gr2120 VERY bad 1st impression

[gmcman6000]

well, i picked up my new to me 2014 GR2120 today. it has 88 hours and landed it for $6003 out the door after my 500 trade in. i chose it over a 2016 new one due to the $ saving, as best i found in central alabama was $9300 out the door

heres how i chose a gr. after months and months of research, i decided a small tractor, ie bx series or jd 1 or 2 series, was too heavy for my sodded yard with irrigation. and the clearing i want to do on the property ill be better off with a 25-30hp tractor. like a boda L2900 or such. i have a sloped side yard under alabama powers high line right of way & i needed extra traction. for now, the GR really fit my need.... and budget!!!!

so after dinner i fired it up 1st thing i noticed was when i took off and turned, it made a popping noise. does it turning both ways. i am very familiar on 4wd, locking diffs and how they work. i am an off road guru. so the gr begins to bind up then pops when the glids steer rod finally releases the clutch. it actually stays binding up, scrubbing the inside tire on a gentle turn. it only releases when turning pretty sharp. but theres a lot of popping goin on

i thought the glide steer would be a lot smoother than this. you can actually feel and hear it over the deck bouncing and blades turning.


2nd thing, it cuts crooked!!!!! it gouges the crap outta the grass from the left blade. guess it could be a bent blade, but its bad enough i wont put it on my front yard till its corrected. i did notice the front of the deck goes down first, then after the height setting is reached, it appears the rear of the deck lowers. weird......


3rd is why does it die every time i get off??? im used to deere, set the parking break and exit. keeps running. its basement kept, so i end up letting it die after getting off the close the door behind me kinda annoying

4th i guess im not used to pto whining it engages hard and seems to be loud. i cant figure out if i should ease the blades on or engage quickly.

so i am not all negative. typical bota, purrs like a kitten. power steering is awesome, as ive never had that. all the comments about the seat, i found it comfortable, for now. traction is great!!!!!! some folks dont realize what the front wheels pulling really do. this thing never spun a tire, but thats expected, and one of the main reasons i bought it.




so fellas, offer me some advice. right now im so disappointed im ready to call the dealer and ask to carry it back

 

[TMR]

well, i picked up my new to me 2014 GR2120 today. it has 88 hours and landed it for $6003 out the door after my 500 trade in. i chose it over a 2016 new one due to the $ saving, as best i found in central alabama was $9300 out the door

heres how i chose a gr. after months and months of research, i decided a small tractor, ie bx series or jd 1 or 2 series, was too heavy for my sodded yard with irrigation. and the clearing i want to do on the property ill be better off with a 25-30hp tractor. like a boda L2900 or such. i have a sloped side yard under alabama powers high line right of way & i needed extra traction. for now, the GR really fit my need.... and budget!!!!

so after dinner i fired it up 1st thing i noticed was when i took off and turned, it made a popping noise. does it turning both ways. i am very familiar on 4wd, locking diffs and how they work. i am an off road guru. so the gr begins to bind up then pops when the glids steer rod finally releases the clutch. it actually stays binding up, scrubbing the inside tire on a gentle turn. it only releases when turning pretty sharp. but theres a lot of popping goin on

i thought the glide steer would be a lot smoother than this. you can actually feel and hear it over the deck bouncing and blades turning.


2nd thing, it cuts crooked!!!!! it gouges the crap outta the grass from the left blade. guess it could be a bent blade, but its bad enough i wont put it on my front yard till its corrected. i did notice the front of the deck goes down first, then after the height setting is reached, it appears the rear of the deck lowers. weird......


3rd is why does it die every time i get off??? im used to deere, set the parking break and exit. keeps running. its basement kept, so i end up letting it die after getting off the close the door behind me kinda annoying

4th i guess im not used to pto whining it engages hard and seems to be loud. i cant figure out if i should ease the blades on or engage quickly.

so i am not all negative. typical bota, purrs like a kitten. power steering is awesome, as ive never had that. all the comments about the seat, i found it comfortable, for now. traction is great!!!!!! some folks dont realize what the front wheels pulling really do. this thing never spun a tire, but thats expected, and one of the main reasons i bought it.




so fellas, offer me some advice. right now im so disappointed im ready to call the dealer and ask to carry it back

There is a "new" model 2016 (I think) GR2120-2 that has had a number of "improvements"...including changes to the "glide steer" system. I do not fully understand the original...or the "new and improved". Seems like the dealers know little about the GR2120-2 as I asked two dealers near me and they had no awareness that there was "-2"...much less what changed. Maybe someone else has full knowledge of what was changed on the "-2"?

FYI...TMR

 

[CalG]

Did you purchase the machine without seeing it, hearing it and operating it?

It would be peculiar to do so with a used machine. I mean why would it be available if someone else hadn't found fault with it?

The surprise, is that this is your first impression. I try to get that out of the way prior to passing the cash.

 

[gmcman6000]

i did fire it up. but wasnt much turning needed to load it on the trailer.. of course there wasnt any grass to cut, but i did run the blades and throttle it up for a bit. i traveled forward n backwards. but turning never crossed my mind. as far as why it was for sale, i was told it was traded for a bx with a loader..

the model number gr2120-2 , i thought it was the latest model.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Can't comment on the transmission, but the cut quality could be a bent spindle, a bad spindle bearing, a bent blade or the deck could be out of level. It's possible the deck itself is bent, but probably unlikely.

 

[zzvyb6]

I get the feeling there's a good reason that it got returned after it got messed up after only 88 hours. I'd at least turn it on its side and see why one of the blades cuts badly.

You pay more for good fresh oats. Less for oats that have already been through the horse.

 

[PHILIP8N]

A proper test drive before purchase would have let you known about most of your problems. The glide steer sounds like a serious problem, previous owner may have abused it. Have you gone thru the manual and lubricated everything yet? There are lots of lube points under the tractor for the glide steer system. Obviously, the mower deck needs adjusting. There are 2 safety overrides I performed on mine, the reverse mower awareness switch, and the seat safety switch, simple to override. After warming the engine up at 1/2 throttle, I slowly engage the pto handle to turn the mower. I bought my GR2120 new in 2013, have 100 hours on it now, very satisfied with performance, mowing and snowblowing. Like you I also have a L3940 for the bigger task. Good luck! Philip.

 

[locknut]

I wouldn't operate the machine with the glidesteer rods that far out of adjustment. The deck may well be bent somewhere-never heard of anyone having to level a deck.Take the thing back where you bought it and tell them to get the thing ready to use properly or you want your money back.I hate reading these types of posts.There is no excuse for it.These are excellent machines.

 

[gmcman6000]

thanks for the input folks!!!! heres an update

spoke with the kubota dealer that originally sold it new. its never had any warranty work done, nor any record of being serviced. the service manager didnt seem to concerned with only 88 hours. it does have the black/ grey filters, meaning its not been serviced ( per the service manager) so today i picked up a tranny spin on filter and a gallon of that new recommend fluid. he said he couldnt stress the importance of the 1st service on the tranny. he all but guaranteed the service, with a little bit of run time, the popping would go away. the fresh fluid with the extra synthetic additives will loosen the sticky clutches up.

if not IT IS still under warranty, regardless that im the 2nd owner. they were more than willing to look at it, but only after i did the recommended service.

ill get the oil change and air filter next weekend.

as far as the safety switches, thanks for the advice philip8n. i'll definitely want to bypass those.

now i do have a bent deck. i took the deck off. greased every fitting, and looked the tractor over really good. no problems noticed with the tractor.

i stood the deck up on the front anti scalp wheel, propped up against the garage door. the left blade dipped well below the center one when spinning them end to end. after visually looking at the right side, i can clearly see the deck housing is bent around the spindle housing. i mean its so visible you dont even need to lay it down on the ground n drop a level across the pulley.

i havent come up with a good way to straighten it out yet. funny part the deck looks perfect all over elsewhere

so, i am hoping i havent ended with someone elses problems. but several of you may think i have

my theory is with the popping noise, which the dealer swears its from not being serviced, and then the previous owner ran over something and bent the deck, he traded off.

why it wasnt serviced at 50 hours bothers me, but service manager says tons of people let units go much longer.

again, thanks for the input. ill service the transmission sunday afternoon and drive it around, and update the results!!!!

 

[locknut]

I bet changing the fluid out won't cure the binding/clutch problem.And,why are you changing the fluid anyway? That mower should have been inspected and the service brought up to date before you took delivery. You'll never get that heavy gauge deck straightened perfect and the problem will cause issues down the road.I'd broom this tractor and give the dealer the boot.Just my opinion.