Old school Kubota rebuild

[HatchetFF]

Hello all,

First post, looks like a great forum here! Just marking the beginning of what im sure will be a long job - restoring this 1978 Kubota M4500DT

It is in great mechanical shape, and really only surface rust.

What I plan on doing first is taking off all the sheet metal and wheels then sandblasting and repainting them with Kubota orange.

The rest of the plan is kind of up in the air, based on what kinda info I can find. If any of you have done resto jobs and have any advice lay it on me, I am thinking about how hard it would be to really pull her apart and repaint the engine/trans/diff/axles as well as regular checks to ensure hydraulic systems work as they should and regular engine maintenance.

Thanks for looking!

 

[rpraymond]

Since not many folks are restoring old Kubotas you might want to check the forums of sites like Unofficial Allis Home Page that deal with older tractors and restoration all the time. It's great that you want to save the old machine and you will find that people will appreciate it when it's finished. Some ideas for the main engine/frame;
Soda blasting will remove alot of crud without getting abrasives into places that can cause damage.
It's a good idea to replace as many seals and gaskets as you can while it's apart.
Plan on spending at least twice as long as you're planning.
Have a suitable workspace where you can walk away from it and it won't be in the way.
Good luck, hope some of this info helps and post pics as you go.

 

[Couple of Achers]

Glad to see I'm not the only one. It's hard to find others that are restoring Kubota's. I restored a 1973 L210 a few years ago now. I pulled off all the tins/seat/rims and tires/radiator/steering wheel/etc. Once you get all of that off the chassis, there isn't much left that isn't Kubota blue. What wasn't blue, such as the starter/generator/fan/etc. I painted with spray cans.
I did not want to sand blast the chassis since the sand gets into everything. So I spent weeks with degreasers, soap and water. At the end I was down to tooth brushes and dental pics. After that I wiped the entire chassis down with alcohol. Then everything I didn't want blue, I masked or covered with clothes or rags. Even the hoses and wires. A trick the painter gave me was to cover the hoses and wires with tin foil, not tape. Tape is impossible to remove. The tin foil is very easy to remove. Once it was ready we wheeled it into the spray booth and put it up on jack stands and pulled the wheels and tires. The next time I saw it, it was Kubota blue. It came out better then expected. The tins I did have sand blasted/primed and painted.
I was also surprised at how many of the part are still available from Kubota. Very few parts I needed where not available. Right down to the decal kit. If you have trouble finding the Kubota part numbers for the correct color of paint, I'm sure I can help you. I look forward to following your progress.

 

[Randyj]

Welcome!
Your M4500DT looks to be in very good condition! You should have a very easy restoration.

 

[Thomas]

Welcome to TBN.

Keep us updated,and tip of the hat to you keep yesterday iron alive.

 

[Deano]

That thing is freakin COOL lookin!!!!!

Deano

 

[Ductape]

Honestly..... a bunch of chrome lug nut covers and a chrome stack and i say its good to go !

 

[BotaBigot]

If you have a digital camera, take lots of pics as you disassemble, and bag hardware for each component. By the time you get around to putting it back together, you'll be older...

 

[DmansPadge]

Thats a big, mean looking tractor! Although I've yet to do a tractor restoration it is something I will do one of these days. It looks like you got a real good one to work with. Tons of knowledge on TBN and everybody is willing to help... so anything you run into just ask. Definitely keep this thread updated with progress and pictures.... a lot of us will enjoy following your work.

It looks like the hour meter shows 2716. Do you know if that is correct?

 

[bota jim]

cool project for sure. someone mentioned soda blasting. do yourself a favor and DO NOT soda blast. you cannot paint over sodablasted metal. the paint will peel off in sheets. its a long boring explanation but i am a custom painter and classic car restorer by trade and no paint company will warranty anything over a soda blasted surface anymore. its a big no no. it was the greatest thing to do a few years ago now half of the big resto shops across the country are out of business from failures.

 

[alchemysa]

The M5500DT parts diagrams here may be similar enough to be handy... Kubotabooks.com

 

[MarkV]

cool project for sure. someone mentioned soda blasting. do yourself a favor and DO NOT soda blast. you cannot paint over sodablasted metal. the paint will peel off in sheets. its a long boring explanation but i am a custom painter and classic car restorer by trade and no paint company will warranty anything over a soda blasted surface anymore. its a big no no. it was the greatest thing to do a few years ago now half of the big resto shops across the country are out of business from failures.

Jim, me being one that knows little about painting/restoration what do you think is the best process to clean up old tractors for a quality paint job?

MarkV

 

[AceDeuce]

One word... Spinners

 

[RobertN]

Look over on Antique Tractors - Yesterday's Tractors : Antique Tractor Headquarters

It is the old tractor equivilant to TBN. Lots os info on stripping tractors, degreasing, sandblasting, cleaning, paint ect. As well as rebuilding.

That Kuboata should be fun to repaint. Old though... Now the Farmall-A I used to have was old, a 1941.

I still think of a restoration as not only painting, but new rings, valves, clutch, tractor torn apart all over the garage and shed

 

[dfkrug]

Just marking the beginning of what im sure will be a long job - restoring this 1978 Kubota M4500DT

Wow, 48 PTO hp....that's a beast.

It's hard to think of any Kubota as an old tractor, but that one is almost
the very first of the M series. I have never seen one. Sounds like a fun
project.

 

[HatchetFF]

Thanks for all the kind words, good tips, and great links!

- I agree with the sentiment of leaving it as is and just restoring the mechanics of it cause old iron just looks great with it's character worn with pride, but this beast will be living under a pole barn with a roof and no sides so i'm thinking new paint should stave off some of the oxidation.

bota jim - please give me the long boring details, as I am a details oriented person, and was definetly thinking about soda blasting...

I will certainly update as progress occurs and once I get into this thing, the questions will certainly come flying.

oh, and yes the M5500DT is the same manual, the operators manuals I have are for pretty much all of the M series - 78/79 era.

when I bought the tractor it was sold as having 27** hours, but its only a 4 digit meter, so it could be 992,7** for all I know.

achers - thats a cleean resto man, I hope mine looks half as good when I'm done!

also, I am looking for about a 6' bushhog to attach to it if anyone knows of one on the cheap.

 

[bota jim]

well soda blasting leaves an invisible film behind on the metal that tough to get off and you dont know when you have it off or not. the only way to get it off is to wash with water, scotchbrite, then sand the panel with 80 girt and hope you didn't mis a spot. if you take a sodablasted piece of metal and leave it outsidefor 3 months it wont rust. that will tell you right there that the metal is coated with something. when you go to epoxy prime the metal the primer is not really bonded to it, its bonded to the film causing the paint to release down the road. its like giving bare metal a coat of wax before you paint. now there are many cars out there that have been blasted and are fine BUT they were prepped correctly after the blasting. imo the risk is way too great not to mention once you have it blasted and clean you need to take water to the metal which is going to flash rust it then you have to sand it again so what is the point to begin with. best way is still to media blast with another product NOT SAND as that will kill you but black beauty, green lighting or one of the other medias out there. i use black beauty here. its cheap, cuts great and is 1000 times more safe than silica sand. blast media does get into everything but a couple minutes spent with an air hose will take care of it, then you are ready for your epoxy primer.

 

[BotaBX24er]

HatchetFF, that is a beast of a tractor. Why would you need to repaint? Looks great!!!

TBN is great! I had no clue what soda blasting was, but I've been learning quite a bit from this site.

Have fun with the restoration!

 

[Cat_Driver]

Let me tell you something about that beauty you want to restore. See this picture, I just pulled this out of the weeds and trees that I had to cut away to even sit in the seat. The trees grew right up through the cab and in and around the dash and gears.

I filled up the tires, put in a battery and she started right up after sitting for over 20 years.

It even had the original diesel and she started right up. After me and the guys stopped laughing I checked the fluids and put in 5 fresh gallons of fuel and then plowed a field for the next 8 hours. Went back on her today and plowed another five hours.

I may break down and change the oil and filters but for now she's running like a fine Swiss watch and pulls like a Mac Truck. I won't let her know you guys think she's an antique.

 

[HatchetFF]

That is an AWESOME story man, I am so glad to hear from a fellow owner of an M4500, especially one that was rescued from the fields of time!

I have yet to do anything to mine - new jobs, new responsibilities, and alot of schooling have kept me from it lately.

I will say there is one thing that I would like to address - the power steering leaks. any experience with that?

you guys think she's an antique.

pshaw, these things havent even been broken in yet!!