BX25D - Switching between 2WD and 4WD?

[JOHNTHOMAS]

For just driving across a road, I wouldn't worry about it.
However, when you're turning around on a paved road, I would definitely take it out of 4wd.

Dragoneggs,
I bought my BX23 nine years ago and it has been in 4wd almost the entire time since. Very early on, I had an out of control slide down my driveway with a load of dirt. The brakes had no effect what so ever. After skidding for about 50 feet, I dropped the loader bucket to the ground to stop the tractor.
I live on 10 wooded acres with few level areas. Our driveway has two sections in it that measure 23% grade, climbing more than 100 feet to the house.
I do use 2wd when I am crossing my parking pad or on the hard packed gravel road into our community. If you are turning on a loose surface, just keep it in 4wd.
By the way, I grew up a stones throw away, on Bainbridge Island and currently live just east of Arlington.

Hey thanks for the post. I think I will leave it in 4WD unless I am turning around on my paved parking area and call it good! If your 4WD is still in good shape after 9 years then maybe no worries.

Yes I know Arlington pretty well too. My parents had a cabin on Lake McMurray for many years so we often drove by/stopped. Man that stretch north of Everett I-5 has grown! I moved out to Seabeck to get away from the Bellevue/Redmond zoo where I lived most of my life.

If I was turning on pavement I would put it in 2WD.Other than that I would leave it in 4WD.

I agree. Straight across pavement is no problem but turning should be in 2wd. It's so easy to slip it in and out between 2wd and 4wd on the BX, so just do it.
One day when you have an empty bucket, 200 feet wide and 100 foot long perfectly smooth down hill slope and seat belt on, try the 2wd going down hill on loose material and you'll have your own tales to tell! Just kidding, maybe. It's something most of us hillsiders have learned by doing it.......one time and one time only.:laughing: :laughing:

 

[RaydaKub]

I would take it in and out of 4wd constantly. As I understand it, the front drive shaft is going to be turning whenever the tractor is moving. It is either driven by the 4wd being engaged, or it is dragged along with by the front wheels rotating. There are no hubs that disengage like on a pickup. The front end is designed to stay in sync plus maybe a few % with the rear end, but when you turn, all 4 wheels must be rotating at different rates because they each take a different path around the turn. On pavement, this is gonna be a killer. When you hit the pavement, pause, disengage, make your turn, when you leave the pavement, pause, re-engage 4wd. While you have quite the project going there and will be making this shift many times, you are using the lever designed for this purpose. The 4wd is not designed for turns on pavement.

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[Chilly807]

If the area you're working in is relatively flat and you don't need 4WD, I'd leave it in 2WD. If there are any hills involved or you need 4WD to dig into a pile then you're better off to live with the tire wear.

If you shift in and out all the time, here's the scenario I'm picturing... in my case, I have a not-too-steep driveway covered in loose gravel, the top parking area is tightly packed class A stone. To avoid tearing the top surface loose and for easier turns, I might leave the transmission in 2WD while I'm working in the upper (level) area. Then I might decide to take a bucket full of gravel to the bottom of the driveway to fill in a bare spot, and forget to put it in 4WD. Mine will load loose material without spinning much.

At the bottom of the driveway I would apply the brakes, which only brake the rear wheels (same as your BX25). Since there's a lot of weight (1100 lbs of gravel) in the bucket, there isn't much load on the rear wheels and they will slide in the loose gravel. Did I mention the 80 foot embankment across the two lane road at the bottom of the driveway?

You get the picture. With 4WD engaged, the driveshaft transfers the braking force to the front wheels and you effectively have 4 wheel braking.

Mine stays in 4WD unless I'm doing flat work or traveling on a road under dry conditions. If I'm mowing a field that's flat, it goes in 2WD unless I think I need 4WD.

My 2 cents.

Sean

 

[Deano]

Mine stays in 2wd till needed.

 

[CHDinCT]

Mine stays in 2wd till needed.

Same here. I only use 4WD when needed, but my property is mostly flat so I leave it in 2WD when I travel across it, especially my lawn and paved driveway area. The one thing the OP mentioned that I found odd is that he says he can't feel any difference in 4WD while turning on pavement. I can tell immediately if I turn on pavement when in 4WD. You can just feel it bind up some and not turn smoothly. If I need 4WD for some work and need to cross paved surfaces or my lawn in a straight line for a minute or two, I will leave it in 4WD. Pretty easy to pop in and out as needed. Sometimes it will stick a little. One trick is to use the FEL to lift the front wheels off the ground if the FEL is empty. Shifts like "butta" with the wheels off the ground.

 

[dragoneggs]

Same here. I only use 4WD when needed, but my property is mostly flat so I leave it in 2WD when I travel across it, especially my lawn and paved driveway area. The one thing the OP mentioned that I found odd is that he says he can't feel any difference in 4WD while turning on pavement. I can tell immediately if I turn on pavement when in 4WD. You can just feel it bind up some and not turn smoothly. If I need 4WD for some work and need to cross paved surfaces or my lawn in a straight line for a minute or two, I will leave it in 4WD. Pretty easy to pop in and out as needed. Sometimes it will stick a little. One trick is to use the FEL to lift the front wheels off the ground if the FEL is empty. Shifts like "butta" with the wheels off the ground.

Hey Chris, thanks for the reply. Yeah, I think my post about 'not feeling' it was a bit misleading. What I was trying to say is that I don't feel much... nothing like in my F150 so I thought maybe it is not very hard on the machine. It does bind some but not what I am used to.

 

[Nightforce]

I own a 2013 Kubota BX25D - 46 hours on the clock.

I was cutting and hauling wood with it yesterday and while working in the woods I had it in 4 wheel drive. While driving home, I had to drive on about 1/8 mile of paved road, straight line, and even this I could feel a conflict between the front and rear differential. One thing I did notice, the lever to disengage the 4 wheel drive was very difficult to move, very unusual, but I finally did get it to go....There was no debris or anything else around the lever so it left me scratching my head....

Strange in my book.

 

[radioman]

no .. its normal. you cant force the meshed gears to disengage/engage. You need to be stopped, if shifting will not move, tapping the hst forward or reverse a inch will allow you to shift smoothly. I find that in low takes a few more inches to move before shifting is a pain so I always shift to high and then shift out of 4 is so much easier and no forcing quicker.

 

[Nightforce]

no .. its normal. you cant force the meshed gears to disengage/engage. You need to be stopped, if shifting will not move, tapping the hst forward or reverse a inch will allow you to shift smoothly. I find that in low takes a few more inches to move before shifting is a pain so I always shift to high and then shift out of 4 is so much easier and no forcing quicker.

Good to hear!

Once I got back to my place, and got it switched back to 2 wheel drive, then the lever moved very easily back and forth. I got momentarily stuck then switched to 4 wheel drive and walked right out. I forgot to disengage the 4 wheel drive and discovered it as it felt funny driving on dry pavement.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[RaydaKub]

Good to hear!

Once I got back to my place, and got it switched back to 2 wheel drive, then the lever moved very easily back and forth. I got momentarily stuck then switched to 4 wheel drive and walked right out. I forgot to disengage the 4 wheel drive and discovered it as it felt funny driving on dry pavement.

Thanks for the reply!

That funny feeling is exactly why the lever was hard to move. There was tension / conflict in the drive train and you trying to move the lever actually can cause even more tension for a moment. Back up a tad and the tension is released, the lever moves easily.