New Kubota B7200 owner

[Floyder77]

I just bought my first "real" tractor today. It has a 1630 fel and woods 650 backhoe. Going to change the oil and give it a good greasing. The backhoe does have a slow leak somewhere that i will have to sort out. Previous owner said he always juat kept it topped off as to not ruin the PTO pump.

Are there any other items I should be looking for before I start playing with my new toy? Excited to use it!

 

[varmint]

Ah- our first tractor was a B8200... the slightly bigger brother to yours. You might want to change all the fluids while you are at it, and be sure to check the fuel and air filters. Those were the tractors that helped build Kubota's good reputation. As you can see, ours was a barn-kept beauty, with low hours, and I had fun modifying it while I learned about using it.

 

[Floyder77]

That's a very nice B8200.

Another question popped into my head about the diesel fuel. Since its an older machine does it require any additive because of the ULSD? I figured it would be better to add some if in doubt so I did. Just didn't know if it was required.

I ended up changing the oil and filter although I couldn't find a concrete number on the capacity. One source said 3.3 quarts another said 3.6. I just filled the old oil into an old jug and replaced with the same amount of new. It read over full when I checked the dipstick multiple times and only got 3 quarts out of it. Rather but a little light on the oil than over fill. IMO the dipstick is horrible to read. There is oil all over thing no matter how much I try not to tough the sides. Oh well. Also changed the filter on the backhoe and topped the fluid off. Still haven't found the leak but I think it might be the seals on the cylinder for the outriggers. Going to get to the fuel filter next.

After I did all that I got to playing. Already got 2 pesky stumps out of the way that have been bugging me for years. One by our pavilion that we constantly had to walk around an another that was a mower blade killer. Not bad for a rookie lol.

 

[varmint]

Re the B8200- I always use Powerstroke additive, but I have no idea about the ULSD issues. Good question. And, you are correct about the dipstick being hidden and hard to re-insert. I had a flashlight I kept in the toolbox just for that. Be sure to follow directions on the fuel filter bleeding, online if you don't have a book.

 

[mike69440]

My B7200D was/is a great little tractor. New owner is happy.
However
I do not miss the lack of Power steering, or the 3 x 2 crash box gears.

 

[varmint]

Yah, the absence of power steering... I didn't mention it, because I didn't want to worry the guy. I got lucky and found a NOS Kubota kit for our B8200, and it made all the difference, especially for loader work. I know others have inquired about adding PS to those tractors, with not much luck.

 

[Floyder77]

I haven't had a bid enough load in the FEL to really see how hard it is to steer but so far it's not too difficult for me.

One thing I did notice was the front axle has some play front to back where the main bolt holds it to the frame of the tractor. Its about an eighth to a sixteenth of an inch slop. Is this normal or something I should address?

 

[varmint]

It was only when I was moving back and forth, left and right to clear snow drifts that it got heavy and tiring. For general use, deal with it! I have no idea about the slop- something a flat washer would fix?

 

[Floyder77]

Yep thats what i was going to do just put a washer or two in there.

 

[Floyder77]

Ok new problem. Went to change the trans/hydraulic fluid and found this:

Strainer is being blocked by a piece of 3/8" bar that the previous owner had welded in to prevent cracking of the trans case I'm assuming. Also tells me that it hasn't been drained in quite some time. After running it the fluid was a little low and looked a bit milky. After sitting for about a week the color looks normal and has come up on the dipstick so i am assuming the water has separated to the bottom for now.

Either way now it looks like i have some careful cutting to do so i can remove the strainer