I have just brought a Kubota G18 which is very similar to the G2160-R48S Direct Shoot mower you have in the US (except it has an 18HP engine instead of 21HP.
It is a 1999 model with 1050 hours but it is in superb order, been really well cared for.
In this country these mowers are in very high demand, I had to pay 」3500 for this mower, which is about $5500, but a mint one with 200 hours would be more like $7000 dollars which was too much for me. We're about 40% more expensive on new over here as well.
When I brought it, I intended on stripping it right down, going over everything with a fine tooth comb, respraying anything that needs it, and reassembling it. Today I started that process.
Here are some pictures of the mower (I shall take more soon, I only had my mobile phone camera today):
Unfortunately there is some work to do. As I started stripping the mower down, I found that the floor pan in the rear collector shoot that pivots up is about the only part that has rusted - and it has well in truly rusted out. Great big hole in it. I assume it was left with wet grass in the shoot for some time. I will order a new flip up floor pan for it, because I would waste more time fabricating and welding one than a new one will cost.
(The hole looks smaller than it is in this photograph).
The second major thing I found was that something has hitthe bottom of the tractor at some point, and smashed the HST fan (or so I thought).
But on closer examination, I realised it wasn't just the HST fan that was smashed. There is some sort of hydraulic pipe that comes out the bottom of the hydrostatic pump, around the fan, and up under the seat area somewhere. But this has actually been bent, the round pipe has been compressed like it has been pinched reducing the flow, and was now in the path of the fan causing further destruction. The dealer who sold it has offered to cover the cost of parts, which I thought was fair of him seeing as I brought it as seen rather than letting him service it and add another 」1000 to the price
So this pipe will need removing, a replacement ordering and then fitting. And then the HST fan can be repaired as well. I looked the pipe up in the manual before I went to do any ordering, and it is some sort of drain pipe, and according to the Kubota dealer, it isn't going to have actually caused any harm, but he still recommended replacing it, as otherwise it would mean the two gearbox units would start pushing oil out of the breather pipes. The fan is way to fragile for what it costs as well!
I then began stripping the mower down. It comes apart quite nicely, the seat comes off, the dash all lifts off and then the rear fender panel slides forward and comes off. About 15 bolts to undo in total.
However, I couldn't actually dissamble it tonight as the big set of socket wrenches were in the other workshop and the steering wheel bolt is 24mm and my other set only goes up to 22mm But it is all ready to go once I can pop that steering wheel off.
I then went round the tractor and worked out all the bits I needed to order:
They are all fairly small bits but all things that will annoy me. The mat was a bit torn in places, but more importantly, it had an abundance of grass / crap trapped underneath it which I wanted to remove to stop it from rusting. It also tore fairly badly when I lifted it to remove the bolts under it as it was brittle.
I also ordered a cruise control kit (why not!) and a front PTO kit (future plans :thThumbsU)
I intend on respraying the bonnet and the fender pan totally as the bonnet is a little faded with a few dents and the fender pan has some marks and is a little messy.
The rest of the tractor will just be touched up where necessary depending on how fair I strip it down.
The mower deck is in great condition, I will strip it down though and respray it as well.
Then the mower will be back to as new condition after a full service. Then I can work on making a front mounted rotary broom for it :fing32:
Has anyone got any tips on respraying a plastic bonnet? It was obviously sprayed at the factory, as I can see overspray on the underside.
I will keep this thread updated!
It is a 1999 model with 1050 hours but it is in superb order, been really well cared for.
In this country these mowers are in very high demand, I had to pay 」3500 for this mower, which is about $5500, but a mint one with 200 hours would be more like $7000 dollars which was too much for me. We're about 40% more expensive on new over here as well.
When I brought it, I intended on stripping it right down, going over everything with a fine tooth comb, respraying anything that needs it, and reassembling it. Today I started that process.
Here are some pictures of the mower (I shall take more soon, I only had my mobile phone camera today):
Unfortunately there is some work to do. As I started stripping the mower down, I found that the floor pan in the rear collector shoot that pivots up is about the only part that has rusted - and it has well in truly rusted out. Great big hole in it. I assume it was left with wet grass in the shoot for some time. I will order a new flip up floor pan for it, because I would waste more time fabricating and welding one than a new one will cost.
The second major thing I found was that something has hitthe bottom of the tractor at some point, and smashed the HST fan (or so I thought).
But on closer examination, I realised it wasn't just the HST fan that was smashed. There is some sort of hydraulic pipe that comes out the bottom of the hydrostatic pump, around the fan, and up under the seat area somewhere. But this has actually been bent, the round pipe has been compressed like it has been pinched reducing the flow, and was now in the path of the fan causing further destruction. The dealer who sold it has offered to cover the cost of parts, which I thought was fair of him seeing as I brought it as seen rather than letting him service it and add another 」1000 to the price
So this pipe will need removing, a replacement ordering and then fitting. And then the HST fan can be repaired as well. I looked the pipe up in the manual before I went to do any ordering, and it is some sort of drain pipe, and according to the Kubota dealer, it isn't going to have actually caused any harm, but he still recommended replacing it, as otherwise it would mean the two gearbox units would start pushing oil out of the breather pipes. The fan is way to fragile for what it costs as well!
I then began stripping the mower down. It comes apart quite nicely, the seat comes off, the dash all lifts off and then the rear fender panel slides forward and comes off. About 15 bolts to undo in total.
However, I couldn't actually dissamble it tonight as the big set of socket wrenches were in the other workshop and the steering wheel bolt is 24mm and my other set only goes up to 22mm But it is all ready to go once I can pop that steering wheel off.
I then went round the tractor and worked out all the bits I needed to order:
- PTO lever trim
- Hydraulic lever stickers
- PTO sticker
- Operators station mat
- Brake pedal rubbers
- Deck height adjustment knob and stickers
- Dash indicator lights sticker
- Dash sticker kit
- Rubber flap for collector
- HST fan
- Mesh grill for collector
- HST drain pipe
- HST pedal springs
- Throttle springs
- Rubber trim for rad screen
- Rubber pads for bonnet on dash
- Collector safety switch
- Decal kit
They are all fairly small bits but all things that will annoy me. The mat was a bit torn in places, but more importantly, it had an abundance of grass / crap trapped underneath it which I wanted to remove to stop it from rusting. It also tore fairly badly when I lifted it to remove the bolts under it as it was brittle.
I also ordered a cruise control kit (why not!) and a front PTO kit (future plans :thThumbsU)
I intend on respraying the bonnet and the fender pan totally as the bonnet is a little faded with a few dents and the fender pan has some marks and is a little messy.
The rest of the tractor will just be touched up where necessary depending on how fair I strip it down.
The mower deck is in great condition, I will strip it down though and respray it as well.
Then the mower will be back to as new condition after a full service. Then I can work on making a front mounted rotary broom for it :fing32:
Has anyone got any tips on respraying a plastic bonnet? It was obviously sprayed at the factory, as I can see overspray on the underside.
I will keep this thread updated!