2004 Kubota L4630

[jcasscles]

Sooooo, I'm looking at a 2004 kubota L4630 with 1100 hours on it. The tractor is a GST with factory cab, kubota front end loader, brush hog, finish mower, box blade, and york rake. Everything was purchased new by the person I am looking to buy it from - he is the original owner. Over condition is in great shape but the tractor has lived outside so it's a bit faded. We are currently at $24,000 for everything, it's a bit above my budget but I'm thinking this may be a pretty good deal. OK - looking for your opinions.............go!

 

[Fallon]

That's about half of the price of my new loaded L4060HSTC a year & a half ago. With no impliments. Seems like the right ballpark.

 

[jcasscles]

I now have him down to $23,500.

 

[Fallon]

My brothers father-in-law has one (no cab). It worked well. Not terribly different than my new L4060, other than the tranny. I never got the GST nailed & was manually clutching for most stuff other than shifting. I assume with a couple more hours of seat time the shuttle would start to get to be 2nd nature. More effort than my HST to operate & a little less precise, but slightly more efficient.

 

[moship]

If everything works, it seems like pricing is in the ballpark. Keep in mind it will cost approximately $500 to fully service all fluids and filters if you do the labor.

Make certain there is no fluid coming from the split pin underneath.

 

[jcasscles]

OK, I'll bite - talk to me about the split pin leakage..................

 

[jcasscles]

In some quick google searching it appears the leaking split pin is a problem more prone with the HST transmissions, which makes a certain amount of sense to me - are the GST's a little less likely to suffer a sudden seal failure?

 

[moship]

Pin located underneath the area where the clutch housing is located. It looks like a drain plug with a 1/8" pin protruding from it. It's there to allow condensate to leak out of the enclosed housing. If oil is coming from this location the tractor typically needs split to fix the offending seal(s).

Take a clean paper towel and push up on the pin and look for any fluid. The pin is loose fitting within the plug.

You can find a photo of it here. It's near the end of the article, but you might find it worth while to look through the whole document. Not much changes between the L30's and L40's.

Kubota L-4 Series Service

 

[jcasscles]

Great document, thank you!

Anyone have any further thoughts on the price? I have the confidence that he has maintained the tractor and will certainly further investigate the split pin.

 

[Fallon]

Some of the older (newer too possibly) Kubotas were prone to either engine crankshaft or transmission input shaft leaks. Resulting in oil leaking into the clutch housing & running out the hole at the bottom. That split pin is in the hole to rattle around & prevent the hole from plugging. Not specifically an oil drain, but can end up being one. The fix involves splitting the tractor. Seals aren't hard or expensive, but splitting the tractor to get to them is.

 

[jcasscles]

While I'm thinking of it - it appears these are capable to running a front snowblower - anyone have advice on buying a front snowblower and quick hitch for a 15ish year old machine like this L4630?

 

[nybirdman]

While I'm thinking of it - it appears these are capable to running a front snowblower - anyone have advice on buying a front snowblower and quick hitch for a 15ish year old machine like this L4630?

I BIL has one for sale;low hours off a L3300 Kubota.FEL must be removed,runs off the rear PTO via a gear box and drive shaft.Lofness branded six footer.Located in Northern NY(St.Lawrence co.).Can be had for a fair price.
P.M. me if interested(can send pictures and more info).

 

[moship]

The quickhitch for Grand L30's and L40's is the same (L2180-1) and there are a number of snowblower models that fit the "duckbill" of the quickhitch. The quickhitch is adjustable in length and height to accommodate all models listed above. The most you'll possible need to work on your specific tractor is a new driveshaft from mid PTO to QH. These are still available from Kubota as of last year.

It may even be possible to use the quick hitch from the newer Grand L60's, but they changed to a 4-bar connection for the blower and this setup is very expensive and positions the blower further forward of the tractor. The newer QH, L4455 or L4554 can fit the Grand L40 series, so I see no reason why they wouldn't fit the Grand L30's as QH L2185 fits both L30 and L40's. You'd want to do your homework if going this route to confirm it will work.


For the record I've adjusted my quickhitch two times now. Bought used and needed to be shortened and lowered the duckbill to fit the L3130 as it was originally setup for a much larger L5030. After purchasing the L4740 it was adjusted again to fit.

QH: Don't worry about it being a L2180 or L2180-1 model. Both will work. My QH was the older model and I converted it to the -1 (updated model) by a kit that is still available from Kubota (At least it was last year). The upgrade kit added another attachment point to the middle of the tractor. Not certain this is really needed and wouldn't spend the money for the kit again had I known what all was included before hand.

It shouldn't be too hard finding a blower/QH, but you may have to travel to get it or have it trucked across US as I did.

Enjoy the new tractor.

 

[CobraTom]

The L4630 is powered by Kubota's most reliable and successful engine ever made, the almighty V2203. There are a few things that can kill it, and ether (starting fluid) is one of them. If you get any sense from the previous owner that starting fluid was ever used, run. Outside of that, most paint fade can be polished by a pro and and it can quickly increase value on a faded tractor.