B7610 squealing noise ??

[botagreen]

I have a Kubota B7610 HST thats a little over a year old with about 200 hours on it. Two questions I would appreciate your help with:

1) I have recently begun hearing some sort of squealing noise that seems to be coming from the transmission. It is not an extermenly loud squeal but it is definitelty noticeable; almost like a spinning sound with a squael if that makes any sense. It occurs intermittently in both forward and reverse, with and without the 4wd engaged. It is intermittent and seems to quiet itself when I let off of the drive pedal and slow down just a bit. I performed my 50 hr service as called for, used Kubota fluids, check the tranny fluid frequently and I always let the tractor warm-up for about 5 minutes or so before driving it. Although I have worked it very hard over the last 6 months clearing land around my home on weekends, I do not feel I have abused it in any way. Any ideas as to what may be the problem ??

2) Every time I check the tranny fluid, I pull the dip-stick out and it is dry, (which seems a little bit odd to me). I then put it back in and when I pull it back out (gently), the fluid is always on the dip-stick, exactly on the line it is supposed to be on. Is it normal for there not to be fluid on the dipstick when I first pull it out ??

Thanks a lot for taking time to read this. Hope you can help.

 

[rickster]

My dip stick is the same way.

 

[alchemysa]

Does it have a metal mesh screen in the side of the gearcase? It would look something like part 070 in the attached pdf or jpeg from a 7100. If so did you give it a clean?

 

[Barnboy]

Check the drive shaft boot. The boot on my B3030 came loose and made a spinning, gears grinding ect sound. Dealer fixed the boot and all is well.

 

[botagreen]

rickster:: sounds like the dipstick phenomenon is normal if it happens to you too.

alchemysa: Yes, mine has a similar screen and I checked it at the 50 hr service. it was clean. I did 'rinse' it in a small tray of super UDT (owner's manual said use a non-flammable solvent and I could never figure out what that was ).

Barnboy: I gave it a look last night and the boot seems to be secure.

 

[Buckeyeman]

2) Every time I check the tranny fluid, I pull the dip-stick out and it is dry, (which seems a little bit odd to me). I then put it back in and when I pull it back out (gently), the fluid is always on the dip-stick, exactly on the line it is supposed to be on. Is it normal for there not to be fluid on the dipstick when I first pull it out ??

I have the same problem with my B7610. You never know if it's full or low. I drive it around then shut it off and re-check it on a flat surface and it's right to the full mark.

 

[brandoro]

I have noticed the dipstick issue as well. My theory is that the dipstick tube protrudes into the transmission case where there is oil present when the machine is level. When you drive around the oil can move away from the bottom of the dipstick tube, the oil in the tube drains away and can't get back in because of the "O" ring on the top of the dipstick seals the tube. You take the dipstick out, see no oil, put it back in and see the oil level has returned to normal because the top of the tube has been open to atmosphere and let oil back into the tube. My Tundra actually has the opposite issue, if it is parked a little off level with the dipstick tube slightly lower than usual the oil will be way up on the stick-checking when the engine is cold. Having had odd readings on the Kubota I left the stick out of the tube for a couple of minutes and tried again, the oil had returned to near its normal level. Slightly high because of being parked slightly off level. I think because of the high temperatures under the trucks hood that as it cools off the contracting air in the tube draws the oil up the tube.
For the squeal, I have noticed it but only when moving the tractor slowly at low RPM. The sound is so faint that I seldom hear it and have not been able to pinpoint what is causing it.
My B7610 has just under 200 hours, I have changed the engine oil and filter twice, the transmission fluid once including both filters and cleaned the screen. I first noticed the faint squeal some time after the transmission service. The front axle fluid level is also okay so should not be a problem there.

 

[easygo]

I have a B7510 and it has the same issue with the transmission noise. I posted a similar thread about it a while ago and owners of several models responded that it seems to be a Kubota issue. The noise on my tractor is much more frequent in Hi range and almost never happens in Lo. It seems to occur when there is no load on the transmission. Such ans when driving on level ground at a constant speed. If I change the speed it goes away.

Same here with the SUDT level dip stick. I guess you have to pull it out and stick it back in to get an accurate level reading. When I refilled with fluid after 50hrs service each time I checked the level I had to "double dip".

 

[botagreen]

Thanks Buckeyeman and Brandoro for affirming what I had also theorized in my mind regarding the issue with the dipstick tube and fluid level. Makes perfect sense to me. I had worried that there was somehow a link between the squealing noise and the low fluid level when I first pulled the dipstick to check the fluid. It settles the issue for me now to know that double-dipping is indeed the trick.
Easygo: Thanks for telling me about the prior discussion that you had on this. I found it, read what you described and it and it really sounds like we have the same issue. Apparently it is normal to hear this intermittent squal from the HST, but I still plan to keep an extra close eye on the fluid level and if it gets obnoxiously loud or affects performance, I will let the dealer take a look.

 

[nckubota]

I have a B7510 with manual tranny. I have had the same issue with the squealing / grinding/ spinning sound that comes and goes. I took the tractor in to our local Kubota dealership. The tractor is 2 1/2 years old with 225 hours on it, so the drivetrain is still under warranty until August of this year.

The shop foreman had the tractor for a week, he heard the noise initially when I dropped the tractor off and agreed that it needed to be investigated, but when he finished the project he was on and moved my tractor into the shop the noise had disappeared (again). He knew that the tractor was making an unusual sound, but he told me that Kubota would not pay the dealership to "perform exploratory surgery " on my tractor to figure out the out of place noise, and to take the tractor home and run it until something broke. Well that may be so, but my concerns are:

If I run my tractor until August and the warranty is expired then something breaks I am screwed.

The tractor doesn't start making the noise again until the warranty has expired then I am screwed again.

Any suggestions for a course of action. I thought that I should write a letter to Kubota Inc. and outline the problem and my concerns so that it is documented that there was a noise in the transmission but the dealership could not investigate to find the problem. What do you guys think ?