New Kubota Corrosion

[loggin]

For those of you dealing with the corrosion issues that have HST I am curious as what the hydraulic coolers look like as well as the coolant radiators. Could you provide us with some photos?

Also do you have any livestock? Could be from clearing manure or dust containing manure being kicked up by the livestock?

stripeblue12, where approximately are you located?

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Wow!!

 

[rScotty]

I doubt most those of parts are kubota. Probably ansung.

Very Good Catch, Fixastuff. Now that I look closely at those parts, I can see those corroded fittings aren't basic Kubota tractor parts at all.

Those are accessory hoses and fittings for running options. Probably came from a options kit warehouse somewhere and who knows what history they had. Looks to me like they were poorly plated and pickled in salt.

The good news is that means there's a good chance that the basic tractor and electricals are just fine. That's got to be a big relief to the OP.

I'd still want to look under the dash, but now the chat with the dealer can be quite different. Might even find him to be on the same side, in a talk about option suppliers and subcontractors.

rScotty

 

[Dave5]

Holy cow, the file is too large for the server to process message pops up, no matter what I seem to do to my photos, I’ve even tried to collage at smaller resolution. PITA.

i’ll get some more pictures of the tractor next time it’s out the garage. Here’s (would be) some pictures of my flail mower, also purchased in the fall of last year, so it sat through the same winter, this one sat in the open air barn, so actually has more exposure than the tractor. It looks fine, no I don’t have live stock. Of all my other equipment that sits in the barn or shed, none of them look like the tractor and these corroded plated parts.

 

[sixdogs]

Try parking indoors in a heated garage

Look at the condensation on your painted steel...this is an owner issue, not a K issue

Interesting observation. It looks like salt but then again I have equipment in a barn with condensation and it does look like that.
Also, the corroded ones look like aftermarket parts. I spray anything that looks like that with light oil.

 

[sixdogs]

Holy cow, the file is too large for the server to process message pops up, no matter what I seem to do to my photos, I’ve even tried to collage at smaller resolution. PITA.

...............

When you post the photo, you can click on something that just says to insert a thumbnail photo that will enlarge when you click on it. Missing this step posts the unsized photo. It's an extra step just before you put the photo in the post.

 

[Zork]

What do the engine and battery fasteners look like?

 

[RalphS]

You mentioned that the you've washed the tractor a few times. Did you use a degreaser like (green) Simple Green? I don't have a lot of Zinc-plated surfaces on my OPE and other outdoor items (mostly chrome, Aluminum, or painted), but I've found that when I used regular Simple Green, regardless of how much I rinse, there seems to be some light corrosion on some Aluminum surfaces a few days after drying.
I've switched to Simple Green Pro (purple), which is supposedly more benign on surfaces.
Regular (green) Simple Green is not supposed to be used on aircraft, as the residue has been shown to be corrosive.
My 2 cents.

 

[FixAll]

Hello All, I have been reading a learning a ton on this site. Thank you to all who contribute.

I have a 1 year old Kubota 4760, 2022 model delivered in May of 2023. I am appauled by the corrosion on all the silver plated hardware. The tractor has 55 hours on it, and is kept either in my garage or under a 3-sided barn, it does not see the rain/snow. It stays on my property and gets washed a few times a year. I live in southern New Hampshire, not by the beach. It appears that just condensation has corroded every single plated fitting/hardware item. I have a BH92 on this as well, and all the silver connectors, even hose clamps, are corroded. Am I just expecting too much?

Some of the fittings say China right on them. I'm dissapointed and will now go and try to steelwool/oil all the parts, but what a waste of time. Here are pictures of the hydro connections for the FEL, under the cab and for 3rd funtion valve. I took these pictures a few weeks ago, on a warm morning. You can see some droplets from the humid air on the cold metal. Notice on the middle picture on the cab, some connections have zero corrosion, but most have the oxidation. I really expected more for the money spent on this. Any thoughts or insite? Thanks!

Those "silver parts" are electoplated (galvanized) steel, the coating is zinc. So far only the surface of the zinc has been damaged. As someone else said it looks like salt corrosion. Though you are not near the beach New Hampshire is notorious for generous applications of road salt in the winter. Traffic then stirs up a mist of salt laden water that is carried in the atmosphere much like sea salt near the coast.

I would caution you to NOT use steel wool or other abrasives to clean that, the zinc coating on the steel is only about 1 or 2 thousandths of an inch and abrasives will take that off fast exposing bare steel. An interesting property of the oxidation of zinc is the thicker the oxide the slower the process, whereas steel corrosion is the opposite, the thicker the layer of rust the faster the steel corrodes. The chemistry gets complicated and I am not prepared to discuss that in detail here.

I suggest wiping the affected surfaces with a clean cloth soaked in a mild solution of water and a cleaner like CLR, then rinse with clear water and let dry. After drying you could spray the areas you wish to protect with a dry silicon based lubricant such as SAILKOTE available at many boat supply stores such as West Marine (NH store is in Portsmouth.) The dry silicon lube will help protect the surfaces from damage caused by condensation.

 

[joea99]

PLEASE DO NOT USE STEEL WOOL! Doing so will only damage the existing plating on those components!! I agree that corrosion looks excessive but it’s not beyond salvage!
Get some “Fluid Film”. I prefer the paste over the spray, but spray will work too. Coat everything you can see with that stuff and Viola’ you’re good! I call it Sheep Snot! It’s pure lanolin. Wife hates the smell, I find it…..arousing….

Welcome to the forum! Good people and good information here!

Cheers,
BN

Wool Wax is better. A bit thicker and does not stink nearly as much.