# Kubota L5450



## Charliel5450 (5 mo ago)

I have a 1996 L5450 it shuts down like it is starving for fuel. Runs a few seconds kinda missing then slowing shuts down. It was running perfect. Made a very hard left turn and that was it. It did this a few years ago but never stalled. Then it seemed to be ok for this season until now. This time it starts then dies back out. I did replace all the rubber fuel lines and a new fuel pump. I am perplexed now. Any help appreciated. It is a weird problem.


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## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

I would check the fuel stop solenoid for starters and if that is ok, then there will probably be a relay that controls the solenoid, this could be failing, if that side of things are ok, then fuel filters would be next, then fuel supply.


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## Charliel5450 (5 mo ago)

The problem I am having is a weird issue. Tractor running great. Spraying my field. Make a very hard left turn tractor shuts down like it is running out of fuel. Fuel filter bowl is full. 
I pulled the fuel line at the tank. Fuel runs no blockage
I take off the fuel filter bowl , open fuel valve fuel runs out freely there. Change o rings and put in new filter. 
still same thing. Starts then sputters out like starving for fuel. I replaced the mechanical fuel pump last year. This has happened before but it never stopped running. It would just chug down to an idle then rev right back up and run. 
this time it starts and chugs right but to stall. So I will be able to pinpoint the issue finally. 
the fuel solenoid id snapping open like it always has. I reach in to make sure it is fully open, and it is at full travel. Sooooo ???? Lol. A mystery to be sure. Oh, last year I replaced all the rubber fuel lines. Thought maybe one was collapsing internally, that did not solve the problem. This has been going on for 3 seasons, but this is the first it has stalled out and refuses to run. 
that is my whole story. Sorry so long but now it is well explained. 
I do appreciate your earlier reply Thank You !!!!


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## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

OK!!, you are happy with the electrics then, have you cracked the injection lines at the injectors when this happens to see what the injection pump is outputting?, even now, have you cracked the injection lines to check pump output?.

Seeing that this happens when you have done a left turn, can you tell if the hydraulics are loading the engine at all and causing the stall, this would be the only thing that I can think of that would cause the engine to stop when turning, but being on a lower hydraulic pressure, really shouldn't affect the engine, the other would be the steering catching wiring under the dash causing a slight pull the crack a connector, but the steering column is fully enclosed.

You have the fuel tank covered with a good fuel supply and you are happy with that.

Being a diesel, then you only have a fuel supply problem or mechanical with the injection pump and possibly electrical with the wiring that controls the fuel stop solenoid.

A wiring diagram would be nice to look at to check the wiring run for the safety sensors, if you lift your bum off of the seat when operating, does this cause the engine to stop like in rider mowers?, asking to cover bases.

Another thought, might be time to unbolt the fuel stop solenoid and make sure the connection to the fuel stop rack is ok,


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## Charliel5450 (5 mo ago)

Thanks for the help Fred.
I have not cracked the injectors open to check fuel there. 
I do t think it’s hydraulic since the starter turns the motor over normally. No labor on the start.
The fuel tank is full, I filled it before I started my day. I normally will only run it down to a half of tank before a refill.
I am going to crack the fuel line on the pump side of the mechanical pump and see what I have there. If it’s good then loosen the line at the injection pump and see what happens. I really am not comfortable messing with the injector lines since it probably is very high pressure at that point. I have a contact for a Kubota mechanic that I plan to call on Monday. But I plan to try all the above tomorrow. I will let you know what I find 
Thanks again !!!!


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## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

Charlie, you only need to crack the nut at each injector, unscrew all of them and crank the engine over, if you have in the past disconnected the fuel lines as you have stated, at the tank, fuel filter, replaced the fuel pump and didn't bleed the system after, then you may have air in the system and this will give you the problems you are having.

It is simple, undo each nut at the injector and lift injection pipe from injector without bending the pipe, do all at the same time and crank the engine, if there is not a good spit from each injector pipe, then you will have to do a full bleed of the system starting at the fuel filter, crack the bleeder valve and bleed until no air bubbles are apparent, then crack the bleeder screw on the injection pump and crank motor if the fuel doesn't run with gravity, when no air bubbles, close off bleeder screw, undo the injector nuts as I described before and crank engine until you get a good spurt, refit the pipes to the injectors and tighten nuts firmly, start the engine, if the engine has a few misses, crack each injector line for a few spurts and tighten, (crack means to undo the nut a couple of turns only) do this until all cylinders are running smooth.

Was looking at a parts breakdown for the tractor and it shows the solenoid and a stop rod, does your tractor have this too?.


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## thepumpguysc (Jan 25, 2015)

I think I would REMOVE the solenoid and put some duct tape over the opening..
Then, go make a bunch of left turns and see if it still does it..


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## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

thepumpguysc said:


> I think I would REMOVE the solenoid and put some duct tape over the opening..
> Then, go make a bunch of left turns and see if it still does it..


Yep!!, that will be interesting to hear of the outcome.


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## rhino (Jan 9, 2017)

Next time quits running. Slowly crack the fuel cap loose. If you hear air rushing in. The vent in the cap is plugged. Hopefully this helps. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tractor Forum


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## westbay6 (Oct 10, 2020)

Charlie,

I ran into this exact same problem on my 1965 Massey Ferguson 165 tractor last month. I changed all the fuel hoses & rubber hard line seals from the tank to the lift pump to fix a few leaks. Ran the tractor for a while and confirmed no more leaks. Then I took it out into the field and had the random bogging down before picking back up and running along like normal. Eventually, I went over a bump and the tractor stalled.

After quite a bit of injector nut cracking, bleeding, cranking, etc I pushed the manual prime lever on the lift pump while watching the glass sediment bowl. When I would manually pump the lift pump, the bowl would go cloudy for half a second and then look normal. It was sucking air in at one of the new seals that I had done wrong. It wouldn't leak diesel, but the seal would fail under suction and allow air in. That's why the random bogging and what eventually stalled it. I'd gone over a big enough bump that the vibration on the hard-line where it goes into the pump allowed a big bubble in that stalled it.

Without that glass bowl, I don't know how I would have figured out a slight, intermittent air leak on the suction line. I'd roll the engine over until you can press the lift pump lever fully (if you have one), crack the line going into the injector pump to get good flow, and watch the clear bowl as you prime it (assuming your sediment bowl is on the lift pump). If your sediment bowl is on a remote filter you probably won't see the bubbles. In that case, I'd attach some clear line as close as you can to the lift pump output and loop it a couple of times. Crank the engine and see if you get any bubbles. Maybe wiggle all the fuel suction lines while you're doing it to simulate bouncing along in a field.


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## Pitrede (5 mo ago)

Check for trash in fuel tank, it can settle at the outlet and starve everything down stream. I know because it happened to me. Intermittent fuel starvation was driving me nuts, would run fine and not restart and sometimes just stop running. Was really surprised how much stuff was in the bottom of my fuel tank!


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## Firefighterbri (Nov 7, 2020)

We have a john deere that does something similar randomly. Our problem is in the tank, something is in the bottom of the tank that moves and blocks the fuel inlet. We take the fuel line apart between the fuel pump and the tank and blow air back into the tank to dislodge whatever is blocking the inlet. We carry a small airtank in the cab for this reason until we have enough down time to clean out the tank.


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## Pitrede (5 mo ago)

Using an airline to clear the debris is also how I found my problem. The stuff in the tank was too large to enter the fuel line but it would restrict the fuel flow downstream.


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## Windy99 (9 mo ago)

Firefighterbri said:


> We have a john deere that does something similar randomly. Our problem is in the tank, something is in the bottom of the tank that moves and blocks the fuel inlet. We take the fuel line apart between the fuel pump and the tank and blow air back into the tank to dislodge whatever is blocking the inlet. We carry a small airtank in the cab for this reason until we have enough down time to clean out the tank.


I have experienced this with my Massey! Water Vac works great here! I hooked up a flexible hose to my shop vac and worked great!


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