Loud squeeeek noice on my new M7040...

[nybirdman]

Sounds like the same problem I had with my L4240.Mine was to the dealers three times,really didn't find a fix.Talked to the distict rep;his solution(and it worked) drop the three point a little.Hydraulic relief valve is what you are hearing.My tractor goes back to the dealer for normal service next wk. and I will have them adjust the linkage.

 

[rScotty]

I know many of you have dealers that you like. I, for one, am regretting giving these goofballs my business (there have been other very unsatisfying interactions with them in the very short time I have had this tractor.)

I don't have a 7040, but larger Kubotas are getting to be more and more popular around here in the western US. We are lucky to have a local dealer with an excellent mechanic - that's sure a good way to build a reputation. Does the Kubota warranty allow you take it to any dealer? Are there others near you? Might be worth looking into the warrenty extension. Doing that made me sleep better even though I didn't need it.

Another thing I discovered yesterday. If it is screeching, it goes away if I put the shuttle in forward but shift the gear shift to neutral. That is what I ended up doing yesterday when I had to keep it idling for more than a few seconds. Is it possible that there could be some kind of hydraulic relief valve that is staying open?

That's a great solid piece of diagnostic info. I don't know if that's enough info by itself, but when I look in the workshop manual for my M59 there is a series of illustrations that show the hydraulic flow for every condition. So it's bound to help. The shop manual for the M59 - and I suppose for the 7040 too - also shows how to test the hydraulic systems through connection points for that purpose right there on the tractor. Doing so requires some special factory hydraulic tools like a relief valve tester and a hydraulic flow meter and it may be that your shop hasn't invested in them yet. I checked with our local Kubota mechanic and he said some shops have those tools but not all. He buys his own as jobs come in that need them.

I've got some hydraulics background myself and my opinion is that you need for someone to take a listen and tell if that is a relief valve or not. If that is a hydraulic relief valve being triggered, it won't cause a problem if you can figure out how to work the tractor while keeping it from squealing, .....but you sure don't want it squealing constantly because doing that redirects the useful flow and also quickly heats up the hydraulic fluid. The relief valve isn't designed to squeal constantly. It's deliberately loud like that so that you will pay attention and QUIT DOING THAT.
Best of Luck,
rScotty

 

[Tx Jim]

rScotty
The Kubota warranty is transferable so I presume one can take their tractor to dealer of choice. I bought a slightly used 2011 Kubota M7040 HDC with 137 hrs on the meter and Kubota put the remaining warranty in my name.

 

[rScotty]

rScotty
The Kubota warranty is transferable so I presume one can take their tractor to dealer of choice. I bought a slightly used 2011 Kubota M7040 HDC with 137 hrs on the meter and Kubota put the remaining warranty in my name.

I kinda figured that it would work that way since Kubota offers 1 or 2 years of warranty extension as an optional add-on......almost like it was a bolt-on accessory part.
I wonder if buying an extension is possible after the purchase but during the original warranty period?

The only warranty issue I had with the M59 came up suddenly one afternoon only about a month after my extended warranty had expired! But Kubota offered to fix it anyway. I did have to pay for the service call and sure had no problem doing that. Very fair.
rScotty

 

[Tx Jim]

I wonder if buying an extension is possible after the purchase but during the original warranty period?
rScotty

Kubota has offered to sell me an extended warranty on my M7040. IIRC they wanted $1600 for the extension.

 

[nybirdman]

On thing I forgot;on mine it wasn't just the noise.....I would loose FEL functions at least they were very slow.

 

[rScotty]

On thing I forgot;on mine it wasn't just the noise.....I would loose FEL functions at least they were very slow.

Talked to the distict rep;his solution(and it worked) drop the three point a little.Hydraulic relief valve is what you are hearing.My tractor goes back to the dealer for normal service next wk. and I will have them adjust the linkage.

Another good piece of diagnostic info. It sounds like the district rep called it right as it makes sense that the FEL and the 3pt lift would both lose power when the relief valve anywhere in that hydraulic circuit actuates. With any luck it will turn out to be just that the length of the 3 pt linkage is allowing the rockshaft lift arms to come up against a hard stop before turning off the lift pressure. That kind of thing is easily fixed with an adjustment.
rScotty

 

[cstp]

Update: I contacted another dealer that is not too far away (there are 3 within 35 miles of me!) and they agreed to do warranty service on my tractor. They took it for a week and ran tests, communicated with Kubota, but didn't yet find the problem. After a week, I told them I needed it back, so for now I am just living with it until either the Fall or we get a week of rain and I don't need it...

 

[cstp]

Okay, funny thing - the problem solved itself! I continued to have the problem until yesterday, when I used the tractor to run a rock picker that we have. The rock picker is a rake-type picker that is solely hydraulically driven - one set of hydraulics runs a rock rake, another raises and lowers the rake, and another dumps the hopper. I was actually curious if the 7040 could run it, because it is a pretty big machine and normally we pull it behind a 90 hp John Deere. This is the first time the hydraulics on the 7040 had gotten a real workout, and it did seem like it was a little underpowered. Whereas the JD could drive the rake at a good speed even at idle, I found that I had to rev the Kubota almost to 2000 rpm in order to achieve the same speed on the rake, and the Kubota wasn't able to run the rake and raise it at the same time (something that the JD can do).

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had managed to avoid the screeching at idle by leaving the shuttle in forward and putting the gear shifter in neutral, though sometimes I would forget and would always get the screech. Well, after picking rocks for a few hours, I suddenly realized that the screech wasn't happening anymore. So far, after another 5 hours of tractor work, no screech.

I don't know enough about hydraulics to have a clue about why it stopped. Any thoughts? I will say that since the Kubota has only two rear remotes, I had to switch out hydraulic hoses every time I needed to dump the hopper (about 8 times), and of course lost a little fluid each time I switched. Could the loss of a little bit of fluid have done anything?

On a related note, is it possible to damage the hydraulic system by running something too big for it? Many thanks for your previous replies.

 

[rScotty]

Okay, funny thing - the problem solved itself! ........ So far, after another 5 hours of tractor work, no screech.

I don't know enough about hydraulics to have a clue about why it stopped. Any thoughts? I will say that since the Kubota has only two rear remotes, I had to switch out hydraulic hoses every time I needed to dump the hopper (about 8 times), and of course lost a little fluid each time I switched. Could the loss of a little bit of fluid have done anything?

On a related note, is it possible to damage the hydraulic system by running something too big for it? Many thanks for your previous replies.

I don't see how a losing a bit of fluid would affect anything. What about the residual fluid in the rock picker itself? There must have been some.... Could mixing that with the fluid already in the tractor have improved anything? Maybe it had some lubricating property that the original fluid needed? Or maybe it is in the 3 pt and the 7040 isn't lifting that heavy rock picker up high enough to trigger the 3pt relief valve....assuming that is where the noise came from of course.

As for hurting the hydraulics by running something big....probably not. Running at a higher RPM increases the hydraulic psi a little bit and therefore it has more lifting force. But not usually enough to matter unless it's an older tractor with a worn hydraulic pump. What does matter is that higher RPM means a higher hydraulic flow rate and that means the hydraulic fluid gets hotter....it can get lots hotter.....and heat can be a problem. So keep an eye on the hydraulic temperatures. If that's OK you're good.
glad it's working,
rScotty.