BX2200 Questions

[rlk]

Earlier this week, I had an opportunity to test a BX2200 at a local dealer. I had a few problems during the test. Since the salesman that was with me was not very familiar with the BX2200, there may be simple explanations for the problems. It was extremely cold that afternoon so neither one of us spent a lot of time pouring over the tractor. The problems I experienced are:

1. The lever that engages the mid PTO was very difficult to move into position. I tried several times, as did the salesman. Finally, after exerting a tremendous amount of force, we were able to move it into position to engage the mid PTO. Is there a trick to moving this lever, like pressing down or pulling up prior to moving? I did not try to move it into position to engage the rear PTO. Considering the amount of force required, my wife would not be able to engage the PTO.

2. When going forward, with the mower all the way up, occasionally I would hear a noise like the mower deck was rubbing on the rear wheels. Each time I heard the noise, I looked down, but never saw the deck hitting the rear wheels. Is this noise common? There may be an adjustment to move the deck forward, but the wind chill was so bad that I did not look around too much for one.

3. The round knob that adjusts the 3 point hitch speed could not be turned. Again, there may be a trick, like pushing it in or pulling it out prior to turning. The salesman did not know how to operate it.

4. When shutting off the engine, prior to the engine stopping, it would vibrate heavily and rattle the hood. You could feel the engine vibrating through the seat and hear the hood rattling. Earlier I had opened the hood and may not have secured it properly and that may explain the rattle, but I don't understand the engine vibrating so much when shutting down. Has anyone else experienced this?

Other than the above mentioned items, I liked the machine.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

AS FAR AS THE HOOD RATTLE I HAD TO ADJUST MINE A LITTLE BIT BY BENDING IT IN AT THE BACK
WHERE THE RUBBER PADS ARE SO THEY WOULD TOUCH METAL .I HAVE READ ALOT OF POSTS ABOUT THIS
PROBLEM.AS FAR AS THE PTO YOU HAVE TO PUSH IT OUT AND THEN DOWN IT HAS A SAFTEY CATCH KINDA
OF THING. MOWER DECK DOES HIT THE FRAME WHEN IT BOUNCES BUT IF IT IS ALL THE WAY UP TIGHT
IT'S OK. I HAVE 26 HOURS ON MINE IT IS A 2200 WITH A 54 INCH MOWER DECK I ALSO HAVE THE FRONT LOADER IT'S WORKS GREAT. IN ALL I LIKE MY MACHINE THERE IS NOTHING PERFECT IN THE WORLD
SO GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT AGAIN IN A WARM ENVIRONMENT.GOOD LUCK

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I test drove the BX2000 this week. The dealer told me about the rattle at idle before we stared it up, so it must be common. The 60 inch deck didn't make any noise when fully up driving around the gravel lot. The speed knob turned, but I didn't try the pto. I think I'm going to get it.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I haven't shut down a BX yet without hearing the infamous hood rattle. I have had too much to do lately, when I am all caught up (uh-huh...) I'll probably check into some universal hood insulating pads and see what I can do with mine.

 

[GeorgeH]

I've had my BX2200 since early may. I bought it with the front loader and 60 inch mid-mount mower deck. I recently added a befco 60" rear blade. The first week I had it the litte red pedal cover on the differential lock disappeared. I was not too surprised. It was too loose to begin with. At about 50 hours the fuel tank started to leak, as I had been following the posts on this board I was not too concerned because I knew Kobota would stand behind their product. They did. The dealer came and picked up the machine, replaced the tank and modifed the three point hitch, (after I showed him the service bullitin I had downloaded from this forum). The only major suprises I have had relate to the overall performance of this little mule. I am the only guy at work who looks forward to mowing his grass. I've pushed over small dead trees, dug up small stumps, moved literally tons of dirt, and some pesky rocks that have lain around this property for years. Seems like I can always find something new to do with this little rascal. I used to take a beating mowing with my John Deere 212 w/ 48 inch mower, when I wasn't replacing belts, bearings, piston rings, etc. I sure didn't look foward to mowing with it, it just got the job done. I didn't go looking for anything else to do with it. Overall I'm pretty happy with the BX. Color me ORANGE.


George

 

[msocko3]

I have a BX1800, it also has the BX hood rattle and shakes when you shut it down. I have the 60" mid mount mower and the only noise I get is when I have it in the full up position it will at times strike a metal pad on one of the lift arms when I hit a bump, it seems that the right side is the one that does all the banging, I've gotten in the habit of not raising it all the way. I have 51 hours on mine, had the fuel tank replaced by the dealer in at my home, I've been tickled pink with the dealer service and the tractor, could have bought a larger tractor, just couldn't justify the extra cost when the little BX will do what I need it to do.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Rik,

Here are my version of the answers to your questions. I have about 35 hours on my BX2200.

1. PTO Lever hard to move - you have to push the lever sideways to get around a deliberate block in the front-back movement. No accidental PTO engagements while getting on or off the tractor with this added safety check.
2. Mower rubbing on wheels - never noticed this one. There is a very tight clearance on mine, so maybe it is possible on other units. I do have a metal-on-metal hit when going too fast over bumpy ground and the deck fully raised. Go slower.
3. Round knob adjusting 3pt hitch lowering speed would not turn - haven't played with that adjuster. Are you sure you're turning the lowering control? That is the handle that points straight forward from under the seat.
The cutting height adjustment knob is on the sheet metal coming up from the floor in front of the seat. I have to completely raise the mower deck before I can turn that adjuster.
4. Hood rattles on shutdown - yup! Kubota misdesigned this, or the production line tolerances are poor. I bought some rubber stick on dots, sold to go under lamps and such. By trial and error I found where to put them on the bottom surface of hood so the hood fits tightly when latched. NO rattles anymore.

I have found the 2wd-4wd lever and the "High-neutral-Low" shifter levers to be touchy about engagement. A little fwd/rwd on the foot pedal lines the gears up so you don't have to force either lever.

Great machine. You'll be inventing work around the place to have an excuse to use it. The local dealer's service mgr said he sold eighteen and no one has come back with a problem. (Other than fuel tank recall and the 3pt hitch sizing and mower bolt torque service bulletins.)

...Rich S.

 

[rlk]

I went to a different dealer this afternoon. He did not have a BX2200 with a mower deck on it, but did have a BX1800 with a mower mounted. I test drove it to see if the problems I mentioned in my original post existed on a different machine.

1. The PTO on this machine operated with much less effort than the BX I tested earlier.

2. When the mower deck was raised, there was no sound made like the deck was hitting the rear wheels. I did not drive over any bumps, so don't know if that produces a sound, like some others have suggested.

3. The round knob that adjusts the 3 pt hitch speed operated very easily.

4. This engine also vibrated when shutting down, but not nearly as much as the BX2200. There was some hood rattle, but if you press down on the hood and shut the engine off, there is little to no rattle. Like others have suggested, some padding needs to be added in a few places to reduce this noise.

All in all, I am very impressed with the BX series. I feel a lot better now that I have tried another one and did not experience any significant problems. Apparently the first dealer had not set up his unit correctly, or since it is on display, perhaps it has been played with so much that things have kinda gotten out of whack. I'll be thinking about purchasing one over the weekend, and will probably call one of the dealers Monday morning to confirm a purchase.

The dealer with the best price had the least knowledgeable salesman. The dealer with the highest price had the best salesman (the owner). Since there is roughly $1050 dollars difference in price on the 2 BX2200s, it will be a tough call deciding which one to buy from.

Thanks to all who responded to my post, both in this forum and to my email address.

 

[msocko3]

You may also want to check the BX1800 pricing, I looked at both and found not enough difference to warrent the at that time $750.00 price difference between the 1800 & 2200. I don't believe there is anything that the 2200 will do that tha 1800 won't do, when you look at the owners manual to compare recommended attachement sizes you find they both take the same. Kind of leaves me wondering why Kubota made both when one doesn't do anything more than the other one. The PTO hp isn't even that much greater, if I remember correctly it is about 2 hp more on the 2200, not worth the extra $$$ in my book. I figure with the extra $750 I saved, I can buy a rotary cutter.

 

[watersjj]

I believe the difference in HP between the BX1800 and 2200 is supposed to be 4 hp. I have the 2200 and it was only $400 difference in the price between the two. I felt the extra PTO hp might be needed down the road somewhere. I am satisfied with my tractor after initial bugs were worked out concerning leaking fuel tank and sticking HST control.