New Kioti DK40SE HST cab - questions / concerns

[spindlewood]

My new Kioti DK40SE HST cab arrived last Wednesday and it is my first tractor. Lots to learn and get used to. A couple of things don't seem quite right.

The gear lever often does not switch gears easily from Neutral into Medium. When the tractor first starts, it will go into Medium easy enough, but after using it for a bit, I have to force it and often it jumps over to the Neutral above Medium with the force to shift it. What's up with this? I am switching gears while stationary. Since there is no clutch, is there something I'm not doing to make it smooth?

Secondly, the parking break is crazy hard sometimes to set. I have to press down with all my force on the break in order for the parking break leaver to engage and hold. Is there some adjustment I can make and still have it safe?

Lastly, the dealer sold me an Agriease BE-PHDG post hole digger. It has two relatively flimsy metal boxes on either side of the place where the auger attaches (to protect from moving parts). One was bent upon delivery (a bolt which holds the box together also fell out). These boxes seem designed to fail as there is no way to transport it without the auger attached so that the box is protected. Is it reasonable to ask the dealer to take it back? Should I request a different brand and is the Rankin phd300 a decent quality / comparable product? Or should I just ask the dealer to replace the bent metal box or get a new undamaged phd?

There is so much to learn regarding maintenance and handling of tractor and implements. I'm off to pick up a grease gun. Between tractor and implements (backhoe, loader, front snowblower, rotary cutter, phd, chipper) there are more grease joints than I've ever seen before assembled in one place.

 

[roadhunter]

I have noticed similar issues with my tractor with shifting into neutral and quite a bit of pressure being required to engage the parking brake. After a few weeks I have gotten used to them and don't really notice it.

 

[MotorSeven]

Can't help you on the digger. Get some spray lube and spray down all the piviot points on the range selector. Do not force that lever, when it sticks, gently tap the Forward pedal, or the Reverse pedal or both then try the lever again....95% of the time it will go right into gear after a pedal tap. If you ar on an incline you might have to tap back & forth a few times to find the sweet spot. This sounds time consuming, but in reality you will do this in less than a few seconds when needed.

Your parking brake will get easier with use. I have already had to adjust mine tighter once around 600 hrs, and it is due again since it will not hold on an incline. Congrats on the new tractor....I love my DK40HST!

 

[spindlewood]

Can't help you on the digger. Get some spray lube and spray down all the piviot points on the range selector. Do not force that lever, when it sticks, gently tap the Forward pedal, or the Reverse pedal or both then try the lever again....95% of the time it will go right into gear after a pedal tap. If you ar on an incline you might have to tap back & forth a few times to find the sweet spot. This sounds time consuming, but in reality you will do this in less than a few seconds when needed.

Your parking brake will get easier with use. I have already had to adjust mine tighter once around 600 hrs, and it is due again since it will not hold on an incline. Congrats on the new tractor....I love my DK40HST!

Your advice makes sense - although I would have imagined that they could design a gear shift which didn't require a "sweet spot". I will add some WD40 to boot as you recommend, see what happens, and report back. Thanks for the advice.

 

[coobie]

My new Kioti DK40SE HST cab arrived last Wednesday and it is my first tractor. Lots to learn and get used to. A couple of things don't seem quite right.

The gear lever often does not switch gears easily from Neutral into Medium. When the tractor first starts, it will go into Medium easy enough, but after using it for a bit, I have to force it and often it jumps over to the Neutral above Medium with the force to shift it. What's up with this? I am switching gears while stationary. Since there is no clutch, is there something I'm not doing to make it smooth?

Secondly, the parking break is crazy hard sometimes to set. I have to press down with all my force on the break in order for the parking break leaver to engage and hold. Is there some adjustment I can make and still have it safe?

Lastly, the dealer sold me an Agriease BE-PHDG post hole digger. It has two relatively flimsy metal boxes on either side of the place where the auger attaches (to protect from moving parts). One was bent upon delivery (a bolt which holds the box together also fell out). These boxes seem designed to fail as there is no way to transport it without the auger attached so that the box is protected. Is it reasonable to ask the dealer to take it back? Should I request a different brand and is the Rankin phd300 a decent quality / comparable product? Or should I just ask the dealer to replace the bent metal box or get a new undamaged phd?

There is so much to learn regarding maintenance and handling of tractor and implements. I'm off to pick up a grease gun. Between tractor and implements (backhoe, loader, front snowblower, rotary cutter, phd, chipper) there are more grease joints than I've ever seen before assembled in one place.

My shifting was a little stiff at first.I now have 80 hours on my tractor and it seems to have gotten better.I also lubed the shifting linkage with seafoam deep creep.Shifts pretty slick now.

 

[spindlewood]

Just talked to my dealer - he offered to do a swap for the Rankin phd300. Looks like it's handled.

 

[k0ua]

Can't help you on the digger. Get some spray lube and spray down all the piviot points on the range selector. Do not force that lever, when it sticks, gently tap the Forward pedal, or the Reverse pedal or both then try the lever again....95% of the time it will go right into gear after a pedal tap. If you ar on an incline you might have to tap back & forth a few times to find the sweet spot. This sounds time consuming, but in reality you will do this in less than a few seconds when needed.

Your parking brake will get easier with use. I have already had to adjust mine tighter once around 600 hrs, and it is due again since it will not hold on an incline. Congrats on the new tractor....I love my DK40HST!

^^ this above. Keep in mind if you swap ranges on an incline, you need to have foot on brake pedals as you go past Neutral, the tractor can "take off" downhill.. Wheeee. But basically just move the tractor a smidgen to align the gears.. Sometimes they just don't align, but a wee tap on either pedal will get them lined up. As said do not force the shift lever.

 

[rjwerth]

As others have said: tap an HST pedal while GENTLY shifting into gear will help. Also, this issue happens more often if you push a pedal while it is in neutral. Gets better over time.

 

[spindlewood]

just move the tractor a smidgen to align the gears.. Sometimes they just don't align, but a wee tap on either pedal will get them lined up.

The issue usually occurs when going from Neutral into Medium, so it really isn't "moving" the tractor, but a tap on the pedal once or twice seems to get it lined up none the less.

tap an HST pedal while GENTLY shifting into gear will help. Also, this issue happens more often if you push a pedal while it is in neutral. Gets better over time.

This is exactly what I've experienced and you are correct that a tap and gentle shift do the trick. Glad to know it gets better.

As coobie suggested, I picked up some seafoam deep creep and hopefully this will help it along as well.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Without it, I would likely have been fighting it and doing damage in the long term.

 

[gunmonkeyintl]

Just to be clear, don't tap the HST pedals while shifting (as one poster said), you'll get a grind since it is engaging while the HST is spinning. Tap, let off, then shift. I have to do it about 30% of the time when shifting into a gear. I think that is just a reality of a multi-range HST. If the gear is close to meshing, it will go right in, if it is not close to meshing, you have to give it a little tap and try again. It never resists going into neutral since you're just pulling it out of mesh.

The parking brake is stiff, and you can still drive with it on if you're not paying attention. In order to get enough pressure on it that it makes even a noticeable difference in the way my HST feels, I practically stand on it when putting it on. My logic is that I want enough pressure on it that if I start to drive off with the brake on, it won't feel right and I'll know to take it off. Too, if I can drive without noticing anything, I'm not sure how confident I can be in its braking ability when on an incline.

Put the brake on like you mean it. It will probably feel stiffer than any parking brake you've used before, but it is normal for this machine.

The gearbox shield is not exactly designed to fail, but they're not particularly tough either. They're really just a safety cover to keep you from sticking your fingers in there when the auger is running. Mine is a Howse and, if I recall correctly, the guard wasn't perfectly straight when it was delivered either, but I wasn't too worried about it. It is the kind of thing where you don't worry about it until the cover receives so much damage that it impedes the gearbox. At that point, you either employ a pry bar to tweak it off the gears, or remove it altogether and just remember not to stick your finger in it when the gears are spinning.

Asking the dealer to take it back may not get you anywhere. If it was bent bad enough to bother you when it was delivered, you should have refused delivery. The dealer may refuse to do anything for you. If he does agree to take it back, he'll at least look at it as an unnecessary nit-pick and chalk up a strike against you. I'd rather save those bullets for when I really need them.