New L4400. First problem.

[N80]

I got my L4400 in August and it has been great and exceeds all my expectations. Currently at 15 hours. However, I was mowing on some rough terrain a few days ago and noticed that the 3ph didn't raise the mower all the way up at times. I also thought I heard an unusual noise under my feet in the tranny (but the L4400 tranny makes a lot of noises anyway so that might not be anything.) So, I shut her down and started looking around. I noticed that the transmission/hydraulic fluid was low in the viewing window. I began looking for a leak and found fluid on the right side of the tranny/diff case directly under the seat. I traced it upwards and it appeared to be coming from where the rear remote was attached.

Called the dealer. I keep the tractor two counties (about 50-60 miles) from the dealer and they would not come get it (for free) and they don't do field service. I don't have any problem with that, I guess, but I had to borrow a trailer (pain in the rear and $$$ gas) and take it in. The mechanic looked at it and agreed that it appeared to be coming from the remote. Probably an o-ring, he said.

Its been a few days and I haven't heard anything. I'm kind of wondering how so much fluid could have been lost from that point. It is very high up on the transmission case so it seems like it would only leak when the tractor was running and/or when the hydraulic system was under strain. But I'm no expert. The remote was an add-on so I'm hoping it just wasn't installed properly, rather than a manufacturing defect. I actually hose this tractor off after using it and I never noticed this leak, which means its fairly recent and must be quite a leak, maybe a sudden o-ring failure. It does not appear to be a high pressure leak though, since there is no evidence of spraying.

I know this isn't very interesting, but the L4400 is a new model and I thought I'd post my experiences with it.

When its fixed I'll have to figure out how to get it back to my property. The trailer I borrowed is down there and so getting the tractor back will add a good extra 40 miles. I've already done one 120 mile round trip for this and I'm looking at another 160. Maybe I'll try to shame them into delivering it for free but they probably won't. I'll give them credit though, the initial delivery was free even though it was out of their regular delivery zone.

This dealership impressed me with the sales experience. We'll have to see how they do on the support/warranty end.

 

[wushaw]

Good to hear your enjoying your L4400 but If it's just a QD fitting leaking then it wouldn't be anything to do with the L4400..QD fittings have been in service for many years.
Hopefully this is the only problem you have for many years /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[N80]

This is not the QD (quick detach?) fitting. This is where the rear remote fits onto the transmission housing. But you're still right, if that's what the problem is, it isn't the L4400 itself and is likely just a failed O-ring or an improper installation of the remote. And if that's the case this isn't really a Kubota issue and has more to do with the dealership. It will be fixed under warranty at the dealership.

At this point it is really a test of the dealership; how quick do they fix it, do they deliver it for me, is the repair done right, etc. It has already cost me several days (my unpaid vacation days) of use of my tractor, the time and gas money to get it to them and will likely cost me the time and gas money to get it back from them. This is a tractor with 15 hours on it. If all they do is fix it correctly then I'd give them a C+ and no hard feelings. If they deliver it back to me I'd give them a B+, maybe an A.

At this point it has been an inconvenience and a few bucks. I don't depend on my tractor for a living. So I'm not worried or ticked off yet, but I'm very curious how this will play out.

I have two related questions. 1) Did any of you who have recently bought new Kubota tractors get any printed warranty info? I got the California Emissions Warranty thing but nothing describing the details of Kubota's standard warranty. Seems odd. And I hope this repair is covered.

2) When I called the dealership I was planning on adding transmission fluid and continuing to use the tractor for a few days, the days I'd taken off from work to get stuff done with my tractor. He said that was fine but if I used anything other than Kubota UDT that it would void the warranty. It is my understanding (could definitely be wrong here) that this is not legal with automobiles, is it with tractors? It surprised me. And since he was the nearest place to get UDT, I gave up and took him the tractor. And since I have no printed warranty small print, I couldn't check on it.

Again, I'm grumpy about this but not angry. But the dealer, in my opinion, is defintely in the hot seat here.

I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[Bob_Young]

I'm certainly interested, N80. Please keep the information flowing. Your L4400 shares a few design features with my L4300. Your problem today may be mine tomorrow.

I've got a pair of remotes also, but have not seen any leaks in that area. Only leak I had was when branch from a deadfall I was clearing went into the fuel filter assy. and punctured the fuel return line from the injectors. It was an easy fix...thank Heaven.

The Kubota warranty information is in a little 4"x7" blue-green & white booklet titled "Owner's Warranty Information Guide". The dealer should've provided it with your Owner's Manual. They had all my manuals stuffed in the tractor's tool box. Maybe yours is still there. It's about a dozen pages long and is pretty specific about what's covered and what's not and the period of coverage. Pickup and delivery are NOT covered.

I bought a 20' 10,000# trailer a couple of months before getting the tractor. Ran close to $3000 by the time I paid the tax and got the truck set up to pull it. I figure it's money well spent as it allows me to use the tractor wherever it's needed. It's been quite useful in terms of allowing me to do little jobs for others and for moving my older tractors to where I could work on them.

Good Luck.
Bob

 

[N80]

I never got that booklet. I'll get one when I go to pick up the tractor.

I would love to have a big trailer. The one I borrowed was probably a 15' and I was amazed how well my truck pulled it. I was a bit worried, the load rating on my F150 SuperCrew 4x4 is only 7500 pounds with the towing package, which I have. I kept the overdrive off and had to get in the gas on steep hills but it rode well, braked well even on wet roads. This trailer would not handle the tractor plus the mower so a 20' would certainly be better, but just not in the cards right now.

I'm not at the point of expecting pick-up and delivery, but if they installed the remote wrong, it sure would be a nice gesture. If not, like I say, I'd still give them a C+, slightly better than average. Not great but nothing wrong with it either.

 

[wushaw]

The warranty is also on their web site under support.
I don't think they can void your warranty for using an alternate fluid to UDT that conforms to UDT specs.
Look in your owners manual (I don't have mine with me).
I don't think it says Kubota will void warranty if you don't only use Kubota UDT.

 

[RobJ]

I know your trying to be safe than sorry but if it's just a little low in the window and you don't see a heavy drip or a constant srpaying leak then just watch it and finish what you need. My L2500 holds something like 8 gallons of hydraulic oil. If I was down a half gallon or even a gallon I wouldn't be overly concerned (a little different on motor oil). Sin out tractors are running the plain tranny, the oil is lubing the gears and running the 3ph. As long as the gears are getting dipped and the pickup tube is below the oil your still good. On mine that's probably at the 4-5 gallon level. The L models also don't have the hydrostatic trans and stuff that that the others do.

NOT saying to run it bone dry, but at the bottom of the glass finish what your doing before messing up your time off.

 

[N80]

Well, I'm new at this and it did feel like the 3ph wasn't lifting properly. And I did mow my way back out anyway.

But that brings up another subject. I HATE THAT LITTLE WINDOW! It tells you almost nothing. In fact, when the tractor was delivered there was no line in the window because it was FULL and the fluid was still clear. But if the line is below the window you really have no way of knowing how low it really is! A simple dipstick would be a huge improvement. In terms of issues with the design of this tractor so far that little window is my only one. It really is a poor design.

 

[N80]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The warranty is also on their web site under support.
I don't think they can void your warranty for using an alternate fluid to UDT that conforms to UDT specs.
Look in your owners manual (I don't have mine with me).
I don't think it says Kubota will void warranty if you don't only use Kubota UDT. )</font>

Thanks, I'll check the site. I too wouldn't think using a comparable fluid would void the warranty but that is certainly what the dealer told me and he even went on to say that if something went wrong and they "analyzed" the fluid and it was not UDT then my warranty "might" be voided.

As far as the owners manual it does not say anything about voiding the warranty. However, it very specifically does say to use only UDT or Super UDT and does not list any options or comparable fluids.

Like I say, I'm new to all this and even though I think the dealer (and Kubota to some extent) are using scare tactitcs to make me use UDT, I do plan on using it at least until my warranty expires. Wish I had more guts and experience, but I don't. Besides, I don't think it is going to cost me a lot more than using something comparable so I really don't have that much to lose by sticking with the UDT....do I?

 

[RobJ]

Also hate the window. Wait til you get a few years and the plastic clouds up. Maybe I'll grab a new one if I order some other parts. I just put in what they say and notice where the oil is on the gears when I open the fill cap.