BX1500 snowblower lift problem

[Don_Sullivan]

I just had an interesting experience with my BX1500 and would like to know if anyone else has had the same problem. I have the BX2750A snowblower. The other day in 10 degree weather I was getting ready for some snow rearranging. At such temperatures I park an electric heater next to the loader pedestal to blow some heat at the engine, typically for at least half an hour. That and 10 seconds with the glow plug brings things to life quickly.

After a short warmup I raised the snowblower a few inches so I could move the tractor a little. When I went to lower the SB again it wouldn't go down. Furthermore, the control lever wouldn't move forward - it came up hard against something. A call to the dealer's service shop revealed that one of the appendages on the bottom of the hydraulic control valve block contains a detent and other stuff related to lever motion control and they have had several instances of water getting into the appendage and freezing.

The fix is to replace the offending appendage which is a couple hundred dollar deal if I bring the control valve to them. The one year warranty on the snowblower ran out in October so it looks like I'm stuck. Needless to say I'm less than happy and wondered if anyone else has been bitten by the same bug.

Don Sullivan

 

[Scrounger]

WHen it warms up wouldn't the ice melt and the valve block start to work ok then? Sounds like a few calls to Kubota would get some action for you. That's pretty poor.

 

[Pks]

Other folks here at TBN have had similar experiences. See if you can remove the detent cap. Then drain the water/ice, then spray it with WD40 so the balls and spring won't rust.

Also, when you part it for the night, put the hydraulic control lever into the float position. That way, if it does freeze again, you can still use the SB while the warmth of the hydraulic oil heats up the control valve. On my unit, that takes about 3 minutes.

 

[JCA]

My dealer told me to drill a hole in the bottom of the detent (I've got a B7510; it's probably pretty similar). Said he had visited the foreign factory and watched those things being assembled. They were using way too little grease. Anyway, the hole drilled with a small bit right at the lowest part of that detent "tube" (for lack of a better word) sticking out the bottom seems to have solved the problem for me. The left-right (bucket control) still freezes up sometimes (I haven't drilled that one yet), but I don't need that in the winter anyway.

Jim

 

[Don_Sullivan]

Trying to keep my post short I forgot to mention that the detent does thaw out if you wait long enough but I help it along with a heat gun which only takes a few minutes. I'll try leaving the lever in the float position overnight but guess it will just freeze up in that position.

My dealer's mechanic did say that if I had the right model of detent I could use the hole-drilling trick. Mine is the wrong model. I asked if it would make sense for me to replace the detent and he said probably not, it's a little like taking an alarm clock apart - when you get to a certain place there's a big SPROING and pieces go all over the place. I may do that anyway come Spring to reach back for my childhood alarm clock experience. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Apollo]

I've been reading numerous posts on the freezing problem of the valves. I live in Wisconsin where we have had weather from -5 degrees last week to about 15-20 degrees within the last month. I have had NO problems with the valve and have used the snowblower alot.

My tractor stays in a attached UNHEATED garage. I never warm up the tractor with any outside source and I don't park it in a warm area. I think part of whats happening is condensation from warming the tractors up and then taking them in the cold again. This builds up water in the valve which then freezes.

I've noticed there is no need to preheat these tractors. If you keep the glow plug on long enough depending on the temperature mine always starts first try. Make sure when warming it up you bump the throttle up slightly as diesels have a tendency to "run cold" if run at idle.

I help out part time on large farm and that bit of advice holds true for all kinds of equipment. If you have the ability IE: a shop which is heated 24 hours a day 7 days a week then its no problem to keep the equipment in there all the time as it has plenty of dry time. But otherwise your best off not "thawing out" the tractor or equipment till spring comes.