Tools needed for 50 hr on L3400

[canoetrpr]

I might end up doing the service myself if the dealer won't do the CAM fix. You TBNers have helped raise my confidence. Before I get started I want to make sure I make a trip and get all the tools I will need. Can you make sure I get this right.

I figure I might as well spend the extra money I would save on labour on tools that will be useful later.

Need:

- L3400 shop manual.

- Filter wrench (is there only one size?).

- Jack and jack stands. Although the manual does not say it I thought I read that others jacked the front axle to get all the fluid out. What is the appropriate jack for this machine? There was a set of a 2T floor jack and jack stands on sale - didn't look heavy duty to me... wasn't sure if they would do?
Aside: Bottle jacks seem quite a bit cheaper than a floor jack of equal capacity. Any reason why I should not go with a bottle jack?

- Couple of large drain pans.

- Couple of funnels (one for oil and one for hydraulic fluid).

- Torque wrench

- Air compressor / pump and pressure gauage to fill up tires to the right pressure.

Have:
- Adjustable wrench / socket set (have)

Any other things / thoughts you might have to make the job easier?

 

[kbota]

One thing comes to mind right away, and that is to buy the seal washers for each plug you remove. Think about pouring 10 gallons of expensive UDT or SUDT into your transmission and THEN find that one of the plugs is leaking because you left out a 50 cent part.
That would majorly tick me off at myself if that happened to me. I did the 400 hour service on my L3010 the other day, and I decided that I would have a set of seal washers on hand before the next time. Kubota hydraulic oil is way to expensive.

Other random thoughts, not necessarily in order;
1. Buy a metric and english socket set with six point sockets. 3/8 drive will work for most applications, but I had to use my 1/2 drive in several situations.
2. Buy either correctly sized sockets or box end wrenches to fit the large bottom plugs. Trust me that you do not want to round the corners off on these. If you do round the corners, then don't re-install them, buy replacements.
3. Pick up a mortar tray from Lowes or Home Depot to drain oil into. Make sure it has enough liquid capacity to handle your largest oil drain, probably transmission. Mine holds over 10 gallons.
4. Have several clean lint free rags to wipe off the bottom of each plug, and filter seat area. High quality paper towels will also work for this.
5. Use soap and water to wash the area around any screwon filters before starting, esp if it's really dirty. I find it best to give the entire tractor a bath and then let it dry before starting. Do this in a different area than where you will work so the floor will not be wet.
6. When you start draining the oil, pull the dipstick and/or remove the fill cap. This helps to drain the oil completely and quickly.
7. Make sure your funnels are squeaky clean before using. The places you are pouring expensive high quality oil does not like and is not tolerating of debris or dirt. It only takes a few extra minutes to do it right.
8. I remove the front tires when doing the front axle. I place a suitable jack stand in the center, and then I'm able to raise or lower the axle from side to side to help drain or refill. This will make sense when you start doing it. I actually try to overfill the front axle slightly, using UDT. I don't think this hurts anything. If anyone disagrees, please post. I would be interested in your thoughts.
9. Oh yeah, pick up one of those funnels with the long narrow tube. Comes in handy for the front axle which can be difficult to fill. After I finish, I store my funnels in plastic walmart bags, and tie the loops together. Keeps the dust out. When I need them again, I just wipe them clean, and go.
10. I'm sure there is a 10, and if I remember anything of value, I'll post again.

It's really not difficult, just takes a little work. Thing ahead on your steps so you don't back yourself in a corner.

Oh yeah, here's the 10. Make Darn sure you put the plugs back in before filling with oil. No, I've never done it, but I know someone who has. Was not pretty.

Good luck
k

 

[canoetrpr]

kbota:

Do you know if the seal washers for all plugs are the same size?

I imagined that I would head to the dealer and ask for "fluids and filters for 50 hour service" and that sensible things such as seal washers would ve included.

Considering that I am partly considering doing this myself because dealers just don't seem competent, I think that I should have a list ready of EXACTLY what I need

 

[wushaw]

8. I remove the front tires when doing the front axle. I place a suitable jack stand in the center, and then I'm able to raise or lower the axle from side to side to help drain or refill. This will make sense when you start doing it. I actually try to overfill the front axle slightly, using UDT. I don't think this hurts anything. If anyone disagrees, please post. I would be interested in your thoughts.

You have a floor jack under the outer part of the axle missing the tire....Right???? And the other tire is still on???
I just use my floor jack....no stand since there is a tire on the oppisite side and let her drain for a good while.

Ok I have a L2800HST.
You need filter wrench Just about any will do...as long as it fits.
A drain pan that will hold at least 7 gallons, trannny holds a hair over six gallons.
A floor jack is safer than a bottle jack in this application. Using a jack is not necessary but it will be cleaner since the axle drains are in a wierd spot although cardboard can be used but it takes awhile for the axles to drain....something can be devised to use if you don't have all the tools necessary to pull tires have floor jack and torque wrench to re-torque wheels.

 

[kbota]

8.

You have a floor jack under the outer part of the axle missing the tire....Right???? And the other tire is still on???
I just use my floor jack....no stand since there is a tire on the oppisite side and let her drain for a good while.

Yes, I use a floor jack, but I jack it up under a heavy steel plate that is part of the FEL subframe. I jack the tractor up centered so it's very stable. I have a wooden block that is sized to fit inside the floor jack between the lift plate, and the floor. That's my "just in case" block.

You will need to specify the seal washers for each drain plug. I cannot tell you how many of what size for your tractor. My L3010 GST has two large drain plugs for the transmission along with two small drain plugs for each wheel gearcase. The front axle has three; one for each gearcase drain and one for the fill opening. Different tractor/transmission combinations will be different.

When you ask for "50 hr service parts", this does not include the plug seal washers. They do not offer those up. You will have to ask for them specifically. Most of the time these washers can be used through several oil changes, BUT, if just one washer leaks, then you will have to drain the oil again. This allows for possible contamination. When I consider the almost nothing cost of a set of seal washers, compared to $200 worth of UDT or SUDT, or risk putting contaminated oil back in the case, then the decision becomes much easier, at least for me.

Hope this helps.

k

 

[Jw5875]

Drive the back wheels up on to 4 x 8 x 16 patio blocks, put wheel chock in front and rear of one tire (or both). 5 gal bucket will now fit under transmission.

1/2 in street elbow in front axle housing speeds up refilling. Jack front end up high enough and you don't have to remove wheel.


Been there / done that


JW5875

 

[Marcussen]

Here is a brief description of my 50 hour change. yours should be very similar

Front end requires 4.8 qts UDT, super UDT, or 80W90 gear oil. The dealer recommended Kubota 80W90 oil so that’s what I used. There are 3 @ 14MM plugs and one @ 1-1/16" plug.
Draining fluid was a very slow process, Recommend starting the drain Process evening before. Use a piece of cardboard to keep oil of tires and going into catch pan. Drain both sides at the same time.
Be equally patient putting the new gear oil in. (dealer said put 2-3 quarts in then wait one hour to let the oil work it's way down into the bearings, then complete the fill. I got a little over 4.5 qts. in before it over-flowed,

Engine Kubota recommends 10W-30 or 10w-40 oil (6 Qts.), the dealer said they always use 15W-40, The 2 oil drains are both 19 MM. Easy change for both oil and filter. No need for funnels. (use the oil fill in the area right above the filter not the one on the valve cover) I only got 5 qts in and it's full.

Transmission requires 6.8 gls UDT or super UDT and has two filters (I used Super UDT). There are 4 drain plugs 2 @ 14MM, 2 @ 25MM. I recommend changing filters first. The HST filter can be tough one, but I had no problems with it. You get about 4-5 gallons of fluid when you loosen the hydraulic filter, but if you don't take the filter all the way off you can hand tighten it back and change container if needed.
I used a funnel to get the 5 gallon bucket into the tractor.(My funnel was short so I removed the orange bracket that holds the slow moving vehicle sign for better access, 4 screws). 6 gallons and it's full.

After changing fluids and filters I drove the tractor around forward, reverse, raised and lowered the 3 point, I then brought it back to the garage to lube the various different lube points and checked for leaks.

 

[Jay4200]

Oh yeah, here's the 10. Make Darn sure you put the plugs back in before filling with oil. No, I've never done it, but I know someone who has. Was not pretty.

Not pretty, but hilarious.

I have an addendum to the above, gleened from 10+ years of being the mechanic for a fleet of family dirtbikes (think 50 hour service, but done every weekend).

Never just finger-tight a bolt or nut or filter (etc.) and plan on torquing it later - NEVER. Always torque every bolt or nut AS you install it. If it's in place, it's tight and torqued. That way, you cannot accidently drive away with loose oil drain bolt(s), which could ultimately cost you a large chunk of your machine (seen it happen). Loose lug nuts could be pretty bad too.

Trust me on this one.

JayC

 

[troweller]

i just got a channel lock filter wrench, super solid. One of the hydrostat filter requires a wrench to tighten it, it has notches at the base, i have used a hammer and chisel to remove in the past.

 

[canoetrpr]

Finally got word from the dealer that they will not do the CAM fix.

I guess I am going to take on the job of doing my 50 hour service myself. It sounds manageble after reading many of the posts here and the owners manual.

I will pick up a service manual for the tractor also.

Do you guys believe that I absolutely MUST have a torque wriench for the 50 our service? If so, I should be going out and getting one.

 

[wickedinhere]

I just finished my 50 service on my L2800 (same tractor as the 3400 with more hp). Its very simple to do and you dont actually have to have a torque wrench
for the drain plugs just dont over tighten them. The little rubber gaskets on the drain bolts are pretty thick and mine were all in great shape unless they are torn
i would reuse the old ones.I didnt have to jack mine up or take the front wheels
off but i guess it might make it easier if you did.

 

[canoetrpr]

wickedinthere.

I'm having a hard time finding a shop manual for the L3400/L2800 in stock around here. The owners manual seemed to have a reasonable amount of information on all the fluid/filter changes required for the 50 hour service.

Do you think there is any additional wisdom in the shop manual that I ought to wait to do my service for?

 

[wickedinhere]

You dont need the service manual for the 50 hour service. The owners manual shows where all the drain bolts are and it tells you how much oil your tractor needs.

 

[DiezNutz]

This thread mostly focuses on changing fluids, but don't forget the rest of what you're supposed to do, like the greasing. It's also a good time to do those Daily Checks if you've been neglecting them... like cleaning screens, evac valve, coolant level, etc.

I posted a tip about filling HST in this thread: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/103545-things-i-learned-my-hydro.html

 

[canoetrpr]

Excellent points dieznutz. Although obvious I might have missed some of this if you hadn't pointed it out.

Are the rest of the folks here using 80W-90 gear oil in their front axle - or UDT/Super UDT?

It took me a full year to get to 50 hours. I imagine I should also change the air filter.

 

[canoetrpr]

While on the topic of grease. I have just been using General purpose / All purpose grease from TSC. Should I be using Moly or some other kind of grease? What are the rest of you using?

 

[flusher]

I might end up doing the service myself if the dealer won't do the CAM fix. You TBNers have helped raise my confidence. Before I get started I want to make sure I make a trip and get all the tools I will need. Can you make sure I get this right.

I figure I might as well spend the extra money I would save on labour on tools that will be useful later.

Need:

- L3400 shop manual.

- Filter wrench (is there only one size?).

- Jack and jack stands. Although the manual does not say it I thought I read that others jacked the front axle to get all the fluid out. What is the appropriate jack for this machine? There was a set of a 2T floor jack and jack stands on sale - didn't look heavy duty to me... wasn't sure if they would do?
Aside: Bottle jacks seem quite a bit cheaper than a floor jack of equal capacity. Any reason why I should not go with a bottle jack?

- Couple of large drain pans.

- Couple of funnels (one for oil and one for hydraulic fluid).

- Torque wrench

- Air compressor / pump and pressure gauage to fill up tires to the right pressure.

Have:
- Adjustable wrench / socket set (have)

Any other things / thoughts you might have to make the job easier?

Don't know if your Bota has hydrostatic transmission, but my B7510HST does. There's a filter screen on the tranny that has to be cleaned at 50 hours (small metal filings, etc). Takes a big wrench (1-1/8 if I remember correctly) to fit that plug. The plug on my tractor must have been tightened with an air wrench. Had a heck of a time getting that sucker loosened.

 

[wushaw]

Don't know if your Bota has hydrostatic transmission, but my B7510HST does. There's a filter screen on the tranny that has to be cleaned at 50 hours (small metal filings, etc). Takes a big wrench (1-1/8 if I remember correctly) to fit that plug. The plug on my tractor must have been tightened with an air wrench. Had a heck of a time getting that sucker loosened.

The L2800/3400HST does not have the filter screen like the B7510HST.

 

[DiezNutz]

While on the topic of grease. I have just been using General purpose / All purpose grease from TSC. Should I be using Moly or some other kind of grease? What are the rest of you using?

Sounds like ya want to check out the Oil, Fuel, & Lubricants forum. If that won't completely confuse you, nothing will.
Personally I have two grease guns... one has the AP (I buy TSC's sometimes). The other has extreme pressure (EP) high temp Moly grease, for the mower spindles, loader & BH pivots, and any other bearings/bushings under extreme conditions. Everything else gets the regular stuff. I only use the two-gun method because I have 'em but it isn't necessary, if you only use one gun put the EP/HT/MoS2 grease in it. Grease is cheap period.
I wouldn't get hung up on brands, and as long as you pump out all of the old grease, it isn't a big deal to change types. Right now my "hi-test" gun is loaded with Castrol Contractor High Perf. EP Moly Grease, but once my current supply runs out it might be something else.

 

[canoetrpr]

Can't thank you folks enough!.

My 50 hour service is done. I've posted a (long) report in this thread:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php p=1182251#post1182251