Underpowered 3130 back from dealer....

Darren · Feb 2, 2005

I don't think there's anything wrong with his tractor. You don't run a tractor like an automobile. As long as Ramon tries that, he's going to be disappointed. I doubt he'd be happy with a 3830.

When the engine starts to bog, you have to back off the treadle or shift down. You don't press the treadle down farther and expect more power.

ramon49 · Feb 2, 2005

Darren, The point is this, if the tractor can turn around while brush hogging there would be no griping. This L3130 is underpowered for it's frame and the tasks as laid out in the Kubota Literature. I ask the members WHY then did Kubota come out with a 3430???? L3130 is underHP'd. They "goosed" the L3130 a bit and call it a L3430. I think were seeing what's left of the underpowered/poorly designed new L3130's. Fuel could be an issue, but use Essentalube all the time. When you look at this, poor performance is an issue and others are experiencing the same problems , something is wrong, could be the Pitchmen.. I'm thinking some of us got SNOOKERED by Kubota... Maybe, I need some help sorting this out, you guys have really been great and I appreciate your PUT..

Ramon

_RaT_ · Feb 2, 2005

I don't think your reading the posts Ramon. You seem to be the isolated case at least to the extreme you are suggesting your having. Is the L3130 underpowered, I guess it depends on your frame of reference. Did you not even get a chance to try the tractor before buying it? Did you bring it up with the dealer? How did your dealer respond? Did you know it had 24 PTO HP prior to purchase? If so did you think it would somehow be OK? The smoking is not normal, did you know that? Are your tires ballasted? Have you considered removing the ballast? Most importantly, can you not simply sell it losing a few dollars, chalking it up to experience and move on? That's what I did and what I would do now if I was you. In case you have not noticed, you really are quite the exception yet you seem bent on convincing others that they are wrong about how their L3130 is operating. Some have mentioned that the L3130 is not the strongest tractor but nothing like the issues you mention. Sell man sell! Right time, big demand, warranty fully intact, no tax to California buyers, no dents and scratches (presumably), low hours, you only have a small problem that can be easily remedied. Good luck!

SkyPup · Feb 2, 2005

I think my L-3130 is way too overpowered, whenever I get into some heavy duty work, all four tires start spinning. They should have decreased the torque curve on these Kubotas to avoid this terrible overpowered situation where all the wheels spin all the time when working under difficult conditions. You'd think they could have put some wimpy FEL on these things too, instead of the powerful LA723 FEL on ours. And the heavy duty 3PT setup on the rear too, could have really saved alot of money using some inferior substandard setup instead of this HD unit. Not to mention my 14kW PTO generator puts out 243 volts at 543 PTO rpm at 100amps without a whimper. You'd think that Kubota could have at least provided less PTO output than that on these new overpowered L-3130s, someone could get themselves hurt with all that power...... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

teddydo · Feb 2, 2005

If it will only pull a steep incline at .1 mph in low range something is wrong with your tractor. Will it pull a disk or turning plow? Do the tires ever spin?
I don't have a 3110. I have a 4330 and it is awsome in power and traction. I find it difficult to believe the 3110's are that bad unless something is wrong with them. my confused 2cents worth teddy

teddydo · Feb 2, 2005

If it won't pull I don't see how he can sell it. He should be able to tie it to a tree, put it in low range and at half trottle or about spin until it is buried. If his will not deliver enough power to the tires to spin them something is wrong.......teddy

Freds · Feb 2, 2005

Not to agree with everything ramon has said (I just haven't experienced all those things), but my own dealer called the L3130 underpowered for its weight.
I had mentioned in another topic how mine won't go up the road in front of my house in high range and with the HST pedal fully depressed. It is what I consider a slight grade - not really noticeable on a bicycle. That's the reason I was given after he checked things out at my 50 hour service. Knowing this I go up the road in M range and down the road in high. No problem, but if you ask me... I think high range may be a bit too high, at least for the hp at hand.
Mine also seemed to be one of the few on this list that won't pick the front end up with the loader arms. It will curling the bucket down, but It barely comes off the ground 1" when using the arms.

I just don't think you find all these little things out driving it around the dealer's lot, but once you do and stay within your particular tractor's limitations you will be much happier.

btolle · Feb 2, 2005

( ------------<SNIPPED>---------------
I had mentioned in another topic how mine won't go up the road in front of my house in high range and with the HST pedal fully depressed. It is what I consider a slight grade - not really noticeable on a bicycle. That's the reason I was given after he checked things out at my 50 hour service. Knowing this I go up the road in M range and down the road in high. No problem, but if you ask me... I think high range may be a bit too high, at least for the hp at hand.
Mine also seemed to be one of the few on this list that won't pick the front end up with the loader arms. It will curling the bucket down, but It barely comes off the ground 1" when using the arms.
)

I hae a B7510 but I doubt it operate much diferently than a 3130.

There are a couple of issues here. First is not being able to go up a grade with "in high range and with the HST pedal fully depressed".

High range is for traveling on fairly flat terrain at the fastest possible speed. It took me a while and a lot of reading on this forum to discover I was using the HST pedal improperly.

Being used to cars and trucks it was instinctive for me to push harder on the HST pedal like I do in a car if it slows down on a hill. That is the wrong thing to do with HST. I learned to put less pressure on the HST pedal if I was having trouble pulling a hill. Less pedal=more power to the ground.

I suggest you try backing off the HST pedal and see it that makes a difference going up the driveway.

Smoke from the engine indicates I am overloading (lugging) the engine and I need to back off the pedal until the RPM's come back up.

I was moving dirt the other day. I would fill the loader bucket then drop the box blade down and scrape until it was overflowing. All the while I was going uphill. As I reached the crest of the hill the engine would slow down and start to smoke if I held the HST pedal all the way down. Once I let off of the HST pedal the RPM's went back up, smoking stopped, and tractor pulled the hill just fine. Not as fast as it would have unloaded but remember, I had a full bucket of dirt and a boxblade full of dirt I was still dragging behind me.

Second issue is the loader not lifting the front end off the ground more than 1" with the bucket flat on the ground. The loader is designed to go a limited distance below the front wheels. At that point the hydraulic cylinders are at the end of their travel and they stop.

The front of the bucket can go farther down than the flat bottom of the bucket so the tires will be farther off the ground than it would be with the bucket flat.

The loader WILL pick the front end up off the ground but you have to be aware of the limitations of the loader arm cylinders. That is not poor quality, it is simply the way it is designed.

According to the Kubota specs "Digging Depth (when bucket is level) 4.9"/ I believe that would indicate that the bottom of the bucket should be able to go 4.9" below the level of the front wheels. You could check this out by driving the tractor up to a ditch where the loader can go as far as possible downward and measure the distance the loader is below the bottom of the tires. I think it should be 4.9".

Bill Tolle

Freds · Feb 2, 2005

( High range is for traveling on fairly flat terrain at the fastest possible speed. )
Exactly. That's my point! This seems unable to be achieved unless travelling downhill. That is why I suggest that Kubota may have high range a bit too high on the 3130 and my dealer feels the same way.
I look at the HST pedal as a sort of gear selector. All the way depressed is high gear. It seems sort of useless to have a range and gear that cannot be used simultaneously unless travelling down hill or on PERFECTLY flat terrain. Obviously you have one of two choices, back off the pedal or drop range.

My talking about the FEL was not saying it was poor quality. I was only pointing out that it's something I noticed as soon as I got my tractor. I asked about it here and it seemed exclusive to me.
Again, my dealer said not to expect the L3130 to act like my B7500 did. It's a much larger and heavier tractor. This could be where ramon was coming from. Some people equate larger with more power automatically, but this is why you can get larger engines with more hp in the same frame tractor, for how you will be using it.

( I just don't think you find all these little things out driving it around the dealer's lot, but once you do and stay within your particular tractor's limitations you will be much happier. )
I'll repeat what I said.

CTyler · Feb 2, 2005

Not sure if this is the case for you or not but....

In my case even though it slows from 17 to 12mph its still much faster than medium. Medium tops out around 9mph.