L5450

[Anonymous Poster]

I am currently looking at a 97 L5450 4wd, 59hp, 5cyl, hyd. shuttle shift, everclutch, with 1450 hrs.
Looking to maintain 60 acres of old field growth for wildlife habitat, some crops, road maint., fencing, etc.
I,m a little concerned about the weight because their are some wet areas thru most the year. Also, the price is a bit over the budget. I,m wondering if any of you folks are familiar with this tractor and if you have any positive or negative feedback. Any and all responses will be greatly appreciated. Mike

 

[JATO_RaT]

Absolutely dynamite tractor. I use the slightly smaller L 4850 which has a little less displacement and a little less loader. Rat...

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Rat, Thankyou for the positive feedback. Looking at the specs I see one hell of a tractor. I would sure hate to get it stuck, I don't know the actual weight but I'm sure its right up there. I'm not to familiar with used tractor pricing and I can't find much for comparison in the southern NH area.His asking price is 17000. w/out loader w/turf tires(extra to replace). I'm not sure if maybe I should dig even deeper and buy new at this point. Any opinions on this price and buying new vs used(1450 hrs). All responses are are appreciated. mike...

 

[Bird]

Mike, I think it would just depend entirely on the condition of the tractor. It's age and number of hours are certainly not excessive if it hasn't been abused and if it's been properly maintained; oil & filter changes primarily. It's nice to buy new and shiny, have the new warranty, etc., but you just have to consider what that's worth. Sometimes a used one is a better deal.

 

[JATO_RaT]

Mike, I can't tell you much about the price. The LA 1001 loader would be pretty pricey to add at this point. The 5 cylinder diesel on these tractors are the finest diesels Kubota has made. The dealers loved them according to the dealers I spoke with. The tractors were never huge sellers because of the price. I do believe the price was justified because these tractors are almost industrial in their construction. I have an L 48 and must admit that it does not have quite the beef of these. Both tractors weigh in at about 5000lbs (L4850 and the L5450). The engines have lots of power and run very clean. They are direct injection by contrast most of the diesels Kubota makes today are indirect injection. Both are very nice engines. My feeling would be that if tractor had a loader, $17,000 and good condition would be a very good buy on this tractor. I think new, an L 5450 with loader and R1's was well over $30,000 Rat...

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Kubota L5450 Spec’s

Kubota L5450 4WD, Mfr.1990-98,DI 168 cid-5cyl,49 PTO HP, 8/8 spd, 4410 lbs., Last Fact. List $27,500.
Low/Avg/High Auction Pricing
$7,430/$8600/9500.

I always felt this was one of Kubota's finest {and I love this direct injection diesel}... actually could almost be classified an "M" series, the retail price hurt this unit on sales{at the time}, but I would say this unit is a bull... strong torquey engine, good hydraulics... Today, this unit would be closer to the M5700 for comparison purposes...

 

[kubmech]

Mike, at 1450 hours and for that kind of money, without a loader. I'd highly recommend you have a good Kubota dealer go over it from top to bottom ( esp. the clutch). Now keep in mind I don't know of any mechanics out there with
x-ray vision so there could still be problems lurking. It's not hard to rack up a repair bill for 3000-5000 bucks on that machine, add the loader into the equation and your not far off from a virgin under warranty. I'm not trying to be a stick in the mud or down grade the 5450, it is an excellent tractor, but I have seen some heartbreaking used tractor experiences.

 

[rbargeron]

Hey Mike - I just noticed this thread - the L5450 is arguably the best Kubota L series ever made. It has the same 5-cylinder engine as the current M5700 and has some other niceties like hydrostatic steering, front-mounted 13 gpm pump and about 400 pounds of extra steel in the front engine frame. It has the wet type "ever clutch" and hydraulic shuttle. The standard loader for it is the LA1150 with round-back bucket. In 1995 tractor and FEL with R4 rubber sold for $30k in southern NH (Chappel in Milford) The 5450 is the best of the L3 chassis Kubotas - of course I'm biased - I have one and it's great.

There's an old saying: Buy the best - you'll always be happy with it.

Other comments above say the L5450 is amost an M or nearly industrial-build - In fact it is squarely industrial quality and is higher featured than the M (which is targeted to have fewer hydraulics and sell at lower prices per hp) Kubota got out a little beyond the market with the L5450.

 

[rbargeron]

A few more comments on the L5450 - don't worry too much about the weight - it is the heaviest L at around 4400 lbs tractor only, depending on tire option. It is based on the L3 chassis but with a heavier forward frame at the front axle and engine area. It's rugged but not a beast.

The L5450 has a 13 gpm front mounted pump - matched to the LA1150A loader. This loader is designed for the L5450 only and has slightly larger cylinders and lift / breakout ratings are 2515lb / 3725lb - it weighs about 1500 lbs.

It is possible that a new LA1150A loader still exists somewhere in Kubota's U.S. inventory and a proactive dealer could get you a decent deal on it, since its market is disappearing. This is a good time of year to ask a dealer to spend some time hunting. Might be worth checking before you buy the tractor. While you're at it, get the power-beyond kit and a set of remotes for your future backhoe.

Some other loader like the BF900 or LA950A or LA1001 would also fit. These will all run a bit faster because they have smaller bore cylinders than the LA1150A.

On the subject of tires, the R4's are much easier on the lawn than R1's - and may have better floatation across your wet spots. Front would be 12x16.5 and back 17.5x24 On my rig, I was concerned about traction - but there's enough weight that they grip just fine (better than my friend's L4310 on R4's).

Hope this is useful. I have brochures and manuals on all of this - can scan something if you'd like.

 

[rbargeron]

You had asked about whether $17k was a fair price - it seems a little high maybe. Changing the tires and adding a loader is going to cost some money - could spend $4k - $5k pretty fast. And 1450 hours on a 1997 means it has been used a little more than at homeowner level, maybe commercial mowing? Does this one have the pre-cleaner air filter? Think they'd take $14k - $15k ?

For what its worth, last spring I paid $24k for a '95 L5450 on R4's with LA1150A and Bradco 11 ft hoe - 675 hours. The hoe was easily worth $5k of that. I figure I got more tractor than an L48 for way less money.

Happy tractor hunting!

 

[JATO_RaT]

Mike, one area where the L48 and the L 4850 and L5450 differ immensely is in the drive system. HST on the L48 and a hoe system that is arguably superior to the L5450. Greater capacities and much more hydraulic flow since 2 pumps run the hoe. Don't get me wrong, the L4850 and L5450 are fantastic, but at new comparable setups, the L48 is quite a bit less costly, has more features like 3 pumps and HST (a bonus for most) a very comparable loader lift capacity and the L48 weighs just slightly more. I thought long and hard about the L48 especially since I have almost all my compact tractor hours on a L4850, an almost identical version of the L5450 with only slightly less HP and loader lift. Obviously, the L 4850 and L5450 are going to have to be had used and I would certainly have considered either had they been available. Rat...

 

[yooperdave]

Machinefinder.com has a 1995 L5450 with a loader
(and picture) for $21,950. Number of hours are unknown.

 

[rbargeron]

Hey Mark - I haven't been keeping up - did you get an L48? They are great - I'll probably cave in some day and want the HST. And you're right about the backhoe fluid flow - the L48 hoe is designed for real production digging.

When I was looking, the L48 was selling north of 36 large and the L5450/Bradco was pretty fresh and 12k less - so there wasn't much deciding to do. I had started out just trying to find a backhoe for my L4150 - funny how these things escalate. Take care.

 

[rbargeron]

Mike - I understand the LA1150A loader is still listed in the Kubota catalog "subject to availability" which means there may be very few left. But the kicker is that it has a list price of $4800 PLUS $900 for the heavy duty bucket !!! Boy - are they ever pround of that rig !! Maybe they'd listen to reason - I got a new-old-stock loader for my L345DT years ago for about 35% off list - Doug at Pinnacleview Equipment Walpole NH did the legwork. Good luck - if youre still considering this tractor, and also if you're not.

 

[JATO_RaT]

Thing is Dick, the L5450 is such a nice machine that I would pay it to have a high quality loader like that. I still look forward to using the L4850 whenever the chance arises. Rat...

P.S. I changed all the fluids in the L4850 to sysnthetic after reading how long Kubota suggests you wait before driving the tractor. Since none of us ever did, I thought it would be the least I could do.

 

[rbargeron]

Rat - Did you put in Amsoil ATH ? Did you switch the crankcase to synthetic too? What kind?

 

[JATO_RaT]

I believe it was Amsoil 30 for the hydraulics and it was 15W40 for the engine. Also I put in a Amsoil synthetic gear oil in the front axle. The hydraulic oil says it was for all Kubotas, MChalkley may have more info about the hydraulic fluid. I bought 15 gallons of it as the L4850 took about 48 quarts, Rat

 

[rbargeron]

Hey Mike - what did you decide to do about this rig? I noticed a pretty interesting package at AgDealer - here's the link
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.agdealer.com/list/view_image.cfm?image=1146412&dealerid=194>http://www.agdealer.com/list/view_image.cfm?image=1146412&dealerid=194</A> This is a Canadian setup with mechanical self-leveling FEL, small backhoe and cab - all for $22k ! Wow ! I guess freight would be a little fierce, not to mention import taxes./w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif