New BX2380 Owner

[fireman922]

Long time listener, first time caller.

I just picked up a used BX2380 with 30 hours on it. It has the FEL with quick disconnect bucket, MMM, and I stuck on my old 48" box blade to complete the package. The extent of my tractor experience is maybe 20 hours of dragging around the box blade behind an old B6000 and watching local farmers working 1000s of acres of corn and beans. This total experience really only qualifies me as a danger to myself and anyone nearby. I have a couple of questions to ask you knowledgeable members.
1. Is there anything I really need to watch out for with this model? I mean besides normal maintenance.
2. I know I can lock the MMM up while using the box blade. Is there a way to lock the box blade up while using the MMM?

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to looking through all the information available on this forum.

Paul

 

[JWR]

Don't feel so alone at this. Many thousands began gaining experience just as you are. You are in 'good company' here among many listening ears and huge amounts of experience. I'd say you came to the right place. But there is no teacher to equal your own experience and that is downright healthy. I will throw in a few comments not of any great value but to start a discussion. I'm sure you will hear many (and at times more than you want to hear ! Ha!)

1. With only 30 hrs on it that is a NEW tractor as seen by pretty well everyone. Nice basic set of attachments and VERY marketable if you ever need to resell.
2. You will get overloaded with pages of do this and do that (filters, etc.) In my opinion with a tractor that young you do not need to do ANYTHING but just use it and gain experience.
3. If it didn't come with an Owner's Manual it should have. I strongly recommend you browse through that and pick up all you can. It is more a reference book than something you read cover to cover, but with your self description you may as well darn near read it cover to cover.
4. On these BX's your MMM raise/lower is intimately tied to your rear 3pt hitch raise and lower. Nothing I know of you can do about that. As you say you can no doubt fasten the MMM in up most position but there is no such thing for the 3pt.
5. Some early advice: a) The knob that sets your mowing height (black phenolic, round, maybe 3" in diameter) should not be turned unless the hydraulic lift has the mower fully lifted as high as it will go. Then that knob should turn fairly easily. When the hydraulic lift lever is down, the weight of the deck is resting on the small internals below that black knob and if you try to adjust or turn it then it is essentially impossible to turn ... AND of you try hard enough you will break the black knob. MANY people have. Including me. b) There is a screen between the radiator and the fan. That needs to be kept clean of grass and debris as does the radiator itself. These machines overheat rather easily if those are not kept clean. Water works but I usually use compressed air. Not super high pressure as it is possible to damage the radiator vanes with very pointed high pressure air. c) I'd certainly talk to the previous owner and see what all they did with it and to it. Maybe/probably you already did that. d) If you are not a user of other diesel engines it is worth saying -- you need to always be cautious avoiding crud/dirt/debris of any kind getting into the fuel. Water is especially bad. e) Before you have occasion to remove the deck or sharpen blades, etc. study that little mower deck booklet. And ask people who have done it before. Should be quite a while (next season?) before you have any need to get into that.
6. You are going to find that FEL and bucket the handiest thing you ever bought, and it will surprise you how much so.

Good luck. Enjoy the new machine. Let us nosey tractor people know it goes.

 

[dougtrr2]

On my older BX there are two brackets that are an alternate place to connect the lifting links. That would keep the box blade up. Or if you were creative you could probably accomplish the same thing using some chain to attach the box blade to the eyelets.

Doug in SW IA

 

[Wvanatti]

I have the JD 2305 an BX2380 ( same size). Few things I have read an learned myself with the bucket. No matter what load, once picked up. Example: scooping up dirt, Never travel with load up. Risk tip over. Have weight on back with item in bucket. This will help front gears. Box blade is enough.
Never push on a dead tree with bucket up to try to knock over. Dr did this in TX. Top broke out an landed on him. And lastly, if you have a log in the bucket, when lifted two high. Can roll out of bucket an right down the arms an end up in lap.
I personally picked up a 3’, diam chunk of wood, tried to put on top of wood pile, flipped out the back an crushed my hood ( JD). $900 mistake. Just some items for considering. Good luck an enjoy.

 

[john reeder]

Get a piranha blade from BXpanded and bolt it onto the bucket you will love it. It makes digging into dirt piles and clearing brush/saplings so much easier as well as back dragging. JMO. FYI I'm not affiliated with BXpanded in any way I'm in SE Texas and they're in the Carolinas.

Welcome to BXpanded - Engineered and Built in the USA

 

[ultrarunner]

Welcome to TBN…

My soon to be 20 year old BX23 has been a workhorse since day one…

 

[JWR]

On my older BX there are two brackets that are an alternate place to connect the lifting links. That would keep the box blade up. Or if you were creative you could probably accomplish the same thing using some chain to attach the box blade to the eyelets.

Doug in SW IA

Yeah BUT,... you cannot restrict the lift arms of the 3pt hitch from lowering. The BX machines use the two lift arms as prime movers to raise the MMM deck. So I don't see how you fasten up the box blade without encumbering the lift arms & that would preclude raising and lowering your MMM.

 

[Yander]

Congrats, I recommend you binge on some Tractor Mike ...

Farm Tractor Basics and Options- Ask Tractor Mike- Ozark, MO

Understanding basics- operation and advantages of each option and its benefit - helps customers in the tractor, implement and attachment buying process.

asktractormike.com

 

[dj1701]

If you mow often keep an eye on the radiator. The debris screen does not keep the small stuff out. You will have to blow it out from time to time or it will overheat.

Dave

 

[GolfAddict]

Yes, you can restrict the lift arms from lowering. You un-pin the linkage from the lift arms and pin it to the "holding plates" just above. (Plates have a hole that the pin goes thru.)

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[glenk]

Congratulations! I had zero experience with a tractor when I bought my BX2380. Here's what I learned in 160 hours of operation. Luckily on flat land.

1. I found shifting low-high and two-four wheel drive is easier when moving slowly.
2. The locking differential foot control comes in handy for quick traction in 2WD
3. The HST dipstick is in the worse place for dirt to enter. I clean the area around it (blow gun would be great) before pulling it out.
4. I found the FEL controls took some time to break in for really fine control, ie using my pallet jack well. You can lower your RPM to aid in fine movements with light loads.
5. At first, the quad hydraulic disconnect leaked like crazy. I clamped it as tight as it would go and leave it alone. It's been good so far.
6. If you go through woods with low hanging limbs, put electrical tape on your rear turn signal plastic lenses to keep them in place. They seem to snap off easily, at least mine did, and got chewed up in my rototiller.
7. Don't operate (especially rototill) in wet clayish soil if possible. You'll spend endless time scraping off the mud from your attachments and tires (unless you have AG tires). I almost wish I had the dealer switch my R4s.
8. Gosh, I don't know how many hours of Tractor Mike, Neil from Messicks, Tractor Time with Tim that I watched.

 

[JWR]

Yes, you can restrict the lift arms from lowering. You un-pin the linkage from the lift arms and pin it to the "holding plates" just above. (Plates have a hole that the pin goes thru.)

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Nope. That will not work when using the MMM because the MMM lifting and lowering depends on the two lift arms going up and down. The MMM lift linkage rides on top of the two lift arms.

 

[dougtrr2]

Nope. That will not work when using the MMM because the MMM lifting and lowering depends on the two lift arms going up and down. The MMM lift linkage rides on top of the two lift arms.

JWR is correct. I thought for sure he was wrong. I just went out and verified on my BX24; when the three point lift arms are held up, the mower deck will not lower. I put a drawbar on my lift arms, then use concrete block and a jack stand to keep then arms in the uppermost position. The mower deck would not lower.

Always willing to learn more and correct my assumptions.

Doug in SW IA

 

[robertm]

Yeah BUT,... you cannot restrict the lift arms of the 3pt hitch from lowering. The BX machines use the two lift arms as prime movers to raise the MMM deck. So I don't see how you fasten up the box blade without encumbering the lift arms & that would preclude raising and lowering your MMM.

This is not correct. The MMM lifts independent of the rear 3pt LOWER links. I have my 3pt locked out with the rear Bagger, and raise and lower the MMM all day long. The key is the UPPER lift arms for the 3pt , which exert the force to lift the lower links, need to move free. Just clarifying that the lower links if locked out with the adjustable lift arms pinned to the stationary plates, can hold the lower lift arms in the same position while the MMM lifts independently.

 

[JWR]

JWR is correct. I thought for sure he was wrong. I just went out and verified on my BX24; when the three point lift arms are held up, the mower deck will not lower. I put a drawbar on my lift arms, then use concrete block and a jack stand to keep then arms in the uppermost position. The mower deck would not lower.

Always willing to learn more and correct my assumptions.

Doug in SW IA

OH MY !!! Confusion ! I apologize!

I was speaking earlier (in posts #2 and #7) and I WAS WRONG !!! I was speaking from memory regarding other Kubotas I have (B2150s.) They in fact have orange sheet metal pads resting on top of the two lower lift arms near their pivot points back under the tractor. Those orange pads are connected to annodized-looking rods of threaded adjustable length to the MMM raising mechanism just above the deck. On those tractors you certainly could not mechanically hold up the lift arms and then get the deck to raise and lower. Can't happen.

HOWEVER the BX machines (my BX2200 for sure, which I just went out and crawled under and looked) are made differently. My BX2200 (and the BX1860 is surely the same) have a lever attached to the right side of the pivoting base shaft of the two cast iron hydraulically controlled arms. Those short arms are normally linked by rods (one of which is adjustable) downward to the 3pt lower lift arms. That grey twin lever attached to the base shaft of the short hydraulic lifting arms under/behind the seat has a rod going from the lever to the MMM deck raise/lower stuff just over top of the deck. The grey rod is threaded with some lock nuts on it. On my BX you definitely can hold up the two lower lift arms (mechanically disconnected from the linkage that would normally lift them.) That WILL WORK in spite of what I said previously. It is pretty easy to know on my own BX because I have a heavy bagger mounted on the back that uses the two lower lift arms in a fixed position while still raising or lowering the MMM. The hydraulically actuated short arms are loose at their ends and not connected to the lower lift arms in this configuration. Meanwhile my MMM deck does raise up and down independent of the lower lift arms. Obviously it has to while using the bagger.

Note: Dougtrr2 's test was misleading because he still had his short hydraulically actuated arms linked to the lower lift arms. Disconnect those lower lift arms from the hydraulically operated short levers above them and support the lower arms as you did before. Then you will be able to lift and lower the MMM deck.

Robertm in post #14 is exactly correct.

 

[MBTRAC]

And only remove the loader frame on level concrete, otherwise it's a big challenge to get the loader frame & tractor to line up...

 

[dougtrr2]

And so back to the original question. You could lock the box blade up and still use the mower deck. BUT, you would somehow have to hold the box blade at the perfect height while you move the links from the lifting arms to the eyelets.

Doug in SW IA

 

[fireman922]

Thanks for all the good information!

 

[hunoli]

Long time listener, first time caller.

I just picked up a used BX2380 with 30 hours on it. It has the FEL with quick disconnect bucket, MMM, and I stuck on my old 48" box blade to complete the package. The extent of my tractor experience is maybe 20 hours of dragging around the box blade behind an old B6000 and watching local farmers working 1000s of acres of corn and beans. This total experience really only qualifies me as a danger to myself and anyone nearby. I have a couple of questions to ask you knowledgeable members.
1. Is there anything I really need to watch out for with this model? I mean besides normal maintenance.
2. I know I can lock the MMM up while using the box blade. Is there a way to lock the box blade up while using the MMM?

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to looking through all the information available on this forum.

Paul

Very nice call, Also congrats on your nice BX2380. Just a few days ago, I completed my first 50-hour service on my BX2380 and I thought I would share some of the things that I have learned during this process. First of all, both the oil change and the filter change are very straightforward, do not require too much time, and are relatively straightforward processes (replaced with Shell T5). Secondly, there is the transmission fluid and filter that I replaced.

 

[dieselbob69]

Long time listener, first time caller.

I just picked up a used BX2380 with 30 hours on it. It has the FEL with quick disconnect bucket, MMM, and I stuck on my old 48" box blade to complete the package. The extent of my tractor experience is maybe 20 hours of dragging around the box blade behind an old B6000 and watching local farmers working 1000s of acres of corn and beans. This total experience really only qualifies me as a danger to myself and anyone nearby. I have a couple of questions to ask you knowledgeable members.
1. Is there anything I really need to watch out for with this model? I mean besides normal maintenance.
2. I know I can lock the MMM up while using the box blade. Is there a way to lock the box blade up while using the MMM?

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to looking through all the information available on this forum.

Paul

What size deck do you have? Be very careful on any inclines - it is a very tippy machine if you don't have rear wheel spacers or liquid ballast in tires. I put 2" spacers on mine, and the rear tires don't clear the rear deck wheels by much. If you have a 54" deck, not sure if spacers can be used.