B3200 oil drain plug

[mjw357]

Am I seeing things, or are there two drain plugs on the oil pan? Drawing in the manual is not very good.

 

[snpmorgan]

There are two because of the shape of the pan. Due to the front driveshaft needing additional clearance, the pan was shaped in an accommodating manner. If both plugs aren't removed during an oil change, an excessive amount of spent oil will remain in the system. Additionally, the likelihood of overfilling the system with oil will increase. This has been seen in the automotive industry for many many years.

 

[Ductape]

^^ What he said. I pull both plugs when changing the oil (just did it today). There is a hump in the oil pan to make room for the front driveline.... pulling both will allow all the old oil to drain.

 

[mjw357]

Thanks guys. Yeah I figured it out, with the hump for the driveshaft and all. When they paint the whole frame and everything grey it's kind of hard to tell what's a plug and what's not. Manual only calls for one plug, bad technical writing.

 

[kozman]

Glad I read this thread. I decided to do the 50-hour service myself, but the Kubota manual for my B3200 does not accurately describe anything with the photos. I finally figured out that there were 2 oil plugs, not one as the manual says.

 

[AStanton]

I just drain one plug on my B3030 when doing oil changes. It only leaves about 6oz of unchanged oil. Not enough in my opinion to risk stripping or monkeying with two plugs. I intend to do the same with my HST fluid--only drain the middle plug of the three.
This is only my opinion.

 

[jim_wilson]

Are there actually two oil pickups in the pan also? I haven't looked at the engine diagram for the B3200.

Not having two pickups would make having two sumps kind of pointless. The only way you'll every "use" the oil in the un-picked-up sump is by bouncing the tractor around and getting it to slosh out of that area.

 

[kuboman]

The reason for the split sump is the front drive shaft basically goes through the oil pan. This is not uncommon right up to 150hp tractors.

 

[Teikas Dad]

Changed the oil on mine today and I thought it was an interpreter's error on the diagram where it showed an arrow pointing to the drain "plugs". Then I went under the tractor and found there was two. I dropped both of them out to let it drain completely. I was surprised that the plugs were not all that tight from the factory. I made sure I put them back in snug, but not too tight as I didn't want to strip any threads. Does anyone know what the torque specs are for the drain plugs? I changed the oil on my Toyota FJ Cruiser today too and the drain plug on that calls for 30 ft/lbs. I always use a torque wrench when I tighten up the plug just to make sure I don't overdo it. I'd like to do the same on the Kubota.