New 2016 Kubota BX1870 w/MMM & FEL- first impressions and any problems....

[JWR]

That may be tough to find. Rare few get rid of a ROPS. If advertised widely enough you might find someone willing to (or wanting to) trade. Might check some of the tractor salvage places.

 

[dieselbob69]

I ordered one of those bolt on receiver hitches w/ tow eyes off ebay yesterday. I need to take the top of the ROPS off and take it to local welder to see how much it would cost to remove about 8" off it. I'm not going to let tractor sit outside and not going to fold it every time I put it back in garage. I also need to go around yard and start trimming the trees higher so I can get under them. Dealer is holding open house/luncheon on Saturday w/ 10% off parts for a week-I'll get the Gator Blades from dealer,not having much luck on ebay.Ones I see are 1-1/8" center hole,mine are 7/8" center hole.....

 

[dieselbob69]

I went to dealer's open house yesterday,and my salesman was there. I told him about coolant leak and the left loader lift cylinder weeping a little out of the fitting hole.He said he'd call and let me know when they'd be able to pick it up to check it out. While I was there,they had 10% off parts.I picked up a set of Gator blades (Oregon 396-812).

 

[ewoz]

I use rear wheel weights to counteract the weight of the FEL. One slight advantage of wheel weights are that they do not put an extra load on the wheel bearings.

 

[Henro]

The threads on the fitting have the white teflon tape on them,so I don't know what the issue is. \

This statement raised a red flag in my mind.

It is my understanding that using teflon tape in hydraulic systems with HSD transmissions is a NO NO. The reason is if a piece of the tape gets into the fluid, it can cause damage to the seals in the HSD pump. A pipe dope type sealant has always been recommended in everything I have read in the past.

Just a heads up. I would ask the dealer if Kubota recommends teflon tape for hydraulic connections. I would never use it, but perhaps what I have read in the past is not correct. I cannot cite a reference saying not to use teflon tape...but it seemed reasonable to me not to, after reading claims that tape particles could damage pump seals in the system.

Bill

 

[dieselbob69]

It might be the pipe dope type sealant-it was white, so it could've been that.The dealer came and picked it up today to check out my concerns-I gave them a written list. Overfilled coolant,leaking lift cylinder,and the coolant leak that has now disappeared(of course). It was leaving a small puddle after it was first started and idled for a few minutes,I could not see where it was coming from. I ran it on Monday to see if it still was doing it,but it wasn't. I could smell coolant as it was running. I'll go to dealer in morning and see how much a back blade and landscape rake would cost,if they could do a better price if I bought both. Last windstorm caused a helluva mess and I really don't feel like handraking it all this year,so I just started looking at rake prices tonight.I think salesman told me about $450 for a 5' back blade a couple months ago.

 

[dieselbob69]

A few updates... coolant no longer leaking after dealer brought it back,but still have a leaking loader cylinder..... I ended up getting a 5' Land Pride back blade and a used Land Pride landscape rake,delivered when they brought the tractor back. After mowing for a few times,super impressed.Machine never bogs down,even when going over cut grass clippings in the higher grass.The Gator Blades were slightly hitting some metal on the first time I used it,but not anymore.I can mow yard in about 2 hrs w/ loader on,about 1-1/2 when I took it off last time.Just under 35hrs now and so glad I bought this machine. I just wish I did it when I replaced the GR2100 4 yrs. ago....

 

[dieselbob69]

I need to call dealer about the loader cylinder.It is defective-I noticed the paint coming off of the weld on cylinder,and when I take a cloth and wipe the area down, a spot instantly looks wet again on the weld, a pinhole or defective weld...

 

[dieselbob69]

Well,month and a half later still waiting...and waiting...... supposedly they ordered the cylinder 3 weeks ago....find it hard to believe it takes 3 weeks to get a cylinder in-good thing this wasn't being used in a business. I'm beginning to think this is a GR2100 fiasco all over again-figured I'd give Kubota a 2nd chance and starting to regret it.....

 

[dieselbob69]

well well well......3 MONTHS have passed since the first email w/ picture of weeping loader cylinder and still don't have replacement yet. I stopped by dealer on 9/9/17 and talked to salesman-still don't have cylinder.Even put my cell # down on the request-still haven't heard jack sh*t. Now when I was mowing today, I shut deck off to go pick something up in yard and I was picking item up,the tractor rpm's slowed right down- I thought wtf ,when I got back on tractor and pulled throttle lever down,it wouldn't stay down,it would go immediately back to the normal idle,so I had to finish the last 45 minutes mowing holding the throttle down by hand.....only 80 hrs. on this tractor and starting to get sick of it. Definitely will not ever buy anything from this dealer again if this doesn't get straightened out soon. Just wondering what the next thing to break will be.......