L3940 Hydraulic Issues

drubens

New member

Equipment
L3940D
Jun 22, 2018
2
0
0
Ramona, CA
Apologies if this has been posted before, but just wanted to share a problem I was having with my L3940 (~700 hours on it) and what I did to fix it. It took a while to figure out, so I'm hoping this saves someone else some time.

Symptoms: Whenever I would raise the front-end loader or the box-scrapper, the hydraulics would shudder noticeably. I also started having problems with the power steering that made it very difficult to steer. Both of the issues seemed to get somewhat better as the tractor warmed up, but still not right.

Fix: The fix was actually pretty simple. There is an inlet hose that I believe provides some kind of suction for the hydraulics. This hose had a very small crack in it on the backside that could not be seen from the front. The hose actually looked to be in good shape from the parts of it that I could see. I only found it by feeling the backside of the hose with my fingers. I was surprised how small the crack was, for causing such significant problems. The replacement part is Kubota part #TD170-33343. Cost for the part was $33 (plus I ordered 2 new pipe bands for another $10). It only took about 10 minutes to replace the hose, and the tractor was good as new. I suspect it got better as the tractor warmed up due to expansion of the hose from engine heat that caused the crack to somewhat seal itself.
 

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D2Cat

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
13,760
5,447
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
Good to know. Thanks for posting. I'll copy this post and insert it in my WSM for future reference. And welcome to the forum!
 

kevinj

Member

Equipment
L3940hstc - B7500hst - BX1860 - Farmall 560D - Farmall M
Jun 4, 2018
93
3
8
Michigan
Known problem, I had the same issue about 8 years back and my dealer has a bulletin about.

Has been fine since, now the trans input housing & and seals have been replaced. Another known issue that Kubota will not pay for.
 

200mph

Well-known member

Equipment
L4740-3 Cab, FEL, Fnt Snow Blower L2185, LP Finish Mower, LP Rotary Mower
Mar 3, 2017
1,228
61
48
PA
Thanks for posting your findings along with the photos to make it clear what part was the root cause.
 

kiroli44

New member
Dec 11, 2019
1
0
0
West Monroe,la
Thanks so much for info-- i lost some sleep when my l3940 power steering stoped working--also pump making loud noise--then i saw your post --ordered exact part td170-3334 and replaced and tractor like new now--sleeping good now
 

00bushhog06

New member

Equipment
L3400DT/LA463, 3 bush hogs, 2 boxblades, tiller, 97 Ford F350 Dump, 18' trailer
Nov 26, 2019
9
0
0
OKATIE, SC
I had the same hose go out on my L3400DT. Got a pinhole in it and hydraulics quit working. Replaced the hose and heart attack avoided!
 

KubotaRog

New member

Equipment
Kubota L4240
Jul 4, 2024
1
2
3
Missouri
This post saved the day for me and my L4240! Was experiencing sluggish hydraulics which continued to worsen the past few months! I'd changed all the hydro filters and replaced the fluid with Kubota brand as recommended but problem still persisted! After reading this post I decided I didn't have much to lose ($45) cost of hose and as soon as I removed the old hose it was very evident it had major cracks on the back side! When I fired the L4240 up all the hydraulics worked like new! I couldn't be happier! Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply about this issue!!!
 
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