Kubota L3200 TnT & 3rd function install (work in progress)

[Fallon]

I was all set to copy number9L's sweet looking install on his L3800 (same tractor as mine, just 6 more HP) until he came to the realization that his valve stucked. At any rate I liked the concept.

After pestering Mr. FitRite, he dug up a nice Bucher valve with a joystick & 3rd function from his usual sources. He seems to think highly of Bucher & everybody seems to think highly of him, hopefully it will be worth the money.

Got the valve & QC manifold in today, so started in on getting things mounted

Pulled the fender which is pretty straight forward, undo all the nuts/bolts (12mm) between the fender & tire. Most of the nuts are welded onto something, so are pretty easy to remove, a couple require a wrench on each side. A couple didn't have enough clearance between the fender & tire for a ratchet so I had to just use a box wrench. It took me under 20 minutes to pull the fender. I couldn't be bothered to jack it up to pull the tire & don't think that would have been worth the effort.

I undid the 4 bolts (10mm) holding on the tail lights so I could easily undo the zip tie holding wires loom on after I unplugged it & also to make the fender lighter. The PTO lever also had to come off, just 2 more bolts & it dangles out of the way & doesn't seem like it will need any readjustment when I reattach it. As I put a bigger toolbox on the strut across the back, I pulled that off so I don't bend it when it's just dangling there.


I pulled off the metal bracket that wraps around the 3pt lever. Getting the rubber knob off the end of the 3pt lever was a pain, but I loosened it up jamming a screwdriver between rubber & metal, then finally wiggled it off. Cut off the slot behind the 3pt slot (draft control I guess). I may have to come back & put a bracket on the end of the shield around the 3pt lever as it's only bolted down at 1 end now & dangles a bit.

After playing with the valve a bit I ground off the 2 brackets under the draft control slot.

I mounted the valve to the frame with some zip ties to check how things will all go together. A couple bolts being welded to the frame makes it easy to toss the fender back on to check clearances. I also ended up loosening up the bolts holding on the seat belt & rotating that back for more room for the valve.


The joystick detents in towards the seat for left/right & to the rear for front/back. I'm not sure if I can swap positions between the 3rd function & joystick. I want the joystick in front, as that will be used more. However clearance issues may end up making it better to leave the small 3rd function stick next to the 3pt lever. The joystick will hit the seat when in detent to the left. While that will work, a little more clearance would be nice. I may still end up having to bend the levers (heat & bend or possibly cut & use my meager welding skills, not sure yet). I think I'm going to make new mounting ears out of some angle iron & put in holes so the valve leans towards the fender a bit so the sticks will have some better clearances.

For the QD manifold I'm thinking I'll just get 2 small plates of possibly 4 pieces of flat stock. Sandwich the ROPS post between them & just mount the manifold to that on the back.

Apparently I'm out of spare angle iron & motivation, so I'm done for the day.

 

[Fallon]

$635 for the TnT cylinders.
$1092 for everything else (valve, all fittings, QD manifold, all hoses)

Brian has been slacking on my cylinders, but I suppose I can cut him some slack... Not like they will do a darn thing until I get the valve mounted & get him the measurements for the hoses I need to plumb everything in with.

Have to hold off on any quality or value judgements until I get everything together & working.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

$635 for the TnT cylinders.
$1092 for everything else (valve, all fittings, QD manifold, all hoses)

Brian has been slacking on my cylinders, but I suppose I can cut him some slack... Not like they will do a darn thing until I get the valve mounted & get him the measurements for the hoses I need to plumb everything in with.

Have to hold off on any quality or value judgements until I get everything together & working.

Hopefully soon.

 

[Fallon]

Feh, tried to attach a photo & it ate my post. Waiting for paint to dry anyway...

Finished welding up some vertical tabs off the fender frame to mount the valve on. Turned out pretty good, although the first set of holes didn't quite give me what I wanted. 2nd set of holes got me pretty good positioning. I ended up leaving the 3rd function valve in the front, it made for the best clearance between the joystick & 3pt lever. The 3rd function actually won't go left at the moment due to hitting the seat. I'll have to end up either bending that stick or welding a coupler or 2 together to offset it towards the fender a bit. The joystick pretty much touches my hip when in float. I'll either live with it or bend it too once I put the fender back on & can verify clearances again.

Drilled a couple holes in the fender for the bolt heads to stick through as well. I doubt I'd actually be able to pull those bolts off without pulling the fender though.

I added another tab to mount the 3pt lever shield/label to. It works decently to keep the back end of that sheet metal from dangling.


Got some U bolts & mounted up the QD manifold to the ROPS. Trimmed the bolts a bit to avoid snagging any fittings. I lifted up the 3pt hitch & propped it all the way up to verify clearances. The manifold ends up closer to my quick hitch than I'd like at the moment. The U bolts aren't even tightened up, so I can still fiddle with em. Will probably have to wait until I get the fender back on so I can verify clearances on the back side as well.



Humm... need to hold my phone more steady when taking photos apparently. Well, off to put things back together & hopefully measure up some hose lengths tonight.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

If you need a longer 3rd function handle to get bent up, just let me know. I have them quite a bit longer. Keep in mind that a lot of the time, if 90s are used with the male QDs, it makes for a clean compact , tucked away way to route the hoses.

 

[Fallon]

Got the valve mounted & fender somewhat back in place.

It looks like tucking the manifold just under the crossbar will give me enough clearance for everything & straight fittings on the back. I left a 7/16" (i think) wrench hanging out of the bottom QD to help judge distance & level. 3pt hitch was all the way up (propped it up manually, might not go quite that high on it's own) and have the top link relatively close to as short as it can go. Guessing at the port locations a bit on my measurements at the moment. I'll have to re-think my port order a bit, 90's on the bottom QD would be good for the top or tilt, was going to use that one as the 3rd function to limit possible rubbing on my quick hitch. Probably going to sleep on it or maybe wait for my cylinders. At the very least I need to re-measure after firing the tractor back up & running the 3pt to it's limits.


Debating what route to go coming out of the valve. It looks like I have enough clearance to come straight out of the valve and go over or under the seatbelt bracket. I took some measurements from the end of the red plug covers, but am not sure what length of fittings I may need to factor in. I like the staggered 90 degree fittings on Number9l's install coming out of the valve body, but not sure that would buy me mutch. Leaving a big curve coming out of the valve body would give me a bit of wiggle room if the hose is an inch or 2 to long whereas a pretty straight shot from a 90 degree fitting straight into the back of the manifold. Definitely going to sleep on it.


Photos of the joystick in detent both directions, centered & pushed up to the fender with an inch or an inch and a half to spare. My phone apparently had some issues on a couple of these, the battery was dying.


My dumping ground for all my tractor photos, including a pile I haven't otherwise linked. https://plus.google.com/photos/113106912496937151690/albums/5922617055278593281

 

[Fallon]

Quick question... As I pull the spool up or push it down, which port will fluid come out of, the top or bottom one?

 

[Fallon]

Got fittings for the work ports on the valve & some 45s for the QD manifold in on Friday. Spent the weekend poking, plotting & measuring. Going with a T on the stock tank port rather than going into the panel near the valve. A friend was recommending avoiding that to prevent aerating the oil. Might end up being some gyrations to get the fittings setup just right, but I should be able to get it done without having any fittings sticking out or down any further than stock.



Here is the spreadsheet of all the hoses & fittings I'm looking at. Time will tell if this plan survives the ensuing battle intact.


I welded on some extra ears onto the frame to mount my valve to, but you could get by without it. I was initially thinking about taking the easy way out, just resting the mounting ears fromt the valve on the frame & bolting the valve to the fender. I mounted the valve in the same height & position initially even after welding on the tabs, but then lowered the holes a bit later. You could probably mount the valve in a reasonably good position without welding.

I got a replacement lever for the valve, as apparently shipping wasn't kind to the lever on the 3rd function valve. It went on easily. I still need to stop by the store & dig up some M 8-1.25 metric couplers & bolts or something to fab up a dog leg for that handle. As I don't have anything to use on that circuit yet it's not a huge priority getting that spool working.

With the hose & remaining fitting list off to Brian & the cylinders not due until later this week, not much to do on the project for a few days I expect.

 

[Fallon]

Probably not a good idea to use my spreadsheet for the time being. Apparently I can't tell the difference between 3/8" & 1/2" JIC fittings. :banghead:

Hopefully I'll have time this weekend to drain the system, pull the hoses & verify none of my new hoses actually fit. I might be able to just get adapters for the work ports at least. MtnViewRanch has been great support, but it's hard to deliver the right product when you don't have ESP & the dumbass gives you a nice spreadsheet with bad data.

Apparently my battle plan did not survive the encounter with the enemy.

 

[k0ua]

Apparently my battle plan did not survive the encounter with the enemy

"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."

With my apologies to George S. Patton.

James K0UA