Kubota 3 pt lift arm bent. Repair or replace?

JimHam · May 1, 2016

Was installing Pat's quick hitch on my Kubota and noticed the left 3 pt lift arm angle was different. Didnt notice that when i bought it but now i see that something has hit it hard going out toward the tire. That arm will not come in toward the center as much as the right one and i cant see where it is binding on anything so, pretty sure its bent. Can those arms be bent back to the right angle or is it better to replace? Haven't tried any implements on it yet so don't know if its a problem hooking up. Maybe I'll get lucky and it won't be a problem. Used a broomstick to align the quick hitches and they lined up but the left side quick hitch is definitely canted in more than the right.

5030 · May 1, 2016

Sure it's bent, I've never heard of that and you have basically the same gage lift arms my M9000 has. I'd be checking the lower ball mount and casting first. pretty hard to bend an arm without doing collateral damage.

Wagtail · May 1, 2016

G'day Mate. Personally, I'd replace the arm.

Yes it can probably be straightened, however that arm will always have some metal fatigue at the 'bend' (once when it happened and again when re-bent). The 3PT arms are subject to lifting weight, stress/jarring whilst employing most implements and general vibrations from the tractor.

That's my opinion, anyway.

CalG · May 1, 2016

If it needs straightening, (check against the other one for shape) it may be less costly to purchase a new or used replacement.
labor does not come cheap these days.

But if it were mine, and I was "wondering" if the arm were bent, I would just keep using it until something evident and drastic occured.

It's a tractor, things don't need to be perfect, and stuff fails and wear out all the time.

JimHam · May 2, 2016

Good input, I am going to look into it a little further before taking any drastic action.

5030, I sure hope it's not damage to the casting but that makes sense with the leverage an impact would have on the mount. Won't get to my property until Labor Day weekend but i'll definitely be checking the mount.

Planning to do some pretty heavy box blade work with this tractor so hoping it's not structural damage but something repairable or minor that i can live with.

oosik · May 2, 2016

Try an implement and check the lower ball mount on the bent arm. If the arm still swings free with the implement attached - all should be well. If the arm "bottoms out" at the ball mount - either swinging in or out - then I would consider purchase of a new arm.

If its the lower ball mount that is damaged - you could be lucky and have one like mine. The lower ball mount is replaceable on mine. Its bolted to the bell housing with four heavy duty bolts.

Xfaxman · May 2, 2016

Sounds like it is not bent very much, so I would straighten it. But I have a hydraulic press, so it would be easy. :thumbsup:

sixdogs · May 2, 2016

Probably not bent much. I would remove it and pound flat with a big hammer and an anvil. If that was not satisfactory you could then consider replacement but I'll bet you can pound flat. Probably easy fix.

xtruckerbob · May 2, 2016

Somehow I bent the lift arm on my L2600 it had a 3 inch kink in it. I took it off and placed it between 2 anvils and beat on it with a 10LB sledge till I got it to match the other. That was 4 years ago it still works great.

5030 · May 2, 2016

xtruckerbob said:
Somehow I bent the lift arm on my L2600 it had a 3 inch kink in it. I took it off and placed it between 2 anvils and beat on it with a 10LB sledge till I got it to match the other. That was 4 years ago it still works great.

Your L series and our M series tractors are night and day different. The lift arms and all the 3ph parts are much,. much heavier. The M series is built for ground engagement as in dirt farming. Your L series isn't. Yours is 'occasional use', ours is serious use.

Not slamming your unit, it's just the M series is bigger and stouter.

2458n · May 2, 2016

If I was going to bend a lift arm, I would unhook one side and keep dragging the disk, box blade, or scraper. Other wise I would think it would be hard to do.

5030 · May 2, 2016

The arms on the M's are pretty stout. I've had an interference fit between the lift arm and my backup haybine before and all it did was bend the pto input shroud on the haybine and bring me to an abrupt stop...

the old grind · May 2, 2016

CalG said:
... But if it were mine, and I was "wondering" if the arm were bent, I would just keep using it until something evident and drastic occured.
It's a tractor, things don't need to be perfect, and stuff fails and wear out all the time.

I suggest that such a bend will least affect draft work of any use, and that one could simply adjust the balls to position for the PEC and see what's up.

I also agree that Cat-2 arms would hardly be easy to straighten compared to our Cat-1 stuff, or a good investment in time & effort to DIY. (I used 20-T press for the NH CUT's same 'fix', .. just enough there, btw)

Tweak for implement hookup and carry on.

sixdogs · May 3, 2016

The guys here are right and went out and looked at my "M" and compared it to my "L" Kubota. The m is much stouter and you likely would need a press to straighten it. A welding or farm shop could easily do that for you if you couldn't. Even so, I would lay flat on a big anvil if you had one and whack it with a sledge hammer. It may "bounce" up when you hit it so be careful.