Sad story of Kubota TnT

[Fallon]

So I got my new L4060hstc back just after Thanksgiving after about 2 weeks of waiting for parts & the dealer to put it all together over the holiday. At least everything but the TnT. As has been often heard around here, the dealer said it might be a while. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago & I finally got an E-mail from the dealer on Friday that they were in & they were going to build the hoses. Got a call on Monday that the hoses were done & I ran out to grab them. Picked them up & got the dealer to throw in a gallon of SUDT2 to fill up the cylinders & lines as they would have done that when they built the tractor.

I wasn't to impressed with the cylinders looking at them. Think they are only 2" & I'm pretty sure the FitRite ones I got for my old smaller L3200 were 2.5". So smaller cylinders for a bigger tractor, oh well, they should be covered under warranty. They are painted black, which doesn't match the Kubota grey & there is a decent scrape on one side of the top cylinder. As I later found out the toplink rod sticks out about 6" when fully retracted, having a slightly longer cylinder to match the rod & give a little more travel would have been nice (can see where the dust stops in the video). When fully extended my QH is vertical, so a little lacking on range.

I started putting it together & got the cylinders mounted. Start routing hoses & go to tighten up the fittings, only to promptly find one of the fittings on the toplink stripped out. Can't tighten it down all the way & can't loosen it up. Check to make sure it's not one of the parts that's suppose to rotate, then call it a night. Shoot a nastygram to the dealer reminding them this is the 2nd hydraulic issue i've ran into right off the bat on the machine & they came out & put on a new fitting the next day while I was at work. I checked & it looked to be working.

So Saturday I go to use my machine & hitch up my ballast & load up my tractor. Find a big puddle of hydraulic fluid under the 3pt part way through loading the machine. A drip coming out of the rod seal or what not about every second when any weight is actually hanging on the cylinder. Really not happy about that & it's not really even usable leaving that much of a trail, much less the fact a new cylinder shouldn't be leaking at all.

Then I notice the tilt cylinder sagging a bit. Look at it & the rod end fitting going into the cylinder is leaking. It's nice & tight when I check it with a wrench, but still seeping a bit. Raised tilt up all the way & came back an hour later to find it bottomed out on all 6" of travel. Pretty sure I could actually see it creeping before I left. Not enough seepage out of the tilt fitting to account for that much creep at all, but it's just pours some massive salt in some already bad wounds. Haven't bothered unpluging the cylinder yet to see if it's the cylinder or valve, but either way it's not promising. It would take my FitRite cylinders & valves on my L3200 a week or more to creep.

2.5-3 months to get leaky garbage, so sad. Really wish I'd gone with my gut & FitRite's 1-2 month backlog & known good quality.

At the bottom you can see the PTO shaft cover covered in hydraulic fluid after a minute, the drawbar is completely covered as well. Also what should be OEM Kubota cylinders that don't come close to matching color & massively chipped up paint.


Actually looks like the fluid is coming out from behind that retaining nut rather than the seal.


Leaky tilt cylinder fitting, drenched drawbar & a bit of the drenched trailer deck. Don't forget those ugly QC passed stickers on there.


Going to have a not very happy phone call with the dealer tomorrow.

 

[RNeumann]

It's sad the cylinders have a "QC PASSED" sticker on them. I wonder what brand they actually used. I have a Gearmore setup but the cylinders don't look like that. BTW I had to get a longer top cylinder. The one it came with didn't run the box properly....at least for my liking. Hope it all works out for you.

 

[PSDStu]

I have had my L4060 with the Kubota TnT for about 4 years now and have been very unhappy about the leakdown of the side link cylinder since day one..... in my case the issue is with the Kubota remote valves leaking bye which causes the side link cylinder to droop.... used to be a place in Tenn I think that had the check valve type cylinders that in my case would have prevented the leakdown but the place no longer sells the check valve cylinders and I haven't been able to locate anyone else who sells them.

I have never had a the problem you are having with the cylinders leaking oil..... hopefully you will be able to get them repaired/replaced.... good luck.

 

[Oldoak]

Fallon, in your second picture where you say: "Actually looks like the fluid is coming out from behind that retaining nut rather than the seal", you could be right. The "O" ring seal on that cylinder end cap may have been pinched when it was initially assembled. I had the same kind of leak from one of the cylinders on my FEL on my L4200 Kubota when it was new. Replaced the damaged "O" ring and all has been good ever since.

I hope your experience with the new TnT and PSDStu's problem with Kubota's remote valves leaking bye isn't an indication of where the Kubota brand is heading. :confused3:

I am currently in the market for a new Kubota to replace my faithful L4200 which I have had for 19 years. :thumbsup:

 

[FatTire]

Wow, that sucks! You would think "factory" would work out ok, but on accessories not always.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I really doubt that those are units built for Kubota Corp. Just last week I had a Kubota dealer call and ask me for a set for an L4701. They mentioned that all top & tilt sets were currently back ordered until May. Remember this has been going on for around a year now.

 

[TripleR]

Those look nothing like those on my TnT, but I got mine several years ago. I also bought a top link from Fit Rite and both look pretty much the same. I've had no problems with mine, but anything I buy in the future will be Fit Rite.

 

[jmc]

Here's two pictures of Kubota OEM TnT cylinders that they were selling in 2004. Those leaked down too and the setup was too bulky:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...vs-integration-engineering.html?highlight=TNT

I didn't like them and replaced them with aftermarket cylinders. Here's a discussion that includes some of the aftermarket vendors at the time, that may still be in business:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...t-kubo-atas-vs-integration.html?highlight=tnt

 

[Fallon]

I really doubt that those are units built for Kubota Corp. Just last week I had a Kubota dealer call and ask me for a set for an L4701. They mentioned that all top & tilt sets were currently back ordered until May. Remember this has been going on for around a year now.

I think my dealer actually talked to you at one point. But I think he said your 1-2 month lead times were excessive. Apparently the undefined wait from Kubota that turned out to be pushing 3 months was better. I knew I'd be waiting from the forums when I ordered, probably had a better idea than the dealer did.

Looked through my old E-mail & I had the choice of 2" or 2.5" cylinders for the L3200 & went with the 2.5". Definitely beefier & better engineered than the excessively long rod on my Kubota cylinders. Did you intentionally match the paint on my L3200 cylinders to Kubota grey, or was that just coincidence?

Talked to the dealer this morning & he's sending out a mechanic to look at it again. Mentinoed looking at other cylinder options as well. Who knows that might mean he'll be giving FitRite a call. ;-)

There is no way in **** I'm going to put check valves on my toplink, I use float way to much. I might possibly consider it on the side link as a last resort, but I'll raise **** before that becomes an option of last resort. I didn't bother unpluging the hoses to see if it was valve or cylinder related. Until the cylinders stop leaking that's only going to be of limited value. Given the minimal fluid coming out of the side link fitting I have a sneaking suspicion it's a poor quality valve.

 

[Fallon]

Here's two pictures of Kubota OEM TnT cylinders that they were selling in 2004. Those leaked down too and the setup was too bulky:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...vs-integration-engineering.html?highlight=TNT

I didn't like them and replaced them with aftermarket cylinders. Here's a discussion that includes some of the aftermarket vendors at the time, that may still be in business:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...t-kubo-atas-vs-integration.html?highlight=tnt

lol & I'm complaining that mine aren't bulky enough. TripleR, are your's OEM Kubota TnT cylinders? They look beefier than mine more like 2.5" like I had on the L3200.

Other than my not so great hose routing, my L3200 TnT looked great. In retrospect the grey isn't a perfect match to OEM Kubota grey, at least in this photo, but it's close & orders of magnitude better than what I have now.