What to Be Looking for on a 1871 hour G1800?

[ov81flxw]

Hi Everybody,

I'm in the market for a new mower. One of the mowers I have my eye on is a used G1800. It seems to have a lot of hours on it (1871 hours). I don't know the year, though. The implement dealer selling it says that the headlights don't work, but that other than that, it seems to be OK. They said it doesn't leak any oil. And doesn't smoke when running. They are asking $1895 (USD).

The ad states: "3 Cylinder Kubota Diesel Engine. 18 Horse Power 2WD 48-inch cutting deck. Hydrostatic transmission with cruise control and power steering."

I know there have been other threads here about this subject, including this one. But the guy that purchased that one found one with much lower hours.

Based upon what I've stated above, does this throw up any red flags for anybody? Does this price sound reasonable? Are these mowers usually still in decent condition with this many hours? Or should I expect things to be going wrong constantly?

Thanks!
Bryan Walton

 

[jinman]

G1800s have two shafts. one shaft drives the transmission and the other is driven by the PTO and drives the deck through a gearbox. You want to listen for bad u-joints on the shafts and check for freeplay. You can reach both from below the tractor with the deck lowered all the way down. Check also for tightness of the spindles on the deck. On high hour machines, people tend to put off greasing the decks as they should. That also goes for the front axle pivot and the wheel pivots for steering.

Of course, you will also want to listen to the transmission carefully and check the oil condition and level. Drive the tractor long enough to warm up the transmission and make sure it stays strong when warm.

Good luck with your machine. Mine has high hours also and is a joy to use.

 

[ov81flxw]

Thanks for all the info jinman. That is some good stuff for me to look at. Assuming that everything you mention checks out OK, do you think that $1895 (what the dealer is asking) is in line with what it is worth?

Thanks again,
Bryan

 

[jinman]

Yes. I think the price is okay, but the shaft from the engine to the transmission is a pain to replace and around $400. The u-joints are not rebuildable or greaseable. I have not done it, but found several guys who have on online forums. You have to do it as a whole unit.

I first offered $1500 for my 1700-hour G1800, but the fellow would not take that. I then offered $1800 and he said okay. He was asking $2295 in the beginning. Always try to get a better deal, you may be surprised and come away with a bargain.

 

[sixdogs]

You should do a wider internet search on this mower and Kubota zero-turns in general.
I'm not exactly sure because I wasn't paying attention but some guys had problems but I'm not sure what models or what problems.

 

[Grrrr]

Yes. I think the price is okay, but the shaft from the engine to the transmission is a pain to replace and around $400. The u-joints are not rebuildable or greaseable. I have not done it, but found several guys who have on online forums. You have to do it as a whole unit.

Its really not that bad to replace the shaft.

Take off the seat

Remove the HST pedals.

Pull up the mat and undo the two bolts under the mat, two under the side boards and a few under where the seat was.

Lift up the rear fenders / sheet metal work.

You can then get easy access to where the shaft connect to the transmission - undo the two bolts clamping the shaft to the stuf shaft out of the tranmssion, slide it off and then remove the fan before refitting.

The engine end is a bit more tricky - you can probably get at it from underneath but otherwise take the battery and radiator out then it is seconds to unbolt it from the flywheel.

Then do the same thing again in reverse to replace, make sure you grease the shaft before reinstalling.



Also the shaft is completely rebuildable, you can purchase a new cross joint with the bearings in it, chop the old one out and then press the new cross joint in.

The cross joint kit including snap rings is 66101-13580

Or you could take it to any farm store place and they would be able to replace it.


The old one will probbaly be impossible to push out, so just cut the old cross yoke in half with an angle grinder and then put the new one in with a vice or a press if you have one.

 

[jinman]

Jake, it's obvious that you know what you are talking about. Thanks for the tips. I hope to never have to replace my transmission driveshaft for many years, but your procedure makes lots of sense.:thumbsup: