Kubota Service Intervals.

BufordBoone · Aug 19, 2015

My manual shows service intervals and some things that must be completed after the first 50 hours.

For example, changing the hydraulic fluid filter must be done after the first 50 hours. It then says it should be done every 200 hours. However, it also says it should be done when your hourmeter reads "200" and then "400", etc.

If I changed it at 50 (I did), Why wouldn't the hourmeter reading be 250 then 450?

s219 · Aug 19, 2015

It's just poor wording. The 50 hour service is a bit different, as it's more about replacing filters after break-in. But other stuff (including hydraulic fluid) doesn't get changed at 50 hours, so it's still got its clock started at zero hours.

I think the way to look at it is having the major services on 200 and 400 hour increments, referenced to zero hours when tractor was new. The 50 hour service is a unique short term service inserted into the schedule just to replace filters after break-in.

drussell · Aug 19, 2015

There is some confusion regarding service intervals. Seven years ago when I purchased my L 4240 HST C the recommendation was to change the filters and the hydraulic transmission fluid at 50 hours. Five years ago when I purchased my RTV 500 my owner's manual said to change the filters and oil at 50 hours but the dealers service manual said only change the filters not the oil at 50 hours, so we only changed the filters.Two months ago I've purchased a B 2650 and the owners manual says to change only the filters at 50 hours while the dealers service manual recommends changing both the hydraulic transmission oil and the filters at 50 hours.
I checked with my service manager and he was a bit confused as well as the service manual and the owners manual contradict each other. He decided to check with Kubota headquarters and they advised him that the owners manual was correct and that the service manual would be updated to reflect the change.
I will be doing the 50 hour service on my B 2650 today. I will be changing engine oil and filters, hydraulic and transmission filters but I will not be changing hydraulic transmission fluid.I routinely change my engine oil and filters at 100 hour intervals and follow the owner's manual with regards to the 200 and 400 hour services . I currently have 2000 hours on my Grand L 4240HSTC, 500 HRS on my RTV 500, and 400hrs on my ZD331and have had no problems with any of them. Just routine maintenance.
Hope this helps.
Doc Russell

drussell · Aug 19, 2015

I should have added that I purchased a good quality torque wrench and re- torque wheel nuts and loader nuts etcetera at each service. for the first few services I found several nuts and bolts that needed a little tightening. This may have prevented some unnecessary issues from occurring.
Doc Russell

JOHNTHOMAS · Aug 20, 2015

drussell said:
There is some confusion regarding service intervals. Seven years ago when I purchased my L 4240 HST C the recommendation was to change the filters and the hydraulic transmission fluid at 50 hours. Five years ago when I purchased my RTV 500 my owner's manual said to change the filters and oil at 50 hours but the dealers service manual said only change the filters not the oil at 50 hours, so we only changed the filters.Two months ago I've purchased a B 2650 and the owners manual says to change only the filters at 50 hours while the dealers service manual recommends changing both the hydraulic transmission oil and the filters at 50 hours.
I checked with my service manager and he was a bit confused as well as the service manual and the owners manual contradict each other. He decided to check with Kubota headquarters and they advised him that the owners manual was correct and that the service manual would be updated to reflect the change.
I will be doing the 50 hour service on my B 2650 today. I will be changing engine oil and filters, hydraulic and transmission filters but I will not be changing hydraulic transmission fluid.I routinely change my engine oil and filters at 100 hour intervals and follow the owner's manual with regards to the 200 and 400 hour services . I currently have 2000 hours on my Grand L 4240HSTC, 500 HRS on my RTV 500, and 400hrs on my ZD331and have had no problems with any of them. Just routine maintenance.
Hope this helps.
Doc Russell

I purchased my first Kubota about 12 years ago, a BX2200. I've purchased around 18 new ones since then. As Doc says, the schedule has changed over the years and I've followed the manuals and went with the changes. The first 50 hour service is an odd ball change for the reasons given. I have 105 hours on my F3080 and am preparing to change the engine oil and oil filter only as the owners manual states. I changed the engine oil and all filters at 50 hours as the manual states. The manual also states 200 hours is when the next engine oil change is due.
I to contacted Kubota about the proper schedule and they emailed me back a reply which I've kept stating to follow owners manual only.

BufordBoone · Aug 20, 2015

Thanks to all for the replies. Glad I'm not the only one that found it confusing.

NoNewParts · Aug 20, 2015

good answers
agree the 50 hour is a 'special', so not included in the 'regular' hour intervals.
Just like to add that the hours...like 200 400...are one of those 'don't go over this many without a service' kind of things.
Use and climate plays a role. Casual use and a climate of wild temp changes mean more often, or once a year service at least.
Regardless of low hours.
condensation is an oil killer....and after the oil is bad, worse things follow.

Paystar · Aug 20, 2015

I have spoken to Kubota reps at my dealer when they were there for a show, and they told me the manuals are not that accurate. Some things are lost in translation, some are mis-prints and some stuff is from older models and not updated.

Some things they did tell me point blank.....it is ridiculous to not change the hydraulic oil at 50 hours when some people are going by the manual and doing filters only.
Said they see people do it with the excavators lots too.....neglect to change one quart of oil in the final drives and then they destroy a $1500 final drive over a quart of oil each side.

Two other things that contradict what I read on these forums all the time.....they recommend UDT in the front axles, not gear oil. Told me UDT does not cause the seal leaks and lots of people can't tell the difference between normal sweating and an actual leak.
And two....the front axle is supposed to create and hold pressure. Venting the axle will only cause leaks down the road. The pressure is meant to keep contaminants out.

I'm sure many will tell me this is all wrong, and you all can do what you want, but I'll do what three different Kubota reps told me on my own tractors.

Fortunately I'm not cheap, I don't even go by the intervals, I change all my oils and filters every season.

JOHNTHOMAS · Aug 21, 2015

Kubota email response - Contact # 44588‏

Customer Satisfaction (CustomerSatisfaction@kubota.com)

2/12/10

To: CIRAJOHNTHOMAS@MSN.COM

CustomerSatisfaction@kubota.com

John, the person or persons from TBN do not know what they are talking
about. There has not been a Service Bulletin or even a notice sent to the
dealers that this is a mistake in the Operators manual. Kubota Tractor
recommends for you to follow your Operators manuals for servicing of each
unit you have. The BX2660 and the BX25 do not have to have the transmission
fluid change until it reaches the 400 hour mark. For the F2680, it is the
200 hour mark. The transmission oil filters need to be replaced and the
suction strainers cleaned at or before the 50 hour mark for all three
units. Your selling dealer can also assist you if you have any questions in
regard to servicing your tractors. Thank you for purchasing and contacting
Kubota Tractor Corp..

drussell · Aug 21, 2015

To clarify what I stated previously, I am in Canada and we deal with Kubota Canada.when my dealer checked with Kubota Canada they indicated the operator's manual was correct and that the dealers service manual had not yet been updated to reflect the change but would be soon.
Respectfully. Doc Russell

Paystar · Aug 22, 2015

Oh well, guess I just think the same way those three reps do....change the oil and be happy. When I saw how black it was at that first 50 hour change, I was glad I did.

Everyone else can change their oil whenever they want. That's why I don't buy used. I can afford a pail of oil, LOL.

WilliamBos · Aug 22, 2015

Are you folks really that cheap that you can't afford to change a couple of gallons of oil when you service it? The idiots that wrote the manual must of never serviced a tractor. If you have to figure out how to not lose oil while pulling a filter, then just drain and replace the oil.

donm1 · Aug 23, 2015

Okay, I admit that I'm cheap and an idiot because I follow the service schedule in my owner's manuals. I would like to thank everyone that took the time to share some helpful information.

Paystar · Aug 24, 2015

I'm sorry if my response sounded rude. It just gets frustrating seeing thread after thread on these forums of people buying the cheapest filters they can find and using shop vacs to change filters and oils, then when they have a failure, they're the first to post that Brand-X is junk.

If you're going to invest so much in a tractor, why skimp on maintenance.

Anyway, take it for what it's worth, but those three Kubota reps told me the manuals are wrong. So follow whatever interval you are comfortable with.
Maybe they're wrong? Maybe they just want to sell me oil and filters? But I don't mind. I'd rather keep fresh fluids in mine.

Paystar · Aug 24, 2015

And if you really want piece of mind and want to go full intervals, do like I do and get fluid analysis done. Then you'll know exactly what's in your oil and coolant. I use Caterpillar's SOS for all my stuff.

JOHNTHOMAS · Aug 25, 2015

Paystar said:
I'm sorry if my response sounded rude. It just gets frustrating seeing thread after thread on these forums After several years on tis forum I've discovered I don't have to read every post and for sure don't have to reply to them. I skip over or stop reading ones I don't like.
Maybe they're wrong? Maybe they just want to sell me oil and filters? But I don't mind. I'd rather keep fresh fluids in mine.

Why don't you change yours weekly if your not cheap and want yours fresh?

s219 · Aug 25, 2015

Definitely change the engine oil at 50 hours as recommended. Mine has always looked moderately dirty at 50 hours, and it's engine oil that can accumulate stuff. Makes perfect sense to change that at 50 hours.

Changing hydraulic fluid at 50 hours is not called for on any recent model Kubota I have seen, and that is reasonable for opposite reasons -- not much bad could accumulate or cause issues with hydraulic fluid in 50 hours. It would be a real waste to change it all out unless you had some problems/issues/events suggesting otherwise, or got the oil sampled and found a problem. So in lieu of a real concern, I think only doing the hydraulic filters at 50 hours is just fine.

Sure, it doesn't hurt anything to change the fluid anyhow, but I sure as heck wouldn't get an attitude about it and act like everyone else is stupid for following the owner's manual. Seems a bit paranoid/insecure to me. There is nothing magic about the "50" number either way. If someone is going to argue that the fluid should be changed at 50, against standard practice, they better have a good reason why "50" is the magic number. Heck, if you're really worried, maybe it should have been changed at 25 hours!

Paystar · Aug 25, 2015

JOHNTHOMAS said:
Why don't you change yours weekly if your not cheap and want yours fresh?

Because I only use it a couple times a month. But don't worry, I have more Kubota UDT and filters at my house than the dealer has in stock.

meos1 · Aug 25, 2015

I did my 50 hour service recently and the hydraulic fluids looked great when I pulled off the filter....I did reserve a sample of the engine oil for analysis and will be sending that in just to get a baseline. If it shows a significant issue I can start working inside the warranty. It shouldn't I have had the machine 11 months now and its used primarily for cutting fields. Not a significant work load in my opinion. I did some small tree clearing and that was minor but three 4 hour sessions don't make a significant event.

Pete6114 · Aug 25, 2015

The Kubota service schedule is good enough for me and i use Kubota Fluids and filters. I don't need to save a buck on a filter or couple of bucks on oil. I save the receipts and my a** is covered. I also use Motorcraft Oils in my Fords. But that's me and my choice.