So this thread is now months old, but here's the story. The dealer I bought my tractor from was unresponsive and ultimately has gone out of business. I recently contacted the next closest dealer and sent them my video clip. He felt it was unusual and forwarded to Kioti. They responded "absolutely NOT normal". The dealer just left my place with tractor in tow. He ran it and without a doubt "something is wrong". To refresh:
Tractor stationary, in neutral, foot off clutch = marbles. Depress clutch = silent.
Tractor moving in gear (forward, backward, 4wd, 2wd, high, low, diff lock, open) = marbles. Depress clutch = silent.
Load the tractor (push the bucket into a pile) until close to stall, depress clutch = LOUD marbles, then silent.
I also noticed that the racket seemed to change based on inclination, or side-hill angle. It also made a change in sound if I would turn sharp.
Here's the weird part. After the dealer ran it around for a bit (from my shop to his trailer), it was obvious that something is hosed. He drove it up onto his trailer and left it running while he chained it down. With the tractor idling in neutral he pinched a binder chain through the draw bar. Under tension the rattle sound changed pitch. He let up on the binder and it changed back. This is odd as the running engine was only turning the transmition input shaft, yet when he loaded the wheel bearings with the binder the noise changed a bunch. He did it a couple times, scratched his head and decided he should stop the engine before sucking it down.
I will report what the dealer finds and how that all works out.
John
