FEL R&R tips

[Chief]

I'm kinda new here. Just bought an L245TP with about 160 hrs. on it. It came with an L1200 FEL and 590 mower. I got all the manuals for it, changed oil & filter, fuel filter, air filter looked pretty clean, and trans. oil (cleaned & inspected screen). The L1200 FEL manual did not address installation or removal. It looks like 8 bolts holding it on the loader frame & disconnect the hyd. plate the hoses go to. I purchased a power beyond block with packings that covers and reroutes the oil to the system when the hyd hose power beyond plate is removed. I assume like most other things, there is a smart way and the "other" way to remove this FEL. Anyone done this before or have any tips/suggestions? I was thinking about placing jack stands under the loader frame and backing out after jacking the FEL up an inch or so. The reason I want to remove the FEL is to make the tractor less top/front heavy while mowing on slopes. I also have the Kubota ROPS/Seat Belt Kit on order. Already had a few uncontrolled trips to the bottom of the hill. I am a John Deere man but so far this is a nice little tractor for the money. Only thing or bug I have yet to work out yet is the grinding gears shifting into gear. The clutch free play appears normal but I have yet the check the gap between the release brng and clutch. No matter how long you hold the clutch in, she grinds a bit going into gear; once in gear it will shift between gears OK. Great forum you guys have here! Appologies for making my first post so long.

 

[kubmech]

Hey Chief, welcome. For FEL removal, if you have a good solid beam conveniently located above where you are going to store it, a chain hoist would be the slickest way, espescially if you are going to be R+Ring alot. Otherwise just do what you have to to get it high enough to back out of. After your last 21 years I doubt I have to preach any saftey to you. Sounds like you have the hyd's covered and good call on the ROPS kit. So a 245 with only 160 hours, it must be mint. If it grinds just a touch when initially engaging the gears you may have to live with that till things break in some (kind of wierd to be talking about break in on a 245). A few other things come to mind. Due to the low hours and the age of the tractor you may have some rust built up on the clutch disc, pressure plate and flywheel. Try knocking it off by holding the brakes in Low 1, RPM's at around 2000 and let the clutch out enough for it to slip. Use common sense and do it just enough to clean up the surfaces. Another thought is maybe the pilot bearing is a little rusty or hanging up some, which may loosen up after a few more hours of use. If not, that would require a split to repair/replace. If I remember right I think the book calls for about 3/4-1" of free play in the clutch pedal. You can temporarily decrease the freeplay just to see if it helps. If that does'nt improve things then it's a good possibility that the pilot bearing is hanging up. I'm going to rule out linkage wear and cracked clutch pedal shaft, but you might want to have a look at the linkage to see if anything is bent or if there is an obstruction preventing full pedal travel.

 

[Carl_NH]

Chief,

Welcome to TBN, and just wanted to say I had a L185DT (4WD) with 1200 loader and 600BH. What's the TP designation?

I restored the 185 - disassembled all the parts and can tell you it takes some time to RR the FEL - not something I would want to do on a regular basis. What you might consider is just dropping the bucket off the front to start with, then if needed do the entire FEL.

I also installed a new ROPS and belt. Some tips for that are leave the bolts a bit loose on the rops and have a pilot tool to line up the mounting holes, then when all the bolts are in tighten up the ROPS.

I recall reading another post on TBN that the ROPS price was an installed price from Kubota since there is some liabiltiy involved I surmise. I didn't know this at the time, tho it's something to ask your dealer. I paid $240 for the ROPS setup with belt.

Carl

 

[Chief]

Thanks for the reply and info! Yes, I raised an eye browe too when I saw 160 hrs. I have a friend who sells John Deere, he told me about the tractor. A Meninite (spelling) farmer owned and used it to clean out his barn and mow fence rows. He told him the hours were original and accurate. He traded it in on a JD 4710. Now that is one sweet tractor! Wish my wallet could afford one of those. I just purchased 7 of them for the 101st Airborne Division and am ording 8 more. That eHydro is really nice!



We looked at the clutch and brake pedals, the original paint was still on them as well as the original seat cover. Original tires on the rear and one front.

The L245TP is the turf tire, two wheel drive version of the L245. I downloaded a ROPS/Seatbelt certificate from the Kubota web site and the dealer is ordering it for me. $148 and with shipping comes to $198. He told me that it would be $40 labor to install. So your ROPS cost sounds about right on.

Has anyone looked at the possibility of installing some kind of a spin on hydraulic filter for the trans. oil? The screen in the trans. sump doesn't appear to be able to stop much. An inline filter on the pickup line to the hydraulic pump would be nice.

What are you guys using for trans. oil??? The manual says to use SAE80 but that sounds kinda thick for a hydraulic system. Most dealers I spoke with said to use UDT or Super UDT. For the time being I put some Walmart tractor trans/hyd fluid in it. I will flush that and put John Deere HY-gard in later.

I thought about dropping the bucket off like you said but I think there would still be a tremendous amount of weight on the front axle and the CG very high. I have already skidded the rear tire to the bottom of a long slope 2 times. Only way I was able to stop the tractor was to drop the bucket into the ground. Now I am a "man of steel"! Got the rust stains in my drawers to prove it too!!!

Randy

 

[Carl_NH]

Randy,

Sounds like you got a fine deal on a barely used tractor. Regarding the filter in the line, since mine had a front Hyd pump and BH it had the screen filter and an in line filter on the return side into the tank mounted on the loader frame.

I attached a photo - the tank is on the loader column. I would not think another filter is necessary since this could cause the pump to cavitate and run hot..

I used hydraulic fluid from a local auto parts store, and had no problems.

Regarding the slopes and run away tractors with the 2WD and turfs this can make for an esp fun ride when the grass is wet. You might want to load the rear tires to if not done already. But before you do that I think to replace the inner tubes since the rims for these tractors are hard to find and pricey. (Mine had the rear rims rotted through so had to patch and weld)..

Attach some pics when you can.

Carl

 

[JohnMiller3]

<font color=blue>...What are you guys using for trans. oil??? The manual says to use SAE80 but that sounds kinda thick for a hydraulic system...</font color=blue>

Hi Chief,

Welcome aboard TBN!

The SAE 80 gear oil is equivalent to ~ SAE20 engine oil… each being rated by their own indexes. In emergency wartime use… each can be substituted for the other according to your Army manuals… /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

The same holds true with substituting gasoline for diesel fuel… but don’t tell anybody… /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Again, glad to have you with TBN… /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Charliebrn]

Wait a minute now....I've heard of people substituting KEROSENE or FUEL OIL for diesel, but never gasoline. What gives????

 

[JohnMiller3]

<font color=blue>...What gives???? ...</font color=blue>

Now... I thought someone would question that..! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

It's in a few military manuals... I should have an Army manual kicking around here that has it... /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

When I first saw that... I had to read it a few times to make sure it was correct...

Yep... it's true! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The only time you can substitute gas for diesel is if the engine is specifically designed for it. Military vehicles are designed for just that. There aren't any civilian vehicles of any kind that I'm aware of that can switch fuels. A diesel engine needs the diesel fuel for it's lubricating properties. The engine WILL seize up, along with the injector pump!! I used to be a ASE master certified truck and auto mechanic, so I speak from experience.

 

[JohnMiller3]

Thanks Ray for the clarification... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

You can bet... I'm not gonna try it... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif