Kubota Transmission Case Crack

[det398]

I had an unfortunate situation. I loaned my BX1500 to a friend who managed to crack the transmission case near the bottom. I will submit a picture at the bottom. There is a fair amount of damage near the arms of the three point hitch. The horizontal stabilizer plate became dislodged and struck the case with enough force to crack the transmission case and it bled out of fluid.

The question is what is the guess on cost for fixing this? I have taken it to the local dealer for an estimate but it will be over a week before he said they can even get to look at it. My friend has offered to pay for it but I would like to know a ballpark for him to expect. My unexperienced guess would be a low point of $1500 but I have no idea on where the high point would be. I think it is more labor intensive than parts, but the part is $600, just for the case. Not sure what other parts (seals, normal wear parts, etc) that should be replaced on a tranny rebuild. Any ideas on the cost of extra parts? The machine was functioning when it was shutdown. The size of the leak was not that dramatic and hydraulics were working fine for at least 10 minutes after the puncture which is how long it took him to notice the leak. How many hours of labor would be normal for this type of job?

Is it worth fixing or take the money that the repair would cost and put it into another tractor? It has 500 hours on it now. Pretty good shape mechanically.

Any info from those who have experienced such a repair would be greatly appreciated. I would like to have an idea whether to proceed with the repair once the estimate comes back or start looking.

Thanks

 

[newbury]

Duct tape.

Can't you just plug it and keep adding fluid?

Fluid is a lot cheaper than $1500.

 

[mjw357]

I can't tell for sure from the picture, but is it a long crack, or it that just scratched paint? I see the pinky-sized hole leaking on the left. Any chance that can just be welded shut?

 

[Danner]

Well, that's a bummer. I bet your neighbor feels as bad as you do.

Going forward, I don't think you want this to nag you or your neighbor. That's why I would not consider a band-aide fix for this.

This is what I would do. Take it to the dealer and get it repaired properly. Then ask your neighbor to pay 1/2, and you pay the other 1/2.

And when it gets back from the dealer, split a 6-pack of good beer with him, and have a laugh about it.

 

[Ductape]

Well, I would be pretty surprised if you got out of it for $1500.

Crappy situation for sure.

 

[Tailrotor]

If the hole ( crack ) is not to big and you have room you could drill and tap then plug. As long as you have clearance in the case and gears.

 

[mattbatson]

probably a stupid question, but the stabilizer bar that came dislodged...was it his fault? Or was a worn pin or some such the cause?
just spit balling, but if it was going to break anyway, and just so happened to do it while he was borrowing, might change the tune of things a little

1. could drain fluid, jb weld, refill and see if it holds
2. drain fluid, drill the hole out slightly bigger, tap and plug
3. drain fluid and weld it.
4. pull the tranny yourself and save lots of money, but bear the heartache of such a big job
5. take it to the dealer. If the dealer does it, let them inspect and replace anything in the gearbox that needs it while in there...but with only 500 hrs, probably still looks good inside I bet.

 

[ibnxe]

I vote for the JB Weld. I have used this on a number of repairs over the years and as long as the area is clean before application, it will hold forever... and doesn't cost $1500.

 

[Deano]

I vote for the JB Weld. I have used this on a number of repairs over the years and as long as the area is clean before application, it will hold forever... and doesn't cost $1500.

What would it hurt to try? Make sure it is clean, clean, clean!

 

[mjw357]

I vote for the JB Weld. I have used this on a number of repairs over the years and as long as the area is clean before application, it will hold forever... and doesn't cost $1500.

Yes that's even easier than welding, no heat to worry about. Sand smooth and paint.