Self Leveling Valve for Kubota LA Loaders

[AZBen]

I know this is an older thread but wanted to post an update with my experience. I just purchased a B2650 with the LA534 loader and ordered the spill guard kit being discussed above. So far it appears to be as the OP described in the first post... it just prevents contents of the bucket from spilling on the hood when the loader is brought to full height. I haven't seen any switches or levers that allow me to keep the bucket in a static position which would be useful for the fork attachment, but maybe there's an adjustment or setting I'm missing.

Kind of disappointed as I was hoping it would also function as a self-leveler, but is my fault for not researching better. I can't see a situation where I'll need the spill guard very often if ever so is kind of a wasted feature for me. It seems the "true" self leveling valve/setup is available from Kubota only on the M series tractors.

Found what appears to be the full kit on ebay, but almost $1600. Yikes
New KUBOTA M1488 Self Leveling Hydraulic Valve Kit FREE SHIPPING | eBay

 

[Dan33Klein]

I know this is an older thread but wanted to post an update with my experience. I just purchased a B2650 with the LA534 loader and ordered the spill guard kit being discussed above. So far it appears to be as the OP described in the first post... it just prevents contents of the bucket from spilling on the hood when the loader is brought to full height. I haven't seen any switches or levers that allow me to keep the bucket in a static position which would be useful for the fork attachment, but maybe there's an adjustment or setting I'm missing.

Kind of disappointed as I was hoping it would also function as a self-leveler, but is my fault for not researching better. I can't see a situation where I'll need the spill guard very often if ever so is kind of a wasted feature for me. It seems the "true" self leveling valve/setup is available from Kubota only on the M series tractors.

Found what appears to be the full kit on ebay, but almost $1600. Yikes
New KUBOTA M1488 Self Leveling Hydraulic Valve Kit FREE SHIPPING | eBay

Thanks for the reply,
I thought about getting the spill guard when I just bought my new B2650 also. But I decided it wasn’t worth it. Looks like a lot more stuff going on for a little benefit.

I also believe that is where the confusion comes in.

It is a “spill guard kit” not a self leveler kit like some believe to to be.

 

[Fallon]

Thanks for the reply,
I thought about getting the spill guard when I just bought my new B2650 also. But I decided it wasn’t worth it. Looks like a lot more stuff going on for a little benefit.

I also believe that is where the confusion comes in.

It is a “spill guard kit” not a self leveler kit like some believe to to be.

"Spill guard" is hydraulic. The classic self leveling is a mechanical linkage engineered into the loader. It gets into inpreperation if hydraulics are technically self leveling or not. They do keep things generally level, but not as reliably as the mechanical ones.

 

[jmc]

I disconnected the self-leveler on my Case BH a long time ago. IIRC, it wouldnt let me curl as far as I sometimes wanted to and it wouldnt let me bang-the-stop in full curl to redistribute the load rearward when necessary. If I loaded a lot of dump trucks, id probably reconnect it.

 

[100 td]

Dealer quoted me a price of $610 with tax for the kit. He did mention the linkage used to activate the self leveling valve is fragile and can easily be damaged if caution isn't used when operating the FEL. I'd like to get a look at one to see if this will be a problem for me since I work in some pretty knarly locations. So far, all I have is the exploded parts diagram for the kit. In any case, I'm waiting until spring to order it since the tractor is used for snow removal now.

Did you pursue this and find out if it was a just a spill guard kit, or actually a self level kit?

 

[DonaldP]

I use this on a Grand L3560 HSTC.

Its function is as the name implies, a "spill guard". It does not self level.
Being a newbie when I purchased the tractor I needed all the help I could get preventing the hood bashing that can occur if you take your mind off of loading up a bucket with stuff.
It's so leafy paid for itself with a little bit off frustration when I actually want to curl further than it lets me...
Bit I'm glad I opted for having it over not.