Seatbelt Failure!

avc8130 · Dec 16, 2012

Both I and the tractor are OK.

I was out operating my L45 doing some chores around the property. My property has quite a few hills so I make it a point to wear my seatbelt when I am operating.

I was picking up one of my firewood racks, in a pretty bad spot on one of the hills (I'm not putting racks in this location any more). I guess I shifted in the seat as I was operating along the hill and POP, the seat belt came apart. The buckle just pulled out of the latch. I checked it quite a few times after that, sure enough it pops out.

Anybody have any suggestions? Clearly this is dangerous. I don't see any screws or bolts on the seat belt buckle itself. I assume something internal is sticking. Does the plastic just pop off?

ac

Gary Fowler · Dec 16, 2012

Maybe a piece of trash got into the female part and keeping the male part from fully inserting. Try taking a blow gun with high pressure air to it and blowing it out. Maybe a water hose to wash out the dirt then blow dry it with the HP air followed by a bit of PB Blaster to lubricate. If that doesnt work, its new belt time.

BuzzardA91 · Dec 16, 2012

My wife had a similar problem in her car. Turns out there was a penny stuck inside of it and it wouldn't fully engage. It would click like it was working but a little force would pull the seatbelt apart. Maybe wood chips or dirt?

kcender · Dec 16, 2012

I had the same problem with the seatbelt on my L3240.I had it replaced under warranty,no problems since.If your tractor is under warranty I would get it replaced.If not,I would buy a new seatbelt.A seatbelt is something that has to work properly when you really need it.

avc8130 · Dec 16, 2012

Kubota is quite proud of the seatbelt: $107.

pedalstomper78 · Dec 16, 2012

I've had the same problem with my truck except for there was a spring that had no "sproing" left to it. Replaced it and worked great. Looks like Messicks has it and TractorHelp.com have it with the later one being a bit cheaper.
Kubota SEAT BELT, ASSY Part #K2561-56850
Replacement parts for the Kubota L45 Tractor

When it comes to safety stuff, I don't take chances. When I was racing bicycles a lot, an older gentleman gave me some sage advice...."You're only going to spend as much on a helmet as your head is worth."

avc8130 · Dec 16, 2012

I decided to pull the back of the latching mechanism off to see what was up. Of course the cover broke as I tried to get it open.

What I found was a rusty mechanism. I broke out the PB Blaster and freed it all up, cleaned it up the best I could with a wire brush and tried it out.

SUCCESS!

I followed up with a thorough Fluid Film application and used some RTV to "glue" the back cover back on. If that doesn't work, I'll give it a touch of crazy glue later.

I am adding the seat belt mech to my list of Fluid Film spots.

ac

pedalstomper78 · Dec 16, 2012

Always nice when the fix is just some lube and a few minutes of quality time in the garage. Can't ask for a much better ending than that!

creekbend · Dec 16, 2012

pedalstomper78 said:
Always nice when the fix is just some lube and a few minutes of quality time in the garage. Can't ask for a much better ending than that!

I agree. Much better than spending $107.00. I'm glad that everything worked out.

aczlan · Dec 16, 2012

Had the same issue on our B7500. A shot of WD40, then some exercise and a chaser of white lithium grease has made it happy for the last 3+ years.

Aaron Z

john_bud · Dec 17, 2012

avc8130 said:
Kubota is quite proud of the seatbelt: $107.

that's just crazy!

sdkubota · Dec 17, 2012

avc8130 said:
Kubota is quite proud of the seatbelt: $107.

At that price I would go Jethro and tie a rope around my waist!

aczlan · Dec 17, 2012

sdkubota said:
At that price I would go Jethro and tie a rope around my waist!

Or hit a junkyard and pick up one for $10...

Aaron Z

JOHNTHOMAS · Dec 17, 2012

Squirt WD40, grease, oil, spray graphite powder, coat with dielectric grease any connection or moving part on a regular basis. I don't but have often times discovered the error of my ways later at much greater expense and aggravation.:cool2:

Gary Fowler · Dec 17, 2012

At that price and with Kubota knowing that tractors spend most if not all of their life outside, why would they use carbon steel on a piece of safety equipment. It should be made of a materials like stainless steel that wont rust and corrode up.

sdkubota · Dec 17, 2012

I think I will buy a new Kubota tractor and then piece it out and sell it part by part...I'm rich!!!

N80 · Dec 17, 2012

sdkubota said:
I think I will buy a new Kubota tractor and then piece it out and sell it part by part...I'm rich!!!

:thumbsup:

pedalstomper78 · Dec 17, 2012

I remember years ago that Motorcyclist magazine had someone price out building a Honda CBR900RR using nothing but a parts book. That $9500 motorcycle cost $32,000 if I remember correctly. :banghead:
This was about 12-13 years ago or so also. I can understand why to a certain extent though. They have to stock the parts for who knows how long and that's money that's tied up that they can't do anything with. Also, margins on parts are different. Sell one tractor a day at a X% margin pays the bills a lot quicker than $3000 of parts per day at a X/3% margin.
I've spent a lot of time in retail in my life. Heck, I spent more than 10 years at Summit Racing as a tech rep. It's a business, not a public service.

Unfortunately, all of what I typed above doesn't make it any easier to write out that check when it comes time to get parts. I still leave my dealer thinking "ow" and then wonder why I can't sit comfortably for a few hours afterwards. :stirthepot::muted:

SPYDERLK · Dec 17, 2012

avc8130 said:
Kubota is quite proud of the seatbelt: $107.

avc8130 said:
I decided to pull the back of the latching mechanism off to see what was up. Of course the cover broke as I tried to get it open.

What I found was a rusty mechanism. I broke out the PB Blaster and freed it all up, cleaned it up the best I could with a wire brush and tried it out.

SUCCESS!

I followed up with a thorough Fluid Film application and used some RTV to "glue" the back cover back on. If that doesn't work, I'll give it a touch of crazy glue later.

I am adding the seat belt mech to my list of Fluid Film spots.

ac

Stainless Sttel would be such a small step from that $.
larry

goldendan10 · Aug 1, 2015

My L3400 HST had the same problem. The belt work fine one day and the next is just would no buckle. I used a bunch of WD40 trying to unstick what ever was stuck. No good. I ordered a new one for $57 online. and it works great.