Kubota B1700 tractor

[Wlmedley]

Got my little tractor running.Honed cylinders.Bores looked good and end gap measured good with new rings.Installed new rings.When through cylinder head with new exhaust valves and lapped all valves.New valve seals and gaskets.Spent around $800 at Messicks and another $100 on hone,valve spring compressor ect.Was sure glad to hear it run.My back payed a price for being bent over for two days.Transmission and hydraulics working good.I was afraid hydrostatic transmission might have problems from setting so long but seems ok although it has a slight leak somewhere.Will check it out when my back straightens up.Kubota transmission oil is $170 for 5 gallons.Can't have it leaking  :laugh:

 

 

  

[rusticretreater]

I have purchased from Messicks several times.  Good outfit.  They were the only ones with the Synthetic UTD fluid I wanted to use at a reasonable price.

Once you find the leak in the hydraulic system and get that fixed, I would suggest the following:

Dual fluid and dual filter change

Step 1: Drain the fluid and change the filter.  Also clean the transmission strainer screen.
Step 2: Install a new filter and the minimum fluid amount.
Step 3: Run the tractor, drive it a bit on level ground and operate the controls to circulate the fluid until it reaches and fully cycles through the system at least five times.  You want to get everything warmed up to help dislodge any sludge.
Step 4: Drain the fluid and change the filter.
Step 5: Install a new filter and fill it to the maximum fluid level.
Step 6: Run the tractor and allow the fluid to circulate again by operating the controls.
Step 7: Check the fluid level and add more fluid if necessary.

This will be expensive but as you noted, you will still be far ahead on value.

[21incher]

That will be a very  handy little machine.  My little BX takes a beating and keeps on going. I recently bought  a Kubota zero turn and just found out the 250 hour maintenance requires drive oil change  with Parker HT 1000 oil that is over $100 a gallon and doesn't come in 5 gallon buckets that the machine needs. Prices for oils are crazy lately. Glad Messicks came through for you.

[Nebraska]

You can't use universal hy-tran in an out of warranty Kubota??  

[Wlmedley]

Didn't buy transmission oil at Messicks.I should have because it was about $30 cheaper for 5 gallons than the dealer. I figured shipping would be high on something that heavy.My plan was to change transmission and front axle oil as soon as I got engine running but now need to see where leak is.Put a gallon in and still not full.Hopefully I won't have to disassemble hydrostatic unit to repair leak.Service manual doesn't give alternative oil for transmission so I'll stick with Kubota oil.It did say 90W could be used in front axle.Plan to change engine oil again after running a little more.Still need to order blades for mower deck and a seal for mower deck gear box.I've got a lot of fairly steep banks that I've been mowing with a self propelled walk behind mower.This machine will help me a lot.My old knees aren't what they used to be.What I like is how easy it is to get parts for a 25 year old tractor .

[moodnacreek]

25 years old? Man that's NEW!  My newest tractor is 1985 [2110 ford compact] and oldest 1941 JD H.                                  Nice job, you got it made mowing those banks now.

[SawyerTed]

Good to see the tractor back in action!  Good work!  

[Wlmedley]

Checked out transmission leak on tractor.Turns out its not going to be an easy fix. I'm pretty well committed to fixing this thing now.Already put in to much money and especially time to give up plus I'm really looking forward to mowing with it.Can't tell for sure where oil is leaking from but have got it down to either pipe between transmission and clutch housing or gasket between hydro unit and transmission.Either way now I have to split rear of tractor.Went ahead and ordered more parts.Got new blades for mower and mower gear box seal while I was making order.Another $500 bit the dust.If this tractor had been taken to the dealer for repairs it definitely would have cost more than what it's worth but being I work for free I guess I'll still come out ok.Have ran it around enough that I fill pretty confident everything else is ok.One thing about it is I'm going to know almost every piece of this thing  :laugh:

[stavebuyer]

Had a big leak from the transmission housing on my NH1520. $2 "o-ring " inside transmission fixed the issue but had to split the tractor to get to it. If you are operating normally other than the leaking, I would expect you will find something similar in yours. 

[Wlmedley]

Was hoping for a $2 o ring but turned out to be a $50 gasket.Leaking between hydro unit and transmission.Can't see down in that area without splitting machine. I guess if was easy everybody would want to do it  :laugh:

 

  

[rusticretreater]

I guess if was easy everybody would want to do it 

I have been saying that for years.  Looks like you are progressing well.  Kudos!

[JD Guy]

@Wlmedley Congrats on your determination and progress! When you get er all buttoned up you should have a machine that will last quite a while!

[Wlmedley]

I usually buy new and try to take really good care of anything I buy.My little 1020 Massey Ferguson tractor was bought new in 1987 and I've not had to do hardly anything to it.This Kubota has been fighting me every step of the way but I don't blame it. I can tell it's a well built machine but just hasn't been taken care of.I can't tolerate having something that doesn't run right or has oil dripping out of it.A new one would cost around $13000 and being I plan to use it mostly to cut grass that seems pretty steep.Hopefully when I get it back together this time I won't have to work on it for a long time.Endeavor to Persevere :laugh:

[Wlmedley]

Removed hydro unit today and tore it down.This is something that I wasn't looking forward to.A lot of small parts and if not put back together correctly it could self destruct.Out of curiosity I checked price of complete hydro unit.Only $5800!I'll be sweating bullets until I can get this back together and see it working properly.I've built up quite a few piston pumps and motors but nothing this small.Everything looks good.Don't know why gasket failed.All other gearboxes are sealed with silicone only.Now I just have to wait on parts and second guess myself about assembly of hydro unit.If this retirement thing doesn't work out I guess I could get a job at a Kubota dealership  :laugh:

 

 

  

[Wlmedley]

Should have my tractor back together in a few days.There was an o ring in hydro unit that I didn't order when ordering gasket.Thought I had better replace it also but Messick's didn't have it in stock and just sent me a e mail that it is

 on the way.Took a week for them to find one.While I was waiting I went ahead and cleaned up mower deck and replaced blades,tore down little gear box and replaced seals,installed a few missing bolts and greased everything.Hopefully I'll get to try it out before the snow flys.

[SawyerTed]

Looks like the tractor will be good as new!   

I'm enjoying your rebuild

[GRANITEstateMP]

Bill, you better not let Kubota see that you know what your doing...they'll hire you right outta retirement!  Good techs are hard to find!

[Wlmedley]

It's not back together yet.In a couple more days we'll see if I know what I'm doing or not.If I don't get it running good I'll never live it down. :laugh:

[21incher]

Bill, you better not let Kubota see that you know what your doing...they'll hire you right outta retirement!  Good techs are hard to find!

My experience with Kubota over the last 4 weeks with my defective side by side is that the service reps are totally useless POSs. They don't know how to solve issues and just throw parts at things without listening to the dealer mechanics.  They have no idea and don't care. should be working at McDonald's. I made a mistake being loyal to Kubota. 

[GRANITEstateMP]

21incher,

Sounds like you have a dealer with communication problems.  I've seen that before, sometimes its a misinterpretation of the customers complaint/concern from the service writer to the tech. Sometimes I've seen the customer explain to the service writer what they thought was wrong and how they wanted the tech to start the diagnosis.  I hope you get yours figured out, but lumping all the service folks into the pos category might be a bit much, I know quite a few techs/writers/parts guys/and such in a few different disciplines, no doubt some are hacks, and some are parts replacers, but the majority aren't

[21incher]

Not at all. Crankcase fills with oil and gas at about 12 ounces in 20 hours.  Original Kubota said this is normal if it's not run hard enough but finally the dealer got them to open a case. They approved oil change , head gasket check, and new injectors.  The dealer then took it to his farm and ran it hard for 5 hours. Oil still went up with contamination.  Dealer asked for more  help and so far they are saying it's normal for the engine just change the oil every couple hours insteadof the normal schedule. Seems to be an issue with others also and I heard that it's a problem with the Subaru engines. 
 Dealer just got a new one in and talking to the mechanic they have totally redesigned the injector and intake manifold along with adding a couple sensors mid year for some reason with no explanation. The Kubota rep is avoiding the mechanic on a couple problem machines  because  it seems they don't know what to do to fix them.  Been at the dealership over 4 weeks and the mechanic is good but can't touch anything without pre approval from the rep that has no ideas and is useless.  I have 20k in a garbage machine from Kubota and won't accept it back until  it's fixed and the mechanic knows it's not fixed but Kubota  is saying they don't have a fix but it looks like they came up with one on new machines that were just implemented.  Kubota doesn't care. 

[SawyerTed]

Do you have Kubota insurance on the machine?

[Wlmedley]

I worked at a heavy equipment dealership my entire working life.Started with Case moved to International Harvester and ended with Komatsu plus many different side brands thrown in.With many design problems we would find the problem long before the manufacturer and if it wasn't to expensive to modify we would go ahead and do it.If it required a major modification the dealer had no choice but to wait till the manufacturer came up with a fix which usually seemed to take a long time.Looks like they would just replace your engine if newer design has taken care of the problem but who knows what they are thinking.Komatsu always seemed to pretty good about admitting they had a problem and trying to correct it even when it cost them a lot of money.I have always been impressed by machines manufactured in Japan .Quality control was second to none in most cases.Hope they get your machine fixed .

[21incher]

Do you have Kubota insurance on the machine?

No just the 2 year warranty coverage good until next June 

I talked to the owner of the dealership 2 weeks ago and was told a replacement engine was talked about but would not solve the problems because it would be the same engine.  Don't  think the new engine would work as all the electronics have also changed including the ecu for the new cam sensors and map sensors plus the intake air is routed through the frame that may be part of the water issue with condensation in the tubes. This is not made in Japan. Mine is one of the early ones off the Georgia line when Kubota started building their own engines.  Sorry to hijack this thread but Kubota  says all communications must go through the dealer and the dealership is trying hard to help but Kubota is of no use as the rep is ignoring the problem and saying it's something your stuck with even though it's not right. Looking at the New farm equipment lemon law if it's not fixed right and this qualifies under it. Sorry for the rant.

[Wlmedley]

Finally got my tractor back together.Everything seems to be working good.No more oil leaking from transmission.Not something I would want to work on everyday but I guess it was worth it in the end.Need a few small items (head light switch ect) but I can get aftermarket and not pay Kubotas high prices.My grandson was up yesterday and helped me try it out.He has always been afraid of tractors,atv's ect but my DIL figured out he didn't like the noise.A set of earmuffs and now he loves riding on the tractor.Threw a fit when I shut it off .Going to put mower deck on it today and try it out.