Gotten into this world late and need help diagnosing an older Kubota belly mower with issues. I use a Kubota B2400 ('96 vintage, +2000 hours) and RC54-24B mower to take care of the weeds on a former bean field, so this occasional task may be too much for a finish mower, the deck clogging at intervals. Beginning last season, very intermittently, the mower began leaving the middle uncut. I though the middle blade was probably the problem. It was fairly infrequent and the job got done with a few extra careful passes. By late summer, it was the norm and not the exception. This spring I replaced the belt with an OEM Kubota belt when one of the two (!) v-belts broke, thinking that might be the cause of the issue. With the correct belt, the mower runs quieter now, but now the problem has worsened to the point where the mower is virtually ineffective. Present status: PTO operates, blades freely spin, but very little cutting is happening at best, (though full operation does happen very infrequently/unexpectedly), and total inop - with pto engaged - now part of the mix. Note: full operation is accompanied by increase in operational sounds. I tried disengaging/engaging pto several times which at first seemed to make a difference. The pulley doesn't seem to stop spinning, from what I can see, which is the opening for the left Zerk fitting. Also tried varying the pto speed, to no effect. The issue seems more than bad blades or dirty deck, but I don't know enough about the mechanics of the operation to puzzle it out. Any suggestions would be welcomed.
Troubleshoot Belly Mower Issues
- Thread starter MrHop
- Start date
Start with the easiest first. Make sure you have the blade and blade retainers assembled correctly. Double check to be sure that the blade bolt isn't bottoming out. If if bottoms out it would seem like your blade is tight but it is actually spinning. As I think about it, you could try to hold the pulley on top of the deck and see if you can turn the blade.
Doug in SW IA
Doug in SW IA
seville009
Veteran Member
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Blade bolt is probably not tight; just get under it and tighten it. If you have not replaced the blade or blade bolts in years, it may be too worn to tighten again
2516mo
Bronze Member
I agree about the blade bolts. Installing fresh blade bolts never hurts and getting one a quarter inch shorter helped me with a similar problem.
Indeed, that was the issue. The dealer advised new hardware all around, including bolts, as it is all critical to maintaining sufficient grip. Three sets are now on order, surprisingly expensive, I must say, evidently because this is "an oddball" deck, being 25 years old. In the meantime, regrettably, the weeds will grow! Many "notes to self" for the future....
CH4Ohio
Platinum Member
Sounds like you're on the right track already . . . Curious -- you mentioned TWO
v-belts on your deck. Is that the correct setup? My B series Kubota mower deck has a single wide double-v belt. I've also seen some of these with multi-rib belts that run on grooved pulleys. Is it possible that someone has replaced the original single, wide belt with 2 regular v-belts?
If so, I could see how it would slip more easily. I'm sure you're also looking at the belt tensioner pulley and spring.
Good luck with it!
PS -- Just looked at Messicks site and parts diagram. They show a single wide multi-rib belt on that mower deck. ????
Kubota RC54-24B (MID MOUNT MOWER) Parts Diagrams
Kubota Parts Catalog Lookup. Buy Kubota Parts Online & Save!
www.messicks.com
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JWR
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Now that you have belt power getting transferred to cutting edges of all 3 blades you are in business... sort of.
A B2400 with 2000 hrs on it and a belly mower is probably a mismatch for weeds in a former bean field. That B2400 will handle a 5ft rotary cutter with ease. Realizing that, with an older machine and 2000 hrs, you probably don't want to buy a brand new $2000 cutter... I don't know where you are but most places you can find a used 5 ft cutter for under $1000 in very usable condition. I recommend that, given what little we know about your situation.
A B2400 with 2000 hrs on it and a belly mower is probably a mismatch for weeds in a former bean field. That B2400 will handle a 5ft rotary cutter with ease. Realizing that, with an older machine and 2000 hrs, you probably don't want to buy a brand new $2000 cutter... I don't know where you are but most places you can find a used 5 ft cutter for under $1000 in very usable condition. I recommend that, given what little we know about your situation.
DB Pilot
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I rebuilt the two outboard rotors on my 2001 BX2200 60" deck. The arbors have a hex shape on top to accept the hex shaped pulleys. I found that those parts were enlarged causing a lot of slop between parts. When tightening things up it appeared all was running smoothly again, but not for long. New arbors, pulleys, bearings and grease seals and all has been running well for a few years now. Just something to check before you rebuild everything. good luck
diesel85
Veteran Member
^^
That is very true! I just rebuilt mine last year because the pulley bosses had too much slop thus destroying bearings in 100 hours or less.
Also -- this is imperative -- Make sure you align the shaft correctly or else NO grease will flow.
That is very true! I just rebuilt mine last year because the pulley bosses had too much slop thus destroying bearings in 100 hours or less.
Also -- this is imperative -- Make sure you align the shaft correctly or else NO grease will flow.