New Kubota Grand L4760 HSTC Tier 4

[KGDirt]

New to the forum. I currently own a Kubota B7800 tractor and I am looking to upgrade to the Grand L4760 HSTC. I really like the L4760 and Kubota financing certainly makes it easy to buy. I have some concerns though with the Tier 4 emissions and some of the problems they are having. My existing tractor does not have this. Can anyone who owns a newer Kubota with this system shed some light on their experience with it, and if its a deal breaker, as far as buying a new Kubota. Thanks.

 

[Peter 315]

Hi, I have a l47 tlb 50 hours 2 regens no problems

 

[Old Red]

What kind of problems are you referring to specifically? I bought the L5740 (the previous series) tractor to avoid the emissions silliness, however I have a pickup truck for 10 years with a DPF and have only had it go into limp mode two times. That was from idling it too much in the winter so I could have a warm truck. The way I fixed it was to get on the highway and drive a while.

Anyway, there are a lot of satisfied owners out there with the emissions equipment on their tractor. I am sure if you asked would they like to save a thousand bucks on their tractor and have it removed they would love that, but other than that it is just mildly annoying and somehting you have to watch... I found a really nice L5740 used with 300 hours.....have you searched for a used one yet?

 

[s219]

Kubota has had Tier 4 issues on some models like the B3350, but the Grand L "xx60" machines seem to be fine. I can't recall any issues reported here on TBN -- not a single one -- and we'd have surely heard of them by now.

 

[KGDirt]

Thanks for the replies. I think the fact that it's annoying is my biggest hang-up considering the Tier 4. I did watch a video that explained what you have to do to burn it off and then it has to be cleaned every so often which costs a couple hundred dollars. I also had read where it talked about going limp and I'm not sure if that disables the tractor or if you can override it? I have considered buying a used one, but they're not much cheaper than a new one and the financing is almost like getting free money.

 

[deserteagle71]

The DPF and regeneration was my biggest worry also, so when I found a barely used Kubota M7060 for sale, that was one of the first things I asked the owner. He told me not to worry about it - just keep working the tractor. He was right. I brought the Kubota home and just put 14 hours on it, during which time it went through a regeneration cycle. That consisted of a light coming on in the dash to let me know it was in a regeneration cycle. About 20 minutes later the light went out - regeneration was done. There was no noticeable difference with the tractor while this process was going on - no difference in engine noise, nothing that I could tell. According to the manual, as long as the rpm is over 1200, the operator will notice no difference. If for some reason you are running the engine slower than that, then a light will flash on the dash to tell you to raise the rpm up over 1200 so the regeneration can take place. Also, the manual says if you don't idle the engine much - run it at a high rpm and work it hard, regenerations will be few and far between as the heat generated by working the tractor hard will keep the DPF clean. As far as cleaning the DPF unit, according to the manual that generally needs to be done after the tractor had over 3,000 hours on it. I may be dead of old age before I need to have it cleaned!

 

[ericm979]

The B3350 had a problem because it's a small engine with a turbo. The turbo is a heat engine- the exhaust post turbo is cooler. Between the small engine and the turbo they had a hard time getting the DPF up to temp, especially in cold climates.

The larger Kubotas don't seem to have a problem.

It's different for each tractor but usually there's plenty of warning before the tractor goes into limp mode. A big problem when DPF first came out was operators panicking and turning off the regen or restarting the tractor to get the DPF light to go out. Read the manual and understand what the tractor needs and you should have no problem. Also if you can operate the tractor as the manual suggests and not let it idle a lot, that'll help.

 

[KGDirt]

That's great information. I test drove a JD 4052 today, which was really nice, but I really love the Kubota I have. The tier 4 was my only concern with the Kubota, but it sounds like if you work it just a little, there aren't any issues. Thanks.

 

[RjCorazza]

I was also hesitant about Tier 4 emissions, but my L4060 has been problem free for almost 200h and 3 regens.

 

[MHarryE]

I bought a L6060 to replace my L5740 in part due to the engine changes. Although the L6060 does have a DPF, it also has a direct injection system. I now have about 200 hours. Regens have been no problem although like mentioned above they come more frequently when not operating the tractor very hard. Fuel economy has been a surprising 40% better doing the same type of work although fuel usage on either is not going to break me. Starting much improved and I love the lack of smoke. I hear people talking about DPF problems but other than the SCUTs I haven't heard of other tractor problems. Incidentally I bought this tractor after putting 4 years on a DPF equipped larger tractor and having zero DPR problems.