Breaking in a new B26

[SpaceRage]

Hey folks, proud owner of a new Kubota B26 down in Australia!



I have been reading the owners manual section 'OPERATING NEW TRACTOR' and it says the breaking in period greatly affects the life of the tractor. Hoping to get 20+ years of use from this fine machine so it is important I do this correctly. Any advice as to how I should do this? Some people are saying its better to go full bore PTO speed on the RPM and just drive/operate slowly.

I'm looking at getting a 200mm bucket for trenching some water lines in, does anybody know the pickup size and pin diameter for the backhoe attachment?

Really keen on disconnecting the annoying as **** reversing beeper, is there a fuse box for this somewhere on board?

Also trying to find the part number for the hydraulic thumb kit? (wish I had ordered this now :irked

Great website as well, really glad I found this

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Cobber and welcome to TBN from Tassie.

The 'break in' period is typically until you reach the 50 hours of operation mark (diesel engines are rated according to hours of operation). For normal operation you'll find that your tractor has a 'revs' sweet spot... on my tractor it's just a wee bit over 2000. Your manual will give you the operating revs (and it may be indicated on the revs dial) for using the PTO or implements.

There's really nothing to be worried about as long as you don't go 'nuts' with your new tractor and follow the maintenance schedule. It's more of a 'settling in period' than a 'breaking in period'.

Take your time, go slow until you get familiar with your machine... then still go slow. Over-familiarity/complacency will begin to creep in and cause more problems for you.

Enjoy the site and your new tractor.

 

[Tags]

Welcome to the site, best of luck with your new machine! Follow the break in procedure in the operators manual, if there is none, use the machine at varying throttle positions, don't lug the motor, and don't run it full bore for long periods of time for the first 50 hours and follow the maintenance requirements to a T.

I can't tell by the pic if you have a backhoe quick tach or not? Either way, I would contact Kubota for a price on a bucket and an outside manufacturer, like USA Attachments, I have used them before and have been very happy with their products.

I would just unplug the backup alarm, that way if you need it, just plug it back in. You could also just put a piece of duct tape over 75% of the speaker and it will quiet down quite a bit.

 

[Henro]

A mistake I made when buying my B2910 about 16 years ago was buying a 9 inch (224 mm) bucket for my backhoe, along with a 16 inch bucket. Damp clay does not fall out of the narrow bucket. Real pain. Hardly ever use the narrow bucket unless ripping stump roots. Also, the 16 inch wide trench is wide enough that you can get into it if needed to do something.

And only 20+ years ??? Suggest you set your usage sights a little higher...30+ years minimum! :laughing:

My 16 year old tractor still runs like new...has about 1500 hard working hours on it. I use my smaller BX for the easy stuff...

Bill

 

[oosik]

Regarding the break in period - - my Op Manual say - neither lug nor over rev the engine - at any time.

Otherwise - when I'm driving out onto my property its - 1600 to 2000 rpm. PTO operates at 2150 rpm. I have NEVER found a reason to operate above 2150 rpm.

I bought my first tractor (Ford 1700 ) brand new in 1982 - still strong as brand new when I traded it in in 2009 - 27 years.

 

[SpaceRage]

A mistake I made when buying my B2910 about 16 years ago was buying a 9 inch (224 mm) bucket for my backhoe, along with a 16 inch bucket. Damp clay does not fall out of the narrow bucket. Real pain. Hardly ever use the narrow bucket unless ripping stump roots. Also, the 16 inch wide trench is wide enough that you can get into it if needed to do something.

And only 20+ years ??? Suggest you set your usage sights a little higher...30+ years minimum! :laughing:

My 16 year old tractor still runs like new...has about 1500 hard working hours on it. I use my smaller BX for the easy stuff...

Bill

Wow very inspiring hopefully mine will get over 30 years! It seems to be pretty solidly built

I might give the narrow bucket a miss then doesn't sound that useful - and they wanted $650 AUD!

I received a really good pair of pallet forks a few days ago, absolutely great especially with the quick attach

 

[Gary Fowler]

The main point of the break in procedure is "run the engine at variable speeds varying between full load and minimal load conditions". Don't lug the engine and don't over rev it for proper break in. Unless you can put a rotary mower or some ground engaging equipment on the tractor, it will be impossible to "load the engine" using the back hoe or FEL, so the only thing you can do at that point is vary the engine RPM but don't run at full throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time.
Most of my work is done at 2000 RPM or less. I find that full throttle makes way too much noise with very little additional working speed of the backhoe. 1900-2000 RPM is the sweet spot for smooth working with less noise but still provides max power.

Good luck with your purchase. I know you will like it, I certainly have enjoyed mine and it is my go to tractor for most of my work now.

 

[big bubba]

good advice above. also would recommend avoiding frequent cold short runs. allow warmup, run engine per above for at least 30 min runs or longer. main point is to seat those piston rings, frequent cold runs don't help. brush hogging would be an excellent work load for break ins