ZD33 Head gasket?

[davemskinner]

Fairly new machine but out of warranty. Overheats in an hour and has no coolant left. No visable leakage either.

How long does it take to replace the headgasket? Any tricky situations I need to be careful about?

 

[Breeze]

Ouch!

Spend $25 and have a Blackstone analysis of what is in your engine oil crank case. If you have a concentration of glycol/water there, damage to the lower end may be an issue. http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

If your top end is limited to a gasket, you win the lottery. Sorry to say, you need to pull the head and have it inspected for cracks.

Best of luck.

 

[davemskinner]

Any idea how long to pull the head and replace the gasket - assuming no cracks?

 

[eserv]

Any idea how long to pull the head and replace the gasket - assuming no cracks?

Kubota warranty flat rate is 2.9 hrs to replace head gasket.
Ed

 

[davemskinner]

Thanks Ed,

As always your input is valuable and appreciated! Are there any gotcha's I need to be careful of?

 

[davemskinner]

Oh Joy! I went to do a compression check and pulled off the ait intake hose and the manifold was full of water. Same with the exhaust manifold. since it was full, I decided not to do the compression test (didn't want to saturate the compression testor) and then proceeeded to pull the head. No obvious cracks but the head gasket was not stuck on either side.

The owner doesn't have the $$$ to have the head magnfluxed. Whay you think? Shall I put it together and do a compression check/leak down test and possible sacrifice a headgasket, or just tell him to wait until he can affod to have the head checked?

I ran ourt of time uesterday but plan on going back up this afternoon to really clean the head and block and check for warpage or cracks.

All input is appreciated.

Dave

 

[eserv]

Oh Joy! I went to do a compression check and pulled off the ait intake hose and the manifold was full of water. Same with the exhaust manifold. since it was full, I decided not to do the compression test (didn't want to saturate the compression testor) and then proceeeded to pull the head. No obvious cracks but the head gasket was not stuck on either side.

The owner doesn't have the $$$ to have the head magnfluxed. Whay you think? Shall I put it together and do a compression check/leak down test and possible sacrifice a headgasket, or just tell him to wait until he can affod to have the head checked?

I ran ourt of time uesterday but plan on going back up this afternoon to really clean the head and block and check for warpage or cracks.

All input is appreciated.

Dave

If there is that much water you should be able to see the cracks! Look closely between the valve seats and the precup. The block could be cracked as well. Putting it together with just a new head gasket will be a waste of time and a head gasket IMO.

Ed

 

[davemskinner]

Hey Ed,

Thanks again for another reply. OTT runs an ad for Thermogasket. Have you ever used it? If I cannot find a crack, would you reccommend trying it?

Also, Those head bolts are not torque to yield are they

 

[Breeze]

You can purchase a couple of cans of die penetrant for pocket money.

You clean all surfaces completely, spray on the red die and wait the recommended period of time (15 minutes or so). Then you clean all the surface die off with clean wipes followed by spraying the part with the white powdered developer. Wait again for ten minutes or so and inspect.

Capillary action pulls the die into cracks that aren't even visible to the naked eye. The developer pulls die back out and cracks appear as red lines in the white developer.

http://www.magnaflux.com/Products/PenetrantInspection/SpotcheckVisible/SpotcheckKits/SK416Kit.aspx


Their web site lists distributors. I've also used aerosol cans of both the die and developer, either shouldn't be hard to locate.

Hope this helps and may you not have red lines in your developer!

 

[davemskinner]

Ed,

Found the crack! My old eyes didn't see it right off, but another young guy saw it right off. With glasses on it was painfully obvious. I HATE getting old!

Anyway, it was between the injection chamber and the coolant chamber. I'll post pics later. I did not have my camera with me when I went up to check it out.

More tomorrow.

THANKS Ed. That info on Magnaflux is awesome info! That will be stored away for future reference.

 

[eserv]

Ed,

Found the crack! My old eyes didn;t see it off the bat but another you guy saw it right off. With glasses on it was painfully obvious. I HATE get old!

Anyway, it wa between the injection chamber and the coolant chamber. I'll post pics later. I did not have my camera with me when I went up to check it out.

More tomorrow.

THANKS Ed. That info on Magnaflux is awesome info! That will be stored away for future reference.

Kubota heads don't just crack for no reason! somehow the coolant level got to low allowing the head to get too hot. be absolutely sure the radiator is clean, the thermostat is working properly and that the water pump is not leaking. IF the cooling system gets low on a Kubota the head WILL crack!
ED

 

[davemskinner]

I have explained all of that to the owner. He runs a lawn mowing service and hires some undesireable help. Apparently the first time it overheated was last summer and they have been trying to find the cause. They did flush the radiator and replaced the thermostat. But it kept overheating. Gee, I wonder why!

Anyway, he has down sized and now he will be the only one running it so maybe... it will hold up.

Any idea where I might find a used head. I've been looking all over and can't seem to find one.

Grainfarmer may have one but I have to get the s/n to confirm.

Thanks Ed.