My new 4300 project

[larboc]

I thought I would share my work and ask for suggestions as I get my new to me 4300 up in good operating condition. It was owned by a commercial snow removal and landscape company who traded it in on a bobcat. I bought it @ 1500hrs with a 430 loader, 26 broom, 59" blower, 72" deck, and curtis hard cab. Knowing that most everything was in good shape with the exception that the cab was rough and needed work, they made me a deal. The rusty cab really made it look dilapidated and helped in bargaining and I knew I could fix it. Other things I need to do yet is replace all the hard lines from the loader valve to the disconnects, put new decals in the hood, and figure out what people are doing to protect their trans cooler from battery spray. Everything looks good on mine so I'm not sure what to do to keep it that way.

The first order of business is to fix the cancer on the cab and stop any more from progressing.

The "before" pics.



Getting everything apart





I had to drill out all the plastic hold downs for the rubber floor mat, they wouldn't come out with a normal door clip removal tool so I just knocked them through and will have to replace them. I knew I wanted to get it off of the floor to clean out all the water, salt, dirt, and sand before it started to rust out the tractor. Luckily the tractor really isn't rusted despite the cab looking like it sat in the ocean for 10 years.



Pulling out the window glass to rebuild the door bottoms. This side isn't too bad but I'm going to replace the bottom 6" anyway, also going to use it as a template for the patch piece for the other side because it's gone from the bottom of the window down.


The cab had been "repaired" by someone before and had missing panel patches and frame parts welded in. For some reason they didn't put any paint on afterward so that's all starting to rust too. After seeing how rusty the cab is, I would NEVER buy a Curtis cab new if I was in the market and I could afford an alternative. It's a nice cab aside from the poor paint quality which allows water to get in a bubble the paint, trap moisture, and rust out fairly thick metal. The JD paint on the tractor is holding up just fine and protecting the JD metal.

 

[Kubota 2350]

Looks like you have your work cut out for you, I think you'll like the tractor.
Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[beenthere]

For the battery spray, get the cover that clips in all cap spaces that has the vent tube at the end to vent down below the battery tray.
No suggestions on the cab, as mine doesn't have a cab and for most uses, do not want one.
Good find, as the 4300 is a good basic machine and I've enjoyed mine since new in '98.

 

[rekees4300]

Thanks for sharing the pics. Good luck with the project. 1500 hrs. isn't much for a 4300. With a little TLC, the diesel engine should be good for 8000 hrs. Mine only has 950 hrs. on it since I bought it new in 2000. Keep it indoors and no rust whatsoever.

 

[TSO]

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[larboc]

Scraped and wire brushed down all flaking metal and rust and primed the rusty areas that still have good metal in them with Rusty Metal Primer (RMP). Excellent stuff if you've never used it before, I'd recommend trying it. It sticks to anything and lasts a very long time. $9/quart at walmart.


Used the "good" door to trace out and make some patch panels with the trusty plasma cutter.


Then grabbed the bad door, removed the glass..




And cut out the rot. Going to have to make a bigger patch panel!


I couldn't find 5/8" square tube anywhere which is what the frame is made from, so I'm using 3/4" instead. It will slip over the 5/8" for a nice weld up anyway and I'll try to keep the repairs even on each side so it doesn't look as obvious. As simple as these are, it wouldn't really be much more work to make an entire door compared to having to butt weld the metal patches in. I debated which route to go and figured I'll try patching and painting it first. Sometimes it's tough to decide whether to repair or re-make in these situations!

 

[pmsmechanic]

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[larboc]

Thanks for sharing the pics. Good luck with the project. 1500 hrs. isn't much for a 4300. With a little TLC, the diesel engine should be good for 8000 hrs. Mine only has 950 hrs. on it since I bought it new in 2000. Keep it indoors and no rust whatsoever.

Thanks, there are some things I like better about it and some things I don't care for as much compared to x55's but overall I like it quite a bit in the 30 mins I've used it so far.
Throughout the teardown I've been quietly whispering "don't worry, you'll never see salt again" to it. It will live in my barn when not in use as well.
I ordered a new set of hydraulic lines that connect the loader valve to the quick disconnects at my local dealer, should be here friday. They are all badly rusted. One of them sprung a leak on the loader down pressure side. I thought I read in the restoration thread that these lines are supposed to be JIC but mine are 1/2" ORFS. I was planning on making my own lines out of stainless steel, but I don't have a way to flange orfs so it's just getting another set of factory lines. Hopefully these last longer, at $220 for 4 plain steel lines they better.

I did find out that I'm missing parts for the mower deck. The front latch/draft link is missing as well as any trace of the deck lift system. I'm thinking this should have had the hydraulic cylinder lift system since it has the rear aux. scv valve. The PO doesn't seem to have any of the parts as he never used the deck. I'll try to source the parts, but I'm thinking I may be better off selling the deck and buying a dedicated lawn mower than trying to source everything. Buying them new from mr. deere prohibitively expensive. Around $600 for the front latch/draft link assembly alone.

 

[TSO]

Sooooo... I'm sure I'm not the only one curious as to the price you picked her up for...

 

[larboc]

$11,500 for the tractor and all the attachments and it was only 200 miles away. When I added everything up it seemed like a good deal despite the (relatively) minor issues with the cab and the hydraulic line. Everything is tight on it, no smoke, it starts and runs great in the cold. The loader is almost brand new. No sign of needing shims at all yet, I will keep that area greased though.
I did notice that it recently had a new fuel shutoff solenoid put on it so I'm going to dig into the fuse box and make sure the thermistor was replaced when that was done. It will need front tires soon.