Kubota B7500 - Adjusting rear wheel width/stance

jayyohe · Nov 2, 2017

Hi All,

I'm new here and have a question regarding my Kubota B7500. I just took delivery this week and already move the rear wheels into there narrowest position along the axle shaft. My pin and axle tightening thingy ma jig is located on the inside of the wheel. I've seen a video showing this stuff located on the outside of the wheel. My question is this, is it possible to swap the wheels left to right so the pin and axle tightener are on the outside of the wheel hub which should tuck my tires in even closer for a narrower width? I am trying to reduce the width as much as possible for when I run my tiller behind the tractor. My tiller is around 42" wide and my rear wheel width is approx 46" wide with AG tires.

Thanks all

Rusty · Nov 2, 2017

jayyohe, Which AG tires do you have? My Operator's Manual shows different wheel spacing arrangements for the 8-16 and 8.3-16 Farm tires on the B7500DTN, and for the 9.5-16 Farm tire on the B7500. Assuming you have the 9.5-16 tires, the center line of tire spacing can be 32.9"' 34.9" or 39.6". The narrower spacings are with the wheel hub on the outside of the wheel disk. The wider spacing is with the hub on the inside of the wheel. The wider setting is obtained by, "Remove the wheel hub and reinstall it on the other side of the wheel disk, then set the wheel as shown." (Figure F-8441).

I don't know why you could not just turn each rear wheel around on its own axle. Perhaps, others can comment on that idea.

Best wishes!

jayyohe · Nov 2, 2017

Thanks for the replay Rusty. I'm not sure which tires I have. I'll have to check on that. I was thinking if I move the tires left to right and right to left, placing the hub on the outside, it will not effect the tread pattern. If I turn each wheel around on its own axle, I was thinking the tread pattern will be wrong. Only hicup I see with my idea is the valve stem will be located on the inside of the wheel which IMO is not a big deal.

jayyohe · Nov 2, 2017

I was not aware that the wheel hub could be swapped to either side of the wheel. I guess that's something I should consider as well. Lots to learn here. Thanks again.

LouNY · Nov 2, 2017

You can do what you want to, it will work fine.
I like to keep as much width as possible, have you considered offsetting your tiller by your side link adjustment?
Yes, it will run the pto shaft at a slight misalignment but they can handle some with no problem.

Mendonsy · Nov 2, 2017

My B7500 would allow the hubs to be reversed on the axles and also the wheels to be reversed on the hubs. I have mine set wider for more stability on hillsides, but it appears that they could actually be set narrow enough to interfere with the hitch and fenders.
If you decide to swap things side to side be sure you have your tractor well supported. Both wheels being off at the same time could quickly become a really bad situation.

jayyohe · Nov 2, 2017

The main reason I bought my tractor was to till the garden. I do not have any hills to worry about. Yes I believe I can offset the tiller but I'd rather not go that route. I just want the tractor tire ruts to be covered by the tiller once it passes over them. Ultimately, I should have gone with a 50" tiller but got such a good deal on an almost brand new 42" Reverse Till Land Pride that I couldn't pass it up.

I have a couple jack stands to support the tractor while I work on it.

Thanks

Rusty · Nov 2, 2017

jayyohe said:
Only hicup I see with my idea is the valve stem will be located on the inside of the wheel which IMO is not a big deal.

The valve stem location might be why the Manual recommends relocating the hub.

Be very careful, when supporting the rear of the tractor with jack stands! I remove both rear wheels, when I change the two hydraulic filters and the hydraulic fluid. I locate the jack stands on each side supporting the axle on each side. There is not much room to position my stands under the axle. I recommend having a helper, when you are putting the wheels back on the axles. Alignment has been challenging for me, and you don't want to be pushing horizontally against my jack stands.

jayyohe · Nov 2, 2017

Good grief...I just finished removing each wheel and relocating the hubs to the outside of the wheel. This kept my valve stems on the outside of the wheel as well. After reinstalling, I lost a good 4" of width which put my wheel spacing right around 42" which should be perfect for running my tiller. I torqued all nuts to 100ftlb. I've read that tractor tires can be filled with liquid calcium or something like that for weight. Mine are definitely filled with something. I could hear it swishing around in there and they darn things got to weigh at least 150 lbs each. Getting them back on by myself took a bit of finessing but I was able to roll the tires up on a 2x4 and then used my jack to raise the tractor up or down to line the hub up with the axle. Only smashed one finger and I don't think it's broken so I guess I made out okay. Appreciate the insight. Now I am going to post another question on a new thread concerning getting hydraulics to the rear of the machine so I can run a 3 point log splitter.

I don't know why the frig my pictures get all screwed up when I attached them.....SORRY Seems that if you click on each picture to make it bigger, they show up the correct way.