Lost 6 quarts of UDT Fluid in first 19 hours

[Sassi]

June 1st I went to hose off my L3240 and saw some oil streams in the dust, on both sides of the cowling in the vicinity of the location where the four bolts on each side go into the engine/frame that connect the FEL to the tractor. I checked the engine oil. It was full. I checked the Kubota UDT fluid and got a shock. It did not show any oil on the dipstick. June 2nd I went and bought 2.5 gallons of Kubota UDT fluid. I measured the fluid into a quart container and began to fill up the tractor. It took 6 quarts of Kubota UDT fluid to bring the level up to normal on the dipstick. I forgot to mention that this is a new Kubota, and that I have only put 19 hours on it since I bought it.

The shelter where I keep this tractor has a dirt floor. I put down plastic under the tractor. For two days now I have gone out cranked the tractor, let it warm up and have manipulated the FEL and three point hitch controls to see if I can find any drips, or visual leaks any place. After several hours of this spread over two days I still cannot find anything. The nearest Kubota dealer is seven miles away. It is a lot cheaper for me to just drive the tractor to the dealer. Before I go and drive it to this dealer I have scheduled a mechanic who works for this dealer to come by after he gets off work and to see what he can find out. He will be by probably on this Thursday. Yes I have to pay him out of pocket for this visit since he is doing it on his own time after he gets off work. I would rather do this and have him check it before I drive it to the dealer. Maybe it is something simple that he can fix. Anyone else had any similar issues to what I am describing here?

 

[BeezFun]

Do you know for sure the hydraulic fluid was ever full? Did you check it when you bought it? If not, it's possible it didn't leak anything, just came empty. I wouldn't do anything during the warranty period outside the dealer's direction. Ask him if he wants you to drive it there, let him take responsibility for what happens. If he doesn't want you to drive it he can come and pick it up.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Whatever it is should be under warranty. Be there when the dealer checks it out. At 19hrs he has liability if the loader is not tight and has damaged something.... Im guessing less ominous tho. Like a fitting leak that only leaks under high pressure when you are using it. Residual oil then drips some after you park it.
larry

 

[Bluegill2]

Warranty work. Actually you should not have had to pay for the 6 qts.

 

[indianaEPH]

Could it be related to PTO operation? I would duplicate your previous use of the tractor and look for any leaks. That is a lot of fluid to loose so you should be able to see something. IF the tractor has only 19 hours then I would just call the dealer to get it picked up and looked at.

 

[Baby Grand]

Do you know for sure the hydraulic fluid was ever full? Did you check it when you bought it? If not, it's possible it didn't leak anything, just came empty. I wouldn't do anything during the warranty period outside the dealer's direction. Ask him if he wants you to drive it there, let him take responsibility for what happens. If he doesn't want you to drive it he can come and pick it up.

My thoughts, too. Maybe when the dealer installed the FEL the mechanic forgot to top off the hyd oil after filling the cylinders and lines? I doubt you could be losing hyd oil at a rate of 6 qts/19hrs and not be able to see where it's coming from.

 

[AStanton]

I'm wondering if the low UDT fluid caused the fluid to overheat and vent out. If there are any vents nearyby where you saw the leak, this might explain it.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

I doubt you have a leak. Its probably a combination of things settling in, oil comming out the beather, etc.

 

[boggen]

just raising / lowering FEL and then curling / uncurling the bucket. along with lowering / raising the 3pt hitch. may not cause anything to happen.

you need pressure / working of the unit. plus you need the oil to warm up. both what is circulating through the hyd pump, hyd tank, levers, but also the oil in the cylinders of the FEL. so it means letting the tractor run for 30 minutes to a few hours. while moving dirt, or grading a rock driveway or dirt driveway. or something heavy on 3pt hitch, maybe a bush hog, maybe a rear scraper blade or box blade.

with tractor being so new. as others have said. FEL could have been attached. and then the FEL was never really operated and hyd oil level re-checked afterwards. it takes some time to work out all the air in the cylinders.

if you have "quick connections" for hyd hoses. some times they may not set all the way correctly. and may leak some oil.

maybe you nicked one the hoses, when doing what ever you did previously, or perhaps the hose had a nick in it, from the beginning. perhaps manufacture defect to possibly during installation of things.
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as someone else said, re run tractor for what you previously did, checking the hyd oil

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kubota i do believe now has an "online parts manual" for many of there tractors. you might try looking through, and follow the hyd lines, and were the pump is, and see if you can spot anything, in the online parts manual, and then follow up looking on your tractor. vs trying to guess were this or that thing is such.

 

[Sassi]

The mechanic from a local dealer came by after work today. He checked the L3240 out all over. He could not find any leaks. He agrees that when the FEL was added the party who was supposed to check things probably failed to check and see how much the addition of the FEL took from the UDT reservoir, and did not refill the reservoir. I admit that I probably did not do a good job in properly checking the fluid level when the tractor was delivered. I learned several good lessons from all of this. The bottom line seems to be that there are no leaks.