Hi all. New guy here. I need some help. My friend has a kubota kx121 up here that was running fine. The hydraulic tank was low (I just got up here recently, was not yet doing maintenance on the equipment) and the hydraulics got hot. My friend shut it down. About an hour later he cranked it for just a few seconds, it started & ran fine. We filled the hydraulic tank to proper level the next day.
Upon trying to start it would spin with black & gray smoke out the exhaust but would not start/run. The motor seemed to be spinning too slow/dragging & upon inspection we found the battery had several bad cells. There was also a good bit of sediment in the fuel bowl with no water apparent. We bought a new Die Hard battery (800 CCA manual calls for 750 CCA & old battery was 800 CCA) and new fuel filter. Also new battery terminals. I removed & cleaned the ground cable to frame & ground strap to block. Same thing, turned over with smoke but no start. I did purge the fuel system per the manual AND bled the injectors at the head to be sure (How much/strong should the fuel spurt out when injectors are cracked open at lines?)
The glow plugs appear good & tested 1.5 ohms resistance in each, removed. The fuel tank water drain yielded about a table spoon of water The fuel is fresh. The new battery was tested by 3 different places. NAPA, the local alt/starter re-builder and the place of purchase. All 3 said it's a good strong battery & NAPA also put it on the old style load tester & even with 50% charge (we had to charge it 2X after failed cranking attempts) the load meter barely moved.
I pulled the starter & took it to the re-builder. He pulled it apart & the armature was fair but had been hot. He's going to rebuild it with a new armature but he's on the fence as to whether that will solve the issue. I also have my doubts. While cranking the battery voltage drops from 13/12.5 down to 8 volts. Seems like a heavy draw? IDK.
We also tried with starting fluid, no difference. So, any ideas? I'm not a diesel mechanic, but am learning. I used to be an auto mechanic 30 years ago. I do know my friend ran the motor on the hot side about a month ago. The radiator was chock full of dirt/mud. He shut it down when he saw the temp indicator. Coolant is full/clean, no water in oil & no white smoke steam & he's been using it a lot since then. I don't think that's the issue.
Could it be fuel delivery? Weak pickup pump, injector pump issue? I'm at a loss. Sorry my first post is SOOO long but I really wanted to provide as much relevant info as possible to hopefully get some directional advice here. THANK YOU!
Upon trying to start it would spin with black & gray smoke out the exhaust but would not start/run. The motor seemed to be spinning too slow/dragging & upon inspection we found the battery had several bad cells. There was also a good bit of sediment in the fuel bowl with no water apparent. We bought a new Die Hard battery (800 CCA manual calls for 750 CCA & old battery was 800 CCA) and new fuel filter. Also new battery terminals. I removed & cleaned the ground cable to frame & ground strap to block. Same thing, turned over with smoke but no start. I did purge the fuel system per the manual AND bled the injectors at the head to be sure (How much/strong should the fuel spurt out when injectors are cracked open at lines?)
The glow plugs appear good & tested 1.5 ohms resistance in each, removed. The fuel tank water drain yielded about a table spoon of water The fuel is fresh. The new battery was tested by 3 different places. NAPA, the local alt/starter re-builder and the place of purchase. All 3 said it's a good strong battery & NAPA also put it on the old style load tester & even with 50% charge (we had to charge it 2X after failed cranking attempts) the load meter barely moved.
I pulled the starter & took it to the re-builder. He pulled it apart & the armature was fair but had been hot. He's going to rebuild it with a new armature but he's on the fence as to whether that will solve the issue. I also have my doubts. While cranking the battery voltage drops from 13/12.5 down to 8 volts. Seems like a heavy draw? IDK.
We also tried with starting fluid, no difference. So, any ideas? I'm not a diesel mechanic, but am learning. I used to be an auto mechanic 30 years ago. I do know my friend ran the motor on the hot side about a month ago. The radiator was chock full of dirt/mud. He shut it down when he saw the temp indicator. Coolant is full/clean, no water in oil & no white smoke steam & he's been using it a lot since then. I don't think that's the issue.
Could it be fuel delivery? Weak pickup pump, injector pump issue? I'm at a loss. Sorry my first post is SOOO long but I really wanted to provide as much relevant info as possible to hopefully get some directional advice here. THANK YOU!