Here's a post about how not to add top'n'tilt cylinders to a Kubota M62 TLB, and also about a set of spools that will fit right (there's a hint there). I took delivery of an M62 last summer, used the hoe for a couple of weeks for some trenching, then pulled it off. The tractor didn't come with a 3 point hitch (3PH), but I'd planned on adding one, along with top'n'tilt (TNT) cylinders and spools, even before the purchase. I also wanted a thumb for the backhoe, and since the local Kubota dealer wouldn't budge off retail on the price of a new tractor, I figured I'd go across the state line for the hydraulics and at least save some sales tax. I found a used 12" trenching bucket at Hunt Tractor Equipment & Parts, Inc., in Medford OR, a business specializing in all sorts of new and used implements and parts. While I was there picking that up, I stopped by Central Equipment, the Medford Kubota dealer, and met George LaRoo, their head salesman. I explained what I wanted to do, and he showed me a pair of M62s sitting on his lot so I could get a better idea of what was involved. It didn't seem like too much work, so I asked him to put together a quote. A day or so later I placed the order with him, and a few weeks after that I went back up there to pick up the parts. Everything except the spools necessary for the TNT, that is, as they seemed to be on back order. George said he'd cover shipping on the spools when they came in, and not to worry about it.
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The first kit, Kubota part number L3951, came with everything needed to get the 3PH going on the M62.
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The back of the tractor was pretty bare at the start; it didn't even have the brackets for the top link. So I started with the brackets, then followed the instruction step-by-step until I had everything on. I think it took me a couple of hours, working slowly and trying various positions for some of the parts like the lifting arms, as the photos on the instruction sheet were small and not too informative.
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The hitch is a CAT 2, and I was impressed with the size and heft of the pieces. I'd bent the lifting arms on the CAT 1 hitch on the old Kubota trying to grade in reverse, and this CAT 2 setup looked more up to the job.
A few weeks later, the spools showed up, and I got started on the installation of the top'n'tilt kit, Kubota part number TL9407A, and spool kit part number L3995A. The first thing I noticed was the daunting number of hoses, adapter fittings, and sundry pieces in these two kits. Each came with a set of installation instructions, which overlapped in several areas, which added complication to the installation. And the same tiny and less than helpful photos were present as well. It took a phone call or two to one of George's mechanics to get everything right, over the course of the next couple days.
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The kits came with hoses that allowed tapping into the tractor hydraulics to feed the TNT spools and rear hydraulic quick connects, and the line drawings in the instructions were also a bit vague about just which fittings got replaced. They showed close ups of the parts, but gave no clue where they were located on the tractor. I'm sure a factory trained Kubota mechanic would have had no problem. Right. But through some trial and error and bulldog determination, I got 'er done. Hooked up the box blade to give it a try, and oh boy was it nice to be able to make those adjustments on the fly. No more hopping up and down out of the seat to get the tilt just right or go from back dragging the blade to cutting. What a dream come true!
Didn't take long to bust the bubble on that dream, though. I had a fair amount of tilt dialed in at the end of one day and slowly lowered the box blade when I shut down the tractor. All of a sudden I heard a bang and felt a shudder through the floor. When I looked back over the seat, this is what I saw:
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Somehow the eye of the top cylinder got over loaded, stretched, and broke. Looking at the cross section of the eye is was no wonder. It was a small fraction of the original eye, and no way was it going to survive normal service. Rather than bother George for a replacement cylinder, which would just end up breaking again, I picked up a new eye at Tractor Supply and welded it on. Problem solved.
At least that problem was solved. I had a lot of gravel to spread as the next job, and it didn't take long to figure out that the TNT spools weren't holding the positions of the cylinders they controlled. I was using the box blade for rear
ballast, and after only fifteen minutes the tilt cylinder was going to full extension. I found that out when the box started dragging one side unexpectedly. What should have been a straightforward job of shuttling and spreading gravel had my right hand riding the TNT controls to keep the box up off the ground. I wasn't sure how long it was taking, so I sat up a camera and made a video:
I tested all three spools, and also ran a test with the cylinders disconnected from the spools. One of the valves went through all of its cylinder's stroke in only fifteen minutes. and the cylinders didn't budge at all when they were disconnected from the spools. After watching the video, George and his mechanic ordered a set of spools to replace the leaking one. That took another few weeks to come in, but when it did, the problem was even worse. One of the spools only took five minutes to leak down.
Sure enough, I was able to find a thread here on TBN, a few in fact, where other Kubota owners were having the same issues. And most of them got relief in the form of a new set of spools from Brian at
Fit Rite Hydraulics. It only took a short conversation to confirm with Brian that he could supply a set of replacement spools; the only thing he was unsure about was how they would mount. I wasn't too worried about that, so I went ahead and ordered a set. A follow up call with George had him quickly agreeing that Kubota had had more than a fair chance at fixing the problem, and he agreed to issue a refund for the valve kit. To keep things simple, he asked only for the return of the spools, leaving me with the six hoses and adapters.
I shot a few photos of the Kubota hose ends and adapters to Brian, and when the Fit Rite spools showed up three weeks later, I was delighted to find that all the Kubota hydraulic parts mated right up.
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I was also happy that I had to drill only one hole in the tractor to mount the spools. The plastic panel through which the spool handles fit was a different story, though, but a few minutes on the band saw took care of that problem. I've had the new spools working for a few months now, and they will also eventually leak down, but it's a matter of hours instead of minutes. Thanks to Brian at Fit Rite, I'm back to livin' the dream...
