CHDinCT
Veteran Member
I haven't seen many if any complaints about the suspension in the BX seats but for me, the seat has always lacked adequate or even any real suspension to help with bumps and jolts. I never complained here about it, but in all honestly, my 18 year old Wheel Horse gave a better ride than the BX, especially in high range.
So, I have been cogitating for some time on how I might add some give to the seat on my BX25. A TBN search did not yield any prior mod's on the BX seat - most of the posts were about the replacement seat for the older version BX's. The BX seat appears to provide some suspension by the large compression springs at the rear corners of the seat frame, but these mostly provide upward force to keep the seat frame latch locked (the one you need to release to flip the seat up).
The only real suspension for the seat itself is a double torsion spring under the seat (see pic's). Don't know about other folks here but my wimpy 140lb body causes the torsion spring to bottom out (it looses all spring) so it really doesn't provide any suspension once you sit in the seat. My first thought was to add additional torsion springs to both rear corners between the seat bottom and the seat frame but I couldn't find the right type or stiffness locally or on-line. However, in the course of my search I stopped at a shop that repairs truck suspensions to see if they knew where I could find what I was looking for. Turned out one of the mechanics use to work at a Kubota dealership and told me how they use to weld on two added plates to the seat frame so they could mount two additional compression springs for many of the B and L series seats.
With that design in mind, I found two 1 3/8" (W) x 2 1/2" (H) x .135 gauge compression springs at my local hardware store. The unsprung distance between the seat bottom and the seat frame is about 2.25". As it turned out, these springs fit perfectly between the seat frame and the seat bottom with no need for an added mounting plate. For non-backhoe BX versions where the seat doesn't raise and rotate, you almost don't need any mounting hardware - the springs stay right in place. For my BX25, I used two fender washers and small 1/4" bolts to hold the springs in place when I raise the seat up.
After mounting the springs and taking the BX for a test drive, I found one fly in the ointment - the seat safety switch no longer engaged due to the added resistance, so I used some JB Weld and a few pieces of scrap steel to mount a couple of shims under the seat. I taped them in place first to check how many shims I needed to release the switch with the seat empty, but engage it when I sat in the seat. A little Kubota Grey spray paint for the shims and it all looks about OEM to me.
And the ride improvement is tremendous - a thousand percent better to me. I hated to use high gear for mowing or even transiting non-paved areas since the jolts went right through the tractor frame to my aching back. The added springs smooth things out nicely. I may have even kept my old BX1850 with the reverse jerk if the seat had more give and take. :laughing: The best part is the springs and fender washers were less than $10. I had the bolts and scrape metal, so that's all I needed once the solution was found. I really think for any non BX22/23/24/25 owners, you could just wedge the springs in and then maybe have to shim the seat switch depending on how much you weigh.
Pic's attached. Note that in pic 4, I was sitting in the seat when I took the picture.
So, I have been cogitating for some time on how I might add some give to the seat on my BX25. A TBN search did not yield any prior mod's on the BX seat - most of the posts were about the replacement seat for the older version BX's. The BX seat appears to provide some suspension by the large compression springs at the rear corners of the seat frame, but these mostly provide upward force to keep the seat frame latch locked (the one you need to release to flip the seat up).
The only real suspension for the seat itself is a double torsion spring under the seat (see pic's). Don't know about other folks here but my wimpy 140lb body causes the torsion spring to bottom out (it looses all spring) so it really doesn't provide any suspension once you sit in the seat. My first thought was to add additional torsion springs to both rear corners between the seat bottom and the seat frame but I couldn't find the right type or stiffness locally or on-line. However, in the course of my search I stopped at a shop that repairs truck suspensions to see if they knew where I could find what I was looking for. Turned out one of the mechanics use to work at a Kubota dealership and told me how they use to weld on two added plates to the seat frame so they could mount two additional compression springs for many of the B and L series seats.
With that design in mind, I found two 1 3/8" (W) x 2 1/2" (H) x .135 gauge compression springs at my local hardware store. The unsprung distance between the seat bottom and the seat frame is about 2.25". As it turned out, these springs fit perfectly between the seat frame and the seat bottom with no need for an added mounting plate. For non-backhoe BX versions where the seat doesn't raise and rotate, you almost don't need any mounting hardware - the springs stay right in place. For my BX25, I used two fender washers and small 1/4" bolts to hold the springs in place when I raise the seat up.
After mounting the springs and taking the BX for a test drive, I found one fly in the ointment - the seat safety switch no longer engaged due to the added resistance, so I used some JB Weld and a few pieces of scrap steel to mount a couple of shims under the seat. I taped them in place first to check how many shims I needed to release the switch with the seat empty, but engage it when I sat in the seat. A little Kubota Grey spray paint for the shims and it all looks about OEM to me.
And the ride improvement is tremendous - a thousand percent better to me. I hated to use high gear for mowing or even transiting non-paved areas since the jolts went right through the tractor frame to my aching back. The added springs smooth things out nicely. I may have even kept my old BX1850 with the reverse jerk if the seat had more give and take. :laughing: The best part is the springs and fender washers were less than $10. I had the bolts and scrape metal, so that's all I needed once the solution was found. I really think for any non BX22/23/24/25 owners, you could just wedge the springs in and then maybe have to shim the seat switch depending on how much you weigh.
Pic's attached. Note that in pic 4, I was sitting in the seat when I took the picture.
Attachments
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BX25 Suspension Seat 003.JPG657.8 KB · Views: 6,404
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BX25 Suspension Seat 001.JPG666.1 KB · Views: 4,864
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BX25 Suspension Seat 002.JPG743.2 KB · Views: 6,344
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BX25 Suspension Seat 004.JPG711.1 KB · Views: 7,169
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BX25 Suspension Seat 005.JPG743.5 KB · Views: 4,837
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BX25 Suspension Seat 006.JPG786.2 KB · Views: 4,447