my kubota rebuild

[mattbatson]

Question Who is saying the tractor has not been apart previously?

The shim washer goes under the bolt heads and against the fly wheel.

On viewing that there may not have been one and your manual may be for a earlier or latter engine.

Leaving it out is not likely to cause any ongoing problems or you may have to look at a wrecker to get one.

From that Picture the bolts don't seam loose but the engine was run for some time after the clutch had flown apart.

yes, the bolts that I pulled off on the flywheel were tight...not loose at all.

I agree that I dont think leaving it off will cause any problems. Since each flywheel bolt already has it's own washer.
Now, if this "mysterious" washer went on the INSIDE then I would be more worried and think that it spaced the flywheel off the engine for some reason or another.

however, I think it is supposed to go on the outside...so I think I'm okay.

thx

 

[MasseyWV]

You're doing a great job on the repairs. It's unfortunate that this happened to you but sometimes life teaches us lessons, the hard way. I've been there myself.

 

[mattbatson]

You're doing a great job on the repairs. It's unfortunate that this happened to you but sometimes life teaches us lessons, the hard way. I've been there myself.

yep, it happens, but I'm taking my time and in no hurry, so it isnt quite so bad
I have some updates coming in a day or two...had to do an O2 sensor on the 4runner, and put a new radio in the wifes commuter.
thx

 

[MasseyWV]

yep, it happens, but I'm taking my time and in no hurry, so it isnt quite so bad
I have some updates coming in a day or two...had to do an O2 sensor on the 4runner, and put a new radio in the wifes commuter.
thx

I hope you don't mind but I used the video you linked to as the basis for creating a thread in the TBN general forum about the potential dangers of purchasing online. It was a perfect example but was easily overlooked.

Here is the thread:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...3380-potential-dangers-purchasing-online.html

 

[mattbatson]

I hope you don't mind but I used the video you linked to as the basis for creating a thread in the TBN general forum about the potential dangers of purchasing online. It was a perfect example but was easily overlooked.

Here is the thread:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...3380-potential-dangers-purchasing-online.html

That is a great idea, and a big part of the reason I'm posting all this...I hope it will make new tractor buyers more aware.
If I ever buy another one, it will be from a private owner who has extensive maintenance records/history to show that he has cared for it properly. This has got to be one of the most valuable aspects of purchasing used equipment in my opinion

 

[MasseyWV]

That is a great idea, and a big part of the reason I'm posting all this...I hope it will make new tractor buyers more aware.
If I ever buy another one, it will be from a private owner who has extensive maintenance records/history to show that he has cared for it properly. This has got to be one of the most valuable aspects of purchasing used equipment in my opinion

I'm glad you agree because I didn't want you to think I was making light of your misfortune. We all make mistakes and believe me, I've made a few that cost me a lot of money.

From looking at your pictures and reading the advice of others, I think it might be a good idea to add some kind of reinforcement to add structural support for the loader. I'm no engineer but it appears to be somewhat weak in the area where it broke, too weak for the forces generated by a loader anyway.

 

[mattbatson]

I'm glad you agree because I didn't want you to think I was making light of your misfortune. We all make mistakes and believe me, I've made a few that cost me a lot of money.

From looking at your pictures and reading the advice of others, I think it might be a good idea to add some kind of reinforcement to add structural support for the loader. I'm no engineer but it appears to be somewhat weak in the area where it broke, too weak for the forces generated by a loader anyway.

absolutely planning on it before using the loader...trust me :thumbsup:

I have been busy, but was going to start a thread asking for people with this reinforcement to post detailed pics up so that I can see what I need to do. I have a local business that can cut/weld/bend steel to do the fab for me...but I wanted to see what people were running first

 

[MasseyWV]

absolutely planning on it before using the loader...trust me :thumbsup:

I have been busy, but was going to start a thread asking for people with this reinforcement to post detailed pics up so that I can see what I need to do. I have a local business that can cut/weld/bend steel to do the fab for me...but I wanted to see what people were running first

You might try fabricating a steel underframe, much like the person in the following forum thread did when their tractor broke in half while they were using the loader. Look near the end of the thread, page four I believe, to see pictures of the frame they made.

http://www.tractorforum.com/f181/help-i-broke-my-tractor-half-11137/

Interestingly, the person who wrote the thread said that one of the dealers he contacted told him the following, which is in line with my thinking about why it may have failed.

If you were picking up the front of the tractor you void your warranty with many manufacturers instantly even if it's new. If you read the fine print in the loader books, it says "loose materials bucket" Lifting a tractor up indicates excessive force, indicating you are not using it for "loose" materials and beyond the manufacturers recommended duty rating and function..

Digging or jacking your tractor up regardless of reason why, does cause excessive force against the very core of any tractor as well as ebing the common cause of frequently breaking king pins, blowing out front seals and prodmonately crushing bearings on a tractors front end when they hit the ground again,, especially if anything became slightly mis-aligned while it was stretched out in the air, let alone the crushing forces exserted while digging with a loader. That's a HUGE amount of force leveraged on a tractor.

ETA:

I took the liberty of doing a little more research and it appears that the weak point in many frameless tractor designs is right behind the engine, in just about the area where yours broke. Two major causes for failure seemed to be indicated, backhoes and FELs, which would put a lot of additional stress on the tractor itself. If the tractor was not designed for the additional loads, without additional supporting structure like a sub frame being added, it could fail, much like yours did.

Here is an older thread from TBN that does a decent job of describing the issue further.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/32962-tractor-can-break-half.html

 

[mattbatson]

You might try fabricating a steel underframe, much like the person in the following forum thread did when their tractor broke in half while they were using the loader. Look near the end of the thread, page four I believe, to see pictures of the frame they made.

http://www.tractorforum.com/f181/help-i-broke-my-tractor-half-11137/

Interestingly, the person who wrote the thread said that one of the dealers he contacted told him the following, which is in line with my thinking about why it may have failed.



ETA:

I took the liberty of doing a little more research and it appears that the weak point in many frameless tractor designs is right behind the engine, in just about the area where yours broke. Two major causes for failure seemed to be indicated, backhoes and FELs, which would put a lot of additional stress on the tractor itself. If the tractor was not designed for the additional loads, without additional supporting structure like a sub frame being added, it could fail, much like yours did.

Here is an older thread from TBN that does a decent job of describing the issue further.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/32962-tractor-can-break-half.html

thx for the links and info :thumbsup:
I hope I can find some guys on here with kubotas similar to mine with frame reinforcement pictures.
I will plan on investigating this matter further once I get a little more of the tractor put together

The frame support that the guy in your first link built was for a big tractor, and that support looked really beefy.
I'm not sure if mine needs to be so big or not...
I'll start a thread soon with those questions though

 

[KubotainNH]

absolutely planning on it before using the loader...trust me :thumbsup:

I have been busy, but was going to start a thread asking for people with this reinforcement to post detailed pics up so that I can see what I need to do. I have a local business that can cut/weld/bend steel to do the fab for me...but I wanted to see what people were running first

Ugh, I keep forgetting to get pictures of mine but will post some. Simple design that should work on yours.