BX25 Loader Manifold Leak

[MacTractor]

I have been working my BX25 pretty hard these days with lots of loader work and about a week ago I sprung a leak from one of the O-Rings on one of the connectors on the loader control manifold located down by your feet. The O-Ring was destroyed. Of course, the dealer says they have never heard of any problems and gave me a new O-Ring. It is now leaking again. I have not had the time to take it apart yet to look to see if it is the same O-Ring.

I have found some other posts of users with their BX24 and this same issue. The issue appears to be an incorrectly machined fitting for the pipe to the quick connect. The resolution appeared to be a replacement pipe.

Did this solve the issue? I need some ammo so that I don't waste my time trucking my machine into the dealer for him to just replace the O-Ring again and send me on my way only to be back again for the same problem.

Cheers,

 

[radioman]

Are you sure it leaking from the coupler or the threads ?

 

[MacTractor]

The connections to the manifold have 2 O-Rings. An upper smaller one and a larger lower one. The lower ones are blowing out. I put a hydo pressure tester on the tractor and in is around 1950 PSI which I believe is in the expected range.

After taking it apart again this morning, it is not the same one replaced last week. Luckily it was another one of the front ones that are easy to get at. I am little worried about this being a common occurance.

Cheers,

Are you sure it leaking from the coupler or the threads ?

 

[bubblehead]

BX2350 same problem. 1st time $100 for service call ( I dont have a trailer) and $16 to clean the manifold to find the leak and tighten the bolt (mechanic said he'd seen this before but not often). One week later leaks again ,$17 for a wrench to do it my self. Last weekend same problem but different connection, after heavy loader use moving loam. Tightened all again. getting really tired of this. Tractor has 249 hrs on it so no more warranty.

 

[radioman]

perhaps you need to add red loctite ?

 

[MacTractor]

After much research and some help from member posts on this board, it was determined that the hydraulic lines going to the manifold are deffective. They have an incorrect bevel and this causes the tractor to eat O-Rings. My BX25 is at the dealer as we speak getting all of the lines replaced under warranty.

Bubblehead,

You should call your dealer to get your fixed. I have chatted with others from this board who have had the fix and they have told me the leaks never came back after the fix.

It was a real PITA as they were failing when I needed the tractor the most as I am running out of time to have all of my top soil spread out before Winter.

Good luck!

 

[MacTractor]

After much research and some help from member posts on this board, it was determined that the hydraulic lines going to the manifold are deffective. They have an incorrect bevel and this causes the tractor to eat O-Rings. My BX25 is at the dealer as we speak getting all of the lines replaced under warranty.

Bubblehead,

You should call your dealer to get your fixed. I have chatted with others from this board who have had the fix and they have told me the leaks never came back after the fix.

It was a real PITA as they were failing when I needed the tractor the most as I am running out of time to have all of my top soil spread out before Winter.

Good luck!

 

[bubblehead]

Well I talked to the dealer and he sent a mechanic over today to replace all the "o" rings. But on closer inspection found a leak where on one of the loader lines where the tube attaches to the "collar" (see attachment). Tried to get the part off but finally put it back together and she's off to the shop for repairs. They have to order the part, so my pile of loam will sit a little longer . Sure hope KUBOTA covers some of this , my warranty ran out in May. Is this the "flare joint " others have mentioned because my dealer stated that all he knew was that Kubota did a lousy job of installing some of the "o" rings. Thanks again for all your help here - I have a habit of "listening more than speaking on here"

 

[MacTractor]

bubblehead,

Replacing O-Rings did nothing for me except it bought me 2 weeks before I had a leak again. In my case, all of the lines need to be replaced as the flare on the fittings is bad and they will chew up any O-Ring you put in there over time.

My dealer called Kubota and they know of this defect. The fix is to replace all of the lines.

 

[wawajake]

Folks I think I might be getting similar problems with my BX2660. I suspect the manifold (hydraulic control box) is the same on a BX24, BX25 and BX 2660 .
My troubles started a month ago with roughly 150 hrs on my machine I bought last fall. My manifold started leaking very badly and my dealer picked it up and fixed under warranty (very good quick service I might add), they assumed that the factory tightened fitting down to much and screwed up oring , so they just ordered the orings and replaced.
So I believed they fixed right because I had not seen this post and the other thread on these leaks.
Except last week I had leak again. Dealer was again quick to pickup ....and this time I printed off the thread from tractorbynet.com that discussed the possiblilty of the flare being wrong on the steel lines. I showed it to them. They said they would watch for , I hinted they should call Kubota and ask if this is a problem. But I could tell they were not "internet type folks" And Unfortunately when mechanic took apart the manifold (same fitting as before was leaking) to look at the orings, he tells me he realized he had put two orings instead of one the last fix , and so had frayed the orings. So he assumed that was the problem..... and did not pursue my concern about the flares. .....So now I might not have a problem, or I might have a problem a few weeks or months from now ! I am posting this as a headsup to all BX24,25 and 26 to watch for this problem and to show potential histroy to my dealer if it or other fittings on manifold goes again.
If anyone (especcially Mactractor since he is from Ontario too) happens to talks to a Kubota headoffice person about this, please let us know the name, so we can all call and ask for same person if trouble occurs.

thanks
jake

 

[DavidAubke]

My BX2350 blew out an o-ring in that manifold. Referring to the drawing posted by bubblehead, mine first blew ring #070. Dealer came out and replaced it.

It held up for a few hours but then really started hemorrhaging fluid out of the lower seal where ring #060 is located. Dealer took it in and fixed it and so far it's held up for another 20 hours including moving 10 tons of gravel.

 

[BotaBX24er]

Mine first fitting leaked at around 60 hours. Dealer promptly took it back and had it back to me in a week (had to wait for O-rings). Ran it for about 30 minutes and a different fitting leaked (bigger leak than the first one). Dealer again promptly took it back but realized something was wrong. He contacted regional Kubota service rep out of GA and the rep informed them he had heard of a similar problem 1 other time and took look at the flares. Needless to say, I had to wait almost 3 weeks for the dealer to get replacement SS lines from all over the US...but he did state that there was a very noticeable different in the flares.

I'm currently at 135 hours now and no leaks have been detected.

Unfortunately the dealer that I was working through is no longer a Kubota dealer...they were really great to work with.

 

[wawajake]

Well although this thread is old , I update it to say that once again in April 2011 (so roughly a year after last hydrualic leak, (see previous post page 1 above)
My control valve is leaking again. I will bet dollars to donuts that it is those dam Orings again. I think we need a concerted effort from all the BX2660 or BX25 or others that have the same control valve leaks to determine if this is factory problem.
Mine is off warranty now and is only dripping one drop every 5 seconds when hydraulics in use , but still pain in the butt because you know sometime in the future it will be a gusher.

Now does anyone think it would be a good idea to just clean off the control valve , determine which one is leaking , then tighten something just a smidgen?
I did get a workshop manual for the BX2660 from Messicks so will be able to get to the control valve . Is there any others here did do the actual o ring change yourselves and how hard to do if I am medium skilled mechanically inclined?

 

[keyman1808]

Never changed one myself on my BX24. Had 2 under warranty go thou. I would say if your going to change one why not do them all while your in there because as soon as you do one and use it another is bound to let go. I do not believe they are exspensive.

 

[David s Von Gieserbrechta]

Had the same problem just the other day but it wasn't just a leak as the whole oring for the bucket dump blew out and I lost over a gallon of hydro oil like right now. BTW A Five hundred pound rock hits the driveway pretty hard when dropped from about three feet.
Lots a luck with trying to remove the fittings without taking half of the tractor apart as the battery case is just about an inch above the fittings and is part of a large aluminum casting to which most of the tractor is bolted . You can replace the bottom oring but not the top. There is however a solution and that solution is called an angle grinder with a cut off wheel, takes about five minutes to cut the hole in the base of the battery compartment as opposed to five hours taking things apart. After the hole is cut it's a piece of cake getting at the fittings with a ratchet and a one inch socket. Strange how some things on a Kubota are metric and some are Imperial.

The lower orings cost .80 cents and the upper ones are $1.35 and the screw in fittings are $5.47 each, not sure what the lines cost as I replaced all of the orings and the screw in fittings but not the lines, hope this fixes it, if not the lines will have to be replaced as well.

This seems to be an ongoing problem with kubota hydraulics, in some cases replacement of the rings has fixed it, in some both the rings and fittings, in others the lines have to be replaced as well and in still others the entire valve body has had to be replaced. Anyway you look at it it sucks because if you can't rely on your hydraulics there is no point having them because it can get real dangerous real quick.

 

[wawajake]

Thanks for suggestions,
I took the tractor apart as far as I dared and the only way to get at the B1 control valve that is leaking (bucket boom) is to consider cutting the battery box away like David did , or really tear down the tractor much more. I could even see on the B1 valve a piece of the o ring sticking out, where it is now weeping out oil. Will blow soon I imagine !

I think I will write a long letter to my dealer suggesting kindly that it seems like there might be a manufacturer problem with BX24, BX25 and BX26 control valves (refer to TBn history I found too) and ask if there was any TSB (technical service bulliten) issued for North America in regards to maybe getting replacement upgraded tubes and or oring system.
I will leave it to their discretion on whether it is a followon to previous warranty work. At this point it is not the cost , it is the fact that o rings seem to last only one year on my bucket boom control valve (B1 in the workshop manual.
I will let you know how I make out. I used the tractor this weekend to lift a few things but was very hesistant, I hate not trusting the thing !!

 

[roma3112]

hi guys

I had the same repair done (warranty) to my bx24 last year, I practically had a fight with the guy because they told me that they would only change the two loader lift steel lines under warranty, and that kubota would not cover the others. Their reasoning was that the higher pressures/failures were seen on the lift rather than the curl lines because of the increased pressures found there . I told them and every kubota number that I could find that this was bullcrap the lines were manufactured WRONG. Just because they did not fail did not mean that they are not defective. The drilling out the battery box is a good idea However on these machines the larger problem is the steel lines that were made wrong. I changed about 3 orings on my bx24 and finally had enough and drove the 1.5 hours to my dealer with a borrowed truck/trailer to get the repair done. Knock on wood it has not blown out like the origional lines/orings. The dealer after some time finally admitted that there was a TSB on this issue which indicated the lines were manufactured with an incorrect bevel which caused the o-rings to not seat well. Good luck with the problem !!

 

[David s Von Gieserbrechta]

Romas right about the "Bullcrap". If Kubota has issued a TSB then they know full well about the problem and should pony up and fix it, warranty or no warranty as it's a screwup on their part and has nothing to do with how the loader is used or what part of it is being used. My dealer although very helpful and polite gave me much of the same runaround so I finally did the job myself. It wasn't all that expensive, but thats not the point. The point is that it should not have to be done but it's an imperfect world and mistakes happen, however if it's a mistake on the part of the manufacture then the manufacturer should have to fix it.

If Kubota won't take care of these issues then I would seriously suggest that Kubota replace all of their bolts with VELCRO fasteners and throw in a big case of duct tape so that the owner operator can keep his tractor working with the least amount of down time.

 

[radioman]

If they are afraid of high cost of paying dealers for warranty work, why not send out a post card stating the TSB issues and offer to let us pick up the part from dealer for free and do the work ourselves or wait till something happens while still in warranty. gives them a better part of 50/50 shot of deal.

I know for one will be happy with parts in my hand after warranty expires and THEN !@#$ happens. little downtime for me to get it fixed. :thumbsup:

 

[wawajake]

Sorry for keeping reviving this thread, but I have good news.

Because this website allowed me to see the other tractor owners that had similar problems, I was able to convince my dealer to research this more.
He found some sort of technical bulliten did exist and he ordered me the four aluminum replacement tubes, that have better flare design so that they fit over the o ring system better of the control valve.
Got my tractor back this week and because it was followon work to a previous warrnaty on my 2008 tractor, they covered the cost.

Thanks for the TBM members here, and thanks to my dealer North Shore Tractor here in Canada for their good customer service !