New to me DK45SE

[k0ua]

Murphy1224 - I do not think the owners manual is with it. I may be wrong but I will know for sure on Thursday.

RNeumann - I will make sure to look those things over. It is actually not private party but from a small dealer in Strafford, MO. They originally sold it to a guy that ended up moving to town and selling it back to them. So I am the second owner and it was sold both times by the same dealer. I am going to ask them a few questions on the maintenance to to get a better feel for where everything stands.

K0ua - Thanks for the welcome. I really like this forum so far. Also, thank you for the PDF link. That will help a lot especially if there is no manual with it.


On the engine oil, do you guys find it best to run oil for what the temperature is 80% of the time? It Tulsa, it is usually over 32F with the exception of a few weeks to a month of time. Would it be alright to run the 10W-30 year round?

Would probably be fine.

 

[sdef]

K0ua brings up good points, especially about the loader bolts. I have an acquaintance who did not check his LS loader bolts often and snapped one off. He ended up having to take it to the dealer for repair. I do not have my manual handy but seem to recall we are supposed to torque every 25 hours of use. Someone will post with the correct hours, I imagine

Mine were always loose enough to bother me. Somewhere ~ 150 - 200 hours I replaced all of my FEL mounting bolts lock washers with grade 8 and as many bolts I could find local replacements for- plus used blue thread locker. Still had loosening bolts, just not as bad. I torqued them the other day at 350 hours and most were still snug (finally) but had a couple that required 1/8 turn or so. Some folks seem to have pretty good luck with the FEL bolts and others not so much. I used my loader to the maximum digging rocks and stumps.

 

[k0ua]

K0ua brings up good points, especially about the loader bolts. I have an acquaintance who did not check his LS loader bolts often and snapped one off. He ended up having to take it to the dealer for repair. I do not have my manual handy but seem to recall we are supposed to torque every 25 hours of use. Someone will post with the correct hours, I imagine

Mine were always loose enough to bother me. Somewhere ~ 150 - 200 hours I replaced all of my FEL mounting bolts lock washers with grade 8 and as many bolts I could find local replacements for- plus used blue thread locker. Still had loosening bolts, just not as bad. I torqued them the other day at 350 hours and most were still snug (finally) but had a couple that required 1/8 turn or so. Some folks seem to have pretty good luck with the FEL bolts and others not so much. I used my loader to the maximum digging rocks and stumps.

My loader and wheel bolts seemed to have quit stretching or paint wearing in after about 125 hours. I would suggest checking and snugging them every 25 hours or every other greasing of the loader which you should do after 10 hours of loader use. Yes, snapped off loader mounting to frame casting bolts is not something you want, nor is "egged" out wheel holes from not checking wheel nut/bolt tightness. Like any piece of machinery, tractors require some maintenance. You can either do it and have trouble free operation, or you can forget about it, and put undue wear and breakage on the machine.

 

[daveborg98]

I fully agree with the "ounce of prevention" thing.

Are the torque specs critical or just "very tight"? I am assuming that this info would be in the manual it is comes with one.

 

[k0ua]

I fully agree with the "ounce of prevention" thing.

Are the torque specs critical or just "very tight"? I am assuming that this info would be in the manual it is comes with one.

Without digging out my manual I seem to remember the rear wheel bolts were about 160 lbs and the large loader bolts the same, I think the front wheel bolts were about 80.. But best look them up in the manual. If you don't get one, we can research it. Get back with us when you get the machine and have had time to take some pictures for us to admire. We will help you out.

 

[daveborg98]

Thanks guys. I will report back when I have it in my possession.

 

[ritcheyvs]

Talk to that dealer. Find out if he did the maintenance and, if so, what and when. The hydraulic fluid may be OK if you KNOW it (and the filter) was changed at 50 hours and replaced with the right stuff.

Engine oil/filter changes are more frequent. Be sure to use Diesel (C-rated) engine oil; many of us use synthetic motor oil (like Mobile 1 or Rotella T6), mainly for easier cold starts. But synthetics won't extend engine oil change intervals with these small Diesel engines (changing oil is how soot is removed).

Get an owners manual for your specific tractor; any Kioti dealer can order one for you. You really need to have and read that little book.

A paper parts manual is unnecessary; there are several good online parts sites sponsored by dealers (like MIE).

Many of us also want to have the maintenance manual. The newer ones (like the SE) are quite good but there are still some errors and typos. There is a soft-copy version of the EX (export) maintenance manual on some foreign web sites. I think the US SE version is very similar to the EX model.

 

[k0ua]

If you don't get the paper owners manual, let me know...send me a PM

 

[chuck172]

Speaking of checking bolt torque, should you loosen the bolt first, then torque, or just check to see if the bolt is tightened to the torque setting?

 

[sdef]

Speaking of checking bolt torque, should you loosen the bolt first, then torque, or just check to see if the bolt is tightened to the torque setting?

I think this is an excellent question and any machinist on here can probably provide the correct answer. My knee jerk would be to loosen and retorque would be the best way to do it for the most accuracy. However, I just check the torque as the fastening sits without loosening first.

Found this: Can you use a torque wrench to inspect a bolt for proper torque? | AMT Community