Kubota L39 GST Grinding/chattering noise when in motion?

[fried1765]

I bet that thing is a brute. L47 or L48 was my first interest, I wasn't able to find one.
Still payed out the a$s for my L39.

I spent almost 9 months looking for my original owner, exceptionally low hour, L48 TLB.
I eventually got lucky!
Somebody will get lucky again...I'm pushin 80.
My original 1st choice was the JD 110 TLB, but the cracked casting history there scared me off.

 

[DivineL39]

Put a shop vac on the fill port. The vacuum in the tank will keep oil from commong out when you pull off a filter, or even the drain plug.

Nice, I will try that.

 

[DivineL39]

I spent almost 9 months looking for my original owner, exceptionally low hour, L48 TLB.
I eventually got lucky!
Somebody will get lucky again...I'm pushin 80.
My original 1st choice was the JD 110 TLB, but the cracked casting history there scared me off.

Thats funny,
I almost bought a JD 110. The High flow front hydraulics were very tempting. The hours it had scared me off. Plus with shipping I would have payed more than I did for the Kubota.

 

[fried1765]

Thats funny,
I almost bought a JD 110. The High flow front hydraulics were very tempting. The hours it had scared me off. Plus with shipping I would have payed more than I did for the Kubota.

Shipping was not a concern for me.
I had decided that I could pick a TLB up myself, if it was within 1000 miles.
I have a 14K trailer, so did pick it up. I figure that it cost me $300 for gas & tolls ( I stayed over night with friends).
350 miles each way, and some of it was slow, over winding rural Maine roads.

 

[aczlan]

There is a lot of gear chatter on my L39, Always has been noisy since new but with 2500 hard hours, I'm sure it is louder now than it was when new. The gear chatter & wine is mixed in with the engine and hydraulic pump noise. The noise is not grinding like you would hear with a bad bearing. Some days I worry about it a bit, most times I figure it is part of all those gears going round & round.
Just use 80W-90 synthetic gear oil in place of hydraulic oil in the front axle. My L39 is a bit noisier in 4WD than rear drive, by just a bit.
If the gear noise overpowers the engine noise, then to me that may not be normal, so you ought to have it checked out, but quiet, these tractors are not.
As the tractor seems to work fine, just change all fluids with premium stuff and go do some work.

Our L3830 GST has a gear whine in the high gears (9th through 12th), I think it's just the reduction gears (which I think are straight cut).

Aaron Z

 

[kthompson]

Congratulations on your tractor DivineL39. One point real quick, don't run in four wheel if on paved road or such. Tractors front wheels run little faster than the rear ones (on most tractors but if front wheels are smaller than the rear all of those I think) and doing so will wear the four wheel drive system. It does put the system in a bind. One reason don't understand Kubota not having a four wheel drive engaged light.