Part it out or Sell as parts tractor

[straps57]

Bought my well used Kubota L5030 about 5 month ago. Had just under 3000 hours buts fired right up every time. 4x4 needed repair, and there were some small issues as well but worked. Well, Hurricane Florence decided my dirty tractor needed a serious bath and submerged her under water for about 10 days. Not expecting that kind of flooding the battery was left attached and the wiring harness is junk as are all the fuses, starter, and most likely the dash and other things. I am hoping to turn the engine over next weekend to get water out of the cylinders. I had just bought brand new tires for it, has a loader with bucket. I don't think I really have time to part it out since my house was badly damaged as well and need to work on it. Would I make significantly more parting it out? Since people want pictures here it is.

 

[searcyfarms]

oh my goodness, im so sorry for you and all the others down there that have suffered through all of this, our family/farm went through a tornado and lost everything killing 3 of our neighbors around 10 yrs ago so I am a little familiar with losing so much and dealing with the aftermath for a long time - I spent a lot of time on my knees and my biggest lessons learned are - I was blessed to have my family safe and for allowing others to help us and lay our pride aside.

I am not much help on the tractor - i guess you could throw an ad out on craigslist to see if anyone will bite on it whole to save you some time for what you need/want out of it and then determine if parting out would be warranted since you don't have a great deal of time to mess with it.

blessings to you and your family straps -

 

[Jstpssng]

Yikes! I am sorry to hear about that. Thankfully it sounds like you are ok. Tractors and houses can be fixed or replaced.
You could try selling it as is, and part it out if it doesn't sell when you have more time.

 

[PILOON]

If you can clear out water it might always be possible to salvage it.
In most cases essential basic wiring can be replaced be it one at a time.
I suspect starter and alternator also can be saved, the trick is to stop corrosion and I have had some experience doing that.

I have flushed or soaked electrical components* firstly in clear water and air blowed followed by immersing in alcohol with more blown air.
Clear water is to rinse any crud, air for excessive water and the alcohol absorbs any remaining water.
I'd follow that with liberal application of WD40**.
(WD40 was invented as a water displacement formula.)

*hard to believe but we have salvaged dunked aircraft electronics in just that way.
I also discovered that some auto recycle yards use WD40 to restore alternators and starters.
For sure it has worked for me to restore ignition switches.

**in itself WD is non corrosive and leaves an oily protective film.

 

[MossRoad]

First, Sorry for your troubles.

On your tractor issue there's a couple things you can do.

1. Sell complete unit as-is.
2. Repair.
3. Part it out.

1. Selling the complete unit as-is will get the unit gone and some cash in your pocket. Wash your hands of it and move on. Trying to determine a fair value is the tricky part, and what you are willing to let it go for.

2. Repairing the unit, you have to ask are you going to repair it yourself, or have it repaired? Doing it yourself will save you the labor cost, but requires knowledge, or the ability to acquire the knowledge, tools, and it takes your time. Do you have the knowledge, tools and the time to do it yourself? Having someone else repair it is an unknown cost. A service shop will have to first tear into it to see what's wrong before they can give you an estimate on how much repairs will cost. You'd have to do the same thing if you did it yourself.

3. Parting it out, you will be hanging on to a carcass for years and years as people call you for parts here and there. Plus, you'll have to advertise it for years and years. Look for a tractor salvage yard that will buy the unit from you and sell it to them and be done with it.

Years ago I had a late 70's IH2500b tractor loader with cab that I no longer wanted. I wanted to sell it for about $3000. It needed $1500 in parts to get it in sellable condition. I went to an IH salvage yard here locally, and priced out the parts. The salesman asked what I was doing. I told him. He says he'll buy the unit from me for $1500 as-is. So think about that. I wanted $3000. It needed $1500 in parts (plus my free labor). $3000 in price minus $1500 in parts = $1500 profit. Plus, I wouldn't have to do any labor and he'd pick it up for free. No brainer. I ended up with the same amount of money in my pocket and clean hands. :thumbsup:

So, that's the option I'd go with if I were you and didn't want to repair it myself or pay to have someone repair it.

- Look at what that machine is worth in running condition.
- Add up the price of estimated repair parts and labor.
- Subtract that amount from the value of the machine if it was in running condition.
- That's the price you should sell it for to a private person or scrap yard.

Good luck with your decisions. :thumbsup:

 

[TractorGuy]

I would pressure wash it and try to dry it all out. WD-40 the fuse panel and switches ASAP.

 

[EddieWalker]

Everything is fixable, but not always worth the time or money to do so. A 3,000 hour tractor is probably one of those things that you will be better off walking away from. Probably just park it off to the side somewhere and wait for life to return to normal, then sell it as junk when people are done rebuilding their homes. I would get rid of all of it at one time.

 

[straps57]

Everything is fixable, but not always worth the time or money to do so. A 3,000 hour tractor is probably one of those things that you will be better off walking away from. Probably just park it off to the side somewhere and wait for life to return to normal, then sell it as junk when people are done rebuilding their homes. I would get rid of all of it at one time.

Think this will be the best plan at this time. I really don't have the time to fix it and it's paid for so having it sit for a while won't cost me anything. Might just throw it up on craigslist and see if someone wants it.

 

[WranglerX]

My first thought would be to dry it out... Drain and replace all fluids ... Dry electrical system and start it up and let it run till it gets really warm (hot) to dry out any moisture....And do second fluid change, they are really resilient if you don't let it set to long and let the water and crud do much damage....

Time is your biggest enemy here for tractor... The longer you wait the worst the damage...Rust never sleeps... A little water on electrical is probably not a problem if you do some maintenance to prevent corrosion...

Dale

 

[Alan W.]

It would be well worth the cost of fluids to flush it and get it running as soon as possible.
Any running tractor is worth more than a rust fused boat anchor.