Help - kubota l2850 pto lever - kubota newbie

[Robo 52]

The nephew wanted to check the oil levels and backed out the pto pivot pin/bolt, and it dropped down into the trans case. Now pto selector lever won't work and the pto is on all the time.
How to get the pin/bolt up and back in place and tightened without cracking open trans case?

 

[rbargeron]

Re: Help - kubota l2850 pto lever - kubota newbiehttp://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/a

In order to locate the pto shift lever in front of the operator, the linkage is elaborate on these models, and it runs inside the chassis housings. On prior models there was a simple pto lever by your left heel.

The mechanism is shown on the three attached Kub website drawings. The piece that pivots on the removed bolt is likely in the bottom corner of the clutch housing. If it hasn't fallen off, but is misaligned, you might be able to poke/prod it to line up with the fulcrum bolt. Failing that, it might be accessible thru the top (with steering box removed) but the clutch might be in the way. The best access would be to split the tractor. The only good news is it would be an opportunity to replace the clutch, release bearing etc. unless it's been done already. Good luck, Dick B

 

[Robo 52]

Re: Help - kubota l2850 pto lever - kubota newbiehttp://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/a

Thanks Dick. Yes we split it open today. Clutch is 'okay' but we're going to redo it anyway. Biggest news is that the steering knuckle joint was about to disintegrate, so it's a good thing we got in there.
That steering universal is supposed to be a slip-fit, 18-spline onto the upper and lower shafts, right? On this one someone has welded it together. Probably a half-assed repair by PO, I guess.

 

[rbargeron]

No experience with the steering apparatus on these. There's a used outside gearbox here that may be useful if the seller can offer better pictures of the top end of the shaft. There's another one here priced at about half of new.

Did you find your pto linkage pieces? Tell your nephew he's not the first guy to miss the oil level sight gauge further back near that bolt - they're often dirty, discolored or painted over. Take care, Dick B

 

[Robo 52]

Yes once we split it open the PTO. linkage took all of 2 minutes to repair. But the 'silver lining' is that we discovered the two-stage clutch needed to be freed up (probably because of a completely missing top seal on the steering column which would let in rainwater), and the steering knuckle was about to go. So everything happens for a reason.
Passed along your comment to the nephew - he said 'lesson learned - always clean off the machine before you service it!'. He's been mortified since it happened, especially since he's a diesel mechanic with 15 years experience.
Hey, I got free labor on a clutch and steering rebuild! No complaints!
But seriously, who thought that running both the steering shaft and the PTO linkage through the clutch bell housing was a good idea???
And there's a grease fitting on the throw out bearing yoke - where do you get the trained hamster to crawl in and lubricate that?

 

[rbargeron]

Where to put steering parts and all the shifters has plagued tractor designers forever. Especially when trying to placate the gummint with flat floors and handy access. Starting with the grand Lxx10's the front driveshaft now goes thru the clutch housing. It has a somewhat failure-prone seal so splitting tractors to fix cheap parts continues.
:confused3:

 

[Robo 52]

yes, that's why my 1940 9N is still (and will always be, besides the sentimental value - it was my father-in-law's) my favorite tractor. Simple, direct, pleasant, tractable, and as long as you don't expect more than it will deliver it gets the job done, and probably won't kill you in the process. My 3930 is still largely within those boundaries, but the F/NH 1920 and L2850 are whole different animals - the intervening 50 years added a whole lot of cumbersome baubles in the interests of safety and nicety, but really not too much in delivering real utility.
Thanks for all your help, Dick.

 

[rbargeron]

BTW, welcome to TBN - it's a great place to share tractor info.
Another good site is OTT. I'm a member there too and have learned a lot at both. Take care, Dick B.

 

[rbargeron]

........ my 1940 9N is still.....my favorite tractor. Simple, direct, pleasant, tractable, and..gets the job done.....

Agreed - my first tractor was a venerable 8N with a side sicklebar. It pulled a 400 gallon orchard sprayer that had its own 4-cyl engine. The sprayer weighed around 7000 pounds full so the 8N was "fully-engaged" as they say. I added an alternator and 12v battery to help it start, but never did fix the self-oiling brakes. The trick was keeping the tractor in front of the load going downhill.:thumbsup: