B2710 Steering problems

[bsauter]

Well guys, the dealer could not duplicate the problem yesterday and we are still waiting for Kubota to call him back to see if they have any info on the problem. I understand the dealer not getting it to act up. He drove it for a 1/2 hour up and down the road and figure 8's and using the loader. He said it was fine for him and we may have to wait until (if) it gets worse. It came and went over the past weekend for me so I will pick it up today and see how it goes. Maybe I can cut for an hour or two and get it to act up and trailer it down to him real quick to show them. Hopefully it was just air and it's no big deal and I'm discouraged for no good reason.

Ian, you don't have an email address listed so I will ask you here....Do you know if your dealer found a service bulleten to fix yours? I would like more info on your fix. It sounds encouraging what they found. I may want to call them firsthand and talk to them if our district service rep is of no help. You may email me at bsauter@iquest.net if you like.

Bird, please be sure to let us know if you do find something out from your dealer.

Thanks!
Brad in Indiana

 

[bsauter]

Dealer just called me and offered to take the B2910 back and sell me a L3010 since I was not very happy about some other things on the tractor. Comfort (as in leg room), weight, throttle and steering problems. I really do like the B2910 and the design and features but I think I may lean towards getting out of it now with 21 hours on it and going to the L. I think I might have underbought a little with all the bushhogging I do.

I have nothing but praise for the dealer and Kubota for offering this to me. Dealer said the the President of the northern division said that they want me happy. I'm not used to a big company treating people that way!!

Now I have a big decision to make!!!!

 

[Alan L.]

With this opportunity you might want to move up another step from the L3010 for a little extra $$. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but over the past year I have heard on this board that the L3010 might be relatively underpowered when compared to the B2710. I would think this would be more true when compared to the 2910.

 

[bsauter]

I thought about that but the 3410 is quite a bit more money for me. I'm not too worried about the power, I tested several machines this afternoon, I would like more operating room and weight. 3010's are popular bushhogging machines around this area (a lot has to do with price) and handle 6 foot cutters real well. Carvers has some glowing reviews for the 3010 and they sell far better than the 3410 here. Again price I think...The 3710 is only about $500 more than the 3410 and worth it but I can't make that big a leap and still stay married /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif .

 

[Ian]

Just got my tractor back today.
No paperwork came with it...so I can't say exactly what they did - but when I called the dealer the Service Manager said they had to install a new (longer) pick up line in the gearcase, and re-route the hydraulic pick-up line through a filter.
I'm totally confused (not to mention discouraged).
Bottom line - they had to split the tractor to do whatever work was necessary.
I hate the idea of major work having to be done on a nearly new tractor. Never mind the warranty, I just don't believe that it gets put back together as well as the factory did it in the first place.
There is a service bulletin out on this according to the dealer, but who knows when I'll get my promised copy. I'm going to the distributor on Monday, and see if I can get a copy from them.
I haven't had the chance to get the mower back on for a test. I'll be less than pleased if the fix didn't work...
One question. My owners manual shows the Transmission Oil Filter on the left hand side of the tractor on page 55. Does anyone know what page shows the filter on the right hand side of the tractor? I can't seem to find it.
P.S. If I do get a copy of the service bulletin, I'll ask the techno-wizards at work to show me how to attach a scan of it to my post.

 

[Bird]

Ian, are you talking about a spin on filter on the right side, or the strainer? The filter is on the left, but there are strainers (or screens) on both sides.

Bird

 

[Ian]

Bird - I've now got a spin on filter on both sides. And, just to make it easy for me, they used the highly classified, top secret type - all black, with no part number visible.
Guess it will all be revealed to me when I finally get to see the service bulletin /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

 

[Bird]

Ian, I really will be interested in knowing whether a Kubota service bulletin exists or whether this is something your dealer thought should be done, and whether it works, etc.

Bird

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Did the service people tell you they had to split the tractor to do the work? That's a bit surprising.

 

[Ian]

Yes, the service people did tell me they had to split the tractor to install the new line. Now I've got to reconnect the hazard lights, re-rig the mower / loader frame so the mower fits correctly, install cotter pins the right way 'round (clearance problems) etc.
Sure, I mess up sometimes, but overall I'd rather work on the tractor myself.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
On to the modification:
The hydraulic oil line (suction), part # 6C070-3911-0 has been replaced by a new line part # 6C140-3911-0.
The oil strainer (filter, oil as it is referred to in the parts manual) has been replaced with a plug, part # 6C170-3929-0, and a spin on oil filter cartridge part # 67955-3771-0 has been added.
The rest of the assembly forward of the suction pipe (inlet hose, clamps) remains unchanged.
As far as performance goes, the tractor's steering gave no indications of any problems after an hours run. Since it's now much cooler than summer however, the jury's still out on the fix.
I've got a copy of the page that details the new parts.
Figure number is J20102.
Location number is G06-R.
I'll try to attach a copy of the file, hope this works.../w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif
Oops, the file was too big. I'll ask the techno-wizards to apply shrinkage potion tomorrow.

 

[hayden]

I was looking at a B2910 on the local dealer lot last weekend and I noticed 2 oil filters, one on each side of the trans case. I followed to pipes and it looked like they led to the pump on the engine.

Your retrofit added a filter. Does that bring it to 3. I'm not counting the engine oil filter in any of this.

If you had one filter before, and ow have two after the retrofit, then maybe kubota has fixed this in production and is shipping 2 filters.

 

[Ian]

I think you're right.

I'm willing to bet that Mr. Kubota has incorporated the fix into current production, and is retrofitting any older B2710's that exhibit a problem with the power steering.

So, the current standard appears to be 2 cartridge filters for the hydraulic/transmission fluid (one on each side) plus a strainer on the left side.

 

[Bird]

I'm think you guys must be right about the retrofit. My B2710 only has one hydraulic spin on filter and two strainers. The next time I'm by a dealer I'll have to look at a new B2710 and the B2910 and see if they have two now.

Bird

 

[Alan L.]

I don't know about you Bird, but I'm gonna call my dealer about getting the retrofit. I haven't had the trouble since summer of '99, but the last time I did any serious brush hogging was back in May and it wasn't even hot yet. We have had such a serious drought down here in Texas I haven't had anything to mow. I have used the tractor for hauling stuff around in the loader and thats it.

 

[Ian]

One more try at posting the retrofit page from the parts manual.
I notice that under the title, there is a line that reads [S. No. ;A:50101~]. Above the remarks column, it reads A:B2710HSD.
My take on this is that serial numbers after 50101 on Kubota model B2710 already have this setup (cartridge filter replacing the strainer on the right side of the tractor). My B2710 tractor is serial #11571, so it is a retrofit for my unit.

 

[hayden]

Next to where it A:B2710HSD is also says B:2910HSD, but the serial number notation only covers A: This implies that all 2910s already have these parts.

Can anyone with a 2910 confirm if they have one or two filters (on either side of the trans case?)

I though someone in this thread experienced the problem with a 2910?

 

[Bird]

I was driving past a dealer yesterday, so I stopped and looked at a B2910 on the lot and it did have a hydraulic filter on each side. I didn't see a new B2710 on the lot so don't know yet whether the new ones are coming originally with the two filters.

Bird

 

[bsauter]

Yes, I had the problem with my B2910, since taken back by the dealer and now have a L3010HST. There were two filters on my B2910.

They did not figure out what the problem was, no air in system, fluids OK, etc. Dealer thought pump cavitation might be a problem but his test drive did not reveal anything. When I took it home the night before exchanging tractors I felt it again consistantly. Dealer took it back before we got much farther in the process. The day I picked it up from service the owner gave me the oppurtunity to return it for the 3010 so I did.

I don't know if the northern region service rep ever came back to them with any suggestions on a fix.