Kubota Excavator

[nobull1]

Blake ,
My thoughts exactly,especially when compared to a owner/ operator.When I was at the dealer I saw a set they were replacing that was weather cracked and worn big time.The thing was they were many years old and a couple thousand hours of rental use.Just curious how many hours on average do you get on rental machines tracks.Do you find some makes/types seem to last longer than others and what causes most failures.Maybe what I am asking for is some comments,do's/don'ts and some of your experiences with rubber tracks.

 

[LandscapeMan]

Back in the day, when I was considering buying a used mini-X.
I became friends with a fella that imported used machines from Japan. Mainly Yanmar's. I asked him about replacing a worn track. His view: . As soon as you spring for a new set
you will snag a hidden piece of re-rod and screw up your brand new tracks. I guess that makes a certain amount of sence.

He also thought the undercarriage tended to last a long time. Because most of the work done with a mini is with the bucket, not the dozer blade.

My view, if you buy new and keep it greased and maintained properly. Don't abuse it or do things that are not within it's design limits. It should last a very long time.

The rental people I know tell me that, mini's are one of the most trouble free rentals that they do. Even with all the idiots running them. So a 1 owner operator unit should give great service.
Charlie

 

[coopers]

I don't know too much about our tracks, who we get them from etc. But we don't change them out too often, but more than one would in their own business. A lot of problems we get with all excavators is that the operators tend to not care that they are running over logs and stumps which do damage the under carriage and with rubber tracked units, damage the tracks themselves. Amazing that they are so lazy they won't move it with the hoe, but decide to run it over. We get a lot of tracks coming off the machine too, by turning against large debris etc. Other than that the tracks just get normal wear and tear from being on gravel and other sharp objects.

Blake
WA

 

[nobull1]

Just a update on the Kubota KX91-3. I was up to the dealers shop today and pleasantly surprised to find they had a new set of rubber tracks in stock. These are the replacement tracks I have been waiting on for the last while /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. Let me say it was nice to take them home with me at no charge. So this puts a end to this part of the ownership dilemma that has been going on for the last few months. I will say now, that all is done with that issue, and without my dealer,regional rep and Kubota Canada the outcome might have been different. I have always been a proponent of free trade, even within our country, and will continue to be. Now let me say if I had purchased this machine outside of our area, local dealer support would have been all but non-existent. The main reason I received the tracks at no charge was because of "my local dealer". The service manager, owner etc.were on my side from the start. This dealer spent a lot of hours trying to please me at "his expense". They did this I believe because we have a good relationship which they would like to keep. Remember that there is nothing in it for them in the short term, just some potential long term benefit. So as I said earlier if I had purchased from a dealer that could see no benefit other than a one time sale, support could have been considerably less with a different outcome. This is just something to remember when not buying local. All I can say is the dealer support was great and means a lot when you have issues. I might add as well this was not done at a cost to Kubota alone my dealer picked up part of the cost just to satisfy a customer. Anyone in my area that wants the name of a good dealer just drop me a note. I will continue to post on the adventures of KX91-3 be they good or bad "stay tuned" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[LandscapeMan]

Thats great news.
Very happy to hear they took care of the problem!
Charlie

 

[coopers]

Cool!

Blake
WA

 

[GoodGuy]

Brian....
Glad to that with everything else going on with you folks, that this "issue" is finally behind you. Good Luck in the future with the 91-3, she's quite the girl.
Eric

 

[nobull1]

Just a little bit of a update on the Kubota Kx91-3 excavator. It has been a little over a year since I last posted a update on my likes and dislikes. Well I must say I am now just about to 400 hours and still think a lot of this machine. I just did the antifreeze, motor oil, drive motors oil and a overall check out. Service is quite easy, if the previous tech doesn't over tighten every nut and bolt /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif . Total time to do the above should be no more than a couple of hours if you don't run into problems. As you probably figured it took me a little longer than it should have /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif. As far as reliability goes it has been great except for some small matters. One of these was a bad o ring at the hydraulic pump that decided to just blow one day(although it had been weeping for a long time and could never get it stopped). After a little work to get the problem line removed I came to the conclusion that it probably was incorrectly installed from the factory and would have been warranty. Other than that the only real problem I found was a line connected to the grease fitting that greases the turning circle was not connected /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. I found this out quite early in hours so I don't believe that it caused any premature damage. Lucky for me I am always looking at, how and where things go and found the problem. This is something most would not have found as it is in behind a panel out of site. When pumping grease into the fitting it appears it is going where it should /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. I also have been using aluminium complex grease since day one and believe that it has minimized bearing/bushing wear. This type of grease is high temp, good reversibility, water proof and has good water washout resistance. IMO the quality and frequency of greasing will make one the most significant differences in the longevity of your equipment. Do your research and you will find that paying the most doesn't always get what is the best. It's just a point of knowing what you need for your application. Other than the above noted it has been flawless and works as good as new. Hopefully I can continue to say the same for the next couple of years.

 

[tlbuser]

Good news. Glad you're still happy with your choice.

You tweaked my curiosity, tell me some more about aluminum complex grease.

 

[nobull1]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Good news. Glad you're still happy with your choice.

You tweaked my curiosity, tell me some more about aluminium complex grease. )</font>

The best features are in my opinion Reversibility(to get hot and melt than go back to solid when cooled) water wash out(amount of water/pressure required to remove)High Melting point( the point which the grease will liquefy) water resistance/proof( amount of effort required if possible to mix water with the grease) .You can research it for yourself and I think you will find the same results. The most common grease which is Lithium is a moderate performer in some areas and poor in others in my applications. Lithium is a good general purpose grease for most things. But in my applications Tractors/Excavators I try to find what I think is superior and A/C seems to fit that purpose for me.

 

[nobull1]

It's just about a year since my last post on my KX91-3. I thought a few people might be interested in the latest update. I am now pushing onto 600 hours of use and still having fun . The last year was a busy year for our company, but didn't require as many hours on the excavator as I would have thought. Our tractor had a busy Summer and was probably used almost as much. The excavator just keeps on going with nothing other than a little oil(half a litre every 80 hours or so). I grease at least every day it is being used and sometimes twice. The grease of choice is still aluminium complex and it appears to be doing the job quite well. The oil is as always 15w40 as recommended by Kubota. I am not sure this is the best for Wintertime, but it usually never moves or gets started when it is real cold anyways. The sun was getting to me in the Summer and I thought I would have the windows tinted, by one of the local glass companies. Well! what a difference that made on the hot days. I would recommend it to anybody with a cab, just be careful with the darkness of the tint on certain windows. If there is one thing I don't think is quite right it is how it starts when real cold. You have to do a couple of cycles of the glow plug and then it takes 10-15 seconds to smooth out and clear the smoke. It has done this since new, but it doesn't start near as easy as my tractor and skid steer that are both powered by Kubota. It might be a dead/weak glow plug as it works fine in warmer weather. One day I will get out and check them out and see what gives. Other than that all is good and I look forward to Springtime digging.

Brian

 

[coopers]

Hey nobull, glad to hear things are going well for your excavator. I LOVE kubota mini excavators. You should post more pics when you get a chance, if you have more pics....is that excavator on your own property or is at a worksite (like a nursery)? I had to use a 161-3 to clear some land and it did so well. I wanted to get a JD 120C in there to clear but on one side of the house the trees came too close so I couldn't safely squeeze the excavator through there and on the other side of the was the septic system. So 161 it was. It worked great, I was working pretty fast to get it all done but I got it done.

Blake

 

[coopers]

Pic 2

 

[Teabagger]

Nice machine, we have the same one for almost two years now. I really interested in the tinting because in the summer it really cooks in the cab. Did you tint all the windows or just the sides?

 

[coopers]

Here is pic 3.

 

[coopers]

Here is pic 4.

 

[nobull1]

Blake

The picture is from a customers yard. We infilled/graded from his driveway to the grass. The purpose was to make easier access to his yard from his driveway. I have all kinds of pictures but don't want to bore everyone with a bunch of my jobs. If you look at my website you will see I have added a few more, and will add a couple more in the next day or two. This one is from a job where we had to dig/define a ditch/runoff. We just dug the ditch to get everything flowing proper then filled with 2" clear and finished with 1", all lined with geo-textile. The rocks were in the yard and had to be moved to be able to finish with topsoil. So I said I will use them to line the path/ditch.

 

[nobull1]

Another shot

 

[nobull1]

One more

 

[nobull1]

Nice machine, we have the same one for almost two years now. I really interested in the tinting because in the summer it really cooks in the cab. Did you tint all the windows or just the sides?

I tinted the back,right side slider,little window below slider, fixed side window and bottom of door limo tint. The top of door and right front slider 25%?(light). I didn't tint the front at all. I figure that I want everyone to be able to see me on the right, left or in front of me. Best couple hundred spent. If you don't do tint then get someone who knows how to do it for you. The rear and fixed side are curved and are not fun when you know what you are doing.