Several questions for the Kubota pros!

MrMagoo · Jun 10, 2004

Hi all. Today I changed all the fluids and filters on my recently purchased L2050. It was a chore to say the least. I made every attempt to follow the manual and only changing one fluid and filter at a time. After completing this daunting task, I cranked the tractor and checked for leaks. Then I made a couple laps around the yard and checked for leaks. No leaks were noted around the filters or around the drain plugs.

When I checked the oil level, it looked to be twice as high as needed. I drained the old oil out and carefully added oil according to the manual directions. Can anyone explain what caused this and how to remedy this problem?

Second, I have a little clear plastic circle on the side of the gear case to help me measure transmission fluid levels. This viewing cirlcle doesnt seem to work because when I added the new fluid to the manual recommended levels, I never saw the results in the view circle. Is the view circle broken?

Third, the front axle oil looks low according to the dipstick. How do i drain out the old oil and what type of oil am i supposed to add to it?

Finally, after an hour of use, my tractor whined painfully as I backed it into the shop. I checked one last time for leaks and noticed that several ounces of my 10 dollar a gallon transmission fluid was leaking from the tractor near the left foot rest. I then noticed that there was a trail leading out to the yard near where I had put the tractor in reverse. After a couple of minutes the leak slowed down to a small trickle but for the life of me I could not discover the source. Anyone have a guess as to where the trans fluid is leaking from?

Have I ganked up my tractor during my first maintenance trial? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

ronjhall · Jun 10, 2004

MrMagoo
I'm not familiar with a L2050. Here are a couple things that I noticed with my B series tractors.

There may be more than one plug to remove all the oil from the transmission and engine oil. You may not have drained all the oil out of the trans.

My older B7100 had a lever that was used to change how the 3 PH operated. It had an O-ring on the end. When I turned it to see what happened a leak started. When I removed the handle and cover found that the O-ring had broken from not being moved in years. Replaced the O-ring. Leak stopped. This lever is under the tractor seat.

equipman · Jun 10, 2004

MrMagoo
There should be a couple of drain plugs for the transmission. The sight glass is located right below the clutch, is this where the fluid is leaking from? Sometimes they get pushed out and need to be reinstalled.
Lewis

grandad · Jun 10, 2004

I don't know your model of Kubota, but that sight glass is simply a clear window showing when the fluid is up to a certain level. If you don't see any juice in it, either you haven't put in enough or you have the tractor parked on an incline. I always use the sight glass to judge when to stop adding fluid rather than putting in a fixed amount and hoping for the best.

One possibility is that something - a plug or a filter - got loose as the tractor warmed up and needs to be tightened again.

A worse scenario is that you actually overfilled it with too much fluid and have popped a seal someplace. That would also explain the sight glass mystery... it's actually full of fluid, not empty.

This is probably not a happy thought, but I would suggest you start over once more by draining the fluid out into a clean container so you can re-use it, and measuring how much it takes to reach the sight glass (or start leaking again, which comes first!).

Assuming the worst and the leak reappears, it's probably a dealer fix (maybe under warranty ???). No telling for sure, but with any luck this will be a minor repair and it's likely there was no permanent harm done.

Also, you use the same UDT or Super UDT in your front axle. If it's like my tractor, there should be a drain plug inboard of each hub, a filler hole somewhere along the top of the front axle and weep holes above the drain plugs. After draining the old fluid and replacing the drain plugs, you remove the bolts in the weep holes and add fluid until it overflows the weep holes.

Best of luck... things will get better!

equipman · Jun 11, 2004

Darvin
I got your email and talked to the guys in the shop about this problem. We think you may have overfilled the trans and now the fluid is coming through a seal into the clutch housing. Drain the fluid into a clean container so that you can reuse it, check to make sure that you located all the drain plugs. You will use 7.4 gallons of fluid to refill to the proper level. The fluid may be so clean that you can't see it through the sight glass. Hope this helps.
Lewis

MrMagoo · Jun 11, 2004

Thanks again guys for the help. As you probably have guessed im not a mechanic. My wife wanted me to put a bug light down at the shop tonight to kill horse flys. I told her I couldn't do that unless she held a flashlight to look at my tractor. I started the tractor and instantly hydraulic fluid started running out. It looks like its coming through a small hole in the bottom of the starter (its the part mounted in front of the clutch)? Once I killed the tractor, the leak slowed to a trickle and then stopped. Is this a good indication of overfilling? Have I permanetly damaged a seal?

Before draining the transmission fluid, I couldnt see any fluid between the high and low marks on the sight glass. To much transmission fluid could possibly explain this problem? During fluid replacement, I didnt believe that the transmission would really hold 7.4 gallons. I kept a close eye on the sight glass as I filled the gear case. Also i carefully measured the fluid as i put it in. The max amount i put in was 7.5 gallons because thats all that i bought.

Anyway, i'm not a fella that refuses to stop at the gas station and ask for directions when im lost. Tomorrow afternoon im gonna drain the fluids and start over. Hopefully this will only be a minor malfunction. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif