Thoughts on 200 hour maintenance.

[N80]

I did my 200 hour basic maintenance this weekend. Here are a few random thoughts.

1.) Oil and filter change always very easy. No problems.

2.) Manual calls for replacing hydraulic fluid filter but not the hydraulic fluid. Changed it at 50 hours and due again at 400. I'm not complaining since the fluid is expensive. But how are you supposed to change the filter without losing a ton of fluid? The manual does not say. I asked the guy at the Kubota parts window. He says not all that much comes out when you take the filter off. WRONG! It gushes out. My hands got all slippery and getting the new filter on was like herding cats. Lost at least 1/2, maybe 3/4 of a gallon. Fortunately I had about that much left over from the 50 hour service.

There has got to be a better way.

3.) The hydraulic fluid filter magnet had a thick layer of black metal on it. I guess this is normal?

4.) The manual calls for replacing the air filter elements every 2 years. But, they look fine and I just blew them out with compressed air. Kubota parts guy said they did not need to be replaced......but he's the one that told me that the tranny fluid wasn't going to gush out.

5.) Manual says to flush the radiator and replace fluid. I did that. Its cheap and easy but probably not all that necessary.

6.) Manual says to replace air intake hose and fuel lines every two years. Seems crazy. They look new.

7.) Manual says to be very careful with radiator fluid (ethylene glycol) because it is highly flammable. I honestly never heard that before.

 

[Diamondpilot]

All seems normal but 2 years on air filters? I can go 10 hours or 1,000 hours, it all depends on how dusty and such. I mean if you are working in a gravel pit its going to be dusty. If you are working on a iceberg its not going to be dusty at all.

Here is what I do.

Oil and filter every 50 hours
Grease all fittings every 50 hours
Fuel Filter every 250 hours
Air Filter every 250 Hours
Hydraulic Filter every 250 hours

I changed all my fluids at 50 hours and plan to do so again at 600 hours. Just keep it simple.

Chris

 

[N80]

Oh yeah, I did clean the fuel filter in kerosene as per the manual.

 

[TrippleT]

I replace my filters and lubricants as the manual suggests. As one stated on the air filter, it depends on how dusty the conditions are. I would work all the levers and relieve all the pressure I could, before taking the hydraulic filters off.
Another thing to do is if you have a lot of dust you might consider washing the radiator fins out or blowing them out with air. Be careful about blowing the air filters out as you can blow holes in the filter. Of course that would defeat the purpose of the filter. Your tractor probably has an inner and outer air filter. The leakage of the outer will cause the inner filter to be dirtier. I made a light on a long probe to place inside the filter so that it gives a good guess of how much life you have left on the filter. I hope this helps.

 

[N80]

Is radiator fluid really highly flammable?

 

[newbury]

2.) Manual calls for replacing hydraulic fluid filter but not the hydraulic fluid. Changed it at 50 hours and due again at 400. I'm not complaining since the fluid is expensive. But how are you supposed to change the filter without losing a ton of fluid? The manual does not say. I asked the guy at the Kubota parts window. He says not all that much comes out when you take the filter off. WRONG! It gushes out. My hands got all slippery and getting the new filter on was like herding cats. Lost at least 1/2, maybe 3/4 of a gallon. Fortunately I had about that much left over from the 50 hour service.

Find a high sturdy tree branch.
Throw a winch over it
Empty the tractor of other fluids
Hoist the tractor so the filter is up

 

[N80]

Well, its not a huge tractor (Kubota L4400), but I don't think I've got a tree big enough for that. But I would have loved to have seen that in the manual!

 

[jinman]

Is radiator fluid really highly flammable?

Pure ethylene glycol has a flashpoint of 111 degrees C and an autoignition temperature of 410 degrees C. I would not call it that flammable when mixed 50/50 with water, but I would not want a high concentration of vapors near an open flame. It might flash, but would probably not sustain ignition. Only the temperatures listed are fact; the rest of this is just my own opinion.

 

[Patches]

Apply vacuum to the hydraulic vent and it will almost eliminate fluid loss on the filter change; just be sure to have the replacement filter "at the ready"

 

[N80]

That makes sense. I don't know where the vacuum vent is, but I have a parts and shop manual so I could find it. How would you apply vacuum? Or does it just need to be blocked? It would have been nice if the manual had mentioned this trick.