L2800-L3400 PTO Making the right choice

[8226hamer]

When I think of getting wrong tractor for the application I think of size, weight, HP, 4WD, but never thought of PTO reliability.

I think every tractor that has a PTO should be able to handle any use (not abuse) that it is put to. Roto-tilling is not cruel and unusual pusnishment for a PTO in my opinion, even though it is tougher than mowing.

I really like my L3400 and hope that the PTO holds up to my mowing and snow blowing use. This is a problem that Kubota should have never let occur even on an economy tractor. The PTO should be robust on any tractor. At least the over-riding clutch should have been separate and easy to replace.

When I got my L2800 the PTO system was the least of my worries. I never had a bit of trouble with my first two Kubotas and thought it would work the same as they did.

I knew when I bought my L2800, I was told that it wasn't as fancy and without all the bells and whistles as the Grand L series or the B2910 I traded in, that was fine and I understood that, but I never dreamed that I would be having to trade it in 23 month later with a little over 200 hours on it because the PTO will not stay together and because the 24 month basic warranty is about up.

I got until June 4 then the warranty expires. It looks like it's going to cost me close to 5 grand to trade for a B3030, which is about what I had to give when I traded for the L2800, but you can bet that I will not be an L2800 owner on June 5. With the warranty expired, I can't aford the risk.

 

[swampvol]

I am not sure if this applies to tractors, but with an auto if you have to take it in to repair the same item 4 times or more in a certain time frame it qualifies under the 'lemon law.' It varies from state to state.

This is truly unfortunate, and it has me a little worried, as I only have 20hrs on my l3400 which I have planned on keeping for 15 to 20 years. I do hope yours is an isolated instance, and also hope that Kubota resolves it for you.

 

[MDM]

A tractor is not a tractor without PTO as far as I'm concerned. I hope this is an isolated incident. There are a lot of 3400 owners on here, so we will see how it goes in the next couple of years. I'm am thinking of trading up to a 3240 in a couple of years if I can afford it. My PTO is used 80% of the time my tractor is running.

 

[8226hamer]

I am not sure if this applies to tractors, but with an auto if you have to take it in to repair the same item 4 times or more in a certain time frame it qualifies under the 'lemon law.' It varies from state to state.

This is truly unfortunate, and it has me a little worried, as I only have 20hrs on my l3400 which I have planned on keeping for 15 to 20 years. I do hope yours is an isolated instance, and also hope that Kubota resolves it for you.

From what I learned the day I talked to theField Rep, it has been resolved and it's going to cost me difference between My L2800 and a tractor with an independent PTO system.

I was worried that it may happen a second time after seeing how the PTO is designed the firt time my tractor was split, and now that it has, I'm really worried about the third time with less than a months warranty left and knowing Kubota will not take care of it under the powertrain warranty.

 

[mjfox6]

I discussed the ratcheting noise with my dealer back in May of last year. He faxed me a copy of service bulletin PSB-2005-052-A, which is dated Dec. 19, 2005. This is Rev. A of the service bulletin everyone talks about, but I have not heard anyone talking about this one and a search did not turn up anything. Sorry, the picture is terrible because it is a fax. It seems to get rid of the oil fix and change the cams to a type that do not overrun. My service guy talked me out of the fix, he said the style Kubota used has been used for years on Ford tractors. All of this talk is making me wish I had done it now.

Anyone else ever hear of this fix?

View attachment PSB-2005-052-A.pdf

 

[Marcussen]

The kit you are talking about is listed in the parts book as starting with S/N 57745 and up. My tractor is 58693. I have never heard the ratcheting sound on this tractor. Does this realy fix the problem? I have 13 months left of the full warranty, this year we have plenty of rain so the tractor will get a good workout cutting grass (and weeds).

 

[emmy71]

The kit you are talking about is listed in the parts book as starting with S/N 57745 and up. My tractor is 58693. I have never heard the ratcheting sound on this tractor. Does this realy fix the problem? I have 13 months left of the full warranty, this year we have plenty of rain so the tractor will get a good workout cutting grass (and weeds).

If I read the service bulletin correctly, your tractor should already have the updated parts. I bought my L3400 back in December '06 and have also never heard the ratcheting sound.

 

[Big B]

Am i understanding this correctly, that this only applies to tractors with HST. I believe they are the only ones with an overrunning clutch?

 

[638]

I once worked in a plant that had a piece of equipment that had a clutch like the one in the pictures. We had the same problem with abnormal wear. That type of clutch was then refered to as a 'dog clutch'. Our problem was that the operator always tried to ease the clutch engaged. Problem solved when the operator was instructed to slam the clutch in as fast as he could. I believe I would install an external overrunning clutch to stop the clatter of the internal clutch, and engage the PTO as fast as I could at idle RPM.

ron

 

[kgator]

Your situation seems to be that the pto will fail again and the tractor will be out of warranty. The cost to replace this tractor with one including an appropriate pto is too high for you to consider. If this were my tractor I would attempt to eliminate the internal over-running clutch, possibly by welding or locking together using pins etc. I have used a tractor with no over-running clutch for many years, and it is a problem only with my rotary brush cutter. I then install an external pto over-running adapter. This would give you a positive pto drive and easily replaceable over-running clutch. If Kubota would pay for this disassembly one final time you would be set.