Why I Hate Kubota

[Suburban Plowboy]

I guess I'm exaggerating. I must not hate Kubota all that much, since I keep buying their stuff.

I finally got my used ZD326 pretty much the way I like it. Then yesterday I saw oil on the workshop floor. Not just any oil. Turned out it was UDT2.

Looked around and saw that fluid was coming out of the lift cylinder.

No problem. I would just buy new seals and fix it, because surely Kubota wouldn't do me dirty like John Deere, which put a proprietary cylinder on my JD 430, welded it shut, and wanted $250 for a new one back when mine blew out. That cylinder is now discontinued, by the way.

Well, actually, Kubota WOULD do me like that. I checked, and the cylinder did not have a cap that could be screwed off. I looked at the workshop manual, and it said nothing about how to fix a cylinder. But I could buy a new one for $450 or so. Not making that figure up.

Found a Youtube guy who showed how to take the cylinder apart. Funny how that wasn't in the manual.

I also learned that Kubota would sell me a seal kit, even though it wouldn't tell me how to install it. Price for two seals: $116 plus shipping, roughly.

I dug up someone else's forum post and learned that this cylinder's wiper seal is 40x48x5, and the rod seal is 40x48x5.7 Price from Hercules.com: about $37 with shipping included.

What was the extra $90+ dollars for, Kubota? Those must be really nice seals.

 

[sandman2234]

Worse thing about this, is those prices are going to continue to go up!
I have a lift cylinder leaking, so I am going to have to bite the bullet and go thru the process! I will probably just take it to one of my local hydraulic shops and see what they can do with it. Time is my biggest issue.
David from jax

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

This is why the world is liveable for people who can DO. Its unaffordable for those that can't.

 

[ptsg]

That's the case for 99% of the seal kits and why I always say to go to an hydraulic shop.

You can pretty much buy 3 to 4 sets of seals for the cost of 1 seal kit if you spend just a bit more time to pull the old ones out and have a shop match those.

When I machined the cylinders for my loader, I spend 80€ for 4 sets of seals for 4 cylinders, including four M20x1.5 nuts. That's a lot less one seal kit and I can rebuild 4 cylinders.

 

[dodge man]

It’s happening in a lot of different areas, cars, trucks, appliances, small engines etc. The prices for parts and service from dealers is pretty insane.

 

[bdhsfz6]

It’s happening in a lot of different areas, cars, trucks, appliances, small engines etc. The prices for parts and service from dealers is pretty insane.

I agree. Kubota isn't alone in this area.

I've stayed with them mainly because there is a major dealer just a mile up the road from my property. They treat me fairly, and I've purchased 7 tractors from them over the last 45 years.

My solution to these high repair costs and machine down time is to trade my tractors every 5 years or so, most of the time trading up. The way I use my equipment, that seems to be the threshold where repairs start becoming necessary. Sure, it costs money, but it's a lot less than you might think. I depend on my equipment to enable me to maintain and continue to live on my estate, so it's difficult to put a price on downtime. That, plus high repair costs make this a feasible option in my case.

I keep my tractors inside, do all the maintenance using OEM parts and get all if not more than the purchase price on the trade. I'm sure my relationship with the dealer has something to do with this though and it may not be the case everywhere. YMMV.

 

[WinterDeere]

It’s happening in a lot of different areas, cars, trucks, appliances, small engines etc. The prices for parts and service from dealers is pretty insane.

Always has been. I remember paying 3x third party pricing for dealership parts back in 1990! That's nothing new.

Oh, and it's $80 diff, not $90 plowboy! $79, if you want to get real picky. But yeah, doesn't change your story, that's an expensive pair of seals.

I always wondered why some OEM's weld cylinders built for disassembly. I can understand if welding is just the manufacturing method, cheaper and quicker than a threaded end cap and (maybe?) more reliable than a retaining clip. But to weld one that's already threaded just seems evil.

 

[Jstpssng]

I paid $350 to have the ram rebuilt for my Woods backhoe. Then looked at the manual and found that it tells how to do it.
That'll be the last time I take one to the shop.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

RE $80, you forgot shipping.

Worse thing about this, is those prices are going to continue to go up!
I have a lift cylinder leaking, so I am going to have to bite the bullet and go thru the process! I will probably just take it to one of my local hydraulic shops and see what they can do with it. Time is my biggest issue.
David from jax

For what it's worth, the Youtube guy fixed a ZD28 cylinder very easily.

Based on experience, I think my local shop would charge around $200.00.

 

[EddieWalker]

Looked around and saw that fluid was coming out of the lift cylinder.

No problem. I would just buy new seals and fix it,

I also learned that Kubota would sell me a seal kit, even though it wouldn't tell me how to install it. Price for two seals: $116 plus shipping, roughly.

I dug up someone else's forum post and learned that this cylinder's wiper seal is 40x48x5, and the rod seal is 40x48x5.7 Price from Hercules.com: about $37 with shipping included.

What was the extra $90+ dollars for, Kubota? Those must be really nice seals.

I don't have any Kubota stuff, but I do have Case, New Holland, Deere and Massey. When I used to rebuild my cylinders I would buy the kit from the dealer. Cost of the kits was always around $100 or a little more. Then New Holland decided that I had to replace the piston for the parts in the kit to work. That was another $150 for a new piston.

The kits contain parts for a lot of different cylinders, so most of what's in there isn't used. You just through all the extra parts away when you are done.

The guy at the parts counter felt sorry for me and told me that they take all their cylinders to a rebuild shop. I did the same and paid $100 total for the cylinder to be rebuilt. All I have to do is bring it there.

The rebuild shop just buys the parts that are needed. Usually, a couple of seals for less than $10 in parts. Sometimes is half that. The rest in labor.

Look around, ask around. Somewhere in your area there is a hydraulic cylinder rebuild shop. I haven't bothered to rebuild a cylinder since I started taking them to the one near me.

 

[WinterDeere]

When I used to rebuild my cylinders I would buy the kit from the dealer. Cost of the kits was always around $100 or a little more.

I rebuilt a few of the cylinders of the Model 52 loader on my old Deere 855, all in the 2013 - 2018 timeframe. I remember paying more like $35 - $45 for each kit, but it was always the "glands only" kit. It included the rod gland (always the source of my leaks, given rods were a bit pitted, and I think two O-rings for the piston.

The kit might have also included a pair of o-rings for the ORFS fittings on the cylinder... can't remember as they were $1-$5 items if bought separately, and I always had a baggie of those on-hand, anyway.

There was a more expensive kit that also included a piston and maybe even a replacement end cap or clip, but I never saw any need for it.

 

[MMC]

I don't have any Kubota stuff, but I do have Case, New Holland, Deere and Massey. When I used to rebuild my cylinders I would buy the kit from the dealer. Cost of the kits was always around $100 or a little more. Then New Holland decided that I had to replace the piston for the parts in the kit to work. That was another $150 for a new piston.

The kits contain parts for a lot of different cylinders, so most of what's in there isn't used. You just through all the extra parts away when you are done.

The guy at the parts counter felt sorry for me and told me that they take all their cylinders to a rebuild shop. I did the same and paid $100 total for the cylinder to be rebuilt. All I have to do is bring it there.

The rebuild shop just buys the parts that are needed. Usually, a couple of seals for less than $10 in parts. Sometimes is half that. The rest in labor.

Look around, ask around. Somewhere in your area there is a hydraulic cylinder rebuild shop. I haven't bothered to rebuild a cylinder since I started taking them to the one near me.

Really good advice for all of us...I'm actually running over to a really good hydraulic shop in central KY Tuesday for a couple of sets of seals for the lift cylinders on one of my tractors (hey, if you're doing one side you might as well do both).
I've used them for years and that's all they work on. They professionally mic and size my seals, hand me a bag, and I'm quickly on my way back to the farm. They could rebuild the cylinders as well, but it's just easier to do this back in the farm shop (and cheaper)...

Eddie's advice is spot on. These are fairly simple repairs and instructions abound on the internet. Nothing against dealers, but they kinda' just slow you down in this case.