think I would have the pump rebuilt by a professional. There are shims between the pump and engine so keep track of them if you remove the pump

 

[Ggoodson]

I would suggest you get some filter between the fuel and pump. You may be damaging the pump?

I would suggest that you get the lines amp pump clean before installing the new injectors. If I was you I think I would have the pump rebuilt by a professional. There are shims between the pump and engine so keep track of them if you remove the pump

Yes im definitely going to have filter assembly hooked up under normal conditions just wanted to eliminate that for trouble shooting purposes. I installed brand new fuel line from tank to pump so i know its clean, also took injector lines off an cleaned with brake clean an compressed air so i know there clean, im thinking its a weak pump and/or bad injectors. Im from Houston area im sure there is someone around here who can rebuild my injection pump.

 

[Russell King]

Forgot to answer question about fuel out of the lines. It has (thankfully) been a while since I have had to bleed mine but I recall that it was minimal flow out of the lines when bleeding it. For sure it is not a gush each cycle.

It will run for a long time on a gallon of fuel.

 

[Slade]

First if you want to off load it let me know since I have a L185 and would like to have some spare parts and turf tires.

Anyway hope you can get it running, they are great little tractors.

Here is what I would be checking:
Air filter is it clean and is passage to engine clean?

Move tractor to where fuel spills won’t kill the grass or be a problem. Use some catch pans like oil change plastic container.

Fuel flow out of the tank. Mine rusted the tank on the inside and would stop up all fuel flow out of the tank. If flow is slow then blow back through the line and see if it improves the flow.

If you have good flow out of the tank then see if you have good flow through the filter and to the injection pump by removing the hose at the pump and seeing if the flow is similar to what you saw from the tank.

Then use the bleeder valve on the injection pump. I think it looks like a bolt head un top of a larger nut. Hold the larger and turn the smaller one CCW and let fuel flow out. Then tighten it again after you get no bubbles in the fuel.

Then bleed the injector lines at the injectors not at the pump. Pull the decompression knob out and crank for a few seconds then let starter rest for a full minute to cool off. Have the hand throttle at wide open (pulled as far to the rear of tractor as possible). Repeat several times until you don’t see any bubbles in the fuel. Then repeat two or three more times for good measure.

Then let starter cool for a long time, at least 30 minutes. While waiting get some penetrating oil like PB BLASTER (not WD-40) and spray the decompression lever where it rotates. Follow the cable to front of the valve cover and it will connect to the lever (cables pulls lever into decompression mode). Spray the lever where it rotates and move it by hand in both directions. Make sure the cable lets the lever move as far as it can into the position to have compression (to the right if seated on tractor). Be sure it can move with only the spring return when cable is pushed down.
Put hand throttle at about 1/4 to 1/2 of full throttle.

Use glow plugs for about 20 seconds before cranking, pull decompression lever, spin engine until up to speed and push in decompression lever while continue to crank. It should start.

If it starts then loosen the fuel cap on the tank and see if it stays running for several minutes. Then tighten the cap and see if it still stays running for several minutes. The caps can become clogged and not let air into tank.

If it doesn’t start I would really repeat the whole bleeding process again just to be sure.

Then move onto more checks like compression, injector spray patterns tested, replace glow plugs, or have injection pump repaired by professional.

Post back if it still won’t start and I’ll see if I can figure out more checks.

Do you have the operator manual or and Work Shop Manual? I can email those to you if you provide me with your email address.

Hi Russell - Slade here in Australia. I just acquired on old 1501DT, which I believe may be identical to the L185 in the US. I'd really like a copy of the operator manual so I can figure out what the various controls do (I have on-line copies of the workshop manuals, but they don't help). Much appreciated if you could send a copy of the operator documentation - slade.lee@yahoo.com.au

 

[Russell King]

Hi Russell - Slade here in Australia. I just acquired on old 1501DT, which I believe may be identical to the L185 in the US. I'd really like a copy of the operator manual so I can figure out what the various controls do (I have on-line copies of the workshop manuals, but they don't help). Much appreciated if you could send a copy of the operator documentation

Yes I will send the operator’s manual to you. It will be sometime next week when I have better internet service.

If you have questions there is a forum section on grey market tractors (in USA) that may provide the answer already or you can just ask. There are some owners of L1500 for sure.