Please Help, New Tractor, Hydraulic Blowout

[EastTnFarmboy]

I took delivery of a new Kubota GL5240 HST this afternoon. After finish mowing for a couple of hours, I unhooked the RFM and went down to a pile of logs to test out the Grapple I had purchased with the tractor. It was almost dark, so I wasn't doing any heavy work whatsoever. I was basically trying to get a feel for the way the FEL joystick and 3rd Function worked. The loader didn't seem to be lifting very well, and then all of the sudden I heard a hissing noise. I looked down to my right and fluid was spewing out of what I presume is the 3rd Function Valve. It is mounted under the right side of the floorpan and has a box covering it with a sticker that says "No Step". I was only a couple hundred feet from where I park the tractor so I just stepped on it and parked it before I shut it down. Of course, I left a well defined trail of fluid across the field.

After parking it and letting it set for a few minutes while trying to figure out where it was coming from, I started it again for just a few seconds. It was just gushing fluid out of the aforementioned "valve".

What would cause this on a brand new tractor? The best I can tell, it is coming out of the top of this thing. I have attached pictures to illustrate (after removing the "no step" box that covered this. I cannot find any hoses leaking. If you look you can see where it is leaking where the top part joins the base. I can't imagine that I did anything to make this happen, but who knows.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[john_bud]

Probably a quick connect that wasn't pushed down all the way. SHould be no biggie. Just seat them all down. You should be able to see which one was loose.

jb

 

[EastTnFarmboy]

No. It is coming out of the body of the "valve" I have included pictures of. It is not coming from the quick connects. I checked those first thing.

 

[john_bud]

"Pictures"?

jb

 

[EastTnFarmboy]

sorry...i had posted them in the hydraulics thread. Here they are.

 

[john_bud]

I got no idea. For me, the pictures are tiny.

Is that valve supposed to be out there in space waiting to get ripped off my limbs, rocks and other assorted things?/? Looks like a bad place for it and Kubota usually doesn't put things in bad places. Looks like a dealer installed Cluster.

jb

 

[EastTnFarmboy]

It is covered by a protective box, which I removed to see where the fluid was coming from. I believe it is the 3rd Function Valve, which was necessary for the Grapple.

 

[TGD]

Ok, I'm going to take a stab at this. It looks to me like it is a spool valve with actuator coils on either side that is attached to a hyd block with 4 allen screws. My guess is the screws were not tight or tight enough and you blew the o-ring between the valve body and the block. Once the o-ring goes (fluid gets by it) it is toast. I would take the 4 screws out and inspect the o-ring. You should be able to get new o-rings for the valve. I think it is a normal replacement part. I have seen this happen at work with the valves they use sometimes. Better yet let the dealer handle the repair and fluid replacement. I also would not run the tractor anymore before adding the lost fluid back, you could damage the transmission or pump if the fluid gets to low.

PhilD

 

[john_bud]

It is covered by a protective box, which I removed to see where the fluid was coming from. I believe it is the 3rd Function Valve, which was necessary for the Grapple.

Was that dealer installed or Kubota installed?

To my eye, it looks like an "easy place to put one" for the dealer, but one that will get torn off if you do any real work with the machine. Kubota goes to lengths to have everything tucked up nice, neat and safe. That looks like a $500 tow out of a field for repairs waiting to happen....

Could be just me....

jb

 

[RoyJackson]

Regardless of where it's leaking (unless it was a loose quick disconnect), this is a warranty item. Get your dealer involved.

When you start taking things apart on a tractor under warranty, you do risk invalidating the warranty. I strongly suggest you not do this.