J2030H assembly issues?

[Kenn1320]

I have less then 5hrs on my new tractor. I have had a few issues with things either not being tight, or coming loose. Id say by the lack of dented paint, they were not tight to begin with. Here is a short video I sent to LS. The hydraulic valve for the loader is held on with 2 bolts, one of my bolts no longer has a nut/washer on it and the other is very loose. There are 3 knobs that hold the lower dash housing on, one of them fell off. I was plowing snow in the dark and luckily felt it under my foot. At first I thought it was a pine cone, lucky I didnt kick it. And lastly the wire hook that holds your top link when you dont have an attachment, well tractor showed up without it. Oh also the parking brake has a lock on it so you can set it and get off the tractor. One day it just stopped working. I got off the tractor and played around and it worked again. I havent crawled under the tractor to see if the lever is loose or what, but after finding the other loose things, its probably an easy fix.
The video quality isnt great, sorry used my cell phone.
[video]http://smg.beta.photobucket.com/user/kenn1320/media/Tractor/j2030h_zpsd81a11f1.mp4.html[/video]

 

[Singalo]

I do not say this as poking fun, but it sounds like a Craftsman, vibrating itself into oblivion. This is disappointing to hear really. I don't know about everyone else, but I "Want" to love this tractor. But this is the second time I have heard negative things in the early hours of ownership. So far,,,, nada on the positive side.

 

[mangus580]

Sounds to me like it could possibly be a dealer issue more than a manufacturing issue. Honestly, I would feel that its the dealers job to make sure everything is tight on your tractor when its prepped for delivery. Does the tractor feel like its vibrating excessively when its running??

 

[rwork]

I agree with mangus. Sounds to me like it wasn't thoroughly prepped prior to delivery. I've got over 100 hrs on my R3039H, and haven't had anything come loose. And I work mine hard. I'd be giving my dealer a call!

 

[Kenn1320]

I contacted the dealer prior to contacting LS. Those items are not dealer installed, and the dealer told me it had the top link hook cause he used my tractor to load all the implements I bought onto the trailer. When I sent the email to LS, this was their reply.

Dear Mr. *****,

Thank you for your choosing LS Tractor and your input on the J2030H.

This information should be forwarded to our engineering side and reviewed completely.

Again thank you for your feedback and please contact your dealer or LS Tractor if there is any question.

Regards,

Huey Kim

LS Tractor USA, LLC.

T252-984-4045

Its clear to me they realize its an assembly issue and not a dealer issue. I didnt notice the joystick was loose till I leaned on it. Using it you dont notice its loose and I wouldnt expect the dealer to have caught it if its not a common problem.

 

[GManBart]

Certainly hasn't been the case for the larger LS models if the reviews, and feedback online are near close to accurate. I've done nothing to my R4047H in the first 40 hours of use other than add fuel.

 

[Rainbody]

At least you got an email. I've picked up multimillion dollar aircraft from the factory, flew them home and within 50 flight hours had to replace parts priced in the hundreds of thousands. The answer from that company, not our problem (one part "not in our contract to provide warrant", one part "signed for it").
I'd be curious to see how they handle it. I hope it's as easy as you got a tractor made before break time or a holiday. QC can't catch everything. I wish you the best and hope this doesn't sour your LS experience.

 

[BlackDogTx]

Certainly hasn't been the case for the larger LS models if the reviews, and feedback online are near close to accurate. I've done nothing to my R4047H in the first 40 hours of use other than add fuel.

I agree totally.. My G3038H has been tight.. Maybe my dealer just did a thorough job of making sure my rig was good to go when he delivered it..??

 

[LittleBlueTractor]

LS certainly isn't perfect on this front, but who is? There were some issues in past threads about loose loader mounting bolts.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/ls-tractors/254372-ls-g30-38-frame-bending.html

There were lots of other complaints about them in other threads too. Most of us assumed the loaders were installed by the dealers.

 

[kevin37b]

Did your tractor come from the factory , or another dealer ? From the factory these tractors arrive in crates and there is some final assy . at the dealer . The loader is another crate and is dealer assembled . Whomever did the assy. did not do a very good job . Iwould be making a phone call and might not be real polite if I didn't get some answers .

 

[LittleBlueTractor]

Did your tractor come from the factory , or another dealer ? From the factory these tractors arrive in crates and there is some final assy . at the dealer . The loader is another crate and is dealer assembled . Whomever did the assy. did not do a very good job . Iwould be making a phone call and might not be real polite if I didn't get some answers .

It could also be the loaders are installed at the port of entry like they do sometimes do add-ons with cars. When the word came out in this LS forum about the loose loader bolts I checked mine, tightened up a few loose ones, and moved on. Been a while since anyone has mentioned them so I assume LS addressed the problem wherever it was.

 

[Kenn1320]

Did your tractor come from the factory , or another dealer ? From the factory these tractors arrive in crates and there is some final assy . at the dealer . The loader is another crate and is dealer assembled . Whomever did the assy. did not do a very good job . Iwould be making a phone call and might not be real polite if I didn't get some answers .

Kevin I see your tractor is a John Deere, not sure how much info you have on LS tractors? I shopped at several dealers and I was told by the first dealer they dont do anything to these tractors. LS doesnt want their quality reputation left up to the competency of various dealers. LS tractors do not come in crates, they are fully assembled prior to going on the truck. The dealer I bought mine from said his guys double check obvious stuff, like lug nut torque, air in tires, toe in on front wheels, fluid levels etc. As for loose loaders I dont know about them, but my guess is you order it with the tractor and its assembled at the factory.

Guys saying the dealer should be catching this stuff is rediculous. Do you honestly think the dealer does a once over on all fasteners with a torque wrench? Talk about cost prohibitive, he might as well just build it himself in his shop. When certain vehicles rank higher on initial quality do you guys really believe its due to the dealer, or the plant making them? If every car on the road was sold from the same dealer, realiability would not be the same.

 

[GManBart]

Kevin I see your tractor is a John Deere, not sure how much info you have on LS tractors? I shopped at several dealers and I was told by the first dealer they dont do anything to these tractors. LS doesnt want their quality reputation left up to the competency of various dealers. LS tractors do not come in crates, they are fully assembled prior to going on the truck. The dealer I bought mine from said his guys double check obvious stuff, like lug nut torque, air in tires, toe in on front wheels, fluid levels etc. As for loose loaders I dont know about them, but my guess is you order it with the tractor and its assembled at the factory.

This mirrors what my dealer told me. They called me the morning the day the truck showed up with my LS. They had several in the shop, ready for delivery the next day, and several out on the lot, by 6pm. They only had two mechanics on duty, so I don't see that much assembly going on in that amount of time. The mechanic told me he went over my tractor, checking a list of items, and that was it. In fact, they mentioned how they loved that LS delivers their tractors in an enclosed trailer, so they don't have to wash/wax them before delivery...wheels on ready to roll, is how they described it. He added "they make me feel like the Maytag repairman. I check them out, they leave, and I never see them again".

 

[Gary Fowler]

Then LS must be the only tractor company that does that. My Kubota dealer has piles of angle frames that the Kubotas are shipped in and require the dealers to shop assemble them. Maybe that is why they cost more.

 

[Guesseral]

I'm pretty sure the final assemble is done by LS in the Carolinas (can't remember which) and that the loader is installed there. The loader if I am not mistaken is US made by Amerequip Client List - Design, Engineering and Manufacturing Solutions for OEMs

 

[Guesseral]

Then LS must be the only tractor company that does that. My Kubota dealer has piles of angle frames that the Kubotas are shipped in and require the dealers to shop assemble them. Maybe that is why they cost more.

The same with New Holland. I was looking at tractor house this morning and they have Boomer 50's that are still pictured on a steel shipping frame no tires or the ROP isn't on either. Kinda sunny looking!

 

[GManBart]

I'm pretty sure the final assemble is done by LS in the Carolinas (can't remember which) and that the loader is installed there. The loader if I am not mistaken is US made by Amerequip Client List - Design, Engineering and Manufacturing Solutions for OEMs

That's how it was described to me. The tractors all go to their NC facility for final assembly, and they ship out from there, ready to roll.

 

[MrChris]

I know my Mitsubishi made Mahindra has some final assembly done in the states. Wheels and tires are added. Also the KMW American made loader is added. I've also had to retighten loader bolts so not really a brand issue as much as a routine maintenance check for all tractors.

 

[GManBart]

If you think about it, this actually makes sense. When shipping a tractor from overseas, space is a big consideration, so they ship them without wheels and front end loaders. They get them here to either a distributor or the dealer and then add wheels and loaders....it's Just that different brands add those parts at different points in the supply chain.

 

[Jhiphop72]

This mirrors what my dealer told me. They called me the morning the day the truck showed up with my LS. They had several in the shop, ready for delivery the next day, and several out on the lot, by 6pm. They only had two mechanics on duty, so I don't see that much assembly going on in that amount of time. The mechanic told me he went over my tractor, checking a list of items, and that was it. In fact, they mentioned how they loved that LS delivers their tractors in an enclosed trailer, so they don't have to wash/wax them before delivery...wheels on ready to roll, is how they described it. He added "they make me feel like the Maytag repairman. I check them out, they leave, and I never see them again".

I can prove this with photos. If you google smith enterprise in Dunn NC. He has photos taken at the final assembly in the factory in NC. I think he is one of the closest dealers to the LS factory. Yes you can see the tractors are shipped in crates minus a bunch of stuff. I do not know ith the rebadged boomers are assembled there or not.