We have around 300 3 and 4 cylinder Kubotas in our fleet just in Vic - the biggest issue with hard staring we see is knackered glow plugs. They can be a bitch to start on cold mornings if the glow plugs are on thier way out and even with good ones, can take 2 or 3 glows in extremely cold weather to start.
Sounds like there could be more to it by what's transpired but I thought I'd bung in my 2 cents worth.
Overall, they are a great motor and very reliable and trouble free which is why we use so many of them.
I've got a 3 cylinder Kubota at home on a genset that's done 24,000 hours and still runs like a clock - no oil leaks, takes full load but is a bit smokey and uses a bit of oil when pushed hard now, but hey that's the equivilant of nearly 1,500,000KM in a car that's averaged 65KPH... (yes, constant speed engines live longer, but it's still a nice comparison)
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