kubota diesel

[rangerxp]

just installed a kubota diesel in a max 4 hope to have pictures soon

[Don]

I'll be looking forward to seeing them, RXP. Which one did you use? I'm in the process of rebuilding a Hustler Bigfoot and one of my power options is a Kubota twin diesel out of a reefer unit. I believe it's only rated around 14 horsepower, but tons of torque.

Don

[hydromike]

I have dreams of doing the same thing in another 8 wheeler some day. I have the Kubota WG750 gas engine in my eight wheeler now, and it works great in that application. I've been running a stock Max II clutch on the engine, and a stock Attex two stroke driven clutch (with two stroke spring) on the T-20. Well, the old two stroke clutch (circa 1972) finally gave up the ghost a while back and will need new shaft bushings. I always kept the two stroke spring in it, because it compressed (opened the secondary up) much lower in the RPM range, and allowed me to get a lot more speed out of the machine at lower engine speed (we're talking 15mph vs 10mph at about 3/4 throttle) A problem I DID have, however, was when reeeeeally making the machine work by either towing something very heavy, or trying to get the machine to climb something more vertical than it wanted to. The two stroke spring simply wouldn't push back on the belt enough, and it would end up slipping in the secondary.

Since the old two stroke clutch is out for a rebuild, I put a Max "green" spring in a separate secondary clutch I had. The machine is a lot slower now, but I haven't had the opportunity to check out how it pulls through the really nasty stuff.

I guess my whole point, is that it'll be a delicate balance between drive and driven clutches to get the diesel to perform to its' peak potential. It may be simple, and you might get it the first time. If you figure out what works well for you in most conditions, post the setup you're using!

~m

[Noel Woods]

Diesel is the wave of the future. I just recently installed a 25HP/45 pound torque diesel in my Super Swamp Fox. Power will not be an issue. I'm working on a spring seat assembly and belt tensioner device as well. When its all together I'll post photos.
I think that your 14 hp engine will be more than sufficient. Power and torque ratings alone don't fully tell the story about a direct injected engines capabilities. Without fuel starvation like you encounter on a carberated engine, a small direct injected engine is very capable and keeps on running up inclines that will surprise you. I came close to getting an Army surplus Kubota from a genpac. The Swamp Fox has so much room under the hood that I opted for the bigger engine. Had I not repowered my Max2 a couple years ago with a Briggs 18, I think I would have put the genpac motor in that machine. Am looking forward to the photos.

[mcreef]

Can't wait to see the picts.

[Dirty Harry]

Can't wait to see the picts.

That goes double for me. Could be an inspiration. Then I could yank the 25 Command from my Max IV and stick it into my Max II and stuff a Kubota diesel into the IV. Hmmm... Then again, maybe I shouldn't visit this thread anymore. It could lead to a serious money depletion. LOL!