Atlanta Panther
Member
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2013
- Messages
- 45
- Location
- Madison, Ga
- Tractor
- Kubota L3200HST with LA524 Loader, Quick Connect; Loaded R4 Tires
I'm new to tractoring but I think I picked a good one last year (with a lot of people's guidance) in a new Kubota L3200 HST 4WD for my 20 acre horse farm that is supposed to be our retirement abode. 
Early this year it came time for the first 50 hour maintenance. I've done routine maintenance on cars and motorcycles but this is my first experience with a tractor. I've been trying to learn as much as I can from the manuals and from great web sites like this one where everyone is really helpful. I thought I'd return the favor so I created a series of postings for novices like me to show them the results of what I've learned to make it easier for them when it comes their time to do their own maintenance. I'm sure this is old hat to many of you, but comments and suggestions from the tractor veterans here are welcome!
In this thread lets change out your hydraulic fluid and filters. First, look at the following video on YouTube. This guy does a great job! He is working on a L3400HST 4WD but it is very close to the L3200/L3800 series.
You will need the following parts and tools:
This will take you some time. You have four drain plugs and 6 gallons or so of hydraulic fluid to replace plus two filters.
Remove the filler plug. It unscrews and is located behind the seat about the PTO shaft. Mine was red in color. Start with the upper 24mm fluid drain plug. About 5 gallons of fluid will come out - probably enough to overtop your 5-gallon bucket so be prepared to put the plug back in the hole until you can switch out the 5 gallon bucket and get your oil drain pan underneath to drain the remainder of the fluid out of that hole. After that you can remove the other 24mm fluid drain plug and drain that fluid. The 24mm fluid plugs and gaskets look like this:
The metal washers have an internal rubber gasket. They are probably not available from your local Autozone. I will probably try to replace them the next time I change the fluid because I always worry about leaks.
You are then ready to move to the two lower differential gear plugs. You can remove the 14mm plugs. The fluid will shoot out a pretty good stream so be ready with your pan. The 14mm fluid plugs and gaskets look like this:
Similar to the larger plugs, the metal washers have an internal rubber gasket. Again, I will probably try to replace them the next time I change the fluid because I always worry about leaks.
Now that you've got most of the fluid drained it's time to remove the filters. The smaller Return filter is by the step and can be removed with your Oil Filter Wrench. Once the fluid quits draining from the filter boss mount, you are ready to put the new filter on. Put a little fresh fluid on the rubber gasket on the filter to make the next filter change uncomplicated. Tighten the filter until it contacts the mount and then give it another full turn with your filter wrench. One last thing with your filter; take a permanent marker and write on the bottom of the new filter the date and the number of hours on your tractor so you can see it easily. That way you never forget when you changed the filter last. Repeat the process with the larger Suction Filter on the other side of the tractor except this one only gets an additional half turn after it contacts the mount. Note that this filter has a round magnet to trap any metal shavings, etc. It looks like this:
Mine had just a little fuzz on it when I took the filter off at the 50 hour mark. One nice thing is that you can take that magnet off your old filter and use it. I stuck mine on the end of my engine oil filter to help trap any crap that gets into the oil. Replace the four oil plugs. You're now ready to put in the new hydraulic fluid.
Like engine oil, hydraulic fluid is a matter of preference. Some folks like Amsoil. I went with the Kubota Super UDT2. It happened to be on sale at Coleman's where I mail ordered all my parts since the local Kubota dealers are not convenient to me. Their delivery was quick and the price was right but I am sure there are other suppliers like Messick's who probably give great customer service as well.
Putting in the fluid can be tricky. Lifting 2.5 gallon or 5 gallon containers is not easy especially if you've got to get it in a small funnel. For that reason I bought a new large container funnel at Walmart. It holds 2 gallons but the nice thing is that it has a small hole in the top, probably for hanging on a peg board but I found it works well for putting it on the little metal hanger that folds down that you use to hold your top link when you don't have a 3-point implement installed. The funnel spout then fits just right into the filler tube. Assuming you've done a pretty good drain of all your fluid through the four plugs and the two filters, put in 6 gallons of fresh fluid and screw your filler cap back in. Start up the tractor and check for leaks as you run it for a few minutes so the filters get filled. After turning off the tractor, let it sit for a few minutes so the fluid drains and check the sight glass located on the left side of the tractor near the clutch pedal. You are looking for a black line which apparently floats up and down with the fluid level. You want that black line to be at least in the middle of the sight glass. On mine it was near the bottom so I put in another quart or so of fluid which brought it up to a little higher than the middle of the sight glass. I started it up and went through the shutdown/drain/check level again and it was fine. One last thing, the manual says to run the engine at medium speed for a few minutes so you don't damage the transmission.
Congratulations! You're good for 400 hours on your Kubota before you have to change the fluid or larger suction filter again. The smaller Return filter does have to be changed at 50, 200 and every 200 hours afterwards.
Good Luck!
:cool2:
Early this year it came time for the first 50 hour maintenance. I've done routine maintenance on cars and motorcycles but this is my first experience with a tractor. I've been trying to learn as much as I can from the manuals and from great web sites like this one where everyone is really helpful. I thought I'd return the favor so I created a series of postings for novices like me to show them the results of what I've learned to make it easier for them when it comes their time to do their own maintenance. I'm sure this is old hat to many of you, but comments and suggestions from the tractor veterans here are welcome!
In this thread lets change out your hydraulic fluid and filters. First, look at the following video on YouTube. This guy does a great job! He is working on a L3400HST 4WD but it is very close to the L3200/L3800 series.
You will need the following parts and tools:
- 6.2 gallons Super UDT2 (2.5gallon) (Kubota Part # 70000-40202) $55.12 each
- Hydraulic Return Oil Filter (Kubota Part # HHK70-14070) $20.73
- Hydraulic Suction Oil Filter with Magnet (Kubota Part # HH3A0-82623) $41.25
- Funnel (Recommend 2-gallon capacity Spill Saver Giant Funnel (WalMart SKU 009821310705)) $5.77
- Oil Drain Pan
- Oil Filter Wrench
- 5-gallon bucket
- 14mm and 24mm sockets or wrenches
This will take you some time. You have four drain plugs and 6 gallons or so of hydraulic fluid to replace plus two filters.
Remove the filler plug. It unscrews and is located behind the seat about the PTO shaft. Mine was red in color. Start with the upper 24mm fluid drain plug. About 5 gallons of fluid will come out - probably enough to overtop your 5-gallon bucket so be prepared to put the plug back in the hole until you can switch out the 5 gallon bucket and get your oil drain pan underneath to drain the remainder of the fluid out of that hole. After that you can remove the other 24mm fluid drain plug and drain that fluid. The 24mm fluid plugs and gaskets look like this:
The metal washers have an internal rubber gasket. They are probably not available from your local Autozone. I will probably try to replace them the next time I change the fluid because I always worry about leaks.
You are then ready to move to the two lower differential gear plugs. You can remove the 14mm plugs. The fluid will shoot out a pretty good stream so be ready with your pan. The 14mm fluid plugs and gaskets look like this:
Similar to the larger plugs, the metal washers have an internal rubber gasket. Again, I will probably try to replace them the next time I change the fluid because I always worry about leaks.
Now that you've got most of the fluid drained it's time to remove the filters. The smaller Return filter is by the step and can be removed with your Oil Filter Wrench. Once the fluid quits draining from the filter boss mount, you are ready to put the new filter on. Put a little fresh fluid on the rubber gasket on the filter to make the next filter change uncomplicated. Tighten the filter until it contacts the mount and then give it another full turn with your filter wrench. One last thing with your filter; take a permanent marker and write on the bottom of the new filter the date and the number of hours on your tractor so you can see it easily. That way you never forget when you changed the filter last. Repeat the process with the larger Suction Filter on the other side of the tractor except this one only gets an additional half turn after it contacts the mount. Note that this filter has a round magnet to trap any metal shavings, etc. It looks like this:
Mine had just a little fuzz on it when I took the filter off at the 50 hour mark. One nice thing is that you can take that magnet off your old filter and use it. I stuck mine on the end of my engine oil filter to help trap any crap that gets into the oil. Replace the four oil plugs. You're now ready to put in the new hydraulic fluid.
Like engine oil, hydraulic fluid is a matter of preference. Some folks like Amsoil. I went with the Kubota Super UDT2. It happened to be on sale at Coleman's where I mail ordered all my parts since the local Kubota dealers are not convenient to me. Their delivery was quick and the price was right but I am sure there are other suppliers like Messick's who probably give great customer service as well.
Putting in the fluid can be tricky. Lifting 2.5 gallon or 5 gallon containers is not easy especially if you've got to get it in a small funnel. For that reason I bought a new large container funnel at Walmart. It holds 2 gallons but the nice thing is that it has a small hole in the top, probably for hanging on a peg board but I found it works well for putting it on the little metal hanger that folds down that you use to hold your top link when you don't have a 3-point implement installed. The funnel spout then fits just right into the filler tube. Assuming you've done a pretty good drain of all your fluid through the four plugs and the two filters, put in 6 gallons of fresh fluid and screw your filler cap back in. Start up the tractor and check for leaks as you run it for a few minutes so the filters get filled. After turning off the tractor, let it sit for a few minutes so the fluid drains and check the sight glass located on the left side of the tractor near the clutch pedal. You are looking for a black line which apparently floats up and down with the fluid level. You want that black line to be at least in the middle of the sight glass. On mine it was near the bottom so I put in another quart or so of fluid which brought it up to a little higher than the middle of the sight glass. I started it up and went through the shutdown/drain/check level again and it was fine. One last thing, the manual says to run the engine at medium speed for a few minutes so you don't damage the transmission.
Congratulations! You're good for 400 hours on your Kubota before you have to change the fluid or larger suction filter again. The smaller Return filter does have to be changed at 50, 200 and every 200 hours afterwards.
Good Luck!
:cool2:
