Hi rScotty
Nice to talk to you again.
The two rods (Kubota calls them levers) do not seem to have a detent on them. On page 62 of my manual the section on these rods is titled "Directional Valve Lever and Swing Lever". However, in the picture they are both labelled "Directional Valve Lever". In a "Note" at the end of this section, it states that "When the hydraulic couplers at the right of the tractor are utilized as a hydraulic outlet, swing lever is switched to "with backhoe" position." It is not clear to me from this which rod is the swing one but I believe it was the left one that was moved when I was in my dealers shop.
The dealer could not find my factory manual but I have a PDF copy of the manual which I prefer anyway. If is dated 2008 on the back and on the front it indicates it is for the L45TL and M59TL.
The two biggest differences between the
L45 and
M59 are that the
M59 loader is rated at 1,350 kg vs. 1,000 kg for the
L45 and the
M59 can dig 12' deep vs. only 10' for the
L45. The
M59 also has Cat 1 & 2 three point hitch vs. only Cat 1 on the
L45.
From an operations standpoint, there are very few differences pointed out in the manual as both machines have HST+. With all of the loader work I have been doing since I received the
L45 I can't tell you how much I love HST+. I have a hilly area on my property that I have been going up and down on and the auto down shift saves a lot of manual shifting. Most of the differences between the tractors noted in the manual concern servicing and lubricating maintenance. There are very few operational differences.
As you know I looked long and hard at a used
M59 with the Laurin cab already on it, but in the end the arrogance of the Kubota dealer in terms of what he thought his machine was worth and what my
B26 was not worth resulted in me in abandoning that path. The
M59 was also a 2008 and after reading about the hydraulic pump issues some users experienced with the early
M59's I was nervous about purchasing a used machine with no warranty anyway. The final straw was also the weight of the
M59 as I did not want to have to purchase another trailer to float it around. The
L45 fits comfortably in my 14' dumper and although I don't have the cab on yet I think it will still come in under the 14,000 pound rating of the trailer with the 4-in-1, my forks and my spare hoe buckets loaded.
I have put almost 100 hours on the
L45 in the last seven weeks and am really pleased I upgraded from the
B26. I just need to stop using it long enough to get the cab and then the A/C installed!
Regards,
Lauren