B21 Low Loader Breakout Force
- Thread starter PointyHairedBoss
- Start date
- Views: 4972
troutsqueezer
Veteran Member
You won't find a B21 owner who disagrees with that.
TomSeller
Super Member
Well I looked at the B21 and should be picking it up Tuesday. 1600 hrs and not abused, so it looks like a good deal to me. It was owned at one time by a landscaping company. But about the only concern I have is the backhoe bucket pins have some flex, but from what I can find, the bushings are replaceable and along with new pins it should be like new. The front bucket had an inch of flex, but not too bad.
The guy had started it up to pull it in out of the rain so I did not see a cold start. Do B21s start well? Curious if the glow plugs are needed and at what temperatures.
The guy had started it up to pull it in out of the rain so I did not see a cold start. Do B21s start well? Curious if the glow plugs are needed and at what temperatures.
TomSeller
Super Member
I picked up the B21. When I went to load it, it had a suction leak at the pump intake which was causing the hydro fluid to foam and spit out the little tell tale vent in the back next to the orange fill plug. Simple fix, I tightened the hose clamp and put a few quarts of SUDT and good as new. Owner seemed to want to call off the deal once he saw me find the problem. But too late, already on the trailer. He had not disclosed the problem, money had changed hands, bill of sale signed, so a deal is a deal.
No 3 point arms though. I noticed the 3 pt lever feels like it isn't connected to anything. I don't have my owner's manual yet, but I am sure the 3 pt hydraulics are disconnected with the hoe on. I still would have thought the 3 pt raise/lower lever would have some friction to it. Previous owner never used the 3 pt so I need to buy some arms if the 3 pt system is working. Nice little tractor.
No 3 point arms though. I noticed the 3 pt lever feels like it isn't connected to anything. I don't have my owner's manual yet, but I am sure the 3 pt hydraulics are disconnected with the hoe on. I still would have thought the 3 pt raise/lower lever would have some friction to it. Previous owner never used the 3 pt so I need to buy some arms if the 3 pt system is working. Nice little tractor.
varmint
Elite Member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2003
- Messages
- 2,571
- Location
- Northern Maryland
- Tractor
- Kubota B8200, then a Kubota L3130 HST, now a Kubota L3400 HST
I love it! The guy was willing to sell it, for what we readers imagine was a good deal for you, but when he saw how easy it was to fix the secret problem, he tried to renege. Let's hope it works out for you! Maybe you can find some 3-point hardware from a junked out B21...
TomSeller
Super Member
Yeah, I knew I was taking a risk because when I first looked at it last Saturday he kept saying he didn't want to put any money into it, just selling it "as is". I couldn't find anything wrong with it. Backhoe was strong, loader strong, slight fluid moisture at the backhoe pivot, but I saw nothing to worry about. I figured at $5K it could have a bad hydro and I could still be fine since at 1600 hrs they have been going for $12K around here. One even went for a crazy $17K, approx same hrs but better paint.
My theory is that while loading (bucket forward) the suction line on the pump being elevated was sucking air creating the foaming. Not sure about that but that led me to poke around at the suction line and there is a small radiator style hose partially behind a bracket that seemed to have excess movement. So about 20 min later I had the bracket off and tightened the hose clamp. On and off the trailer a few times and no foam out of the vent tube. When I first saw the foam and shut down the tractor he said that is the "first time I ever saw that". Then he said something about it being messy to keep putting fluid in it when it stops moving, but it "never leaked fluid". So this guy knew full well there was an issue. I then looked around his property and he had some pretty good slopes, so I am guessing when he drove up them the pump sucked in air and created the foam condition spilling out of the vent. When I had it fixed I could see he realized he made a mistake by not having a mechanic look at it. Or maybe he did and the mechanic didn't check the suction hose. As I was leaving he starting saying the tractor was worth more than I paid and sort of stood between me and the door to my truck like we were going to renegotiate. I figured I needed to get out of there and I could tell he figured it would be best to let it go. Made sure the signed bill of sale was in my cab and left. Anyway, filled it back up with fluid as I mentioned and have a nice little TLB.
