99 problems and my tractor is every one of them

[MarkB_MI]

> Sorry just read your reply. It's not really possible to take a accurate reading of the radiator coolant level. I'm kind of at a loss as to how to fix this issue going forward. I think kioti and the dealership is too. Regardless of make of tractor how can i guarantee I don't have this situation to leading to catastrophic failure again?

Never having looked at Kioti, I have no idea how the tractor is laid out. But the inability to directly check the radiator coolant level is a fairly common problem on newer automobiles, and I suspect your tractor has a similar problem. On older vehicles where there's a pressure cap on the radiator, you can remove that cap when the engine is cold and verify the coolant level. But newer vehicles often don't have a cap on the radiator you can remove so your only indication of coolant level is what's in the recovery tank. If the cooling system isn't holding pressure and coolant isn't being sucked back out of the recovery tank, there's no way to tell the coolant level is dangerously low.

If, in fact, there's no way to confirm the radiator coolant level, Kioti SHOULD have added a low coolant switch to tell the operator if the coolant is too low to properly cool the engine. Apparently they did not. I would discuss this matter with the dealer; maybe there's a sensor but it was defective. And if you end up going to court, your lawyer could argue the absence of a working coolant level sensor is a manufacturing defect which should be covered under warranty, along with the resulting damage.

To prevent this from happening in the future, I suppose you could add a coolant level sensor. I suspect this would be a non-trivial task. But there are plenty of cars that have them, so I think one of those could be adapted to work on your tractor.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 17:26:54 09/17/23)

(quoted from post at 06:04:29 09/17/23) Why is there no guard there? Because they never intended the tractor to be crashing through brush. Farm tractors are designed to operate in open fields. If you're going to be rough cutting where sticks and branches are involved you want to add some "armor" to the tractor in the form of a brush guard and possibly side panels.

Wondering, if you were giving the tractor "meticulous care and attention" how you didn't notice this damage? I'd wonder if maybe the damage happened at the dealer?

Hey Barnyard, read the OP!! he told us that he was mowing a "pasture/field". Why do you want to accuse him of mowing brush?



Hey Barnyard, most of us cut small brush with our "brush hogs"

Hey showcrop, read ME!!

OP says he was "rough mowing."

There is no "accuse" anywhere. Just a statement of fact. If you are pushing through brush, including mowing close to hedge rows or mowing around that bush in the middle of the pasture, there is the opportunity for branches to penetrate the tractor and cause damage. No FARM tractor comes equipped for that.

I never said there was anything wrong with cutting brush. I simply said that if you are going to be mowing brush, you need to ADD your own protection.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Furthermore, you do NOT cause this kind of damage "mowing grass:"

-Small crack in cowling
-dent on exhaust guard
-broken connection on plastic radiator mount

That's a branch protrusion or damage caused by the dealership.

 

[Coopdaloop]

Thank you for your insight. I've expanded my post to several Heavy Duty technician forums. The overwhelming consensus in that world appears to be a bad injector caused the situation. Is there credibility to this that you can see?

 

[MarkB_MI]

> Thank you for your insight. I've expanded my post to several Heavy Duty technician forums. The overwhelming consensus in that world appears to be a bad injector caused the situation. Is there credibility to this that you can see?

I'm not qualified to answer your question, but I will anyway.

Your dealer found a coolant leak, and they've attributed your tractor's problems to damage caused by that leak. Now, some folks are saying the leak didn't cause your problem, but rather a heretofore undiagnosed faulty injector did. My opinion, for what it's worth (nothing): BALONEY.

The coolant leak is proven by physical evidence. So far, you've presented zero evidence of a bad injector. If you want to convince Kioti to replace your engine because of a bad injector, you'd better come up with a bad injector. Good luck with that.

 

[Coopdaloop]

Fair enough. Appreciate the straightforward answer.
Another point of note is that It was only one cylinder that had a knock and subsequent cylinder scoring. A bad injector could lead to erratic regen of vehicle. This repeated Regen that lasts for 40 minutes could of lead to melting of wiring harness furthering the problem.
I also feel if the whole block was as hot as they are propositioning a bunch of other components would of shown severe heat damage and possibly melted paint.
Thirdly the temperature sensor not indicating excessive heat ie not moving dramatically upward, erratically or not at all but alternatively moved in a sooth consistent motion to designed spot suggests that coolant was either present or sensor was faulty.( Take in mind I've read and understand your response to faulty sensors in regards to radiator leaks)
I've asked the dealership to tell me what happened to temperature gauge when they force regened it. Haven't received a response yet. Just keeping you in the loop! Have a great day!