New Kubota 8540 won't shift

dejswa · Jul 5, 2009

Well, I have lost half the gear positions on my tractor.

I have a Kubota 8540 which is at 47 hrs and has been lightly used so far. In fact is due for it's 50 hr checkup so I'm sure I'll get them to fix it under warranty.

But I am just curious about what the likely problem likely is.

The problem developed spontaneously. It has the clutched 4 speed shift lever and a high / low speed range lever and 'shuttle shift' transmission.

Normally you select a gear 1 thru 4 in either high or low. But now I cannot select gear 1 or 2 (left most position of the shift lever). It just won't 'fall into' either the 1 (up left) or 2 (down left) position. I can find the 3 and 4 position 'in the middle', but have to be careful. If I move the lever too far to the right, the lever goes into a 'loose mode' where it moves really far up and down with absolutely no resistance and engages no gear at all. Normally, all the way to the right and up and down are 3 and 4 respectively.

So I took the cover off the shift assembly to look at the linkages, etc. A push / pull rod conveys the up / down (fore / aft) action of the shift lever. A wire in a cable housing conveys the left / right action of the shift lever. So I am thinking that maybe this cable or it's linkage may be defective.

The up / down rod moves a arm that rotates a shaft that goes into the transmission. Immediately adjacent to this rod is a smaller arm that rotates a smaller shaft into the transmission. It is actuated by the other end of the wire / cable assembly that goes with the left / right activity of the shift lever.

The cable assembly and all its links seem really solid and it seems to be moving the full range of the arm on the distal end.

Because it seems like the shift lever has sort of shifted 'to the right', beyond the ability to select gear 1 and 2 and into a loose zone beyond gear 3 and 4, I adjust the position of the distal end of the cable housing to effectively give it the equivalent of pushing the shift lever further to the left.

This does nothing.

So the only gears I have are 3 and 4 for now in either high or low range.

Any ideas or experience with this?

Thanks for reading!

DJ

KennyV · Jul 5, 2009

It looks like you have looked into what I would have checked...
It is strange that you can't adjust to give yourself more left reach with the shifter... Post back with what they have to do to get it back, I'm sire you will want to know in case it happens again in the distant future l... KennyV

dejswa · Jul 7, 2009

Thanks for your reply. I will keep you posted - frustrating - it's new and broke!

BTW, I am due for the 50 hr checkup. Not sure what is involved. The dealer that I bought it from told me it would be '$500 to $600'. I got a quote from another dealer for $300.

. . . things that make you go hmmmmmm . . .

PSDStu · Jul 7, 2009

dejswa said:
Thanks for your reply. I will keep you posted - frustrating - it's new and broke!

BTW, I am due for the 50 hr checkup. Not sure what is involved. The dealer that I bought it from told me it would be '$500 to $600'. I got a quote from another dealer for $300.

. . . things that make you go hmmmmmm . . .

$300 seems awful low to me.......... I paid $669 for my 50hr service on my M5040 and $443 of that was parts/oil/hyd fluid.

Not sure if the 8540 changes all the hyd fluid at 50hr..... have heard that they have extended that change on some models to the 400hr mark.... if no hyd fluid change then $300 might not be to bad.

Your owners manual will tell you waht should be done at the 50hr mark.

Make sure you know what the dealer is going to do for $300!

Stu

piller · Jul 7, 2009

PSDStu has it right on the 50 hour service.

I recently had my 50 hour service done, I'm using the SUDT hydraulic fluid and it was close to $400 just for that. Then you have engine oil, filters, front axle, labor, etc ...

I've got an 8540, no shift problems with it. However, when I first saw it at the dealer (on a cold day in December 2008) the shuttle shift was frozen and would not operate. The dealer had a mechanic spray something in the cable and after a little bit it warmed up and has been fine ever since. I think they said it might have had some moisture get in the cable which froze up.

The only problem I've had so far was most likely due to new operator (me) error. I removed my FEL for the first time and when I went to put it back on I tried to reconnect the hydraulics and they would not go back together. So I worked at it, I toggled the joystick to relieve pressure, no luck. Finally I got the hydraulics connected but I then had a leak at the coupler (I think I forced it and damaged a seal). My dealer fixed the problem no charge (great dealer, Barlows Equipment in Somerset KY).

Another contributing factor perhaps was that I might have added a little too much hydraulic fluid. It's difficult to read the hydraulic fluid level on the dipstick, and the tractor must be perfectly level. I don't have a nice level spot for the tractor, might need to make one. Another thing I've since read is that the fluid pressure can build up in the FEL and you might need to relieve the pressure on that side.

I'm sure that your dealer will take care of your shifter issue, keep us updated.