Kubota "L" series rear remote, the hard way.

[Steve in MT]

Its a true fact that some people should never be left alone with their thoughts. Now arm this person with welders, torches, grinders and sharp pointy objects and the out come could be anything from fantastic to outright disaster. I am that person and theres a pretty good chance that if your reading this, then your a member of the same club. There is some very good info here on TBN and else where on how to add a rear remote to a Kubota "L"series tractor. Every one of these that I've seen requires running a hydraulic hose from the loader valve all the way back to a ROPS or fender mounted remote valve, a power beyond hose run to the hydraulic block and then putting a "T" in the block for a tank return. This is a fairly quick, simple and dirty way that just plain flat works. BUT,,, being left alone with my thoughts for too long led me to a different way to add a rear remote valve but with the same end results. Todays victim is my Kubota L3400 that will need a rear remote to power a post hole auger down pressure attachment (that is my next project)
I've been staring at that empty optional draft control slot and decided that would be a good place to install a valve. I bought a Prince "MB" series single spool valve from Surplus Center. It's a nice compact valve and has an 8 GPM flow rating.



Step one , remove the rear wheel ,fender, and the 3 point housing cover/floor board thingie.



Holding the valve up against the fender bracket showed that the welded on fender nut is a good fit for one of the valve mounting holes.



However, that nut needs to go.



A second hole was drilled in the fender bracket for hole number 2 (that all most made sense) Then I made a vertical tab for the 3rd valve mounting bolt, welded it to the fender bracket and splashed a little paint on it.



A little paint on the valve and bolt it into place.



OOPS, the dull pointed lever isn稚 going to screw into the valve through the slot. So, while digging through the bolt bin for 3 proper spacers, I found this whizzy coupler nut. I cut the head off of a bolt and welded the coupler nut to the bolt, problem solved.



Continued on the next page, wait for it.

 

[Steve in MT]

Next up is what to do for a tank return line. I’ve been staring at this plate wondering what its for. Internet research said that it is for mounting the optional draft control valve. Nowhere could I find a hydraulic flow chart for this tractor.



Lets take this plate off and see what’s behind it



The rear port (left) is drilled into the housing about an inch and then cross drilled all the way to the top front of the rock shaft housing, nothing useful here. The front port (right) turns out to be a straight shot right to the top of the transmission gears. This port measures dead on 3/8in. Hmm, same size as the I.D. of all the hydraulic hoses. BINGO, I’m going to make some use of this port. I dug up a nice chunk of 3/8 plate to make an adaptor. Plans are to weld a 3/8 pipe coupler to the face of the plate. The inside of the coupler is way bigger then the port so I took a die grinder with a burr bit to make the port sort of funnel shaped . A large drill bit would do the same thing. This way there are no sharp edges that might restrict the oil flow




Continued on the next page, wait for it.

 

[Steve in MT]

Now I need to find a place on the tractor to tap into for a high pressure in and a power beyond port. I would like to mention that I have a degree from the Red Green Skool of “Resourceful Repurposing” and was able to use that knowledge in the next step. This is a picture of the hard line that feeds pressure to the 3 point. I’m going to remove this line, cut a short section out of it, and add a pair of JIC fittings to it. Here goes.



This is a picture of a “Resourced” hydraulic line.




I cut the JIC blocks off of two of these, drilled the tubing out of them and then brazed them to the 3 point hard line. Unfortunately, I forgot to take some pictures during this process but you’ll understand from the pictures. Used hard lines can be resourced from tractor shops, hydraulic shops and tractor wrecking yards should you decide to go this route. For those that like the easy non Red Green way, flared and flare less compression fittings are available. I welded a short piece of 1/2in square bar stock between the 2 JIC fittings to keep the hard line in one piece.



Pictures of the line installed.



Continued on the next page, wait for it.

 

[Steve in MT]

The final chapter, promise. The method that I used to add a rear remote will work on the Kubota “L” series basic tractors like the L2800, L3400, and L4400 and others. This method might also be used on different brand and models, it just depends on what your tractor lay out is like and you’ll have to look for yourself.
Any ways, enough of the blah, blah, blah, time for more pictures. Any questions? Ask away.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Very good. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

As a side note, the down pressure hydraulic for a PHD is a single acting unit with pressure reliefs so as not to damage anything. Need to keep that in mind if you didn't already know.

 

[Steve in MT]

Brian, yep, got that one figured out. I ordered a transmission oil fill cap from Kubota. It's made from alluminum and has a 3/8 female pipe taped in the center of it. Pretty much all I need to do there is screw the cap into the fill spout and run my return hose into it. When finished with it, remove the alluminum cap and hose and put the factory fill cap back on. Thanks for the thumbs up
Steve

 

[J_J]

That three bolt cover plate on the side of the tractor I believe is for an optional hyd outlet.

Isn't one of the ports pressure and the other return to tank?

I believe this is how Kubota dealers add hyd to the back for implements that have there own valves like log splitters, post hose diggers, etc.

So if you uses the factory adapter plate,you should have been able to just add some short hoses and QD's for implements to just plug into.

 

[Steve in MT]

J.J.
The Kubota parts site (Kubota Tractor Corporation - Parts List) shows a optional draft control valve. This valve bolts directly into place on the side of the rock shaft where I removed that plate. There is not a factory adaptor plate to add a rear remote to the side of the rock shaft housing. I could not find a hydraulic flow chart anywhere that would show me how the draft control works. I am pretty positive that I cannot use the so called pressure port on the rock shaft and that is why I split the 3 point feed line. I was able to use the return to tank port and am pretty happy about that. I looked at the Kubota add on rear remote kit and it is basically set up the same way as what most every one else does. The set up that I did keeps the lengths of all the lines to a minimum and I didn’t need to mess with the loader valve or the hydraulic manifold (the one mounted under the floorboard next to the hydraulic filter) As I said, my way is the hard way and is nothing more then a different way to add a rear remote to an L3400 tractor, I just wanted a cleaner way to do it. Did I succeed ? Thanks for your comment.
Steve

 

[J_J]

You did good with your project.

A lot of people are not qualified to cut and weld hyd fittings, and resort to the correct fittings and hoses.

You didn't mentioned PB, but did you use a PB adapter to feed the 3pt?

Perhaps you installed the hex screw in the other port as specified in the prince MB valve PDF.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...=IK25Ls_co60-JFNllYZmwA&bvm=bv.46340616,d.eWU

 

[Rustyiron]

Nice job & good post!:thumbsup:

 

[Steve in MT]

Thanks for the kind word guys. J.J., thanks for catching me on the power beyond, guess I forgot all about that, also thanks for posting the PDF on the prince valve, I saved a copy. I didnt figure that there would be very many people here that had the equipment to cut and braze their own fittings so thats why I mentioned about flared and flareless fittings. I simply used what I had on hand and it works fine. O.K., power beyond.
Yes I used the power beyond port, otherwise the whole thing wouldnt work. Looking at the first picture you can see a hose in the top of the valve. This is the power beyond that feeds the 3 point.



And this is the hard line that I butcher,,, I mean cut and spliced that feeds the 3 point. The bottom line is "power in" to the new valve
and the top line is "Power beyond" to the 3 point. I really couldnt get in close enough to take hose routing pictures so if any one needs to know something, let me know.
steve

 

[Rmart30]

Very neat and clean install. Do you have the part # for the Prince valve ? I see a couple of different ones listed.

 

[Steve in MT]

Here ya go, got an itch to try something like this? I should also mention that I rotated the handle assy 90deg for this install. Easy to do, take out 4 screws, twist handle housing, reinstall 4 screws.

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=9-7861&catname=hydraulic



Steve

 

[Rmart30]

I will be ordering one of the valves for mine... I work on construction equipment and have come up with a used electric solenoid/valve set up I was going to use with a toggle switch control to make it a clean hidden install. But after seeing your with the handle using the existing draft slot I like it. I will probably save the electric set up and use it as a front aux for a grapple etc.

 

[Chilly807]

I like it too, very nice job. Mine is plumbed the traditional way, off the loader valve. I like the way you used the existing slot for the lever. I might do something like this with mine in the future, although I've got so much already in it I'll probably just leave it as is.

Thanks for posting the procedure pics, it's nice to see a different approach to the problem.

On another topic, I'm getting ready to start my quick attach for the loader soon, so I might be picking your brain on that one. I think the thread on that project has died out.

Sean

 

[Steve in MT]

Rmart30, If I'm correct, you have an L4600????? I'm not sure what the flow rate is on that machine but its not like a rear remote needs a bunch of flow like a loader. Seeing that you work on construction equipment then that means that you probably have a tool box drawer full of hydraulic fittings and the such to do a rear remote install. The L4600 might have enough room to add a 2 spool valve in the same basic location? I really dont have a need for a 2 spool valve, but do have a need for the single spool. If you do this, take lots of pictures and come back.
Chilly, your back, havent chatted with you in a while. I forgot that you were going to build a quick attach. Summer is all most here, time to head back to the shop and get that done. Need some brain picking ? No problem, just let me know. I Finely got the chance to start building another bucket for the tractor. This one will be for picking rocks this summer, look for it in the "Build it yourself" some time soon.

Thanks for the kind words guys.
Steve

 

[1savoy]

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the great write up with all the pictures. I really like it. I love your creativity. I have had thoughts of putting a valve down in the same general area on my L3800. I wil be stealing some of your ideas when I do this. I have a four spool sectional Gressen valve I bought years ago for a different project that never got used. It is brand new in the box and got it for a great price. Was suprised nobody was bidding on it. I have had thoughts of turning two of the spools into the loader controls if I decided I want the joystick off the loader frame. Don't know why I would do that other than a fun project. I have the backhoe subframe on mine which leaves a big area underneath between the subframe that seems like a good spot to mount the valve and protect it with a skidplate if needed. Thanks again for the great post.

Russ

 

[Gordon Gould]

Very nice install. Thanks for posting.

 

[Steve in MT]

Again, thanks for the kind words. Russ, glad you liked the build. So, replace your 2 spool valve with the 4 spool valve on the loader frame. Joystick the first 2 spools to run the loader and bucket, individual sticks on the next 2 spools, 1 to run aux to the loader (grapple?) and the 4th to run a rear remote? or run 4 hoses to the rear for 2 rear remotes? I like that idea.
Steve

 

[Rmart30]

Rmart30, If I'm correct, you have an L4600????? I'm not sure what the flow rate is on that machine but its not like a rear remote needs a bunch of flow like a loader. Seeing that you work on construction equipment then that means that you probably have a tool box drawer full of hydraulic fittings and the such to do a rear remote install. The L4600 might have enough room to add a 2 spool valve in the same basic location? I really dont have a need for a 2 spool valve, but do have a need for the single spool. If you do this, take lots of pictures and come back.

Steve

Yes, I have a L4600 and hydraulic fittings aren't a problem. I have a portable hose crimper on my service truck and can make any hose I need also.
I will probably stick with a single spool set up for now for rear remotes. If I add another it will be for a grapple and it wouldn't be left on there all the time... if I had to I could get by with just rear remotes and run grapple hoses back to there.
Building skid plates is priority over everything right now. Everything on the bottom is way too exposed for what Im using the tractor for .