Kubota L2350 Three Point

[tconnors]

Working with a friend last weekend and using his L2350. Hooked it up to a 3 point bale spear and tried to pick up a bale. Bale measured 4' by 5' diameter.

3 point would not get it off the ground. It seem to go into bypass mode and moved the bale up a little, but not off the ground.

It did not seem that the weight should have been too heavy as front wheels did not even get light.

Is there an adjustment to set how much force is applied to the 3 point lift or is this something we need to take to the dealer?

Regards,
Terry

 

[KennyV]

Terry
The 3pt will lift in direct proportion to hydraulic pressure.
The only thing you should do is check the hydraulic pressure and ONLY adjust it if it is lower than spec. KennyV.

 

[johndeere1kubota2]

Kenny is right.You should verify that you do have adequate hydraulic loop pressure.Do not attempt to adjust without consulting your owners manual or local Kubota dealer for the operating pressure.Also keep in mind that your hydraulic pump is mechanical and you must establish what RPM your tractor should be running at in order to produce the maximum recommended pressure.Also compare what your 3 point is rated for at the hitch in corrolation to what the hay bale weighs with 5' sticking out behind the hitch.
If you say the front tires never seemed to get light on the front end, you could very well have a hydraulic problem. I'm sure you have checked the fluid level and the last filter change. Let me know what you find.....

 

[tconnors]

Thanks to both of you. We were wondering if this was something that we just adjusted, or a setting made somewhere, but in reading your replies, we delivered the tractor to the dealer today to check it out and make any necessary adjustments.

Regards,
Terry Connors

 

[tconnors]

I have resurrected this thread with an update and further questions.

We took the 2350 in to Normangee Tractor and got it serviced and while we were at it, got them to add a set of remotes that hook into the bucket tilt circuit. That way, you can still raise and lower the FEL, but can't tilt the bucket.

This was to allow us to use this small tractor to rake hay and all we needed was to be able to unfold the rake (8 wheel Kuhn) and only one pair of hydraulics is needed for that.

Well, it finally came time to use this little tractor for that, and upon hooking up the hydraulics, come to find out, the hydraulic system does not have enough oomph to unfold this rake.

You can go to the rake and pull on the arms to start it down, then the hydraulics will lower and raise it, but it does not have enough to get the rake arms to start moving, kind of like it has to push it over center to get it going.

Kind of disappointing to say the least. It all seems to come back to the hydraulic system. I guess it is all off one pump and it seems to boil down to the fact that this pump cannot produce the pressure required on either the 3 point, or the FEL.

We did ask Normangee to test the hydraulic system, and they said they did, but now when I call back they admit they likely did not check the pressure like they said they did.

Are we just barking up the wrong tree and rather than spend more money on this little beauty, just sell it and get something that will handle the job?

Any comments or thoughts would be appreciated.

Terry Connors

 

[KennyV]

but now when I call back they admit they likely did not check the pressure like they said they did.



Any comments or thoughts would be appreciated.

Terry the only thing different now then your first post is the date... you still do not know what the hydraulic pressure is, you will need to know what is available to work with. KennyV.

 

[tconnors]

Sorry, I guess I was too brief, trying not to make the explanation too long.

We tried to get the system pressure tested asking if there was a relief valve that was bypassing too early. Normangee Kubota said there was not relief valve to check (which seems strange), but that servicing the system (what we had done last time) would cure the problem. It did not.

When questioned again about the pressure of the system, they are now suggesting that a new hydraulic pump would be needed.

This is not an expense we want to put out if the hydraulic system just can't handle simple loads like we are tying to put on it.

I was looking for guidance from others who may own this model to see if anyone else could shed some light on this problem we are having.

I guess we could find another Kubota dealer, but that would entail a very long trailer ride that we were also trying to avoid.

Any comments would help.

Terry

 

[B2400]

Time to find a new service department. This dealer is either comfortable lying or just not very bright ( or both for that matter!). Your tractor has at least one relief valve and more than likely two, as you have an FEL. You really need someone competent to check this as low pressure will cause the problems you've described, but, too much pressure can be dangerous. Check around your area and I bet you can find someone else to look at it. I just don't think I'd trust them( current Kubota dealer) if they don't know their tractors any better than that!?

 

[steve10391]

I have an L2500 and it will move 5ft bales with no problem. I had to move them up a fairly steep incline and the front wheels would just touch enough to let me steer. I could accelerate hard and ride a wheelie up the hill. Not the smartest move but it was kind of fun. You must have a pump problem.

 

[KennyV]

Terry
Like B2400 stated you have a relief valve, it is SIMPLE to check the pressure... there has to be a shop in your area that can do this, if it is low a change of the shim pack on the relief valve could easily fix your problem, parts a few pennies not necessarily a pump problem.
But as Steve said your tractor should be able to handle it on the 3pt... KennyV

 

[tconnors]

Thank you all.

That was the kind of feedback I was looking for.

We will find a dealer more interested in fixing the problem than fixing their bottom line.

Regards,
Terry Connors

 

[KennyV]

Terry don't forget to post back with the final fix... on this same thread.

 

[banjerpicker]

I have a L2850 which is not much bigger that yours and I have moved some really big hay rolls without a problem, althought I do have to rev up the engine to get the bales as high as I want them before I start to move.

 

[tconnors]

Armed with the knowledge gained here, we went back and talked to one fellow behind the parts desk who over a period of time has proven to be the most helpful fellow in this whole dealership.

He said...simple, get a pressure gauge and measure the output of the pump to the FEL (easiest to do) and if we have at least 2500 psi, then our pump and relief are fine.

If not, his first bet would be to replace the relief valve. He says he does not carry anything to shim it with to change the setting, but a new one is pretty cheap.

We are having a gauge and fitting fabricated now and will check over the weekend.

Terry Connors

 

[tconnors]

Update:
Put together a 5000 PSIG gauge and male hydraulic quick connect. We used the connectors we had made to the bucket tilt and checked the pressure stonewalled against the gauge only (no flow to any device).

We got 1250 psig and up to 1300 with increased RPM.

We checked the other tractor (John Deere) and got 2500 psig up to 2750 with increased RPM.

This clearly is the answer why we are not getting any performance out of the 3 point, loader and remotes.

Now to figure out where the relief valve is located and what it will take to replace it.

Regards,
Terry Connors

 

[KennyV]

Terry , You are on the right track.... half the pressure that is a lot missing.
You should be able to replace the internal parts of the relief valve. KennyV.

 

[tconnors]

Successful Fix!!!

Well, we got the parts for the relief valve as they had to be specially ordered. When we got the exploded diagram there were a couple of washers and several shims of various thicknesses listed that went under the spring to adjust the pressure.

I believe my friend found a specification that 0.1 mm spacer would increase the pressure by 39 psi.

The relief valve in question is located just under the seat on the LHS of the knob to adjust the speed of reaction of the 3 point hitch.

We unscrewed the plug and removed the spring, but the plunger and seat would not come out. We tried snagging it with a wire, needle nose pliers etc. all to no avail.

We then argued ourselves out of replacing those parts as we reasoned that the valve is really a pressure regulating valve and designed to be bypassing fluid most of the time anyway, so washing out of the seat was likely not an issue.

We then started to look for the washers and spacers that should have been under the spring and found there to be NONE.

We followed the exploded diagram, put the washers under the spring first, then did an approximate calculation for the amount of shims we would need, put those in, replaced the spring with a new one even though the new and old spring were identical in length.

Put it back together and tested the system and got around 2250 PSIG to 2300 PSI.

We opened it back up, put in a 0.4 and 0.1 mm shim, reassembled and got 2450 PSI on idle and 2550 psi on increased RPM.

We mounted the 3 point bale spear, went over to the stacks, speared a round bale that we could not lift before, hit the 3 point and lifted it easily and drove away.

Our cost approximately $2.75.

Normangee Kubota estimate for the same fix $800.00

Having this resource to fall back on...priceless!!

Thanks to all who commented and contributed.

Terry Connors