Kubota L45 Exhaust stack

[lhansman]

Kubota for some strange reason likes to advertise the fact that there is no exhaust stack on their tractors which "improves visibility". The don't tell you that it leads to operator's breathing exhaust fumes or that the downward discharge can kick up a lot of dust if you are working on dry ground like I have been most of this year. I see absolutely no advantage to not having an exhaust stack and having now added one to my Kubota L45 I can tell you there are many benefits not the least of which is completing a whole day of seat time without having breathed a significant amount of diesel exhaust.

I held of doing this for a couple of months because I have a Laurin cab sitting at the dealers waiting to be installed and I did not want to have the stack intefere with the cab installation. There is an excellent post on TBN from 4Shorts on how he added an exhaust stack to his Kubota and initially I had planned on using a similar approach on my L45 but then I decided that I had to keep my stack further forward to keep it out of the way of the cab installation and the Kubota toolbox mounted on the driver side loader attachment arm. So as you can see in the attached photos I decided to use a couple of bolts where Kubota has attached the heavy frame that sits under the L45. I removed two of the six bolts and then started with a piece of 3-1/2" x 6" angle to make the initial bracket. I then had a piece of 1-1/2" C-channel welded to the bracket to provide support for the exhaust stack. I then went to my local muffler shop and he cut off and fabricated the new exhaust routing under the hood and out from under the side skirt to the stack. Here are a few photos.

 

[rmk700]

Well that's quite the exhaust pipe! Nice! I guess it won't get in the way. I never really seemed to have an issue with breathing in the exhaust on my tractor.

 

[Dadof3]

I love it . Just like your intake. Function over form. Cool.

 

[Martian]

Nice job! I'm really a fan of the vertical exhausts, mainly because they look cool, but they do have a lot of benefits as well. For those that say a 3" pipe is blocking that much of their view, I tell them to get glasses. You don't even notice it's there during operation.

 

[lhansman]

Thanks for the comments guys. The stack is actually only 2" diameter Martian and I don't even notice it when operating the L45. All I notice is the nice, clean, fresh country air. It may not be clear from the photos but the straight stack portion just slips over the piece that is attached to the muffler. I just have a stainless steel gear clamp at the top of my support bracket to hold the stack in place. I had them leave it like this so I can just loosen the hose clamp and rotate the pipe to direct the discharge in any direction I want.

Driving around normally I could live with the exhaust discharging by the front tire but this year it has been so dry that every time I stepped on the HST pedal with the auto throttle on the L45 it would send up a cloud of dust. The low exhaust is also a problem when you are working the machine around a trench or other excavation that has other workers in it. If they are down 3 or 4 feet when you drive by they get the exhaust and/or dust blown in their faces too. The worst problem I have encounter with the low exhaust is if you are excavating along a building which is what I do when fixing leaky basements. I would always try and orient the machine so that the exhaust is blowing away from the building but there are times when you just can't do that with a TLB. Believe me if you are sitting on an open station working backhoe controls for several hours with the exhaust blowing against the building you will be breathing diesel fumes all day. I don't mind a wiff of diesel but all day is too much for me.

I think they made the stack a little too long as it is about 6" higher than the roof so it looks long but for now I am leaving it since it is a good reminder if I am in a low overhead area that the backhoe on the L45 sits about 8" higher than the roof. The top of the backhoe was not higher than the roof of my B21 or my B26 so on those machines if the roof fit than I was good to go. That is not the case with the L45 but fortunately the roof of the L45 is high enough that I can't even try and get it in my garage so I haven't done any damage yet. One of my fall projects was to increase the height of my garage door so I can get the L45 inside for the winter but that project may have to wait until next year as I am so busy with other things right now. They have offered to shorten the pipe but I am going to wait until I get my Laurin cab installed to make a final decision on stack height.

Regards,

Lauren

 

[case245]

i hate the exhaut on my kubota to i had vertical stack tractor before the diesel smoked dont bother me at all use the tractor all day long day after day i might someday fix the exhaust on my kubota

 

[4shorts]

Looks great Lauren. It's going to be a Hugh improvment that's for sure. If you haven't don't it already you might want to drill a small drainage hole in the lowest portion of the exhaust so that rain water can't build up in the stack and make its way into the head of the engine. Even installing a flap would help prevent water from entering the stack. When I did my stack conversion I also put in a drainage hose just for peace of mind. It can be seen running down by the FEL tube
Congrats on a nice job.
Paul

 

[lhansman]

Nice to hear from you Paul. I considered the drain hole but as you can see in this photo the top of my stack has a nice kick off to the side and my machine will be inside soon so I think is will be alright. I spent most of yesterday on the L45 again just beathing fresh, clean country air!

I'm going to call the dealer on Tuesday as there has been a little chill in the morning a couple of days this past week so I am going to see if I can't schedule the Laurin cab and rear remote installation for the week of Sept. 10. Then I'll have to go through a few of your old posts Paul and figure out how many accessories I need to put in the cab!

Regards,

Lauren

 

[4shorts]

Nice to hear from you Paul. I considered the drain hole but as you can see in this photo the top of my stack has a nice kick off to the side and my machine will be inside soon so I think is will be alright. I spent most of yesterday on the L45 again just beathing fresh, clean country air!

I'm going to call the dealer on Tuesday as there has been a little chill in the morning a couple of days this past week so I am going to see if I can't schedule the Laurin cab and rear remote installation for the week of Sept. 10. Then I'll have to go through a few of your old posts Paul and figure out how many accessories I need to put in the cab!

Regards,

Lauren
View attachment 278985

Man it looks great. Can't understand why these tractor manufactures don't put vertical stacks on their small tractors. I'm thinking it has something to do with cost / profits. I bet it's nice not to breath those fumes now. Looking forward to seeing that Laurin cab. They are built nice. I see your using the same Shelter Logic I have. Good units. Mine has been up for a year now and the tractor is enjoying the comfort :laughing:
Looking forward to some cab pics next : :thumbsup:

c9 | Flickr - Berbagi Foto!

 

[lhansman]

Hi Paul

I have had the L45 on the job site the last few days and the stack is a big hit even with some of the trades. I had to dig some trenches for power and storm lines and the guys running the pipes and conduit were glad the exhaust was no longer blowing at their at face height.

FYI I started another thread when I picked up the L45 titled "New L45 has arrived" and it has a number of other modifications I have made and I will be adding the Laurin cab photos to that thread as well as putting the exhaust stack photos there too.

I have two of the Shelter Logic units - one is on it's fifth year and the one in the photo I have had for four years. The one in the photo had stayed in place through the last three winter storms but this spring I had left the door unzipped for a few days to help it dry out inside and we had a freak storm which blew from the east into the unzipped door and pulled the anchors out of the ground and flipped her on her back. I have a few holes to repair but I just park my 14' dumping trailer in this one so a little leak will not be a problem. To ensure this doesn't happen again I dug down four feet at each corner and then buried a two foot length of steel with a 1/4" stainless steel cable tied to it and the corner brace of the shelter to hold each corner in place. Now that I have backfilled the holes I don't expect it to blow away again. Over the next couple of weekends I need to give the other one the same treatment just for safety. I'm hoping to have the time and money to raise the centre section of my old garage so I can get the L45 inside for the winter but if not I will make room in the other Shelter Logic unit for this winter.

It has turned quite warm and humid here again but there were a few chilly mornings last week so I figure I better get the Laurin cab on before I have to spend a cool, damp (or wet) day on the L45. I just ordered the cab with heat so I held off through the summer but I will save my pennies over the winter and have A/C installed in the spring.

Thanks for you kind comments on the stack and I hope you have had a great summer and are getting the hatches battened down for winter too! I for one am hoping for at least one good sized storm this winter so I can enjoy clearing snow in a heated cab for the first time.

All the best,

Lauren