kioti dk55 front end problems

gooseneckmfg · Jan 21, 2006

New cab DK55 less than 12 hours. Left front gears (rings sheared 3 teeth, dealer sent us the parts after about 2 weeks) just happened again only on the right side.

I thought these tractors were ok, beginning to wonder. (I also own a Kubota m68oo, JD 4320 & an older 875 V /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gifersatile so I'm around tractors a lot.) Plus we use the m6800 as a trailer retriever in our trailer mfg business.

CT_Tree_Guy · Jan 21, 2006

Gooseneck, welcome to TBN - I wish your first post didn't have to contain such disturbing news.

I might be stepping into a hornet's nest here, but that does not sound good at all. If that had just happened to my tractor, it'd be heading back to the dealer, never to return.

One side? OK, it happens to the best of them. One side, and then the other side? That is a totally different story. What other gears (or other components) are on that tractor that were manufactured with the same poor standards? (You obviously know tractors, so I'm not about to assume that you abused the machine).

Again, I'd get rid of that thing and never look back. Kioti owners, please know that I'd be saying the same thing no matter what brand it was. That is just totally unacceptable, and I see nothing but trouble, trouble and more trouble if you keep that machine.

John

***

Similar problem?

DK40 front end

AutoUnionTypeC · Jan 22, 2006

Well you will pardon my skepticism but, we have two posters here that were not posting here at the time of purchase yet showed up once they had a “problem”. I know that shouldn’t be an issue but this is after all the Kioti Forum and we’ve had more than our fair share of trolls. Gooseneck I don’t mean this as any sort of personal affront it’s just the nature of the beast here.

( If that had just happened to my tractor, it'd be heading back to the dealer, never to return.)

Not sure I completely understand that, I’d be working with my dealer to figure out the root cause.

( That is just totally unacceptable, and I see nothing but trouble, trouble and more trouble if you keep that machine.)

Care to expand on that, what leads you to that conclusion? There are too many very happy Kioti owners here in this forum for me to think this problem endemic. Lord knows I’ve worked my own hard enough. I’ll be interested to see how this plays out.

Regards, Jamie

CT_Tree_Guy · Jan 22, 2006

I stand by my previous post in its entirety. I will add that if the post was a fabrication, and the failures did not happen as described, then I have given credence where none was due.

As far as:

( If that had just happened to my tractor, it'd be heading back to the dealer, never to return.)

Not sure I completely understand that, I’d be working with my dealer to figure out the root cause.

is concerned, I'm not sure what part of it is subject to interpretation. IF that had happened to my tractor, whatever color it was, I would not be keeping it, or would do everything in my power to make that the case.

As for:

( That is just totally unacceptable, and I see nothing but trouble, trouble and more trouble if you keep that machine.)

Care to expand on that, what leads you to that conclusion?

I think it's obvious what lead me to that conclusion. Again, if the information is false, I have given credence to what I believed to be an honest account of an event that purportedly occurred. If the event(s) did not happen, I have made a mistake in doing so. If not, I stand by my conclusion that this is an unacceptable level of performance from a machine, and that these purported failures might very well lead one to believe that there could well be other problems in the future.

John

Inspector507 · Jan 22, 2006

Jamie,
Don't be so quick to condemn a first time poster with a problem. It happens in every forum here regardless of color/brand. People go looking for an answer to their problem and stumble across TBN, which they may not have known even existed when they purchased.
I know exactly what went through your mind when you posted and I understand the troll comment, but that's a fine way to welcome a new member. It might even drive them away.

edit.......welcome to TBN gooseneck

wallace · Jan 22, 2006

( Gooseneck,
Again, I'd get rid of that thing and never look back. Kioti owners, please know that I'd be saying the same thing no matter what brand it was. That is just totally unacceptable, and I see nothing but trouble, trouble and more trouble if you keep that machine.

John )

Boy-O-Boy,
You must get a lot of new equipment, if you only have 2 problems with something and then want to get rid of it!

CT_Tree_Guy · Jan 22, 2006

Boy-O-Boy,
You must get a lot of new equipment, if you only have 2 problems with something and then want to get rid of it!

Wallace, I respectfully submit that there are problems, and then there are problems.

My Kubota 5030 has had several problems. Some of the loader bolts were loose, hydraulic hose fittings leaked and needed to be snugged up, and after 530 hours an o-ring failed on a quick-connect for my front grapple hydraulics.

I love my tractor, and these problems are, in my estimation, quite minor. If one front axle drive gear had disintegrated after 12 hours, and then the other one followed suit, my feelings about my tractor would be quite different.

I ask only that you not attack me for making the observations that I have made. I would have posted them in the Mahindra forum, the New Holland forum, the John Deere forum, or the Kubota forum, and I stand by them.

John

KiotiJohn · Jan 22, 2006

I think it should suffice to say that these types of problems happen in all kinds of equipment. It is not terribly unusual to find the occasional bad run of something that is only discovered after sale. With replacement parts being installed, it is likely that the whole problem will not return.

There are many DK55's out there that have never had this problem, and there are some that have. Usually, repairing/replacing a defective piece with another that was probably not in the same lot resolves the problem and everything is hunky-dory afterward.

I think it highly unlikely that said tractor will have the same problems after the parts are replaced. It doesn't mean that anything else on the tractor will go bad.
John

TractorLegend · Jan 22, 2006

Have you ever wrote a post and it didn't end up here the next day---I swear that was the case---so I will repeat...
I have been trolling this forum for over a year and as far as Kioti problems these are all I remember---A CK20 tranny coupler problem on a couple of them, loose loader bolts sheared off which likely could have been tightened prior to such, some misc. o ring leaks on hydraulics here and there, and now this.
I don't think enough to condemn the whole brand and likely Kioti will stand behind the issue and come up with something.
Any brand can and does have a lemon in the group of anything mechanical. A man named Murphy made a law that insures such.

NewToy · Jan 22, 2006

I believe I would want to get out from under that thing as well. Two catastrophic front end failures in TWELVE hours would scare anyone. That would take the "warm & fuzzy" feeling of owning a new machine away real quick.

John

Inspector507 · Jan 22, 2006

Could it be a case of using 4WD on pavement by mistake?

Highbeam · Jan 22, 2006

That is what warranties are for. The tractor is designed to work for the long haul, if someone screws up when making it it will fail pretty early on in life. The replacement shouldn't be (odds are) screwed up unless there is a design issue.

If you can abuse it for a year and shake out all these gremlins then you are set. The good news is that this hapened early. If it happens again to the same part then I would say it is something to worry about long term. From what I read, it sounds like each part failed once. Not the same part twice. Could it be possible that the parts were made as a modular assembly somewhere and that particular set of gears wasn't heat treated right or something similar? Might be a Friday night front axle (if they have weekends in Korea) that needs to be fixed once.

You are still in the shakedown period. I would NOT see this as grounds to dump the whole tractor as a lemon. Rather, the axle assembly may be a lemon but even that is a stretch.

CT_Tree_Guy · Jan 22, 2006

Could it be a case of using 4WD on pavement by mistake? 

Man, I don't know ... that reminds me of a little boo-boo of mine. Right before my 50-hour oil changes, I took my tractor for a high-speed joyride around the (paved) parking lot - maybe about a 1/4 mile, at 14-15 MPH. "Man, listen to that hydro whine - cool", I'm saying to myself. When I parked it, I looked down at my feet and realized I had been in 4WD the whole time. "Sorry baby, good thing I'm about to change your fluids. We'll wash those nasty metal filings out of you, and I promise you, it'll never happen again". Oh well, another broken promise. I've done it since, but never quite like that.

I guess the point of my little story is that I wouldn't expect a scrubbing tire to exert enough force on a drive gear to break it. Break it IN maybe, but not break it.

I really am sorry if I've alienated anyone by what I've said in this thread. It really is not my intention to bad-mouth any particular make of tractor, and I have every reason to believe that this is not at all indicative of Kioti's in general. It couldn't possibly be, or they wouldn't have the very loyal following that they do. In fact, I just saw some up close and personal just yesterday, and stopped to take a picture (attached) and check them out. They looked great, well-designed, and very rugged. All the more reason I hope we get some more info on this situation. Could well be there's more than meets the eye, and for all I know, I've been hoodwinked. If so, shame on me for making assumptions, in which case, live and learn.

I really do try to do my best not to offend anyone, and be respectful of other people. We're all in this together, and I really do like the Golden Rule. I do my best to call them like I see them, and when I screw up, all I can do is apologize and ask for forgiveness. If and when you screw up, I promise to return the favor.

John

*****

The picture was taken about .3 miles from my shop. (I think ones a DK40, not sure about the other one). Canton [CT] Feed & Supply obviously just became a dealer, cuz those babies weren't sitting there last week. They sure do look nice though - and I like the color too! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Inspector507 · Jan 22, 2006

Wow Kioti has a great warranty if you can misuse it and abuse it for a year to "shake it down" and they still pay for it.

edit........sorry I butted in. I'll go back to my own home now.

AutoUnionTypeC · Jan 22, 2006

( Jamie,
Don't be so quick to condemn a first time poster with a problem. It happens in every forum here regardless of color/brand. People go looking for an answer to their problem and stumble across TBN, which they may not have known even existed when they purchased.
I know exactly what went through your mind when you posted and I understand the troll comment, but that's a fine way to welcome a new member. It might even drive them away.

edit.......welcome to TBN gooseneck )

Point taken, Inspector. I did try to qualify my remarks but upon rereading them I did come off a bit harsh.

Regards, Jamie

AutoUnionTypeC · Jan 22, 2006

No problems here, John. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

What I was trying to get a handle on was your line of demarcation; the point where you went from working with the dealer and manufacture to solve the problem vs. the point where you assumed your machine was a lemon. Your position seemed a bit harsh to me, but that’s no great sin. Just two different levels of expectation that's all.

Best Regards, Jamie

CT_Tree_Guy · Jan 22, 2006

Jamie - great post, thanks. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I think I was a little low on caffeine when I wrote that first post this morning, and on re-reading it, I can see that it was a little on the harsh side. I like to be reasonable, and not let anger run my life. (Although I think that right about the time the second wheel fell off, my outwardly calm demeanor would have been showing a few stress fractures). /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

In calmly thinking about it, if it had happened to me ... I can honestly say that (after having a good old-fashioned ****-fit) I would have given everyone involved (dealer, manufacturer, the poor guy who maybe screwed up that Friday afternoon and forgot to heat-treat a batch of gears) the biggest dose possible of the type of understanding and forgiveness that I hold so near and dear to my heart, and tried to turn the situation into a "win-win" (and maybe gotten a few free Kioti hats out of the deal to boot). /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I also apologize for my earlier reply to you, in which I was just barely polite, but obviously letting my ego hold too much sway. (If tractors come with owner's manuals, shouldn't we? I guess we have to write our own as we go along). /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Peace, John

(And now I REALLY am curious to see what the "real deal" is here).

AND - we've gotta talk sometime about Auto Union Type C's - they look WAY cool, and I have a friend who I bet knows ALL about them! I'm gonna ask him tomorrow AM - after I have my coffee. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

thcri · Jan 22, 2006

( Well you will pardon my skepticism but, we have two posters here that were not posting here at the time of purchase yet showed up once they had a “problem”. )

I guess I was in the same situation. I never knew about TBN until about a year or so after I had my tractor. I ran into trouble and was posting in the newsgroups when Spencer invited me over here. So I never posted until I had trouble. But I was treated with respect and had my questions answered. I stuck around. I am not sure the original poster is going to. I don't think I would.

You talk about trolls. If the original poster was a troll you should have answered the question and went on with life. And most likely the troll would go away. The way most responded if the original poster was a troll he is probably laughing his heart out cause he got to you all.

Gooseneckmfg,

Your tractor and I am including all manufactures evidently had a defect in manufactureing either on the assembly line or who ever put the front end together. Get with you dealer and figure out what went wrong, and get the dealer/manufacture to extend the warranty on your tractor. I am sure things can be worked out.

Let us know how things turn out.

murph

AutoUnionTypeC · Jan 22, 2006

(
AND - we've gotta talk sometime about Auto Union Type C's - they look WAY cool, and I have a friend who I bet knows ALL about them! I'm gonna ask him tomorrow AM - after I have my coffee. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif )

They were way cool, made me draw a short breath the first time I ever saw one.

Grand Prix cars made in the prewar years by a consortium of four small German companies... Horch, Wanderer, DKW and Audi. Featured a mid mounted V16 that made around 520 bhp in 1936 and 640 in 1937, had enough torque to induce wheel spin at over 100 mph. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Driven by such legends as Bernd Rosemeyer, Tazio Nuvolari and Hans Stuck Sr. Rosemeyer dies in the stromline variant while attempting the reset the world speed record. (Both seen below) Just before his crash he was clocked at 280 mph enough for the record had he finished his run.

Well that’s a start......... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

CT_Tree_Guy · Jan 22, 2006

OH ... MY ... GOD .... what incredible machines!!!!!

OK, can't hijack the thread, but man, that was a heck of a start all right! Maybe you could start a thread just on them, I'd love to hear and see more! Heck, now I want to own one, or at least drive one! (OK, sit in one and make vroom-vroom noises?)

Good lord though, doing 280 MPH without even a roll bar - what WERE they thinking??? Same with the early Indy car racers - roll and die - what's up with that??? Same reason tractors never had ROPS for so long I guess. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Anyway, thanks for sharing - great stuff! And rest well, you brave, crazy automotive pioneers - you guys had more guts than I ever will.

John