slow

L

Laredortv900

New member
I'm new to a Kubota RTV900 diesel, but have a couple questions. Mine seems to "clatter" a lot but have been told that's normal for the 3 cyl. diesel. Also, Low gear works fine but med and high don't much speed up an incline and I'm talking very little incline. Any comments would be great.
 
Welcome to a great forum.
Sound like a fuel problem to me.

I think I'd start with changing the fuel filter and cutting the old one apart and checking it. Partially plugged fuel filters in any motor will first show up on abnormal loads such as inclines. Maybe abnormal is the wrong word but I'm sure you get my meaning. Also the engine is not having to work as hard in low range unless you are pushing or pulling something.
Also I'd check and or change both inner and outer air filters.
Hopefully this helps with power problem. If it doesn't try taking off the return line at the tank and submerging it in a small container to see if there are air bubbles in the return fuel. This would mean that fuel system is sucking air through a bad hose or clamp. Diesels don't like air in the fuel system.

If power improves but clattering persists, maybe a valve adjustment would be in order.

Hope this helps!
 
Welcome to the website!!!

This is a MUCH discussed topic in regards to RTVs.

First the clatter, yep, typical, don't pay any attention to it. Most 3 cyl engines vibrate and are noisy at low rpms. Speed them up and it smooths right out.

There is a technique to driving an HST vehicle of any kind. In regards to the RTV they make it even more complicated by incorporating the engine rpm speed and the HST gear ratio progression in the same pedal. So,,, natural instinct is to push farther on the pedal to get more ground speed. That's fine on flat ground. On an incline you just "geared up".

By giving it more pedal you have elevated the gear ratio and increased the chances of the engine bogging down. If you are on an incline, in L or M, and it seems to stall, try easing up on the pedal a little. This will let the HST gear down and usually result in better progress. Jabbing the pedal to the floor on the other hand will completely stall the machine.

A lot of users have added Hand Throttles to control this behavior. If equipped with a Hand Throttle the engine speed can be pre set. Usually 1/2 throttle or more. Then the pedal can be used to control the HST ratio. When more load is placed on the machine the pedal can be relaxed to lower the ratio and gain more movement.

It's very unusual to understand if this is your first HST machine. I've been around HST for 30 years. It's best performance is with the engine at full throttle. Don't give up. Be patient. You'll figure it out.

I'm totally shocked you didn't complain about how hard it is to shift??? ;)
 
not much luck

Yes the shifting is a bit difficult but nothing that I can't handle...it's the bogging down on a small incline in med that bothers me....yes I did figure out the easing up the throttle but the way mine acts I just as well run around in low gear!!!! The truck runs great, no leaks, starts easy no smoke but up a slight city street incline, in med, I can darn near walk faster....help????
 
Laredortv900 said:
Yes the shifting is a bit difficult but nothing that I can't handle...it's the bogging down on a small incline in med that bothers me....yes I did figure out the easing up the throttle but the way mine acts I just as well run around in low gear!!!! The truck runs great, no leaks, starts easy no smoke but up a slight city street incline, in med, I can darn near walk faster....help????
Click to expand...

I'm wondering if your pedal linkage is out of adjustment??? Sounds like it is giving it too much HST and too little RPM??

The cable off the foot pedal splits with one half going to the fuel pump and the other half going to the HST. Might look that over and see if you can figure it out.

Is easiest with the bed up, engine off and someone pushing the pedal for you while you watch the components.

Mine actually is adjusted pretty well. I can climb a fair grade in M with a delicate foot on the pedal and listening closely to the engine. But I'm still installing a Hand Throttle.
 
not much luck

Yes the shifting is a bit difficult but nothing that I can't handle...it's the bogging down on a small incline in med that bothers me....yes I did figure out the easing up the throttle but the way mine acts I just as well run around in low gear!!!! The truck runs great, no leaks, starts easy no smoke but up a slight city street incline, in med, I can darn near walk faster....help????
 
Laredortv900 said:
Yes the shifting is a bit difficult but nothing that I can't handle...it's the bogging down on a small incline in med that bothers me....yes I did figure out the easing up the throttle but the way mine acts I just as well run around in low gear!!!! The truck runs great, no leaks, starts easy no smoke but up a slight city street incline, in med, I can darn near walk faster....help????
Click to expand...

I bought an Electronic Work Shop Manual for mine for $10 online. If you are interested in getting one I'll look back and find the vendor I got it from. It's 479 pages. I printed it and keep it in a 3 ring binder. Much easier to use when doing time consuming stuff. It goes thru all the adjustment processes on these machines, and there are lots. If you study the engine compartment it's hard to figure out what cable and lever does what function. That's why it's easier with a helper.
 
not much luck

Yes the shifting is a bit difficult but nothing that I can't handle...it's the bogging down on a small incline in med that bothers me....yes I did figure out the easing up the throttle but the way mine acts I just as well run around in low gear!!!! The truck runs great, no leaks, starts easy no smoke but up a slight city street incline, in med, I can darn near walk faster....help????
 
What year model do you have Laredo ? I had an 05 for 6 years and over 4200 hrs and it acted as you have said. My 2011xt with 2350 plus hrs, however is grand in all gear positions. I can go up a farm pond levee in H with a small drop in speed. I have never done any adjusting so I guess I was blessed with a well adjusted machine. ( I read somewhere that the xt stool for xtra torque) collie
 
Yes, please do fill out your "profile" so we can see what machine you have, where you live, and how much land......"" why????". Well, we can look at that and see you live at 9500 feet elevation and be able to give and answer. Or, if you have an acre of land and doing such and such, we can help you figure out the possible "cause".

Are you driving yours in the city on the streets?????..... You are using yours as a "truck"???..... My 05 reacts a lot differently than a newer one.... folks are here really to SHARE thoughts with you. Few are "know it all's" so we might ask dumb questions; but it really is to try to help...... God bless.....Dennis
 
I do drive a bit in town for parades etc...It's a "07" I believe with 1097 hrs.
My plans are to take to my property in Mexico in a few yrs. when I and my wife retire. She loves it too. I noticed driving it around last evening handing out candy it seemed to run rough so I may have some debris in the fuel tank. Is it difficult to pull the tank? Just curious..
 
I'd try a new fuel filter first . If you remove that plastic panel on the side by the air filter canister, it will be easier to get to that fuel filter. It is also good to have a way to crimp the fuel lines so the fuel won's leak while changing out.( A wix filter will work ok for that.) collie
 
I did change that a couple weeks ago but there again, there may have some debris in the tank and now the filter caught it....It ran fine in the afternoon, slow up the incline but smooth.....
 
I dumped the old fuel, a little discolored but didn't look too bad. Thde filter looked clear but when I blew into it it spurt so I do think it may have been partially blocked. I also noticed some bubbles around the front injector which I hadn't noticed before as I usually work on it from the drivers side. All that could make the difference. Thx.
 
Sometimes, the inner take up line gets clogged too. I have known of folks blowing into them (back to the tank) when changing the filter and then others have taken out their tanks and cleaned them completely, but fortunately, I haven had to. A good diesel conditioner may help you in the future too. I can get my arm a ways down in my tank. The next time I need fuel, I think I am going to take a clean rag and see what is "there".
Yea, those bubbles, it may be sucking some air. If your fuel lines have never been changed and the hose clamps that may be a place to check too. I had that problem with a skid steer and a tractor too. collie
 
they should switch to the belt drive with that diesel engine and a belt drive I bet the rtv could see 30mph easy.
 
Laredortv900 said:
I dumped the old fuel, a little discolored but didn't look too bad. Thde filter looked clear but when I blew into it it spurt so I do think it may have been partially blocked. I also noticed some bubbles around the front injector which I hadn't noticed before as I usually work on it from the drivers side. All that could make the difference. Thx.
Click to expand...

don't know how many filters you got but have you ever considered a two filter system on to filter out water and then the next filter takes out all the air so that you get pure fuel to the injectors.i put this system on my truck and it made a world of diference
 
It is a rare day when I filter the fuel I get from the truck stop.....A couple of weeks ago, the engine, when going up our 1/2 mile drive which includes a 20 degree hill between the barn and the house..... anyway, when going up the hill it would start running on 1 cylinder, almost die, and then pick back up.... go a little bit and do that over and over.... then run just fine..... on the flats it was great........... Drained the fuel, changed the filter, bled the injectors..... Better but still doing it a bit...... Put about a gallon of fuel back in and treated it with maybe a pint of a mixture of Lucas fuel treatment and Cetane......YAHOOOOO.....and Wallah it was running great.....

The hired hand and I were down in the pasture doing some work and the thing was running out of gas..... Sent him back to put some more fuel in......

Guess which can of fuel he put in..... the one with fresh fuel or the can of fuel we had drained out and had not been filtered yet......YEP....YOU GUESSED IT..... lol... start back all over again with a gallon of fuel and the mixture of Cetane and Lucas..... the treatment worked......

Anyway, filtered the can of fuel that was contaminated with our "Mr. Filter" and got maybe a teaspoon of water out of that 4 or so gallons left in that can......

So, the thing to do.... yes, one can filter every can one gets.... or for me, treat every fill up with a "CHOICE" a choice of whatever fuel treatment works for you; but for me, LUCAS AND CETANE.....God bless....Dennis
 
I'm very picky about where I buy my fuel. Only from trusted providers. I would only get bad fuel from a vendor once. I only use additive in Winter months to prevent gelling.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top