AZTim,
Thank you for posting all those pictures, great to see more shots of the
M59 and especially some without the hoe on it, being used more like a "standard" tractor! :thumbsup:
Regarding the back blade, do you find that the blade is sufficient counter weight for the loader? Do you have your rears filled? I would think you'd need the extra weight in the tires with such a strong FEL.
How do you like the gauge wheel on the back of the blade? I have the next model up from that (the 4096) and Landpride doesn't list the guage wheel as an option for this model, so I've been thinking of building my own if it's pretty helpful in real world use.
What model grapple do you have?
Thanks again for the great pics. I like your chicken coupe idea!
The rears are loaded which makes a tremendous amount of stability and sooner or later I plan on foaming the fronts when funds allow. I have had a slow leak on the right front for about 3 years now but apparently it isn't bad enough for me to take the tire to the shop yet. The only time the tractor gets tippy in 3pt mode is with the loader carrying a lot of weight, as in a full loader bucket above hood height on an off camber situation with a light attachment like the wood
chipper. Lower the bucket down and it settles right back down just fine. With loaded rears the
M59 is more stable than I feel comfortable with, as in if my ribs are getting poked by the armrest from leaning over so far to sit vertical, I find a better approach. I have to be very careful when I get on someone else's much less stable machine and scare myself one good time.
The gauge wheel was handy before I broke it. It isn't built as sturdy as the rest of the backblade and both the wheel and fork it mounts to bent pretty easily going to deep into a dip and overloading it. Oops. :ashamed: The wheel can be replaced and the fork can be bent/welded for repair, but honestly once you get pretty good at using the 3pt height lever you can do just as well with out it, back up into tighter places and load onto a trailer much easier. Also zerks are covered by the bolt on portion of the gauge wheel frame. If you are doing a great big area like a parking lot it makes things easier, but on my place it is more of a hindrance.
I will get a daytime pic of the grapple up close as I don't even remember what it is at the moment. It works very well, but would be slightly more useful if it had a higher or bigger top jaw. Otherwise it is the perfect size for this tractor as I have not been able to bend it even with rooting for stumps. The tube connecting all of the tines also works well for backdragging the rough ground reasonably smooth without having to switch out to the bucket.
There is a little bit of whine from the hst, my dealer parts guy suggested that replacing all of the fluid was a highly wasteful endeavor as long as the filters get replaced. I have never done a full changeout, just replaced what is lost with the filter change. I have used the kubota stuff and the costco 5 gallon bucket that lists kubota specs being met with equal success. Which one is quieter I could not say, I just know everything works happily as long as your fluid level is sufficient. If it gets a little on the low side you will start to get a noticeable shudder when climbing really steep grades.
Despite my tendency to be very hard on (read demanding with high expectations, but not abusive) every thing I use, including my own body, the issues I have had with the machine are few and far between:
1) I think I have one glow plug on the weak side for going on two years now, but it has not prevented subzero winter starts. I have a spare set on hand but just have not needed to put the time into that area yet. Too many projects, too little time aka if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
2) The loader joystick handle broke in half on a -20 morning plowing snow about 4 or 5 years ago while the machine was still under warranty, dealer took my word for it, got me the new updated replacement and by choice I replaced it myself with the much stronger version that comes on all of the 2010 & newer
M59's. I had to give him back my old one for the warranty claim, but I have pics of the difference somewhere.
3) I just lost my rabbit light bulb at around 1010 hrs and will replace it when I put in my new front remote switch/button in the near future.
4) The circular light-up front remote button was broken by me due to my improper removal while trying to get to something under the plastic in that area and was in no way the machine's fault. It was something silly... oh yeah, I thought the joystick was broken when it locked up solid on me the first time, but it was just the lock being engaged by my leg which had somehow not happened in the first few years. It happens once in a while when on really rough off camber terrain and is slightly annoying, but easily remedied.
5) I have broken two different hydraulic hoses, both for the thumb, on the left side of the hoe as looking at it from the seat. Both were punctures of the hose that were no fault of the machine. These taught me what happens if the fluid level gets a little low and causes the machine to shudder on the steep climbs back to the garage. Once topped off, all was well again.
6) The loader float valve started freezing in winter if the last operator parked the machine with the loader in float mode. Apparently in Georgia where it gets very humid, the valves accumulate condensation in them during assembly and this is a common experience in cold climates. The fix per my dealer's parts guy was to drill a tiny little drain hole in the front of the valve and then run it long enough to heat that area up one good time. Very simple 5 minute fix and never another issue with it.
7) Oh and the rear remote kit that was added by the out of state dealer I got my used machine from had a faulty valve that would only flow one way so my local dealer came out, picked up my machine, replaced the valve and delivered it back to me within 2 days of calling them even though he had not yet sold me anything. Very good guys at Big Sky Kubota from the owners to the mechanics I highly commend their work and integrity. I have purchased my 1140 w/snowplow, backblade, and bale spear from them since, so they have seen their fair share of my money.
8) The slow leak in the front right tire mentioned earlier, again, not a machine's fault type of issue.
9) Twice I went bogging up to the height of the hood through my swamp to clean out many buckets full of muck for use as soil improvement after which my plugged up radiator started allowing the water temp to go up one notch. Hosing it off thoroughly and blowing out the radiator screen with air had me back to normal in minutes. This experience, along with my distaste for mosquitoes, led me to almost completely fill in my swamp to shrink it down to a very small strip of water I can clean out with the hoe now.
There was no water in any of my fluids from this adventure, though almost getting stuck in clay in that much water was not as much fun. The hoe can get me out of anything I get myself into so far, so that is part of why I always find myself testing new waters so to speak. I know the machine well enough now though that there isn't much else I want to try with it that hasn't been done... I know it's limits and am very satisfied with what they are.
edit:
Pics of the old style loader handle and the much better designed replacement.
