First, let me say that I am a woman and at the mercy of mechanics. Bear with me while I explain my story!
I bought a used 4WD diesel Kioti LK3054 (don't know what year it is) about 2 months ago on ebay for $4,000 plus tax. The big selling point for me was that it had only 32 hours on it (according to the ad) and the ad also said it had been stored in a garage for a year or so. I don't normally buy something used on ebay without checking it out in person, but this guy had really good feedback, sells alot on ebay, the tractor looked great in the pictures and the guy said everything was running just fine. He sells alot of tractors and golf carts---liquidations from golf courses.
The seller delivered the tractor for $150, and at that point he did say that it obviously had more than 32 hours (it was VERY obvious, as the pictures looked better than the tractor itself) on it and after we had trouble starting it up, he sort of laughed and said it may eventually need a rebuilt engine. I had already paid and needed the tractor for some grading, as I was getting ready to put a house on 10 acres of raw land. I should have asked for a refund right there, because his ad was obviously misleading. But I didn't.
Anyways, the tractor was rough starting up, but the engine would eventually turn over and then run pretty well once it got going. I drove it around every once in a while getting acclimated to the tractor and it ran pretty good.
I bought it without any implements and when I had a box blade installed by the local Kioti dealer, the hydraulics, which were working without anything attached, did not work well and he said it probably needed a new pump, but it also needed hydraulic oil. He poured some transmission fluid in the hydraulics, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Again, he said he thought the hydraulic pump was bad and also said the tractor was running on only 2 cylinders (it is a 3 cylinder) and the engine will probably need rebuilding. This guy sells new Kioti's and has been trying to sell me one, so because of the progression of events, I'm just not sure about him.
I was able to get the tractor in my storage container, I lowered the box blade and that was it---the hydraulics didn't work and I could not lift the blade back up.
So I called the guy I purchased this from and he insisted the tractor ran fine and probably needed tractor hydraulic fluid, and they should have never put in the transmission fluid. He also said there was nothing wrong with the hydraulics. They would work the same with or without a blade on it. I told him I'm the one who put the box blade down and it never worked again. We also spoke about how rough the engine runs and he suggested getting some "Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant" in the diesel fuel. Then he gave me the name of his mechanic who actually worked on the tractor before he put it up for sale.
I bought the engine lubricant and tractor hydraulic oil. After I poured some of the lubricant in the gas tank, it really helped with the engine starting up. I also drained and changed the hydraulic fluid and the hydraulics still didn't work.
I call his mechanic and he says the tractor wasn't running before it was put up for sale (it had no battery in it) and he replaced the battery and got it running. The ad didn't say it was sitting for a year because it wasn't running, so this seemed misrepresented also. The mechanic came out here (I'm in a remote area), charged me $100 to look at the tractor, didn't seem to be too familiar with it, didn't even bring any tools, and then said he would look up some stuff and get back with me. The next day, he said it could be the pump, he would try something else (can't remember what he said---maybe the oil filter) first and then the pump. I called the Kioti dealer who insisted it was the pump, so I asked him to go ahead and order the hydraulic pump.
After the Kioti dealer installs the pump, he asks me to start up the tractor and it was rough starting as it had been sitting for a while. I told him it will eventually start up and he says starter fluid will help, but he didn't have any starter fluid, so he sprayed WD40 somewhere in the engine. After that, the engine cranked over a bit and then the battery went dead.
I read a bit about starter fluid and find out it actually voids the Kioti warranty if you use it. Not that the tractor is under warranty, but why would a Kioti dealer consider using starter fluid if this is the case!
So, the Kioti dealer lends me a trickle charger and leaves my property. I charge the battery and as soon as I turn the key it clicks and the battery dies again. I called and told him this, and he says the battery may be bad, take it off and get it checked. I take the battery to Wal-mart (Wal-mart brand battery with a date of 4/08 on it). The battery checks out fine. I call the Kioti dealer and he says it is now probably the starter or the selanoid. I call the seller, who says he doubts it very much, because they put a new starter on the tractor before selling it. This is the first I heard of this and the starter really doesn't look new to me. At this point, he also said that he actually put a box blade on the tractor in order to paint the blade and the hydraulics worked fine. The tractor was missing the third "point" when I got it, so I asked him if he actually installed that third point before putting on the blade to paint it and then took off the point. He says "yes, he did that."
Then he said he thinks the Kioti dealer installed the pump incorrectly and "seized up" the engine. But he says take the starter off and get it tested. So, I take the starter to two different auto parts stores and it checks out fine.
Again, I call the seller and he says "told you so" and again says the Kioti dealer seized up the engine when he in installed the hydraulic pump incorrectly.
I spoke with the Kioti dealer regarding what the seller said, and he said he knows what he is doing and the tractor is a piece of junk.
This has all occurred over about a 50-day period as the local Kioti dealer also has another business and it takes him 3 weeks to do anything. He also got a new oil filter but never put it on since the engine stopped after he installed the pump.
In the meantime I got an owner's manual on the tractor and it says if the hydraulics don't work, the oil filter is clogged. The Kioti dealer said that his repair manual said to replace the pump first. I have my doubts that the owner's manual and the repair manual would say two different things. Seems to me he should have put on the oil filter first, but instead he replaced the pump and the oil filter is still not installed. This was over 3 weeks ago. He is too busy to come back right now.
I don't know who to be more angry with. The seller, for misrepresenting the ad and selling this to me, or the Kioti dealer, who is as flakey as the seller. I tend to think the Kioti dealer did something because it was running before he started messing with it, but at the same time, it is not as represented in the ad, although it was certainly running and I drove it around the property quite a bit before the box blade was installed, so I'm not sure how long it would have run if the local guy hadn't worked on it.
I have been trying to set up a meeting between these two guys to hash this out. The seller said he could come yesterday, but never called. I have 10 more days to file a report with ebay. At the very least, I want to leave bad feedback for the seller. I would certainly prefer a refund, but he thinks the Kioti dealer damaged the tractor.
The seller says he has 30 years experience with hydraulics. The Kioti dealer says he has 30 years experience with tractors and has a bit of a reprieve from me because he let me borrow a new Kioti (as a demo) for 8 hours use to fill in the house trenching and for final leveling.
Bottom line, though, both these guys are driving me crazy and I don't know who to believe. Any ideas as to what is going on here and why the tractor isn't running now?
Sorry for the long dissertation. Any help would be appreciated.
I bought a used 4WD diesel Kioti LK3054 (don't know what year it is) about 2 months ago on ebay for $4,000 plus tax. The big selling point for me was that it had only 32 hours on it (according to the ad) and the ad also said it had been stored in a garage for a year or so. I don't normally buy something used on ebay without checking it out in person, but this guy had really good feedback, sells alot on ebay, the tractor looked great in the pictures and the guy said everything was running just fine. He sells alot of tractors and golf carts---liquidations from golf courses.
The seller delivered the tractor for $150, and at that point he did say that it obviously had more than 32 hours (it was VERY obvious, as the pictures looked better than the tractor itself) on it and after we had trouble starting it up, he sort of laughed and said it may eventually need a rebuilt engine. I had already paid and needed the tractor for some grading, as I was getting ready to put a house on 10 acres of raw land. I should have asked for a refund right there, because his ad was obviously misleading. But I didn't.
Anyways, the tractor was rough starting up, but the engine would eventually turn over and then run pretty well once it got going. I drove it around every once in a while getting acclimated to the tractor and it ran pretty good.
I bought it without any implements and when I had a box blade installed by the local Kioti dealer, the hydraulics, which were working without anything attached, did not work well and he said it probably needed a new pump, but it also needed hydraulic oil. He poured some transmission fluid in the hydraulics, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Again, he said he thought the hydraulic pump was bad and also said the tractor was running on only 2 cylinders (it is a 3 cylinder) and the engine will probably need rebuilding. This guy sells new Kioti's and has been trying to sell me one, so because of the progression of events, I'm just not sure about him.
I was able to get the tractor in my storage container, I lowered the box blade and that was it---the hydraulics didn't work and I could not lift the blade back up.
So I called the guy I purchased this from and he insisted the tractor ran fine and probably needed tractor hydraulic fluid, and they should have never put in the transmission fluid. He also said there was nothing wrong with the hydraulics. They would work the same with or without a blade on it. I told him I'm the one who put the box blade down and it never worked again. We also spoke about how rough the engine runs and he suggested getting some "Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant" in the diesel fuel. Then he gave me the name of his mechanic who actually worked on the tractor before he put it up for sale.
I bought the engine lubricant and tractor hydraulic oil. After I poured some of the lubricant in the gas tank, it really helped with the engine starting up. I also drained and changed the hydraulic fluid and the hydraulics still didn't work.
I call his mechanic and he says the tractor wasn't running before it was put up for sale (it had no battery in it) and he replaced the battery and got it running. The ad didn't say it was sitting for a year because it wasn't running, so this seemed misrepresented also. The mechanic came out here (I'm in a remote area), charged me $100 to look at the tractor, didn't seem to be too familiar with it, didn't even bring any tools, and then said he would look up some stuff and get back with me. The next day, he said it could be the pump, he would try something else (can't remember what he said---maybe the oil filter) first and then the pump. I called the Kioti dealer who insisted it was the pump, so I asked him to go ahead and order the hydraulic pump.
After the Kioti dealer installs the pump, he asks me to start up the tractor and it was rough starting as it had been sitting for a while. I told him it will eventually start up and he says starter fluid will help, but he didn't have any starter fluid, so he sprayed WD40 somewhere in the engine. After that, the engine cranked over a bit and then the battery went dead.
I read a bit about starter fluid and find out it actually voids the Kioti warranty if you use it. Not that the tractor is under warranty, but why would a Kioti dealer consider using starter fluid if this is the case!
So, the Kioti dealer lends me a trickle charger and leaves my property. I charge the battery and as soon as I turn the key it clicks and the battery dies again. I called and told him this, and he says the battery may be bad, take it off and get it checked. I take the battery to Wal-mart (Wal-mart brand battery with a date of 4/08 on it). The battery checks out fine. I call the Kioti dealer and he says it is now probably the starter or the selanoid. I call the seller, who says he doubts it very much, because they put a new starter on the tractor before selling it. This is the first I heard of this and the starter really doesn't look new to me. At this point, he also said that he actually put a box blade on the tractor in order to paint the blade and the hydraulics worked fine. The tractor was missing the third "point" when I got it, so I asked him if he actually installed that third point before putting on the blade to paint it and then took off the point. He says "yes, he did that."
Then he said he thinks the Kioti dealer installed the pump incorrectly and "seized up" the engine. But he says take the starter off and get it tested. So, I take the starter to two different auto parts stores and it checks out fine.
Again, I call the seller and he says "told you so" and again says the Kioti dealer seized up the engine when he in installed the hydraulic pump incorrectly.
I spoke with the Kioti dealer regarding what the seller said, and he said he knows what he is doing and the tractor is a piece of junk.
This has all occurred over about a 50-day period as the local Kioti dealer also has another business and it takes him 3 weeks to do anything. He also got a new oil filter but never put it on since the engine stopped after he installed the pump.
In the meantime I got an owner's manual on the tractor and it says if the hydraulics don't work, the oil filter is clogged. The Kioti dealer said that his repair manual said to replace the pump first. I have my doubts that the owner's manual and the repair manual would say two different things. Seems to me he should have put on the oil filter first, but instead he replaced the pump and the oil filter is still not installed. This was over 3 weeks ago. He is too busy to come back right now.
I don't know who to be more angry with. The seller, for misrepresenting the ad and selling this to me, or the Kioti dealer, who is as flakey as the seller. I tend to think the Kioti dealer did something because it was running before he started messing with it, but at the same time, it is not as represented in the ad, although it was certainly running and I drove it around the property quite a bit before the box blade was installed, so I'm not sure how long it would have run if the local guy hadn't worked on it.
I have been trying to set up a meeting between these two guys to hash this out. The seller said he could come yesterday, but never called. I have 10 more days to file a report with ebay. At the very least, I want to leave bad feedback for the seller. I would certainly prefer a refund, but he thinks the Kioti dealer damaged the tractor.
The seller says he has 30 years experience with hydraulics. The Kioti dealer says he has 30 years experience with tractors and has a bit of a reprieve from me because he let me borrow a new Kioti (as a demo) for 8 hours use to fill in the house trenching and for final leveling.
Bottom line, though, both these guys are driving me crazy and I don't know who to believe. Any ideas as to what is going on here and why the tractor isn't running now?
Sorry for the long dissertation. Any help would be appreciated.