New x1140 Radiator fan short cycling

When I bought my '06 RTV900 and discovered the cooling system was not intact. I fixed it and thought everything was good until I saw fluid coming out the waterpump weep hole, I bought a new waterpump and when removing the old pump discovered there were NO fins left on the impeller, just a glob of potmetal on the shaft. It could not have been moving much if any coolant thru the engine. I never had any problems with an airlock in the engine. Everything is fine now.
Bryce

I wonder if the thermostat housing needs to be bled or if there’s a bleed hose that needs to be bled such as behind the driver on my RTV-X900. That really surprised me when only a small amount of coolant was lost and repalced and that system wasn’t properly bled. It overheated within only a minute or so.

I remembered something today. When I took it in the first time I backed it off the trailer and turned it off. The " young mechanic " came out and started it up and flipped up back seat and removed panel and put hand on motor to feel for heat, then went up and popped hood and took off the radiator cap and watched for about 10 seconds. What was strange is the coolant started to rise and was going to overflow but he put the cap back on. It hadn't run long enough for the thermostat to open I don't believe and if it was open why wasn't it circulating. Just thinking that it might be stuck open about 1/4 and that's why it heats up after driving and cools quickly while sitting and idling. As far as the intermittent fan i just don't know. I have read where some people believe their overheating was an air pocket at the t-housing and steam finally hit the sensor. I mentioned that the system might need to be bled but he dismissed that pretty quick.

I drove by the dealer today and it's sitting outside. Not what I expected since yesterday they told me they had somebody ready to jump right on it.

I understand your frustration. something this simple should have already been fixed. in some ways i hate warranty because it sometimes just keeps me from taking it to competent mechanics or just fixing it myself.

my 1 1/2 cents. the machine should have been run in by the dealer before you took delivery and when a problem was found the machine should have been set aside and another delivered in it's place. and for now if you were my customer i would have drained and measured the coolant to confirm capacity and checked all hoses for collapse. then installed a new thermostat and senders then carefully refill the coolant and check for flow to confirm the waterpump isn't malfunctioning. then and only then would i suspect a wire or plug. but if this was run in before sales you wouldn't need this conversation. if i were a dealer and this happened to me i would be terribly embarrassed.

Back in the days late 70's, I had a new Ford Courier pickup. I had only used it to drive to college 6 miles away so it never really had a chance to run hot. Later, it did though as I drove further from home . (It was a 4 cyl and no ac. ) . After much aggravation, Daddy took the water pump off and noticed that the impeller was not attached properly to the shaft. He pressed it back on with the
hyd press and then it worked properly as far as moving water. It was still a lemon though. I hope that your dealer will work with you on this since they can't figure it out quickly.. Do you have a lemon law in your state maybe?

bordercollie said:

Back in the days late 70's, I had a new Ford Courier pickup. I had only used it to drive to college 6 miles away so it never really had a chance to run hot. Later, it did though as I drove further from home . (It was a 4 cyl and no ac. ) . After much aggravation, Daddy took the water pump off and noticed that the impeller was not attached properly to the shaft. He pressed it back on with the
hyd press and then it worked properly as far as moving water. It was still a lemon though. I hope that your dealer will work with you on this since they can't figure it out quickly.. Do you have a lemon law in your state maybe?

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courier pickup. wow i haven't thought about those for a looong time. my brother had one maybe a 75 or 76 model. just a re badged Japanese truck. his lasted forever and was trouble free.

I think Courer = Mazda. But it has been so long ago I may be disremembering.

I don't want to hijack this thread but wanted to say that the Courier was a Ford. but did look a lot like the Mazda and Datsun mini trucks. It had big round bug eyed lights and cost 3,600 new. I well remember the am radio and the vent levers/boxes in the leg area to help cool off. Hot in Louisiana but they were better than nothing. - still a wet back when you got to where you were going . The little tie down ears along the side of the bed, would tear off jacket pockets because they grabbed everything that walked close by.

A Courier had Fords name on it but it was built in a Mazda factory on the same assembly lines as the Mazda pick-ups of the day. Just like the Dodge D-50s were Mitsubushis. (The people that brought you the Zero aeroplane)

Thanks Shinnery, I didn't know that. If it hadn't run hot it may have just been been a lemon water pump. that caused the trouble . but then the points were always giving trouble too.

X1140 has been at dealer since last Monday. It has sat in the same spot all week. I stopped by about noon on Friday to see about their plan. They ordered a new main wiring harness. They say they have to follow Kubota's outline for repair and this is the first step. I reiterated over and over that I really want a different unit. I talked to my Bobcat mechanic about it Friday. He has seen and tore down a lot of these little Kubota's. There most likely is damage however since it is new and tight it might not show up for some time. This summer will tell the story when working it in 100 degree temps for extended periods.

I have read about this week. Something I read last night really disturbed me if it's true. Someone stated that dealers on equipment, tractors, utvs and such receive only the parts on warranty work and the dealer is on the hook for diagnosing and labor to repair. If this is true what is their incentive to get it fixed. Since mine has been sitting maybe this is true. Anybody have any knowledge?

it is difficult to say weather there was damage or not. if the coolant capacity was full and no air pockets then i wouldn't worry about damage. now on the otherhand if it steamed them there would likely be some uneven heating of the head and could cause cracks or headgasket problems. i would say though that everything is in your favor because you are an excellent operator and noticed the condition and shut it off. most i think that incur damage just keep operating until something gives because they don't notice. i am pretty sure there is a safety margin included into the overheat indicators to prevent damage as long as you do your part, and you did. personally i would get Kubota involved and get a file running on the repairs and symptoms for your protection. that might actually help the dealer.

I found this on the web. Kubota dealers didn't participate in the survey. It's an interesting survey. Shows that dealers are compensated to a degree. See attachment.

Authuritis: I will get Kubota involved. I had found a couple of used units that looked garage kept at 2/3 the cost, both had less than 800 hrs but chose not to gamble and to purchase a new unit so that i " know what I have" and can see that the breakin is followed and maintenance is done. If I don't insist on a replacement I feel like i'm back to gambling. Just my perspective.

I’m not sure why you seem to blame Kubota. They aren’t even mentioned, or did not participate, in the report.

I don't believe I blamed anybody. Just waiting to see what they are going to do on my machine. My question was what is the dealers incentive to fix if they don't get fairly compensated. Keeping a customer would be an obvious incentive but I have bought 3 Kubotas at this dealership location however this is the first with the current owner so i'm not a basher. I would like opinions or others experiences. If Kubota has similar compensation to dealers I can see that i'm probably in for a fairly long wait.

the dealer should have done a pre delivery inspection that would have found this before it was sold to a customer and it would be up to KTC to correct the issue.

Update. Dealer called and said machine was fixed-- replaced wiring harness. Denied request for different machine, denied request for a longer warranty. Offered the extended warranty at cost. Dealer doesn't see where it has diminished value. Kubota rep was involved i'm told. Buying a new Kubota should be a happy experience however it has lost it's luster. I'm embarresed to tell anybody about the issues after what I paid for the RTV.
I'll be looking for another dealer to buy parts, filters, fluids and such from but they're probably all the same.

I'm really sorry to hear of your bad Kubota experience Rtarchery. Its a black eye for the name.
I'd use the heck out of it this year before the warranty goes out and make sure that it's really fixed before it goes out. Curiosity- was the extended warranty he offered at cost ovr $700? I can't remember exactly what the paperwork said when the company tried to sell me one as my year approached expiration but think the offer was 700 for an extra year. I had had no problems with my 2011/12 ,that warranty would cover anyways, so said no to it.
Messicks is a good oem kubota mail order source. ( They are sponsors here) .I drive by a dealer (60 miles away) on my way to Ark to work on the old homeplace and bought my hyd oil from them since it was so heavy to ship. ( nice folks there too) I do have a dealer about 15 miles away but wouldn't put them out if they were on fire.. you know the expression probably.. They tried to rip me off with my '05 model u joint repair. They didn't get the job but .. I never forget a "done wrong" attempt especially when it was 2x what the shop time spread estimator said. They didn't know I had a buddy that emailed me the cd with that info. (Talking big bucks more) I gave it away when I sold my RTV.
Anyways, good luck with this and I do feel for you. bordercollie

glad it is fixed. i agree with collie.