About to service tractor; advice appreciated

[attala cruiser]

About to service my MX 5100 for the first time. (solo) Dealer preformed first 50 hr service and I can not afford the costs of the dealer coming out to change oil and filters....Would appreciate any helpful tips or advice when going at it alone.

 

[Transit]

Follow the maintenance manual and torque all the bolts.

 

[TripleR]

Sit down and go over your manual a couple of times then gather all of your fluids and tools and plenty of paper towels. I also often use disposable rubber gloves.Concentrate on one thing at a time and don't get overwhelmed looking at it as a whole. Do not become intimidated. Regular maintenance on these things is simple, my wife and I do ours.

You might check Messick's website as they have information on service such as this on the L40 Series.Kubota L-40 Series Service

Sorry I couldn't be more specific as I have an L and M, but not a MX. Good luck.

 

[9973720wb19]

1) go through the owner's manual Maint. section page by page and make a list of all the tasks - I use an Excel spreadsheet. Use this form as a checklist as you go and perfrom the tasks in that order. I have a complete list developed from the manual, but you may not need to do every item. When done, using the form, check off what you did, put the date, the cost, and hours on the tractor. I use this from as a history of my maint. as well as a list of task to perform.
2) lay out all the tools, parts, and fluid you'll need a day prior - this will save you a lot of time and to make sure you can finish the job because you're not missing anything. As you gather items, re-check the part numbers with your manual, on-line, and from the current parts on the tractor.
3) for your first time, allow more time than you think you need and take your time. The checklist from will only show what you need to do next, keep the manual handy and re-read it before each task.

 

[CajunCurr]

I was in the same boat as you when it was time to do my 50 hours on my B series. It really is not that bad. Just make sure you can put the hydraulic oil back in without rigging up a funnel and hose. I drained everything then went to put in the oil and released that the fill plug is located far enough under the seat that a hose and fuel was needed to pour the oil in. I bought the 2.5 gallon oil and could not pour it in like a quart.

One other item. In my manual it states that if PTO is weak or does not work after changing the oil then air my be in the lines. All you have to do is turn the steering wheel. (Strange but works) Another member just recently had this problem after changing his hydraulic oil. I am not sure if it applies to a MX series.

 

[attala cruiser]

Thanks for those tips...

 

[attala cruiser]

One other thing, Would it be better to use Kubota oil and Hydrolic fluids? Using OEM Kubota filters.

 

[bilrus61]

I'm disabled and in a wheelchair and me and my 76 year old mom service our Kubot L5040 and B3030 by ourselves. We would never dream of calling the dealer! Ok enough chest beating........allow yourself plenty of time. If you have to be somewheres at 4 don't start it at 3. Give yourself at least 3 hours of clear worry free time. Hast makes for mistakes.

Park your tractor on a level area so you get complete drainage and a correct reading on the dip stick when your filling it.

The drain plugs/bolts under our Kubotas have washers on them that can come free as in like regular washers on any bolt. Sometimes these washers stick to the tractor, sometimes they stick to the bolt and sometimes they come off free on the bolt. Be aware of the washers and make sure they are with the bolt and back on the bolt when you put it back in.

I don't use gloves I just give in and let the oil get on my hands and shower afterwards.

Lots of paper towels as stated.

Split it up. If your doing engine oil and filter do that one day and the transmission fluid and filter another. (actually if the engine goes well you can then decide to tackle the trans).

The bolts are metric. Get a very good fitting socket and use a ratchet, set to unscrew, to unscrew the bolt. Otherwise you might be under there trying to turn the bolt the wrong way. Never has happened to me of course.....

A assistant is a great help. When your under there if you can just stick your hand out for a towel, screw, whatever it makes it faster and easier.

Make sure your drain container holds enough so that there isn't a overflow.

Let it drain a long time. It helps if the oil is a bit warm. I like to pour some clean oil into the fill hole and let it run out. I think that helps flush out some of the old oil.

Take the used oil to your local Kubota dealer for recycle. Never pour it in a sinkhole or send it off to the dump! <<~~~~~~DO THIS!!

Put some clean oil on the filter rubber seal. I sometimes pour some oil in the filter before I screw it on. Hand tighten only! If you use a tool to tighten the filter you'll have a heck of a time getting it off later.

After its all done start the engine and run it a few minutes. Then check the oil level again and top off if needed. Don't overfill. Keep it at the level reccomened on the dip stick.

Enjoy that special feeling of starting a engine that you know now has clean fresh engine oil!.........good luck!

 

[CajunCurr]

One other thing, Would it be better to use Kubota oil and Hydrolic fluids? Using OEM Kubota filters.

That is a strongly debated topic. I used all OEM(10W30, SUDT, and filters). My tractor is small. I only needed 4 qt of oil and 5 gallons of SUDT. The MX is much bigger so the price might be a factor for you. For me the price difference was not worth any warranty hassles.

 

[TripleR]

Might want to verify that your containers don't leak ahead of time.

As to using Kubota fluids, engine oil and hydraulic fluid, there are hundreds of posts on this. I have used them all as long as they are good quality. I am using Kubota now. You can't go wrong with Kubota fluids.