My 50 hour service nightmare

   / My 50 hour service nightmare #1  

neilbedwell

New member
Joined
May 8, 2010
Messages
20
Location
Hazard, KY
Tractor
Kubota L2800
I started planning and buying the necessary items for my 50 hour service on my L2800 a few months ago. I bought my tractor from Barlow's but, unfortunately, I never make it down to Somerset so I had to go to another dealer to get what I needed. So, I stopped in and told the parts guy to give me "everything I needed for my 50 hour service of my L2800". It took him about 20 minutes to track down everything and he finally put a big box of stuff on the counter and said to me "there you go" and told me the price. I looked at him and said, where's the hydraulic oil? He tells me that I don't need to change it, just the filters, and is very adamant about it. So, OK, I took his word for it (even though I had already read some comments from folks on here to the contrary but also knew that Kubota had changed their recommendation). I paid the man and left with my giant box. So, I get home and start feeling guilty about it. I re-read my manual and, sure enough, it says to change the hydraulic oil, not just the filter. I guess I've got an older manual. So, it eats at me to the point I just decide to go ahead and change the oil. I've got too much money in this thing to not take care of it. So, back to that same dealer I go. I go in and tell a different parts guy this time that I need 7.5 gallons of "SUPER UDT2". He goes over to the shelf and grabs a 2.5 gallon jug of Super UDT2 and then gets a box that has two more 2.5 gallon jugs in it. The box is just plain, so I ask him "is this the same stuff". He says "yep, that's it". I didn't open the box because it was taped really well and I had a long ride home with it in the rain and I didn't want it to fall apart and those jugs to bounce around. Hence, STUPID MISTAKE #1. I paid the man and left. This past Saturday I decided I was going to allot the entire day to servicing my tractor. So, I went out and warmed it up and pulled the two drain plugs for the engine oil and let it all drain out. I pulled off the old oil filter and went over to my big box o' stuff to get the new one. Uh-oh, there's no filter in there that looks like it. Of course, the factory filters on the tractor had the part numbers painted over so you can't see them. So, I laid them all out and compared them to the other filters on the tractor and, sure enough, he gave me the wrong oil filter. Dang it! The local dealers were all closed, so I called a dealer several hours west of me to confirm and they told me I had the wrong filter. Double dang it!!! So, I put the old filter back on and put the plugs back in and pulled off the battery terminal so nobody could start it and proceeded to finish the other tasks. I'll just order the right filter and have it shipped to me Monday morning and put the new oil in it when the new filter comes. Next step, I drained the hydraulic oil - all 6.2 gallons of it. Wasn't nearly as messy as I anticipated. Went pretty well. Buttoned everything back up after it was all drained really well and then I grabbed the 2.5 gallon jug of SUDT2 and poured it in. Easy enough. I opened the box to get another jug and DANGIT!@#!@#, the jugs in the box were Super UDT, not Super UDT2. At this point, my frustration level was starting to peak. The jug of SUDT2 said it was "100% compatible with SUDT and UDT". I made an executive decision to pour it in and go on. I read later on another thread that the same thing had happened to someone else and they had contacted Kubota and were told that it was OK to mix it. Good, bad or ugly, I mixed it. So, Monday morning I called another dealer (not the one I bought this stuff from) and ordered the correct engine oil filter. It cost me $8.50 shipping. Cheaper than driving, but it's money spent by me due to that parts guy's mistake that I shouldn't have had to spend. I'll take the incorrect filter back later. Tuesday afternoon, the big brown truck drops off the correct filter. Woo Hoo! So, yesterday evening I go out to the shop and put on the new filter and, after checking my manual (and remembering what parts guy #1 told me as well) pour in 6 quarts of Kubota 15W40. I start the tractor, let it run a second and cut it off. I topped off the hydraulic oil checked everything for leaks and then pulled the dipstick on the engine oil. DANG IT, it's way above the full hole. I go back to my manual and it says 6 quarts. I looked at the empty jugs and, sure enough, six empty quarts. Hence, my post last night. So, I guess tonight I get to drain out some oil. Then, I did another check for leaks. The big hydraulic filter had a little bit of oil on it. I tried to tighten it some more by hand, wouldn't budge. So, I get a strap wrench and try to just put a little pressure on it and see if it'll move. POP! STUPID MISTAKE #2. Now, there's a dent. !@#!$@!!! It's about the size of my index finger on the very back of the filter inside the flats where a filter wrench goes. It's not bad, just a little indention. I'm going to run it that way and I don't think it'll hurt anything but it'll eat away at me until I change it. I swear, if I weren't already bald I would be after this! I've wrenched on stuff all my life and my dad was a repair man in the coal mines for 34 years. This stuff usually NEVER happens to me. So, this evening I get to see how precise I can be draining off just the right amount of oil to get the level on the dipstick where I want it. FUN!! LOL, might as well laugh! Have a great day everyone!

Neil
 
   / My 50 hour service nightmare #2  
Ya know someones going to say it... That is exactly why when I order anything online or go to the dealer, I know what it is that I want. Part #'s, quantities, etc. That way the "chuckleheads" don't screw up my tractor or my time. That being said, I have forgot stuff and had to drive back.

Dent in filter will be OK. Mixing SUDT and SUDT2 will be fine. Don't stress too much and go with a lesson learned!

Deano
 
   / My 50 hour service nightmare
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Oh, I've learned my lesson and you are exactly right, sir. A buddy of mine told me to store the part numbers for my filters in my cell phone so I don't do this again. I did actually think about getting the part numbers before hand, BUT the factory filters are painted over and my owners manual does not show part numbers so I was kind of at the mercy of the parts guy this first time. Now, notsomuch. I am gonna put them into my phone so I don't do this again. I appreciate the reply. I guess I just needed to vent! Thanks!
 
   / My 50 hour service nightmare #4  
Quite a saga. Most of us have been there, done that. Maybe not all at once like in your case but bit by bit.

My suggestion is to go to a website like Messick's or Coleman and get the filters. They reference all of the parts you need by the tractor model so you don't have to search around. Buy several of each to save on shipping.

The small dent in the filter shouldn't be an issue.

The hydraulic oil is an issue bantered around TBN quite often. I am in the camp of using tractor branded oil - like Kubota, New Holland, Case. Chevron and Shell make fine hydraulic oil also but tractors use oil differently than a forklift, woodsplitter, and so forth.

SUDT2 is more expensive than UDT so you may have been out a few bucks there.

Don't be too hard on yourself for trusting the Kubota parts person. Nothing you did seems "stupid" to me at all.

At least you don't have to go through all of this again for quite some time. I'll bet it turns out much better on the next go-round.
 
   / My 50 hour service nightmare #5  
We would all do well to heed John Wayne's advice in the movie, "The Longest Day." Right before his men jumped from the plane over Normandy, he said, "Men, check your equipment!"
 
   / My 50 hour service nightmare #6  
Messick's was brought up where you select the model you own and it shows the common items for that model. With the internet, it is usually pretty easy. Storing in the phone is a pretty good idea though, never thought of that! Quantities and filter #'s in the phone would be a good place to keep them!
 
   / My 50 hour service nightmare #7  
Do you happen to have a mityvac? Suck oil out through the dipstick tube? This is how Many boats are done. They are designed for this method but if you had a small diameter tube you could reach down to the oil level?

Just a suggestion. My tractor was delivered just 2 weeks ago so I'm pretty new to this
 
   / My 50 hour service nightmare #8  
Since you did research would you comment on the price difference between DIY and dealer service?

I took delivery last Friday and the delivery tech discussed the at home service. We did not talk price but grease, belt tension, validating metal finds in the oil and others as well as oil and filter change with removal. He suggested doing in the off season and flexible on date, if they are in the area no cost to come by special vs. a specific date and time.
 
   / My 50 hour service nightmare #9  
I keep a cheat sheet with all the service part numbers just be be sure. Also filters are inexpensive so I keep at least 1 extra set on hand.
 
   / My 50 hour service nightmare #10  
Wow!!! Sometimes it's great to just vent..Glad you got it all resolved though.
 

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