Tapping hydraulics on an old L-series Kubota?

[StorminN]

Hi folks,

I just picked up an old Kubota... an L200... my first tractor in the 20hp+ range. I'd like to tap into the hydraulics on this rig, so I can run remote stuff... a wood splitter, a live top link, maybe even a loader eventually... so I'm trying to learn how to do this.

This model has a hydraulic pump on the front of the diesel engine, and the hydraulic reservoir is built into the front part of the fuel tank. Hard lines run from the pump & tank, back to a single valve located under the right side of the operator's seat. In the operator's manual I've got, it talks about tapping into the plug in the top of this valve to get hydraulic fluid for remotes, but it doesn't talk about where to tap into the return line.

One guy I've emailed with said that the hydraulic system on this tractor is an metric standard that the Japanese got from the English... and I'd need to find the correct pressure T, fittings, etc... but he didn't give specifics, and now he's on vacation for three weeks(!)...

So, I'm wondering if anyone has worked on the hydraulics of these older L-series Kubotas, and knows what standard they are and where to buy parts.

Below is a picture of the valve in question. The return line doesn't actually come out of the valve itself, it comes out of the housing next to it, which is the housing for the 3pt hitch lift cylinder. The high-pressure feed line from the pump enters this valve on the under side, you can't see it in this pic. The front of the tractor is to the right in this picture.

Thanks in advance, for any help!
-Norm.

 

[L4740]

I removed a hyd. blade from my L210 during the restoration. The L200 was the predecessor to the L210 but other than some styling differences they are virtually the same tractor.

Here are some pictures of how it was tapped into the valve under the seat, and how the return was plummed directly back to the bottom of the tank. Who ever did it, just used regular galvanized street el's. I just used regular SAE threaded plugs to cap them off when I removed the hoses. I hope this helps.

 

[StorminN]

Thanks L4740, that helps a lot! I haven't noticed whether the return pipe on mine extends to the left side of the frame like yours, under the tank... but I will check! Standard SAE fittings, eh? Hmm... I might have to take that plug out of the top of the valve tomorrow, and check it out!

Thanks,
-Norm.

 

[L4740]

Norm, I might add that the L210 was the first L series tractor to be exclusively sold in the USA. The L200 was sold here in the USA before the
L210, but was also sold in Japan. I don't know if this would have any bearing on what type of threads there may be on your hyd. valve. Also, all the work of adding the remote hyd. was done prior to me acquiring the tractor. I just removed them. And in my case, the standard pipe thread plugs screwed into the elbows. Good luck.

 

[StorminN]

Hi L4740,

I checked my L200, and it has the same return pipe coming out from under the left side of the hydraulic tank... and it has a plug in it... (pictures soon) good news!

I got a reply on a non-tractor forum that said:
"The fitting will be British parallel pipe, the thread angle is one half of a degree different than US pipe, use an o-ring fitting."

We have a good hydraulic shop the next town over, and they also happen to be the local Kubota dealer, too... so I think I'll take the plug out of the valve and go visit them on Monday or Tuesday, and see what I can get to fit...

Thanks very much for you help!

-Norm.

 

[Birddog25]

Will tapping into this system give you enough power to run a log splitter?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Will tapping into this system give you enough power to run a log splitter?

What tractor are you considering?
Most of the older L's have the power, just not the flow rate, so a splitter is incredibly slow.

 

[Birddog25]

A L-210. Isn't the pump like rated like 2 or 3 gpm?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Yea 2GPM or 3GPM would be so slow it would make you cry.
Most splitters run 11GPM or greater pumps, good ones run 16GPM.