Something to watch for the backhoe owners

[jdom84]

ummm wow...

 

[mslisaj]

Yea!! That's what mind looked like too. It behooves everyone that has had a tractor out in the rain to check this out and correct it. Not sure a warranty would cover this failure. It's easy to check out and clean before any real damage is done.

 

[tomplum]

BTW I looked through the other Taesung backhoes in the two smaller sizes and they seem to have the same boots.

 

[Big Blue Florida]

This is a good subject to high light.
We keep ours under its own covers area but still if you live in a humid area as in the southeast, everything that gets worked o/s will rust up.

thanks again for the subject & all who posted up about the lube etc

 

[ThirdMan]

I too had my backhoe controls sticking and not returning to the neutral position. The right stick was the one with the noticeable issue. I took it apart to find it wet with corroding nuts and bolts. I wiped it out and used sandpaper to clean off some of the corrosion. I used penetrating oil and marine grease on the parts to help keep things moving and stop the water from causing issues in the future. We will see how that holds up. This is a disappointment on a pretty new machine. I keep my backhoe under cover most of the time.

 

[mslisaj]

Yes this is a know problem to this forum at least. I received my new MT125 in the first of November and I had a sticking control lever from the start. After I saw this post I pulled the two boots and discoverd the same mess as everyone else. So I cleaned it and resealed it "like everyone else" but I went one step further. After some experimentation of hose size I found that a 3/4" piece of 1/2" heater hose would work. After I cut it to the 3/4" length I slit it longwise and then cut out about 1/8" of an inch of the diameter of the hose. Then I could slip it on to the lever handle and it was a nice fit. Then after doing battle with the stiff rubber boot I discovered and here's the trick, you turn the boot inside out on the lever around the knob. Then you put your "bushing" up right next to the boot and work it in from the bottom. Then you unfold the boot around the little lose "bushing" and you have a seal. then take a wire tie and secure it tight and this will solve the problem of the rain or wash water running down into the control surfaces of this valve. Like most dealers, including the LS assembly plant, these machines are stored outside in the elements. The rain will run down that control stick/lever easily. It will sit on top of the lower valve seal and seep in and cause all the corosion problems we all are experienceing.

I love my LS Tractor and I even love the fact that I can come along and clean up and "help" with some of the finish engineering of my machine. I would buy another LS tomorrow as I feel it's a superior machine to it's competition and especially at the price. So this is the permanent fix for my machine. Now I would love LS to give me the more involved fix for the three point hitch. But I'll be satisfied with with my quick fixes and improvements.

Hope this helps,

Lisa

Here are the before and after pictures.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

I must have gotten lucky with mine. Pulled the cover and the boots, no corrosion or rust on the valve assembly. My tractor was one of the first couple hundred off the line. Maybe got shipped during a dry time of the year. I know the dealer only had it about a week before I purchased it.

Lisa, that's a great fix. Going to do it just in case it gets caught in the rain or for when I wash it (yes, I wash it after each 'dirty / dusty' use, waxed it twice already)

 

[mslisaj]

Well "LSmt125owner" my tractor now has a permanent home in my shop but it also gets a bath after use and wiped down. I did have the "damage" that is shown in the pictures here but as I said this machine lived outside for probably a year before I bought it new. I love my LS tractor and I'm not being critical of it but the boots truly don't fit the levers. But they look nice, fit at the bottom and it took me about 30 minutes to fix the tops. As I mentioned the "trick" is to turn the boot inside out on the lever as that rubber is not very stretchable. So when you when you turn it right side it kind of swallows the little piece of hose you put in place to fill the gap.

On the waxing I just finished it's first wax job and wow does the machine look good now. It looked like it has some sprayed cosmoline over the cylinders and other parts that were harder for the dealer or factory to clean off. I used a good polish on a rag and it was easily removed and the paint job on this tractor is beautiful on all surfaces. Another nice thing about our LS tractors.

Thanks for your comments.

Lisa

 

[ThirdMan]

mslisaj, that is a good solution. I will add buying some 1/2" heater hose on my next trip to the store!

 

[Coyote machine]

Interesting thread. On my Kioti brand backhoe, there are boots like those on your LSs which don't fit worth a daamn. In fact they will not seal and stay in the hole where they enter through the plate toward the control valve of the various levers on the hoe. Kioti's solution, in newer model hoes: eliminate the boots entirely?! I don't like seeing the uncovered holes where the lever shafts protrude, and I don't like the old style with the boots never secured and effecting nothing by just flopping around.

I'd suggest when packing your LS valves with grease to use Teflon based trailer ball grease available at marine stores and probably elsewhere. Treat any existing rust first to mitigate further rusting in future then coat the crap out of the area where water can sit or has in the past.
An example:Super Lube Synthetic Multi-Purpose Grease, 4g 4116 | Zoro.com

It's just incredibly stupid that these manufacturers don't better protect this crucial aspect of their backhoes, except in the most rudimentary way by throwing an ill fitting boot into the mix as their solution to nothing.
Not like it's impossible to make a rubber boot that would fit tight and do it's intended job?!