B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB

   / B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB #1  

Mounted Madness

Gold Member
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
418
Location
Cobble Hill, British Columbia
Tractor
2014 BX2370 as of today
Help.
Any ideas.
I just finished a job digging post holes with a 9 inch auger.
No issues, a couple of sheer pins on rocks.
No issues with the tractor, the job was done without incident.
Customer was happy with the job, got paid, and I packed up my things to go.
Before doing so, I noted with considerable dismay, that the right side top link bracket had broken off of its mount.
A few words passed between myself and the god of profanity, but the machine was running, everything else moved okay.
Drove the tractor to where I'd parked the trailer, pulled up to the ramps to load it onto the trailer, and the engine died.
"That's odd" I think, and try to start the engine.
Nothing.
I checked every safety switch, absolutely everything that I could think of, from PTO lever to fuses...nothing.
I had power, it was running fine, no overheat, in fact I was operating at maybe 1100RPM over the 2 hours...nothing.
I had the engine off when changing seer pins and when talking with the customer, no issues there.
I figured okay, park it, lock it up, call the dealer and have it towed tomorrow.
To secure it, I dropped the rear hydraulics, and then tried to drop the FEL.
THE FEL WON'T MOVE.

The machine is 18 months old, under warranty and I've got jobs coming up.
Any thoughts folks as to what the problem(s) might be?????
 
   / B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB #2  
Did you try to put the FEL into "float" position??

Must have been considerable force from the PHD to shear the bolts for the top link bracket. I changed over to the HD top link bracket on my B-7800. Don't know if there's one available for the 3030, because it is designed for a hoe with a subframe, but I'd look into it. An alternative would be to have a plate made up to take all four bolts, the weld the top link brackets to the plate, and use longer bolts.
 
   / B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Normally, the FEL will drop with pressure release through the control. The only way it would move was by hitting the lever each time, it'd drop an inch. Normally you push the control forward, and pressure releases with the FEL dropping to the ground. Not this time. Wouldn't budge except an inch at a time. The 3pt dropped like a rock and I realized that if I was going to push/pull or otherwise get the tractor on a trailer, I'd have to keep the 3pt somewhat elevated. Sat and discussed this with a buddy of mine who is equally endowed (with a Kubota tractor) over some beer and we've concluded the same thing. Its under warranty, and if you move it, there'll be considerable debate as to whose at fault. Now all I'm worried about is some adolescent gargoyle deciding to put a rock through the windows of the cab. Seems to be a favoured method of being a jerk around here...but I digress. The point of it is that both me and my buddy haven't figured out what the issue is and why it happened.

Regarding the top link bracket, thank you for advice on the HD bracket. I'm gonna lean on the dealer to fix this and fix it good. I've got a potential contract coming up that is worth probably 3 grand and I want the work without interruption.
 
   / B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Well, called the dealer this morning and we met where the B3030 died.
He did all the same checks I did plus fuses.
No idea what was wrong or what the cause was.
The 3pt with the auger on it, had had the pressure released on it, and the bit was cinched up towards the boom with a binder strap.
He tried the FEL and low and behold it dropped.
But still, the no start situation continued.
He winched the tractor onto his trailer, and tried one more time to see if it would start...sure enough...it started.
With the engine start, the hydraulics were pressurized and the 3pt came to life.
In fact, with the 3pt height lever in the full up position, the auger reminded me of my youth...coming to life with considerable flourish and prominence.
It was such a quick rise, that the literally bounced off the lower edge of the cab, denting the cab with the boom and creating a 1 inch indentation.
A little bit of an upset, but it certainly wasn't the guys fault...he just checked one more time to see if it would start...and it did...much to our collective surprise.
Thankfully, with the violent movement of the boom, neither of us was within range of being hurt...and it would have been severe or fatal if that had been the case.

Now the primary issue has to be dealt with...what was the cause and what will be the outcome of this failure of the top link bracket...and what will be MY cost?

Time will tell.

By the way, BlacknTan, I've advised the dealer as well, that a determination should be made to retro-fit a B7800 heavy duty top link bracket to my machine.

I've got jobs pending and I want to get at them...every day of down time costs money...expletive deleted.
 
   / B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB #5  
Well, called the dealer this morning and we met where the B3030 died.
He did all the same checks I did plus fuses.
No idea what was wrong or what the cause was.
The 3pt with the auger on it, had had the pressure released on it, and the bit was cinched up towards the boom with a binder strap.
He tried the FEL and low and behold it dropped.
But still, the no start situation continued.
He winched the tractor onto his trailer, and tried one more time to see if it would start...sure enough...it started.
With the engine start, the hydraulics were pressurized and the 3pt came to life.
In fact, with the 3pt height lever in the full up position, the auger reminded me of my youth...coming to life with considerable flourish and prominence.
It was such a quick rise, that the literally bounced off the lower edge of the cab, denting the cab with the boom and creating a 1 inch indentation.
A little bit of an upset, but it certainly wasn't the guys fault...he just checked one more time to see if it would start...and it did...much to our collective surprise.
Thankfully, with the violent movement of the boom, neither of us was within range of being hurt...and it would have been severe or fatal if that had been the case.

Now the primary issue has to be dealt with...what was the cause and what will be the outcome of this failure of the top link bracket...and what will be MY cost?

Time will tell.

By the way, BlacknTan, I've advised the dealer as well, that a determination should be made to retro-fit a B7800 heavy duty top link bracket to my machine.

I've got jobs pending and I want to get at them...every day of down time costs money...expletive deleted.

Good to hear! The damage to the wallet, if any, should not be too bad though.. I wouldn't be surprised to find the HD top link bracket fit a 3030... Please keep us posted.

BTW, here's an old thread showing the HD parts. I don't see the 3030 listed, buit the thread is old. And the price of the part was dropped considerably since that thread. In lieu of the HD part, a piece of 3/8 steel plate with your present brackets welded on to it would be near as good. The force would be spread over the four bolts instead of just two.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-buying-pricing/155300-cost-kubota-hd-top-link.html
 
   / B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB
  • Thread Starter
#6  
B&T...Yeah, the thread dates back to 2009.
I checked over the parts diagram posted on that thread, and though the B3030 isn't shown, I'm confident that something can be done to strengthen this area.
I'm just hoping that no one wants to swap out the housing that the bracket bolts to.
Frankly, there's a whole bunch of heavy duty chassis that they could have used to bolt this bracket to...rather then drilling and tapping bolt holes into cast steel.
At least there's no leaks from where the bolt holes are, and the casting itself doesn't look to be cracked.
Now the dent in the bottom edge of the cab...that is starting to tick me off as I dwell on it...
...and I have to remind myself again, that its better that then dead or badly hurt.
 
   / B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB #7  
No hydraulic oil coming from the bolt holes or casting area is a very good sign!

When I changed out my bracket, I was surprised at how tightly the bolts were torqued, and the good fit between the hardware. As I said, a piece of steel plate with the stock brackets welded to it, then the entire assembly bolted back on, would increase the strength signifigantly. I would'nt be suprised if it was very nearly as good, because the other four bolts mount on pretty insignifigant areas, and increase the complication of the HD part by quite a bit, but.. see what your dealer suggests.. Good luck!
 
   / B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Long string of expletives...:thumbdown:

My own fault I guess, and I hope the insurance will cover it...$2,200.00 taxes in... the cost of repair to the casing (replacement part is $800).:(

Ouch...that's 44 hours worth of jobs just to pay off the breakage if insurance doesn't cover it...10 hours if it does.:shocked:

That'll teach me to get ticked off last night...bad karma. :rolleyes:

The worst part is it doesn't increase the value of the machine.
 
   / B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB #9  
Stuff happens... An old friend had a great saying that covers this. "These things only happen to the living...". Ain't it the truth!

Things could be worse.. I hope your insurance covers all, or most of, the repair... Keep us in the loop.
 
   / B3030hsdc BREAKDOWN FOLLOWING A JOB #10  
I don't get it. The dealer thinks you broke the bracket mount using the PHD? And you seem to agree? In the OP you said everything was going well, a couple of shear pins went, is all. I missed something in the description... Sorry to hear about breaking a tractor just using it as intended.
Jim
 
 
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