L2800-L3400 PTO Making the right choice

[DVR]

"This is going to be my last post on a public forum regarding this matter"

"I couldn't help myself I had to go one more post after reading this."

you have aired all this out, started a lengthy discussion and now you say you will not make another post concerning the issue?

several of us have followed this thread with interest and learned valuable information. i would love to know your reasoning for refusing to share any further information? (just curious- not trying to be a jerk)

 

[JerryG]

I would also like to know if they handle the problem and if they do how. Don't stop now, you have us all hooked.

"This is going to be my last post on a public forum regarding this matter"

"I couldn't help myself I had to go one more post after reading this."

you have aired all this out, started a lengthy discussion and now you say you will not make another post concerning the issue?

several of us have followed this thread with interest and learned valuable information. i would love to know your reasoning for refusing to share any further information? (just curious- not trying to be a jerk)

 

[KubotaTerry]

Great. I do my research and I order a tractor and I join TBN to learn a bit more about using it. One or two guys have issues with their PTO, and perhaps with their dealer, and perhaps even with Kubota as a whole. They get online and vent their frustration. Several others chime in with how dare Kubota have a failure on one or two of perhaps thousands of L series tractors.

Well, my tractor gets delivered on Saturday - an L3400HST. I can't wait to get to work and start enjoying my property and making some improvements.

The only regret about my choice of tractor is that one guy with the power of the Internet has potentially ruined the resale value of a very significant purchase.

Thanks guys... ...did you really benefit anything at all from airing your dirty laundry in a public forum? Did anybody?

I come to these forus exactly to learn all the things that can go wrong. I already own an L3400HST and am dissapointed to learn of this potential issue. I was even more dissapointed to find out that even though I bought it last spring, it must have been sitting on the lot for quite a while since it has the "old style" PTO cams. It even had the problem with the jerky 3-point hitch, a problem that I found out about on this forum and had corrected. If someone hadn't "aired their laundry" about that one, I never would have known that there was a fix for it and would have just lived with the jerkiness. I am truly grateful someone bothered to let us all know....

I hope that my PTO cams hold up since the only PTO use I have is a snow blower, and I'm hoping that the problem is isolated to forward turning tillers. Hopefully if others experience failures with other types of implements, they will let us know, and not hide it for fear of hurting the resale value of their tractors....

Terry

 

[Shimon]

The only regret about my choice of tractor is that one guy with the power of the Internet has potentially ruined the resale value of a very significant purchase.

The power of the internet is a double edged sword. It's up to every individual to determine if what they are reading is valid or not. The purpose of these forums is to share ideas about tractors. That's exactly what's going on here. People can post whatever they want (within reason) but you are not required to believe it. How about television...there are a lot of morons out there who think everything that is said on TV is true. Whose fault is that? If you are concerned about the resale value of your tractor, start writing posts about how great your tractor is...and see how much good that does. Sorry for the rant.

 

[Marcussen]

since I had an over running clutch on my old 8N I am surprised that Kubota placed the thing where the tractor needed to be split in order to replace it.
The one on the 8N worked fine for over 15 years before it needed replaced, but since it was externaly mounted it was and easy fix and cost only $60.

Maybe adding an external over running clutch in addition to the internal one would save the internal one the wear and tear (depending on which one over-ride first). They just mount on to the PTO shaft and adds about 4-6 inches to the lenght of the shaft.

 

[kbota]

Not sure if this has any value to anyone, but I thought I'd share the info.
As a result of this thread, I sent an email to Kubota via their website which was forwarded to their regional office in Dallas. I expressed concern about the reliability of the pto drive on the L2800/L3400 HST tractors. The email was sent this past weekend.(5/27/07) Five minutes ago, a Mr. Bill Gertner with Kubota in Dallas called me. Bill is the sales manager for the south/Dallas region. I shared with him a growing concern in the tractor community about this problem, and how widespread it is. He was interested in this forum, and I gave him the url with a brief instruction on finding this thread. (couldn't hurt right?)

After conveying the issues, his response was as follows;
He acknowldged a design change for the HST that moved the overrunning clutch assembly higher in the transmission which caused it to be louder, but he said the failure rate was extremely low, although he didn't have numbers or percentages. (probably something they don't publicize) The L2800 HST has been their highest selling tractor for some time, and he assured me that Kubota would stand behind their engineering design. He said that although the clutch was louder than folks might be accustomed to, it was not an indicator of iminent failure.

I asked him directly if the pto assembly was considered part of the powertrain for warranty purposes. He stated "absolutely" since it was housed in the final drive assembly. Hope that helps someone.

Have a great day.

k

 

[familyman]

Extra overrunning clutch seems a sensible idea.

 

[bandit67]

Great. I do my research and I order a tractor and I join TBN to learn a bit more about using it. One or two guys have issues with their PTO, and perhaps with their dealer, and perhaps even with Kubota as a whole. They get online and vent their frustration. Several others chime in with how dare Kubota have a failure on one or two of perhaps thousands of L series tractors.

Well, my tractor gets delivered on Saturday - an L3400HST. I can't wait to get to work and start enjoying my property and making some improvements.

The only regret about my choice of tractor is that one guy with the power of the Internet has potentially ruined the resale value of a very significant purchase.

Thanks guys... ...did you really benefit anything at all from airing your dirty laundry in a public forum? Did anybody?

First of all, you have no idea how many PTO failures have occurred on the L2800/3400 based solely on TBN comments. It would seem as if it may be fairly substantial since Kubota came up with a fix/redesign to attempt to address the problem.

If the resale value of the L2800/3400 has been ruined, as you put it, then believe me, it was not due to this ONE thread on TBN. For resale to be impacted like that, then it is due to many failures across the board and word-of-mouth throughout the entire country.

And as I posted earlier, I benefited from Hamer "airing his dirty laundry" in that I decided that I will NOT purchase an L3400 because of the poorly designed PTO system. Someone else blew their PTO using the exact same tiller that I ran on my little Subcompact. However, I still am leaning toward Kubota for my next machine, but I found out something on here that I didn't ever consider - for me, an independent PTO system is the only one I will purchase. Thanks to this thread, I will NOT be a dissatisfied L3400 owner, finding out too late that a machine I've spent my hard earned money on was not up to the tasks that I have cut out for it.

So, back off the original poster. So far, he's offered a lot more valuable information to fellow TBN'ers than you have in your first post. After you've adjusted your attitude, maybe you too can start adding helpful information to fellow TBN members. And if you really believe that your L3400's resale value has been compromised by this thread, cancel your order. Otherwise, enjoy your new machine and quit griping.

 

[8226hamer]

Not sure if this has any value to anyone, but I thought I'd share the info.
As a result of this thread, I sent an email to Kubota via their website which was forwarded to their regional office in Dallas. I expressed concern about the reliability of the pto drive on the L2800/L3400 HST tractors. The email was sent this past weekend.(5/27/07) Five minutes ago, a Mr. Bill Gertner with Kubota in Dallas called me. Bill is the sales manager for the south/Dallas region. I shared with him a growing concern in the tractor community about this problem, and how widespread it is. He was interested in this forum, and I gave him the url with a brief instruction on finding this thread. (couldn't hurt right?)

After conveying the issues, his response was as follows;
He acknowldged a design change for the HST that moved the overrunning clutch assembly higher in the transmission which caused it to be louder, but he said the failure rate was extremely low, although he didn't have numbers or percentages. (probably something they don't publicize) The L2800 HST has been their highest selling tractor for some time, and he assured me that Kubota would stand behind their engineering design. He said that although the clutch was louder than folks might be accustomed to, it was not an indicator of iminent failure.

I asked him directly if the pto assembly was considered part of the powertrain for warranty purposes. He stated "absolutely" since it was housed in the final drive assembly. Hope that helps someone.

Have a great day.

k

If Mr. Gertner or anyother Kubota represenitive is following this thread and if they do not care to answer this question I have about the PTO system that the earlier L2800-3400 tractors incorporate. Do you feel using it to run a roto tiller is the wrong type of application for this system, and with the changes that Kubota has made since the early tractors is the new system an improved, better system, or should an independent system that such as the non economy tractors use better suited. I know what the Northern Division of Kubota Corp. answer to this question was. What would be your solution to the fact that the system in my L2800 has faild twice with the low amount of time that it has been used and also thae fact that another TBN member has had his system fail also.

Repairing while still under warranty for three years, Kubota should be obligated to do so, but what kind of outlook would anybody have that was in my situation, which is having to have the system repaired with 30 hours of PTO use, when the three years have expired and you then yourself is looking at paying the cost for this repair.

Fixing my tractor for three years is not an answer to the problem wheter it's an isolated case or not. You would think Kubota would want to take a look at my tractor and see if there are other problems with it rather than my claims that it an inferior system. The tractor is here for you to take a look at if you like. I will need a replacement tractor for it the time it takes for you to remedy this problem. If you can do this this then I would feel Kubota has did the right thing in this situation, but fixing it for three years under warranty is not. I'll be waiting for your answer , wheteher on this board or by PM.

 

[ccsial]

If the resale value of the L2800/3400 has been ruined, as you put it, then believe me, it was not due to this ONE thread on TBN. For resale to be impacted like that, then it is due to many failures across the board and word-of-mouth throughout the entire country.

This is for sure.