You Cannot Afford to Buy and Maintain a New Lincoln Diesel Drive Welder!
In our shop, as I write this post, we have a customer with a Lincoln Vantage 322 HP, Serial number: U1190703173, code number 12826, with a Kubota V1505-BG-EFO2 engine. It has 2671 hours on the hour meter, and it has wiring issues (because of corrosion). The main rectifier appears to be working (puts out full power), but every diode lead is corroded and could fail at any time. The main rectifier cannot be repaired; you have to replace it with a new one (9s711132-2). Figure $710.00 plus tax and maybe freight. In the older machines, you could replace a defective diode, no more! The parts seems adacate, but no corrosion protection.
This type of rectifier uses automotive-style press-in diodes; you punch holes in an aluminum plate and press the diode in. They are spot-welded to a central post, so the diodes are all in parallel. When you parallel them, their amperage ratings add; four 20-amp diodes now make an 80-amp subassembly. I am sure this part is sized for more than one application. They are easy and cheap to manufacture, producing a high-profit repair part. There's nothing generic on the market that will replace this part. So, in five, six, seven years, your rectifier fails, Miller's obsolete, what are you going to do to get your machine going? They probably come from China. If I were a betting man, I doubt if they cost more than thirty dollars to purchase.



Now, let us talk about the Kubota engine in this particular machine. Is a Kubota V1505-BG-EFO2 engine. People ask me all the time what I think about Kubota engines, and I tell them this: I think they're fine as long as I don't have to work on them. You would think that, as big as Kubota is, you could go to any Kubota dealer anywhere and get parts, but that's not how Kubota works. First off, when Lincoln, Miller, or anyone who uses a Kubota engine for their product orders it, it's assigned a special number called a build number. In theory, if you have this number and take it to Kubota, Kubota should be able to identify the engine. The problem is, Kubota doesn't have this number. This is generated by the original equipment manufacturer. What Lincoln and Miller and other companies do is they'll order the engine and say, "On this engine, they ordered it with a starter, with a fan, blah blah blah." This is the problem you're facing: you're in Pavement Narrows, Montana, 100 miles from any place out there on the pipeline, making good money, and all of a sudden, your engine goes down for whatever reason. Let's say it's that all pressure sensor, where do you find one? Whom do you call? You're probably going to have to roll up your sleeves, get in your truck, and drive to the nearest Kubota Industrial Engine Service Center and hope they have someone there with an IQ above room temperature.
What can you do to protect yourself?
We are living in the "age of the technologically incompetent". Is it my imagination, or does it seem that nobody knows anything about anything? You can prove this by yourself by asking whoever says whatever: why? If their answer is anything but a two- or three-sentence reply that would stand up in court, they don't know what they're talking about.
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My first recommendation is this: you need to be as technologically comfortable with your machine as your wife, girlfriend, or favorite goat.
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1. Start your own Technical Manual. Start looking for information anywhere you can print it out, put it on a protective plastic sheet, and if you are on the road, keep it in your truck.
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2. I would get an engine troubleshooting and parts manual for your engine.
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If you don't understand or need to brush up on troubleshooting a diesel engine,
it's time to start training yourself. The easiest place to start. This is the book you
want to start with. It basically teaches you how to diagnose the problem, not
necessarily fix it.
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3.


