Greetings all. Newbie here. Recently began using my deceased FiL's Kubota BX1870 to mow my MiL's yard. Close to 2 acres. Love the diesel, hydraulic deck, power steering, and 4wd. Good enough speed. Just a tad slower than my Z mower but more than good enough. Phenomenal fuel mileage. Believe it's a 2012 or 13 model. Other people have been using it for the past 5 years. Perhaps annually, only during those 5 years, it would be "serviced" annually at the dealership. I'm trying to bypass that expense if possible. I can turn a wrench better than Cher or Goldie Hawn but, possibly not much more. I know nothing about diesels.
This morning
I topped off the radiator coolant which wasn't visible in the burp bottle and a solid inch beneath the radiator cap opening. The burp bottle level is now correct as well.
Oil was 2/3 quart low. Seems like I read the diesel only has a capacity of 3.06 qts. Looks like that's with filter; 2.9 without. Topped it off with some Rotella I found. My understanding is a diesel requires diesel - specific motor oil.
Found a screen between radiator and instrument panel cowling. Removed and cleaned. Vey filthy. Went to insert it, looked down in that narrow space and it was jam packed with packed dead grass. Got it all cleaned and sprayed radiator well. I believe the mower sighed in relief.
1. No manuals. I see several in ebay, etc with bold type on top; WSM. They mostly range from high 20.00s to high 30.00s. Are they worth having or junk? If decent enough, are they thorough enough where I don't need the basic operator manual?
2. Throttle lever vibrates to less throttle if not held. I found a youtube showing basically a near-floppy lever on a similar Kubota. Corrected by removing lower screen, accessing a couple of nuts and tightening them and using a thread locker. Hopefully this will correct this specific issue. Suggestions welcome. I was told this issue started a month or so ago.
3. The knob for setting deck height lowest limit is very messed up. Pretty sure it doesn't work and has a set of vise-grips on its shaft. I turned the grips easily but it did nothing regarding height limiter. Would really like to have that working. The hydraulic side of the deck works fine. But sometimes I have to bump it for changing heights if needed. Bumping is a royal pain. I need a lowest setting limiter. The lowest now is in the dirt.
4. Yesterday evening I left the deck stored in its highest position. This morning it had leaked down to the ground. Is this common? Major repair?
5. The right hand instrument panel is dark. It looks like on the internet there should be both a fuel gauge and coolant temp gauge. Thoughts?
That's about it for now.
Thanks.
This morning
I topped off the radiator coolant which wasn't visible in the burp bottle and a solid inch beneath the radiator cap opening. The burp bottle level is now correct as well.
Oil was 2/3 quart low. Seems like I read the diesel only has a capacity of 3.06 qts. Looks like that's with filter; 2.9 without. Topped it off with some Rotella I found. My understanding is a diesel requires diesel - specific motor oil.
Found a screen between radiator and instrument panel cowling. Removed and cleaned. Vey filthy. Went to insert it, looked down in that narrow space and it was jam packed with packed dead grass. Got it all cleaned and sprayed radiator well. I believe the mower sighed in relief.
1. No manuals. I see several in ebay, etc with bold type on top; WSM. They mostly range from high 20.00s to high 30.00s. Are they worth having or junk? If decent enough, are they thorough enough where I don't need the basic operator manual?
2. Throttle lever vibrates to less throttle if not held. I found a youtube showing basically a near-floppy lever on a similar Kubota. Corrected by removing lower screen, accessing a couple of nuts and tightening them and using a thread locker. Hopefully this will correct this specific issue. Suggestions welcome. I was told this issue started a month or so ago.
3. The knob for setting deck height lowest limit is very messed up. Pretty sure it doesn't work and has a set of vise-grips on its shaft. I turned the grips easily but it did nothing regarding height limiter. Would really like to have that working. The hydraulic side of the deck works fine. But sometimes I have to bump it for changing heights if needed. Bumping is a royal pain. I need a lowest setting limiter. The lowest now is in the dirt.
4. Yesterday evening I left the deck stored in its highest position. This morning it had leaked down to the ground. Is this common? Major repair?
5. The right hand instrument panel is dark. It looks like on the internet there should be both a fuel gauge and coolant temp gauge. Thoughts?
That's about it for now.
Thanks.
Last edited:
