Kubota L5740 & Woods BH90 plumbing

[gbsmith]

Hello,

This is my first post on TBN, although I have been lurking for sometime.

I'm not happy with the way my Woods BH90x has been plumbed in. Here's what I have; Kubota L5740 with 3 rear remotes, LA854 front loader with auxillary third function remote, all from Kubota and all dealer installed. The problem I have is how the dealer has plumbed the backhoe. I hook the backhoe supply into one of the rear remotes and bungee cord the lever open and the backhoe return goes into the hydraulic fill hole at the rear of the tractor. According to a couple of friends that have operated my backhoe, it seems to be underpowered. They are judging from digging out similar sized stumps and the ability to break thru roots compared to their similar sized machines. I realize this comparison is very subjective but I have not been too impressed with the backhoes digging power and I am certainly not impressed with the bungee cord option. The dealer doesn't seem to be totally up to speed when it comes to hydraulics. Do any of you guys have advice on the "right way" to set up the hydraulics in my case? Thanks

[kennyd]

Welcome to TBN

If you can post a picture or three of the valve assembly for your three rear remotes, and/or tell us how many hoses are connected to it we can probably help better...

[dfkrug]

Originally Posted by gbsmith

Kubota L5740 with 3 rear remotes...

I consulted with a local golf course on the purchase of an L5740 a few
months ago and the triple rear remote valve was ordered. Without
consulting us, the dealer used an aftemarket 3-spool valve, rather than
an OEM Kubota unit. He says Kubota has a double remote OEM, but not
a triple. A backhoe is not used on this tractor.

As for using a remote spool valve work circuit to run the hoe, there is
nothing wrong with that (and that is how my hoe is powered). However,
the bungee cord thing is certainly mickey-mouse and it is a shame that
your dealer did not choose a valve with at least one detented work circuit.

[hayden]

I've got a 5740 with a Bradco backhoe, but the plumbing issues are the same as with a woods.

From the dealer, mine was plumbed into the line that goes from the loader valve to the transmission case. The line is not the return, it's the pressue line that operates the 3PH. It enters at the top of the case under the seat. They replaced that hose with two hoses, one with a male quick connect and the other with a female. When the hoe is removed, the two hoses simply couple together and act just like the original hose. With the hoe attached, the hoses are decoupled and connected to the BH hoses, thereby diverting the hydraulic flow out through the BH and back to the 3PH. It's simple, works fine, and provides full flow. The down side is that you need to shut down the tractor to connect/disconnect the hoses.

I subsequently replaced this arrangement with a diverter valve. This allows selection between bypassing the hoe or diverting to the hoe with the push/pull of a knob. Now, with the tractor running I can bypass the hoe with the control knob, then disconnect the BH hoses and drive away. It's much more convenient.

The attached pictures show both. The first is the manual coupler - in this case with the BH removed. If you follow the line from the the trans case top, it runs under the lift arm and you can just see the couplers behind the the arm.

The second picture shows the diverter valve with quick couplers mounted directly on the valve. You simply plug in the BH hoses and pull the valve handle to activate the BH.

oops, I don't have the pictures on this computer. I'll try to remember to post them tomorrow.

[gbsmith]

Thanks to all that have taken the time to reply.

While I wait for the advice to pour in and before doing any changes to the hydraulics. I'm kicking around the notion of installing an inline pressure gauge to check the operating pressure supplied to the backhoe. I thought this might give me useful baseline information.

Hayden, I'm anxious to see the pics of your setup, sound like it might be what I'm looking for...Thank you!

[hayden]

Oh, I completely forgot.... The low power that your describe is more likely a result of low pressure rather than low flow rate. I still think your hook up can be improved, but if the hoe doesn't have the digging force that you expect, take a look at the system pressure.

Here's a thread on adjusting the pressure for an L5740, including making a detachable pressure gauge that has proven to be very useful over the succeeding months since I made it. My system pressure was a good bit lower than the specs call for.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/o...ml#post1278432