LA402 Loader Hydraulic Lines

[deminin]

I have a 2002 Kubota B2910HSD with a LA402 Loader. Its been virtually flawless, however I have one minor problem. The flexible hydraulic lines going from the Loader Joystick to the metal lines on the loader frame rub the paint off the rear hydraulic cylinder. The lines are encased in a tough nylon sleeve, and when the loader is lowered, the sleeve and lines push outwards and rub the cylinder. I have been using a bungee cord attached to the inner loader frame to help pull the lines inboard, and that works fairly well, however, it only takes a few extensions of the loader upwards to stretch out the bungee cord to the point where it serves little purpose. Has anyone else seen this problem, and found a fix? I'm going to be doing a lot of extensive cleaning and paint touch up throughout the Winter, and I would like to put this minor problem to rest.

 

[ronjhall]

My 2000 LA402 loader does not have that problem. Had to take a quick run out to the barn to see what you are talking about. My lines do not come anywhere near the cylinder. I have attached a picture of my loader hoses. Extra hose are for my grapple and snow blade cylinders. Red item on right is a Ooh-ga horn. Hope this helps.

 

[deminin]

I see the problem! A picture really is worth a thousand words. On your tractor the hoses leave the control valve and are routed upwards. On mine, the hoses travel down from the valve, and barely come above the hood line. This allows the slack to ride down and contact the hydraulic cylinder when the loader is down. They have been this way from day one, and seem to have developed a "memory" to ride in this position. I think I am going to contact Kubota support, and ask them the correct routing of these hoses. Thanks for your response...I think looking at your picture, I can come up with a workable solution.

 

[ronjhall]

I was looking in my owners manual for some B2910 info. Happened to see the LA402 manual. It shows the hoses loop up like mine on the front cover. This appears to be a dealer install problem.

 

[deminin]

Ron,
I think I've figured it out. The 4 rubber lines coming from the Control Valve, and going to the metal hydraulic tubes on the Boom asm., are of different lengths. The two upper hoses, Black and White, are longer than the lower Red and Yellow lines. On my unit, the longer B&W lines were routed through the sleeve under the shorter R&W lines. This caused the entire loop to be pulled downward too far. I removed the hoses, sleeve, etc., and routed the longer hoses on top of the shorter ones, and after putting it all back together again, the entire loop is riding about 2 inches higher, and clears the Hydraulic cylinder throughout its travel. Your picture verifies the routing of the hoses through the sleeve.
I checked the pictures in my owners manual, and they all show the routing of the hoses to be lower...below the hood line, as mine is. I also looked at a parts breakdown that I downloaded from Tractorsmart, and it showed the hoses routed as I have them. I called the dealer, and talked to one of the mechanics, and he advised against trying to route the hoses upwards, as he felt this could cause undue stress on the metal tubes over time, and might cause a leak or fracture. While the chances are probably slim, you might want to keep an eye on the slight downward bend area of your metal hydraulic lines.
BTW, sending Kubota an e-mail to their "technical support" seems to be a waste of key-strokes. I got the canned "check with your dealer" answer. They probably have a housewife monitoring their e-mail, and any technical questions are answered with the "talk to your dealer" message.