Kubota M7040 three point hydraulic weirdness. Please help.

[arobint]

Bought a lightly used (800 hrs) 2013 M7040 with a front three point hitch and PTO, which has so far been an absolute pleasure to use blowing snow on our farm this winter. We're veggie farmers, so the front three point will be used to mow in conjunction with a rear cultivator for permanent beds. In any case, although the front three point seems flawless, and the remotes on the front work fine, the rear three point is behaving very weirdly: regardless of the where the position and draft control levers are, the three point never drops below about halfway down. As well, with the position lever all the way down, putting the draft lever down results in the three point going up (!) until the pump starts labouring. If you then pull the draft lever all the way to the top, the three point will drop, but only to about half way.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this? I bought the tractor used from a dealer, and they've sent me a bunch of diagnostics from the shop manual, but I feel this situation doesn't reflect any possible troubleshooting situations from normal operation. I did pay them to replace two hydraulic hose fittings that were rusty, and I am wondering if they somehow switched them, but they assure me that if that were the case, none of the hydraulics would work at all. See the video of the weird behaviour in action!

https://imgur.com/tiINifn

 

[Thunder chicken]

I wish I had some better advice to offer but these types of issues have came up on various forums, and it seems the advice is usually follow the WSM steps for adjusting the maze of rods and linkages that make up the draft sensing/control. I believe the 3pt is the first point in the hydraulic system. If you had some rusty lines back there, some of those ball links etc. Could also be seized and rusted/not moving freely. My lowering speed control was seized on my much newer 7060. Seized rusty roll pins are work of the devil.

 

[JWR]

"Normal" draft control operation is such that when the lever is all the way up the Draft Control SHOULD be out of the picture entirely. Exceptions are a long story unrelated to your circumstance. So far as I know you have no need for Draft Control and would leave it in the fully UP position. With the Draft lever all the way up, the Position control should be in charge and the rear 3 pt. should operate fully up and fully down "normally." 'Down' however is never forced by hydraulics on any current tractors and it takes gravity and/or a load of some sort to lower the arms down to the bottom. Have you stood on them to see if they will go on down ? What does the manual say ?
Of course, and I do not mean to be preaching, but you should carefully read your Owners Manual because there may be peculiarities with this model tractor (??) The front 3pt is rather rare and might have been a dealer installed option ?? I have never seen a FRONT 3pt on a Kubota and very few on other brands! They are very common in Europe however where I saw several. Mostly Deere.

Maybe something was altered when the front 3pt was installed ?


As Thunder suggests in the #2 post, the 'lowering speed control' often gets hung up on tractors and you should try that knob at both extremes and see what that does. Mine was hung up on a much smaller BX Kubota and it would not lower at all. Had to have it taken apart and lubricated/repaired.

 

[arobint]

I should have specified, I've looked all over the owners and shop manual for anything resembling this problem. In the troubleshooting guide there isn't anything. Also looked into the lowering speed control, which isn't connected (it spins freely), but the lobed control arm that it connects to does still work, and it doesn't affect anything for the better.

The front hitch is from Zuidberg, and was installed by the dealer. I would have never bought a tractor that had been used for snow removal if it weren't for the front hitch, as it is 25 grand and up (CAD$) installed, and it will be a game changer on my farm. I think Thunder Chicken may be right that it is some seized parts in the all the three point linkages, and it might take some work. . . Thanks for your input.

"Normal" draft control operation is such that when the lever is all the way up the Draft Control SHOULD be out of the picture entirely. Exceptions are a long story unrelated to your circumstance. So far as I know you have no need for Draft Control and would leave it in the fully UP position. With the Draft lever all the way up, the Position control should be in charge and the rear 3 pt. should operate fully up and fully down "normally." 'Down' however is never forced by hydraulics on any current tractors and it takes gravity and/or a load of some sort to lower the arms down to the bottom. Have you stood on them to see if they will go on down ? What does the manual say ?
Of course, and I do not mean to be preaching, but you should carefully read your Owners Manual because there may be peculiarities with this model tractor (??) The front 3pt is rather rare and might have been a dealer installed option ?? I have never seen a FRONT 3pt on a Kubota and very few on other brands! They are very common in Europe however where I saw several. Mostly Deere.

Maybe something was altered when the front 3pt was installed ?


As Thunder suggests in the #2 post, the 'lowering speed control' often gets hung up on tractors and you should try that knob at both extremes and see what that does. Mine was hung up on a much smaller BX Kubota and it would not lower at all. Had to have it taken apart and lubricated/repaired.

 

[arobint]

I wish I had some better advice to offer but these types of issues have came up on various forums, and it seems the advice is usually follow the WSM steps for adjusting the maze of rods and linkages that make up the draft sensing/control. I believe the 3pt is the first point in the hydraulic system. If you had some rusty lines back there, some of those ball links etc. Could also be seized and rusted/not moving freely. My lowering speed control was seized on my much newer 7060. Seized rusty roll pins are work of the devil.

Yes our lowering speed control spins freely, though I can still adjust it by hand. It doesn't affect this problem though. I guess I'll play with it a little more.

 

[sea2summit]

Just out of curiosity does it do the same when it has an implement? Have you tried turning some dirt to see if the draft control works?

 

[Farmer495]

I am assuming front 3pt is on the third remote with the hoses plugged in. That should not affect 3pt.

Also curious what it does with an implement on it, might need "worked" if it's been unused.

Sorry no real help, but what a nice lineup of solid tractors: m7040 4wd cab, m4700 2wd, landini 6860 4wd, landini 8860 2wd, International 274, Farmall 140, Farmall Super A

 

[Dave M7040]

As along time M040 owner you seem to have an unusual setup and one I never heard of before.

Is this configuration one done by a dealer who has done a number of similar ones or is this an odd duck?

Kubota M7040's can have one of two possible hydraulic setups labelled Type 1 and Type 2.

It is important for you to determine which system you have.

Kubota calls them Type1 and Type 2.

Type 2 tractors have the following label on the lower edge of the right door.

The Power Beyond loop is this loop of metal tubing seen on the warning label.

Type 1 tractors have a rectangular metal block. To connect a loader valve into the circuit, the regular plugs in the rectangular block have to be removed and replaced with special fittings. Think of these fittings like a power beyond sleeve fitted to a regular hydraulic valve.

If connections have been made improperly into the PB loop strange things can happen.

If you disconnect the two hydraulic lines from the REAR SCV which feed the front lift arms does the rear 3 pt hitch work better?

Dave M7040

 

[arobint]

Just out of curiosity does it do the same when it has an implement? Have you tried turning some dirt to see if the draft control works?

I havent been able to put an implement on it, it doesn't go down far enough! Im sure I could wrangle something on there, might have to try that. . .

 

[arobint]

I am assuming front 3pt is on the third remote with the hoses plugged in. That should not affect 3pt.

Also curious what it does with an implement on it, might need "worked" if it's been unused.

Sorry no real help, but what a nice lineup of solid tractors: m7040 4wd cab, m4700 2wd, landini 6860 4wd, landini 8860 2wd, International 274, Farmall 140, Farmall Super A

Yes front 3pt is on the to set of remotes.

Yeah it doesn't go low enough to attach to any implements I have though I could wrangle something on there with my other loader tractor. Thanks for the kudos on the tractors! Veggie farming benefits from lots of machines, even though none of them are worked hard like a cash cropper. Hard to justify paying new prices for a single machine. Interesting fact - all of those tractors were bought used on Kijiji (canada's Craig's list) sight unseen, over the years. Never had major issues with any of them! Im a huge fan of the landinis and their bomb-proof shuttle shift transmission. The Kubota's feel pretty light duty in comparison. I love the hydraulic reverser in the 7040, but it scares me a little that there's no backup if it decides not to work one day. . .