M25xp oil pan replacement

Jan 28, 2017
76
Catalina 30 Mk II Yorktown, VA
I noticed oil in my bilge a few weeks ago and thought it was leaking from the banjo fitting on tube used to drain the oil. After reaching under the engine, removing, rebuilding and reinstalling the fitting, I discovered it was not the culprit. I'm now in the process of lifting my engine to replace the oil pan (so far the process has not been bad.) While I have not yet had the chance to examine the old pan to see if it can be repaired, the photos I took under the engine are not encouraging. Universal wants a small fortune for a replacement and I have read that a Kubota D950 pan will fit and work fine, but will need to be machined to accept a dipstick. Has anyone tried this and, if so, how did it work? Would appreciate the benefit of your experience.
 
Jan 5, 2017
2,263
Beneteau First 38 Lyall Harbour Saturna Island
The Universal Diesel engines are Kubotas that they marinized. It’s always better(cheaper) to get your parts from Kubota.
I’ve not done the 25 but I rebuilt the Universal 5411 in a previous boat.
 
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Jan 28, 2017
76
Catalina 30 Mk II Yorktown, VA
Thanks. Did your swap require the modification of the pan, installation of a dipstick, for instance?
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
You should get the Kubota parts book and compare the illustrations of the oil pan to that in the Universal manual. I would be really surprised if they modified that pan.
 
Feb 8, 2014
1,300
Columbia 36 Muskegon
My D850 (M25 no X) has the dipstick in a hole in the block between the alternator and starter. Fine for the tractor the engine was designed for, but hard to get at in the boat. On the Universals with the dip tube coming out of the side of the pan, I believe those were added by Universal. As I recall from my old 5411, the tube is just held on with rivets or something and you should be able to remove it from the old pan and attach to the new. That would require drilling holes in the new pan so might be a little scary.
 
Feb 8, 2014
1,300
Columbia 36 Muskegon
Some Kubotas have the dip stick tube, some don't. There might be one available that does. I think the D750, 850, 950 use the same block so any of those should fit
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
My D850 (M25 no X) has the dipstick in a hole in the block between the alternator and starter. Fine for the tractor the engine was designed for, but hard to get at in the boat. On the Universals with the dip tube coming out of the side of the pan, I believe those were added by Universal. As I recall from my old 5411, the tube is just held on with rivets or something and you should be able to remove it from the old pan and attach to the new. That would require drilling holes in the new pan so might be a little scary.
Ah, yes, I remember now. I had an M25 for 17 years, you'd think my recollection wouldn't be so foggy!

I'm looking at the M25/M25-XP parts book now, and I can see the dipstick parts, and I found a used D950 oil pan on eBay and it doesn't have that feature.

Maybe you can find a machine shop to modify the new pan using the parts from the old? Or, just fix the old pan!
 

dmax

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Jul 29, 2018
971
O'Day 35 Buzzards Bay
Oil pans for the M25 line of Universals are notoriously hard to find and expensive. It's likely you can have yours repaired unless it's like swiss cheese. You can epoxy over pitted areas and have hole-y areas welded up. Make sure your raw water pump is not leaking - this is the primary cause of rusted out oil pans on Universals.
 
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Jan 5, 2017
2,263
Beneteau First 38 Lyall Harbour Saturna Island
Thanks. Did your swap require the modification of the pan, installation of a dipstick, for instance?
Used original parts, just did rings, bearings and seals. Had the block boiled and valves ground.
 
Jan 28, 2017
76
Catalina 30 Mk II Yorktown, VA
Well, I built an A frame in the salon to lift the engine and everything is disconnected. I have a dialogue going with a lady from Engine Power Source and she is helping me find a pan for a Kubota D950, which costs around $85 instead of around $600 from Universal. Some have dipstick holes in the right place and some do not, but many are discontinued so we'll see. Apropos to the conversation above, last summer I replaced a leaky raw water pump. Not soon enough obviously.
Many thanks for all your comments and advice.
 
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May 7, 2011
281
C - 30 # 3573 Lake NormanNC formerly Bflo NY
FZ

I don’t follow this particular forum but you can PM me for more info. I just happened to notice the topic.
Univ Motors did not modify any of the oil pans or for that matter anything on the base engine. Kb delivered it to UM’s specs. There’s a handful of different pans that were on different end user engines (gensets, different construction equip like Bobcat, etc.) UM only ADDED TO the Kb engine. The engines were not from the tractor division and they were configured with components UM called spec’d - like the oil pan, stbd side dipstick, boss on the XP for the oil drain.
I don’t have the drain on my M25 and it’s unnecessary - I simply suck the oil out and don’t have to worry about corroding fittings and leaking banjos. The right hand dipstick tube bolts on w/ two M6 hex capscrews. So you can easily reuse the tube. The receiver for the tube is welded to the side of the pan, but you should be able to cut it off your pan w/ an angle grinder (thin blade) and a welder reuse it on a new one.
I haven’t checked to see if the left side dipstick port could be used - if there’s room to get in there.
Your best bet would be to fix yours if possible.
To my knowledge dipstick tubes are NLA from westerbeke. I have 3 or 4 oil pans but I don’t recall if any have the boss for the oil drain- I don’t think so.
You can PM me if you have questions, I have a lot of info on the D850 and 950 engines.
 
Jan 28, 2017
76
Catalina 30 Mk II Yorktown, VA
FZ

I don’t follow this particular forum but you can PM me for more info. I just happened to notice the topic.
Univ Motors did not modify any of the oil pans or for that matter anything on the base engine. Kb delivered it to UM’s specs. There’s a handful of different pans that were on different end user engines (gensets, different construction equip like Bobcat, etc.) UM only ADDED TO the Kb engine. The engines were not from the tractor division and they were configured with components UM called spec’d - like the oil pan, stbd side dipstick, boss on the XP for the oil drain.
I don’t have the drain on my M25 and it’s unnecessary - I simply suck the oil out and don’t have to worry about corroding fittings and leaking banjos. The right hand dipstick tube bolts on w/ two M6 hex capscrews. So you can easily reuse the tube. The receiver for the tube is welded to the side of the pan, but you should be able to cut it off your pan w/ an angle grinder (thin blade) and a welder reuse it on a new one.
I haven’t checked to see if the left side dipstick port could be used - if there’s room to get in there.
Your best bet would be to fix yours if possible.
To my knowledge dipstick tubes are NLA from westerbeke. I have 3 or 4 oil pans but I don’t recall if any have the boss for the oil drain- I don’t think so.
You can PM me if you have questions, I have a lot of info on the D850 and 950 engines.
Thanks, Ken. I found my oil pan through Kubota but they are discontinued and out os stock at the dealer I am working with. They suggested another dealer but while I am waiting I will see if I can repair the old pan. It is rough but not THAT rough. I will post how it goes. Thanks again Fran (Franzcat)
 
May 7, 2011
281
C - 30 # 3573 Lake NormanNC formerly Bflo NY
FZ

Can you PM me the Kubota part number you have for your XP pan? I have never seen a Kb dealer that has that pan listed because the M-25 and XP pans did not come from the agricultural (Kb tractor) division and Kb dealers in the US don't usually have access to industrial division parts. Ca is different.

If you need more info, or pics of the different pans I have for you to see what you can expect when you get 'er off, please message me. I can't use this SBO forum junk. It takes me forever to get to a forum thread -- I keep getting bounced to the home page. I took me 16 minutes to get to this page!!! I don't know if anyone else has these issues, but I have been experiencing this for 2 years on SBO and sick of dealing with it.
 
May 7, 2011
281
C - 30 # 3573 Lake NormanNC formerly Bflo NY
P.S. All Kb dealers have access to the same parts, not that they would have them all (IN STOCK) - Sending you to another dealer doesn't make sense to me unless the dealer just doesn't want to "deal with it" and order in the part.
I BELIEVE that the pan is NLA at all thru Kubota, but I could be convinced differently.
kB also has access to other dealers' stock.
 
Jan 28, 2017
76
Catalina 30 Mk II Yorktown, VA
I was looking for part numbers either 15592-0161-0 (oil pan) or 19683-0150-0 (comp. oil pan). The drawing looks identical to what I am seeing in the m25xp schematic. There are others, but these showed openings for the dipstick. I have my oil pan off now (with a little effort) and it has some lost metal and three pinholes. I am wondering about repair but if I can get a replacement for a reasonable price (don't consider $600 a reasonable price) I will go that way.
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
I can't use this SBO forum junk. It takes me forever to get to a forum thread -- I keep getting bounced to the home page. I took me 16 minutes to get to this page!!! I don't know if anyone else has these issues, but I have been experiencing this for 2 years on SBO and sick of dealing with it.
It's you. I have never had such an issue with this forum, nor have heard of anyone experiencing anything like you are. FWIW, I use both a Mac and a linux machine, both using Chrome, to access this site.
 
Jan 28, 2017
76
Catalina 30 Mk II Yorktown, VA
A woman I have been talking to at Engine Power Source (my local Kubota dealer referred me) just sent me an email saying that she had spoken to her marine specialist in Florida and that they had located a pan for me, machined to fit the dipstick. The whole bill, including gasket and plug will be under $200 and I should have the items in a little over a week. I am really impressed with her initiative and service. I will let you know when the parts arrive and if they do the trick. Now to start cleaning up the mess in the bilge.