L3400 3-point hitch adjustment

Chilly807 · Apr 6, 2012

rogerius said:
I already posted my results in other post but I said let's post it here too. I've got my 2 weeks old L3800HST (fabricated 2011 series 68xxx) back from dealer in attempt to adjust the jerky 3pth. They folllow the instructions from this tread and the results was a smooth 3pth up and down but the secondary effect of this setup appear when the FEL is in action. So, if you raise/lower the FEL, the 3pth is droping down around 1" and then is raising back in position. I considered this a safety issue so I considered to go back at previous settings with a "jerky 3pth". I'm so fustrated with this, but in special on Kubota which doesn't care about this problem. My dealer which I really appreciate the dedication for customer satisfaction, confirmed that Kubota wasn't interested at all to give support in this work. I think as long is not a safety issue they don't care but is amuzing me about the slogan on the first page on the spring flyer: "WHEN QUALITY COUNTS. THINK KUBOTA FOR REABILITY AND RUGGEDNESS" :laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Kubota Canada Nova International - When Quality Counts - Spring Flyer

I tend to agree with you about the corporate approach to this, but my next question is, what in the world possessed you to buy an L3800 if you knew the problem was still there and very difficult to correct?

Some folks here claim their's have been completely fixed by their dealers, although whether they still have the problem with the hitch dropping or settling is not clear.

At this stage of the game, in your case if the dealer assured you they would fix it, they can't live up to their end of the bargain. That sounds like breach of contract to me, if only in spirit not in actual fact. You may be able to return the tractor to them and get your money back, although I will say that the L series is a lot of bang for the buck, the only real flaw being the 3-point roughness.

As a point of curiosity, which dealer did you buy from? I noticed the flyer is from Nova International, which I thought was only a dealer here in Nova Scotia?

Sean

LD1 · Apr 6, 2012

rogerius said:
I already posted my results in other post but I said let's post it here too. I've got my 2 weeks old L3800HST (fabricated 2011 series 68xxx) back from dealer in attempt to adjust the jerky 3pth. They folllow the instructions from this tread and the results was a smooth 3pth up and down but the secondary effect of this setup appear when the FEL is in action. So, if you raise/lower the FEL, the 3pth is droping down around 1" and then is raising back in position. I considered this a safety issue so I considered to go back at previous settings with a "jerky 3pth". I'm so fustrated with this, but in special on Kubota which doesn't care about this problem. My dealer which I really appreciate the dedication for customer satisfaction, confirmed that Kubota wasn't interested at all to give support in this work. I think as long is not a safety issue they don't care but is amuzing me about the slogan on the first page on the spring flyer: "WHEN QUALITY COUNTS. THINK KUBOTA FOR REABILITY AND RUGGEDNESS" :laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Kubota Canada Nova International - When Quality Counts - Spring Flyer

Thats the same issue I had when trying to get a smooth hitch.

It is a result of the 3PH being held by a dynamic hydraulic balance. Anything that effects that (FEL, rpm change, shutting down, etc) causes the 3PH to react.

They went just a little too tight with the adjustment screw it sounds like. And if you back it out "just" enough to where the dynamic balance goes away, you are back to the jerky hitch. At least thats the way it is with my older valve.

teg · Apr 6, 2012

I just talked a friend into looking at Kioti and Mahindra instead of a L3800 Gear and a backhoe... solely based on the three point hitch. Until, they start losing market share, nothing is likely to change.

rogerius · Apr 6, 2012

Chilly807 said:
I tend to agree with you about the corporate approach to this, but my next question is, what in the world possessed you to buy an L3800 if you knew the problem was still there and very difficult to correct?

Some folks here claim their's have been completely fixed by their dealers, although whether they still have the problem with the hitch dropping or settling is not clear.

At this stage of the game, in your case if the dealer assured you they would fix it, they can't live up to their end of the bargain. That sounds like breach of contract to me, if only in spirit not in actual fact. You may be able to return the tractor to them and get your money back, although I will say that the L series is a lot of bang for the buck, the only real flaw being the 3-point roughness.

As a point of curiosity, which dealer did you buy from? I noticed the flyer is from Nova International, which I thought was only a dealer here in Nova Scotia?

Sean

When the dealer assures you that can be adjusted and give you the example from this forum, I said what the hack, let's do "it's a KUBOTA" At the beginning I tough this is not a big deal for me, but after a week it started drive me crazy in special with the hole digger. At this moment I'm in dilemma to keep it or not. My dealer is from SW Ontario and is great and pretty close to my farm so I hate to leave them, but I'm thinking more and more to a "Kioti fix". I've got this weekend to decide.
If this is true, I hate when people doesn't share the fix for this issue, but if the dealer has the solution why this is not transfered to Kubota to release a bulletin for the rest of us, or maybe this is just "rumors" to cover the real problem.
The flyer is on Kubota Canada web site too and it's not specific for Nova (see the general link): Kubota Corporate English - When Quality Counts - Spring Flyer

johnrex62 · Apr 6, 2012

I got my L3700 back from the shop last week and am satisfied with the slow lift on my 3pt hitch. I do not have a post hole digger, but did put a boom pole on it and found I can slowly lift from the ground to the top height in small increments and even minute continuous lift very slowly in a very smooth manner. I don't know if this is as smooth as the competition, and have not bothered to hang a bucket of water on the end, but I can see the tip of the boom rising smoothy and without jerk or bounce in 1 inch or so increments.

It is plenty smooth for me to work a boxblade and enable me to smoothly lift things with the boom, so it is fine for me.

My dealer told me that it was a case where the valve had moved out of adjustment, so they readjusted and added a lock nut to keep it in position.

I have not noticed any settling or movement of the 3pt when I use the fel, and I tend to use it a lot in my woods as I mow, keeping limbs and checking for hidden obstacles. With the uneven terrain and gullies, I am constantly adjusting the bucket height as I mow to keep it a few inches off the ground and not buried in the dirt.

rogerius · Apr 13, 2012

rogerius said:
When the dealer assures you that can be adjusted and give you the example from this forum, I said what the hack, let's do "it's a KUBOTA" At the beginning I tough this is not a big deal for me, but after a week it started drive me crazy in special with the hole digger. At this moment I'm in dilemma to keep it or not. My dealer is from SW Ontario and is great and pretty close to my farm so I hate to leave them, but I'm thinking more and more to a "Kioti fix". I've got this weekend to decide.
If this is true, I hate when people doesn't share the fix for this issue, but if the dealer has the solution why this is not transfered to Kubota to release a bulletin for the rest of us, or maybe this is just "rumors" to cover the real problem.
The flyer is on Kubota Canada web site too and it's not specific for Nova (see the general link): Kubota Corporate English - When Quality Counts - Spring Flyer

The L3800 is gone and I found a fix for the jerky 3pth (see below). I'm happy now: is "THE" Kubota fix

gered121 · May 2, 2013

I have exactly the same problem with an older model b2400 except that the 3 pt goes up and down very smoothly. In any hold position it bounces up and down. The heavier the implement the harder it bangs up and down. Any ideas?

Chilly807 · May 2, 2013

Check the feedback linkage if there is any. I don't know if the B2400 has position control or not, if it does and there's too much slop in the linkage it might do what you're describing. That or the valve is out of adjustment?

Sean

gered121 · May 3, 2013

It has the full slide control numbering 1-10 or something like that.Wherever you stop the lever that becomes your working depth.
There is a linkage from the right lift arm to what looks like a valve control going into the side of the transmission housing. There is a little bit of slop in the linkage(but no more than when I bought the tractor last year). I took the slop out of the linkage by clamping a vice-grip across the linkage to the arm effectively eliminating the freeplay, but with no difference. I talked to my local yahoo here and he says it's a linkage issue, either external or internal. I have not had a look at the innards of this thing to see if there is any adjustable linkage inside. Do you know if there is? And also; this valve that you refer to...where, what and how do adjust it? The valve under the seat that controls the speed of the implement float I have played with and it does make the chatter stop BUT I have to tighten it to the point where the 3 pt won't drop.

Chilly807 · May 3, 2013

It sounds like you do have position control, according to tractordata the B2400 has it.

The valve is located under the top transmission case in my L3400, your's is probably in the same place. The way mine works is this: there are a couple of adjustments, but the critical one is the gap between a set-screw and a poppet valve.

The tighter the setting gap, the smoother the valve will be, when mine is set to the specs in the WSM the 3-point is actually held in place by a dynamic hydraulic balance. I.e., simply put, the pressure in the cylinder (and it's position) is maintained by both the inlet valve and the outlet valve being open at the same time.

The lift is very smooth at this setting, and it doesn't hunt up and down either. It does raise and lower about an inch as you use other hydraulic components, however, which is probably why Kubota doesn't set the valve this way from the factory. In fact, they set the gap between the set screw and the poppet to be roughly 10 times what the WSM recommends, which eliminates the dynamic balance and the up and down cycling as you use remote hydraulics. It makes for a rough operating 3-point as a side effect. I suspect the WSM manual setting MIGHT cause long-term damage due to overheated oil or valve wear, but I don't know that for sure.

The only time I got up and down cycling on it's own was when I had the valve set "in between" the WSM and the factory setting, trying to find a happy medium. What happens is that the raise and lower functions don't exactly overlap, but they're close enough that any play in the linkages causes the raise portion of the valve to lift the 3-point until the feedback linkage closes the valve as it's supposed to, then the lost motion in the linkage causes the lower portion to open briefly and drops it again.

This cycle of "correct and overshoot" repeats itself continuously without even touching the control lever. It was either fairly slow or quite violent depending on where I had the valve set. It sounds to me like the adjustment on yours has loosened on it's own, or the linkage inside the case has developed a worn spot or been damaged somehow.

Sean