Loader Introducing the Kubota Super L45!

[dragoneggs]

Rocks & Rocks

Note i have 750 lbs of inner and outer wheel weights, a 120 lb thmb on hoe, The loater tube s are stuffed wuith 4" dia steel barss and some other reinforcmets, that adda toatal of =1000 lbs to my l39,

Note rear wheels are vety light.

How do you keep rear on ground?

Impressive! I have loaded my little BX to the max with cement retaining wall blocks but have never had the pleasure of picking up something like those! :thumbsup:

 

[Piston]

I'm jealous of your rocks... mine are too many to deal with and up to basketball size. Just a pain in the butt. Can't do much with them.

You can have as many as you want! I buried a whole bunch roughly that size a couple summers ago. It seems you can't dig around anywhere here and not get rocks.

I have about 1,100-1,200 lbs of Rimguard in my rear tires for ballast. I can only get one of my tires off the ground now before my relief kicks in. My loader isn't as strong as the dedicated TLB's are.

 

[lhansman]

Sorry for the delayed response guys but I have been away for a few weeks with little to know internet access.

Thanks for your kind words rScotty. As I think you know I did look at a used M59 because it already had the Laurin cab on it and I definitely wanted a TLB with a cab on my third purchase. There were three reasons I wound up not going that route:

1) The dealer with the used M59 had been advertising it for more than nine months and wanted as much for it with no warranty as a new L45 was going to cost me.

2) The M59 had just over 500 hours on it and I read a series of posts on a here I believe about issues some early M59's had with hydraulic pumps failing. The used machine was from the first year and with new warranty I did not want to have an out of warranty issue with the pumps.

3) Two years previously I had purchased a new fourteen foot 14,000 pound dump trailer to replace my original worn out one and I new if I purchased the M59 I would have to purchase a new trailer too and that just wasn't in my budget at that time. Now the irony is that by the time I foamed the tires on the L45, added the Laurin cab and A/C and then factored in the fact that I almost always take my 12", 24" and 36" hoe buckets with the L45 as well as the 4-in-1 for the front and my forks the new trailer was slightly overloaded. So this year to address that problem I purchased a sixteen foot tri-axle deck over dump trailer with a 21,000 pound capacity so I am no longer overweight when towing the L45 and its accessories.

I certainly wouldn't refuse an M59 as the little bit of playing I did with used one really impressed me with its loader lift capacity. As others have pointed out that is certainly a very large bucket on the loader too and that would have come in handy for me also. However there are a number jobs I do each year where the smaller size of the L45 is the reason I can get in where the guy with Case or other full size machine can't. I think now that I have beefed up the loader lift capacity of the L45 I will be just fine.

Hi Mike

I have not touched the hydraulic pressure setting on the L45 but perhaps I should given how low you say yours was from the factory. I do not have a lot of knowledge about hydraulics and I don't want to damage anything so I have just gone with the factory setting. The next time I have the L45 at the dealer I will ask them to check the setting and let me know what it is.

I had the four tires on the L45 foamed shortly after I purchased it and they told me they installed 932 pounds of foam in the four tires so I figure there is probably an additional 600 - 700 pounds of weight in the rear tires. As you know I also added the Laurin cab to my machine with A/C and I figure that probably adds another 400 - 500 pounds to the rear axle too. I almost always have the 36" ditching bucket with its cutting edge on the hoe and that probably adds an additional couple of hundred pounds.

I have not had enough time to play with heavy weights and the new cylinders yet to see if I will need more ballast but I think I am okay. I know that the rear stabilizers will not lift the back of the L45 like the did originally unless I give them some assistance with the hoe. l have already had some pretty heavy rocks on the loader that I had to pick up high and run like heck to get them in my trailer and the back and has certainly been light but I have never had it come off the ground.

All the best in 2015 all!

Regards,

Lauren

Posted by mike69440:

Note rear wheels are very light. I'd need a heavier built machine to lift more. Front Axle is not up to it, 39 HP is already a lot to move an 8,000 Lbs empty tractor, and hydraulics are set as much as I dare.
Lauren,
How do you keep rear on ground with those new pistons. What did you set your hydraulic pressure? My factory setting was way low, as new it could only lift about 1,500 Lbs, I figure about 2,500 Lbs. now at 2800 psi. (Near 2,000 hours on Tractor)

 

[mike69440]

Re: Introducing the Kubota Super L45! Snow today!

I hate plowing,

Plowing beats up tractor , driveway and snow evetually melts.

Anyways,

You mentionted the rear stablizers can't easily lift the machine. You may have 500 Lbs more to lift than my L39 due to the cab, but My stblizers do lift the machine well and depending on what i have on the machine, its weight vaiews 8000-8300 Lbs.. This leads me to think you are not set at Factorry Max Pressure which if I remember correctly is about 2700 PSI.
There is the mail Pump pressure that you set from a panel in front of the seat then each valve has its own relief.

Sorry for the delayed response guys but I have been away for a few weeks with little to know internet access.

Thanks for your kind words rScotty. As I think you know I did look at a used M59 because it already had the Laurin cab on it and I definitely wanted a TLB with a cab on my third purchase. There were three reasons I wound up not going that route:

1) The dealer with the used M59 had been advertising it for more than nine months and wanted as much for it with no warranty as a new L45 was going to cost me.

2) The M59 had just over 500 hours on it and I read a series of posts on a here I believe about issues some early M59's had with hydraulic pumps failing. The used machine was from the first year and with new warranty I did not want to have an out of warranty issue with the pumps.

3) Two years previously I had purchased a new fourteen foot 14,000 pound dump trailer to replace my original worn out one and I new if I purchased the M59 I would have to purchase a new trailer too and that just wasn't in my budget at that time. Now the irony is that by the time I foamed the tires on the L45, added the Laurin cab and A/C and then factored in the fact that I almost always take my 12", 24" and 36" hoe buckets with the L45 as well as the 4-in-1 for the front and my forks the new trailer was slightly overloaded. So this year to address that problem I purchased a sixteen foot tri-axle deck over dump trailer with a 21,000 pound capacity so I am no longer overweight when towing the L45 and its accessories.

I certainly wouldn't refuse an M59 as the little bit of playing I did with used one really impressed me with its loader lift capacity. As others have pointed out that is certainly a very large bucket on the loader too and that would have come in handy for me also. However there are a number jobs I do each year where the smaller size of the L45 is the reason I can get in where the guy with Case or other full size machine can't. I think now that I have beefed up the loader lift capacity of the L45 I will be just fine.

Hi Mike

I have not touched the hydraulic pressure setting on the L45 but perhaps I should given how low you say yours was from the factory. I do not have a lot of knowledge about hydraulics and I don't want to damage anything so I have just gone with the factory setting. The next time I have the L45 at the dealer I will ask them to check the setting and let me know what it is.

I had the four tires on the L45 foamed shortly after I purchased it and they told me they installed 932 pounds of foam in the four tires so I figure there is probably an additional 600 - 700 pounds of weight in the rear tires. As you know I also added the Laurin cab to my machine with A/C and I figure that probably adds another 400 - 500 pounds to the rear axle too. I almost always have the 36" ditching bucket with its cutting edge on the hoe and that probably adds an additional couple of hundred pounds.

I have not had enough time to play with heavy weights and the new cylinders yet to see if I will need more ballast but I think I am okay. I know that the rear stabilizers will not lift the back of the L45 like the did originally unless I give them some assistance with the hoe. l have already had some pretty heavy rocks on the loader that I had to pick up high and run like heck to get them in my trailer and the back and has certainly been light but I have never had it come off the ground.

All the best in 2015 all!

Regards,

Lauren

Posted by mike69440:

Note rear wheels are very light. I'd need a heavier built machine to lift more. Front Axle is not up to it, 39 HP is already a lot to move an 8,000 Lbs empty tractor, and hydraulics are set as much as I dare.
Lauren,
How do you keep rear on ground with those new pistons. What did you set your hydraulic pressure? My factory setting was way low, as new it could only lift about 1,500 Lbs, I figure about 2,500 Lbs. now at 2800 psi. (Near 2,000 hours on Tractor)

 

[lhansman]

Hi Mike

For a guy who hates plowing snow it looks to me like you have a pretty good grin on your face pushing snow with the L39. Now that I have the heated cab, a nine foot snow blade and my 78" blower I don't mind moving snow at all. I spent a few hours yesterday with my youngest son's help and we lubed and tuned up the snow blower and then removed the hoe and installed the blower so it can snow all it wants now.

With the foam in the rear tires and the weight of the cab I have an extra 1,000 - 1,500 pounds on the back axle I figure which is why the stabilizers have trouble lifting my L45 all the way up I think. I had the same issue with the B26 - the stabilizers lifted the back end fine until I loaded the rear tires and then I had to use the hoe to assist. I am definitely going to get that pressure setting tested though when I have the machine back at the dealer but unfortunately that probably won't be until spring now.

Regards,

Lauren

 

[rScotty]

Sorry for the delayed response guys but I have been away for a few weeks with little to know internet access.
Thanks for your kind words rScotty. As I think you know I did look at a used M59 because it already had the Laurin cab on it and I definitely wanted a TLB with a cab on my third purchase. There were three reasons I wound up not going that route:

1) The dealer with the used M59 had been advertising it for more than nine months and wanted as much for it with no warranty as a new L45 was going to cost me.
2) The M59 had just over 500 hours on it and I read a series of posts on a here I believe about issues some early M59's had with hydraulic pumps failing. The used machine was from the first year and with new warranty I did not want to have an out of warranty issue with the pumps.
3) Two years previously I had purchased a new fourteen foot 14,000 pound dump trailer to replace my original worn out one and I new if I purchased the M59 I would have to purchase a new trailer too and that just wasn't in my budget at that time.


I have not touched the hydraulic pressure setting on the L45 but perhaps I should.....snip.....I do not have a lot of knowledge about hydraulics and I don't want to damage anything so I have just gone with the factory setting. The next time I have the L45 at the dealer I will ask them to check the setting and let me know what it is.
Regards,
Lauren

Lauren, that makes sense to me. I'd probably go with reason number one..... In fact, I almost did. Of all the things, what finally made the decision for me was the way my big feet fit the platform size of the M59 better than the L45. Like you, either way I knew I was going to go with new rather than used this time around.

What I didn't know in 2008 was how much heavy work was looming in our near future. Sept. of 2013 we had a 500 year flood that covered our property with up to 9' of dirt, rock, and rubble and swept away trees and outbuildings. The main house survived. The M59 pulled us and our PU truck with a camper up a rain-sodden hill at midnight so it survived too.

Rebuilding from that flood last year we've come to depend on the extra strength of the M59. So much for all of the careful tractor-buying notes, lists, comparisons, and debates my wife and I agonized over about about which tractor to get....they all missed the point completely because none of them included a 500 year flood happening 4 years later. Better to be lucky than smart I guess.

On your point #2, that turned out to be a rare problem if it happened at all. Time has shown the L45 and M59 are very reliable.
On point #3, I know nothing about that as I don't trailer mine.
At the job site, both tractors fit in tight spaces. BTW, that's not true of our JD310SG TLB. It definitely needs more space.

About the hydraulic pressure. You'll find a different pressure in different places in the system depending on flow rate and how much work the fluid had to do to get there. And being an "open-center" type of hydraulic system means pressure will change depending on how much is being used and the tractor RPM as well.
About the best you can do is pick a place and monitor the pressure there. Doing this couldn't be much simpler: Just undo whatever hydraulic line you choose and insert a hydraulic-rated tee fitting in line right there. The interuption in flow is negligible. Tees are brass or stainless and only about two or three inches long so some sort of tee will always fit. Buy a hydraulic tee; not a plumbing tee. Check you parts manual and be sure to match the thread type for the inline fittings. Now run a small HIGH PRESSURE LINE from the gauge outlet on the tee into either the cab or sticking out somewhere you can see from the cab. Then dead end that line into a 5000 psi liquid-filled pressure gauge. Purge as much air from the line as you can by filling the line with oil before finally connecting the gauge but don't agonize over it. A little air won't hurt.
That's it. Job done. The whole rig won't cost much over $50. Lauren, everything you've done is more difficult than this!

Only choice is which hydraulic line to put the tee into and even that doesn't really matter. You won't hurt anything no matter where you put it. The only difference is in what the gauge will show you. The best advice is that it should go in in a pressure line rather than a return line - and that's just because a gauge in a return line doesn't usually tell you anything useful. Hmmm....it might tell you something about the condition of the hydraulic filter though....but anyway, most folks situate the gauge tee close to where the pressure line comes from the main pump. I haven't put one on the M59 but have on plenty of other tractors. In the past I've tended to put them downstream from the pump a bit. My favorite place is in the main pressure line where it goes into the loader loader control valve just because it is a handy place to access and see and makes for a shorter gauge pressure line. Some loader control valves even have an outlet already built into the valve specifically for a gauge. The older US loader valves did that; not sure about the Kubota though. Putting the gauge on the pressure inlet to the loader control valve lets you see the various working and non-working pressures as the loader operates. Fun to watch!
Luck,
rScotty

 

[lhansman]

Thanks for your suggetions rScotty.

Regards,

Lauren

 

[Kent E]

Could you give an update on how the new rams are performing for you? I would like to make this modification to my L45 as well. the seals keep blowing because we use a large grapple. Do you have any information on the larger rams and where I could get them.

Thanks!

 

[rScotty]

Could you give an update on how the new rams are performing for you? I would like to make this modification to my L45 as well. the seals keep blowing because we use a large grapple. Do you have any information on the larger rams and where I could get them.

Thanks!

In a farming community one just goes to the local hydraulic shop or Ag tractor dealer and asks who fabricates cylinder locally. Most ag areas have a hydraulic repair shop and many of those make cylinders. I've had cylinders made up a a number of times and found the quality to be way higher and prices about the same as the main stream cylinders...sometimes a little less. That approach has worked better for me than trying to order cylinders out of a catalogue by size alone and made noboby knows where.

BTW, from an engineering standpoint, if I was absolutely forced (here it helps to picture an engineer kicking and screaming like a baby) to choose between oversizing the cylinders and increasing the system pressure I'd go with the larger cylinders everytime.

Kent, I don't have a clear picture of why using a grapple should cause the curl cylinder seals to fail. But it might make sense to figure it out and fix that problem that before investing in custom cylinders. My first guess is simply that it needs a bypass valve in the front loader curl circuit like the valve that enables a backhoe bucket to overpower and push the backhoe thumb backwards without damage.
good luck,
rScotty

 

[Kent E]

Rscotty,
I can only surmise that the length of the grapple protrudes so far forward from the pivot point that it creates too much torque on the seals and they fail. beyond that guess I have no clue.