GR2120 RCK54 deck gear case heading for second rebuild at 440 hours.

   / GR2120 RCK54 deck gear case heading for second rebuild at 440 hours. #1  

MiserableOldFart

Platinum Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2006
Messages
542
Location
Delaware County Catskills NY
Tractor
NH Workmaster 40, Kubota GR2120
This is very frustrating. I have to say that the GR2120 has succeeded in giving me more headaches than I ever imagined during the years that I've had it. This time, I'm going to try to do the job myself, once the parts arrive. Apparently, what happened is that a lower seal failed and the oil gradually leaked out and then all the bearings went kaput. No visible sign of oil leak showed. Various parts of the tractor seem to break at ridiculous intervals. Taking the deck off, and especially, putting it back on is a hellish nightmare, as the splines on the driveshaft are insanely fussy, and require a contortionist to line up. Blades come loose all the time, though I believe that has been fixed in later models that have larger bolts and washers than mine. At 440 hours, and with meticulous maintenance, this tractor should be barely broken in. I still hold that the engineers that designed this tractor did it as a sick joke. Sure wish they still made WheelHorses. Dad's lasted over 30 years with far less trouble than this thing, though the 42 inch deck was too small for this place, and he wasn't one to pay much attention to oil change schedules and the like. Interesting, too that Kubota uses the RCK54 deck on a number of tractors, yet every one seems to have a completely different gear case. There is even an aftermarket gear case allegedly made for my machine for about $1100 compared to the $1500 from Kubota. The 60 day warranty on the after market case isn't exactly encouraging, though. So, I have it apart and when about $280 worth of parts get here, I'm going to try to put her back together. Ugh.
 
   / GR2120 RCK54 deck gear case heading for second rebuild at 440 hours. #2  
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   / GR2120 RCK54 deck gear case heading for second rebuild at 440 hours.
  • Thread Starter
#3  
It's a clam shell type, nothing as robust looking as yours. I think all the GRs have similar ones. Replacement cost from Kubota is like $1500 or so, and there is a third party one for about $1100, that comes with a 60 day warranty. It doesn't look like any of the standard gearboxes out there, many of which are available at much lower cost. Parts are around $280 or so for what I have to do, if the parts fit. Bearings, seals etc. are shot, but the main gears are ok. The shaft needs to be replaced, and that's the part they're waiting on. If not for the shaft it would only be around $100 in parts. Since I'm waiting anyway, I've considered replacing all the shaft bearings in the other two spindles, but I can't find the slightest bit of ticking or movement in the blades, and they seem to spin very free. Have to put it up on a table to really look, and listen and tell for sure. The deck has always seemed excessively noisy to me, when new, and after dealer rebuilt the gear case at around 200 hours. Maybe I can track down the source of that noise. I do believe it's in the gear case.
 
 
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