Bringing an Old L260 Back to Life

[rookiefarmer]

So I have posted each individual problem with my tractor and someone requested in another thread some pictures of what I have done, so in the spirit of the L175 thread, I thought I would start a new thread showing the life of my old L260.

See below for multiple posts.

 

[rookiefarmer]

In the fall of 2011 I was in the process of purchasing my first 'country home' with 9 acres of woods and kept coming back to the fact that I needed something bigger than my Wal-Mart lawn tractor for maintenance around the property. A customer of mine mentioned that his inlaws recently passed and his brother-in-law had an old tractor to get rid of out of the estate. So up the road I went to look at this old girl. Right away I could tell that she was well used, maybe even borderline abused. It had sat for multiple (3?) years while the previous owner was undergoing cancer treatments.

Included in the deal was a 5' Disc, 2 bottom plow, 5' rotary cutter, 6' rear blade and a very sad looking old auger. All of the implements with the exception of the auger are worn but serviceable.

The guy selling the tractor hooked up some jumper cables and fired the tractor up and the RPMs just went through the roof! We had to manually lift the decompression lever and hold a rubber mallet over the air intake to shut it down. I think this made the owner embarrassed and made him lower his price. I got the whole package for $1200. I am pretty sure I could have scrapped it for more than that.

Turns out it was the same problem as another member ran into and documented the repair thoroughly. http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17477&highlight=l260

It was a fairly easy fix, I did take the whole pump apart and clean the entire thing. The tractor gave me 2 years of problem free service using the rotary cutter cleaning paths in the woods, and using the plow and disc to cut in a new garden.

 

[rookiefarmer]

Then in the fall of 2013, after running the rotary mower over the garden at the end of the season, I heard a loud pop and the tractor stopped moving forward. I could manually hold the lever as far down in the 'low' range as I could and get it to move, kinda. I didn't have a barn yet, and the weather rapidly turned poor, so it just sat over the winter until I could look at it again.
Then in the spring I hurt my back and was off work for quite a while, started building my barn and life got in the way. I'm sad to admit that she just sat neglected until this winter.

So I finally got it into the barn and started disassembly to diagnose the problem. The pinion bearing had exploded. There were parts of bearings everywhere. I am sure this was in part due to me not knowing that I needed to use a slip clutch when running the rotary cutter. This is my first tractor and I am somewhat ignorant in regards to operation.

 

[rookiefarmer]

I am an ASE Master Certified Auto Technician with 15 years experience, but I had never split a tractor before. It has been quite a learning experience to say the least.

Since the tractor had sat for so long after the bearing failure, all of the bearings had rust or rough spots on them, so I decided to replace all bearing in the trans and differential. That ended up being a great thought since the brakes were well lubricated from leaky oil seals.

Since the hood was off, it was a great time to replace the fan belt, all hoses and the plastic fan. I remembered the last time I used the tractor getting bits of plastic hitting me in the face due to the fan disintegrating.

Everything went back together very well, almost too easy.

 

[rookiefarmer]

All I have left to do is some maintenance and bleed the air from the hydraulic system (is that something that I need to do?). My plan is to get it mobile and useable so I can disc my garden, then bring it back into the barn for final touches. I am taking the sheet metal to be sandblasted and I haven't decided if I am going to have them powder coated or painted. I also want to get all of the gauges and warning lights working again.

I do have a couple of questions. The previous owner had moved the track WAY out, as far as it will go, and went up two sizes on the tires. What is the benefit to this? Would it handle better if I went back to a normal track width and the standard tire size when I get new rubber for it?

Also, the steering wheel is completely shot. Are there any aftermarket options for this tractor? Messicks carries a Kubota brand one but its like $135.

I will update this thread as time goes on.

Thanks for viewing

 

[Mike9]

Nice tractor and a great WIP.

 

[Russell King]

Try Weaver's compact tractor. I got a wheel for my L185 and it was very similar to original. I don't recall it costing much.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[rookiefarmer]

Try Weaver's compact tractor. I got a wheel for my L185 and it was very similar to original. I don't recall it costing much.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, like most other parts on this tractor, the L260 is pretty much one of a kind. The steering wheel from the other older L Series are splined. Mine is tapered with a keyway.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

I remember a post on a steering wheel rebuild and managed to find it:
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showpost.php?p=171989&postcount=2278

If interested and you contacted the poster he would probably provide more details.

 

[Grandad4]

Nice work fixing up that old gal! I can see you're enjoying your new shop.

Concerning the hydraulics, all of the recent generations of Kubota tractors have open-centered hydraulics that circulate unused hydraulic fluid back to the reservoir and are thus self-purging. I don't have any experience with the older models such as yours but would guess they are the same.

Best of luck competing the project.

 

[billrigsby]

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, like most other parts on this tractor, the L260 is pretty much one of a kind.
The steering wheel from the other older L Series are splined. Mine is tapered with a keyway.

My L1500 is also tapered and keyed, not sure but I thought the L175 was the same,
you could go the route I went and restore the original...
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1685250821743725.1073741852.1667881666813974&type=3

 

[Russell King]

I remember my L185 was tapered and keyed


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[rookiefarmer]

Everything is back together minus sheet metal. Had the 4 yr old battery that has been dead for two years hooked up and the tractor almost started with a boost box. Got a new battery and it fired off within 10 seconds. The simple mechanical diesels amaze me. I did a function test of everything and all worked well. I did a little test drive around the yard and grabbed the disc for servicing as well.

The only concern I have, and please remember my automotive background and complete lack of experience on equipment, is gear whine on decel. I was going down a hill with the disc hooked up and slowed the throttle to control my speed down the hill. With that type of reverse loading of the trans, I was getting some pretty significant gear whine. I don't remember from two and a half years ago I'd that is normal for this tractor.

Is this normal noise for spur cut gears in the trans? Is it something to be concerned with or am I just being paranoid after dropping all that coin on vintage parts?

Thanks

 

[Racer X]

The only concern I have, and please remember my automotive background and complete lack of experience on equipment, is gear whine on decel. I was going down a hill with the disc hooked up and slowed the throttle to control my speed down the hill. With that type of reverse loading of the trans, I was getting some pretty significant gear whine. I don't remember from two and a half years ago I'd that is normal for this tractor.

Is this normal noise for spur cut gears in the trans? Is it something to be concerned with or am I just being paranoid after dropping all that coin on vintage parts?

Thanks

Apologies for dredging up an old thread.

I just picked up an L260. The day I looked at it I drove it all over the guy's property, mowed with it, put it through the paces. I didn't notice any gear noise.

Today, after fiddling with adjustments on the mower deck, lubing and adjusting, airing the tires, and generally going over the tractor, I took it out and mowed for a bit. When I finished I was out at the far end of my place and roaded it down the driveway back to the house.

Yep. It has gear whine.

Nothing that alarmed me, really, but hey, this machine is over 40 years old, and who knows how many hours it has on it, the tach cable failed at 203 hours, and I'm certain it has far more hours on it than that.

As long as the gear teeth are in good condition, and the shafts they slide on aren't excessively loose it should be alright. Keep in mind tractors travel at speeds much slower than cars, pickups and trucks, so they don't have to be as smooth and precise.

And yes, straight cut gears will make more noise too. You should hear the gears in a racing transmission sing.

Listen to the gears in the M3GTR as Hans Stuck sets a lap record at the Nurburgring.

Sounds louder than the high strung V8 engine in front of it.

Gear Noise <<<<< Click Through


Oh, and I'd rather listen to a little gear whine over a hydrostat.