4WD/2WD Lever Slips Out

3RRL · Oct 31, 2005

My KAMA 554 slips out of 4WD occasionally. The 4WD works great and the gears mesh just fine, but I was told there is a detent to keep the lever in either 2WD or 4WD. I could not find the adjustment, so I machined a bracket that bolts on top of the transmission.
It has a sliding adjustment bar that can be tightened to keep the lever in either 2WD or 4WD and works great. I have had no problem with the tractor coming out of gear since.

Highbeam · Oct 31, 2005

That looks great. I would have just wired it back.

3RRL · Nov 1, 2005

Highbeam,
This way I can change it form 4WD to 2WD with a twist of a knob. Glad you like it.
Thanks.

Soundguy · Nov 1, 2005

Some fords with bad tranny waer.. or worn bearings in the pto use a bunji cord to keep the tractor in 1st gear while going down a hill, or keep the pto engaged.. etc.

Soundguy

PineRidge · Nov 1, 2005

Nice looking piece of work.

JRP · Nov 3, 2005

Is your tractor under warranty?

My Kubota would slip from 2nd into neutral when going up a hill and releasing the throttle. This was on a new tractor. Kubota replaced a string of gears in the tranny, no charge. I could not be more happy at how well Kubota supported this warranty problem.

Overall, if it is under warranty, this should be fixed.
If not, your fix is a cost effective one. Great idea.

Syncro · Nov 3, 2005

Boy that really is a nice piece of work. Did you machine the part from a solid block of AL? How did you do the raised letters?

3RRL · Nov 3, 2005

JRP...
Yes it's still under warranty but my dealer is in MO. He has shipped me replacement parts for a broken lower link pin and recently some electrical components that have malfunctioned. However, when I asked about the electrical, he was not too helpful so I did the old Voltmeter thing and checked everything myself.
I'm in CA and he's in MO so it's not likely I'll be taking it to him. I'm pretty handy with mechanics and if I can get the parts I'll just put them in myself, knowing then it's done perfect, or not. When I decided to buy from him I knew that I would have to deal with that problem. After the warranty I fully expect to machine my own replacement parts.

Synchro...
Thanks for the compliment. The raised letter just turned out that way when I stamped them in. That unit is machined from a solid (billet) piece of Aluminum 60-61 T6 grade. Had a bunch of it lying around I used for fixtures for my other machine projects and turned that piece into something useful. Here's a picture of the other side showing the adjustment knob that slides forward or backward.

JRP · Nov 4, 2005

Rob,

I see you are a machinist. On my transmission there is a shaft with three detent notches milled with the side of an end mill. A spring loaded ball bearing drops in the notches to provide the three slider positions. Kubota instructed the dealer to send this shaft to a local machine shop and have the detents milled 0.010" deeper. This may have been the main problem. Hope this helps or gives you ideas,

3RRL · Nov 18, 2005

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( On my transmission there is a shaft with three detent notches ...Kubota instructed the dealer to send this shaft to a local machine shop and have the detents milled 0.010" deeper.)</font>

It could be the problem. The spring loaded plungers and detents should be set up according to the load imposed. There are charts for setting up this relationship and there are various spring rates too. Or, the plunger may have backed out from it's original position? The plungers are usually secured with a ny-lock insert, but I try to use a lock nut or screw instead.