Was at my dealer today..

[SidecarFlip]

To pay on my account...lol

Was talking to the head mechanic who I know from hunting and the subject of smaller Kubby's came up because he had a BX tore apart (front axle) and I asked him what the issue was.

he told me he regularly rebuilds front axles because Kubota uses ball bearings in the outboard drives on the smaller units and they won't take side thrust very well. I asked him what he meant and he said like being in a rut with the front bucket full and cranking the steering wheel to attempt to get out of the rut. He said it blows the balls right out of the race and then he gets to rebuild them.

True or not, I have no idea other than looking at the carnage in the one he had apart.

Naturally, I asked him if the bigger ones were the same way (my M's). he said no, the larger Kubota tractors use tapered rollers. I'm happy. I do a bit of twist and shout at times.

Right now, I'm square but that won't last very long.

 

[bxray]

Guess I need to ne more carful when I get stuck.

Ray

 

[D2Cat]

When you look at all the attachments including loaders installed on small tractors, and then the operators push using them to the limits, it's pretty easy to see how some failures happen.

 

[SidecarFlip]

When you look at all the attachments including loaders installed on small tractors, and then the operators push using them to the limits, it's pretty easy to see how some failures happen.

When we were talking, the owner chimed in too. he said the smaller tractors were good for his business (he sells a boatload of Kubota's and Cub Cadet and various tillage manufacturers too). I asked why the smaller units were good for business and he said people buy smaller units because of the attractive price, then they realize the smaller units aren't capable of doing what they envision /want so they come back and trade them in for a bigger unit. So he gets it both ways. He sells them new, takes them on a trade at a reduced price and then sells another bigger unit and sells or trades away the smaller used unit.

I was looking around his lot. Lots of smaller used Kubota's with low hours on them in his used lot. Not too many large ones and no big ones like I have. he did have 3 Mahindra's that were pretty big open station on the lot. Guess their owners learned they were junk.

Don't normally go there and get into discussions about tractors. It's really or should I say, 'used to be' an ag focus dealer, but as the area has become more suburban, his shift is to suburban tractors.

Didn't know bout the front bearings until we were talking in the shop and I looked at the BX and asked. Glad I have tapered rollers. I would have blown mine out years ago.

 

[SDT]

To pay on my account...lol

Was talking to the head mechanic who I know from hunting and the subject of smaller Kubby's came up because he had a BX tore apart (front axle) and I asked him what the issue was.

he told me he regularly rebuilds front axles because Kubota uses ball bearings in the outboard drives on the smaller units and they won't take side thrust very well. I asked him what he meant and he said like being in a rut with the front bucket full and cranking the steering wheel to attempt to get out of the rut. He said it blows the balls right out of the race and then he gets to rebuild them.

True or not, I have no idea other than looking at the carnage in the one he had apart.

Naturally, I asked him if the bigger ones were the same way (my M's). he said no, the larger Kubota tractors use tapered rollers. I'm happy. I do a bit of twist and shout at times.

Right now, I'm square but that won't last very long.

Interesting.

Would be very interested to know where the change from ball bearings to tapered roller bearings is made. B, L, M?

SDT

 

[John T]

wonder if you can convert to tapered bearings?

I never had mine apart yet to look....

I've done ball to tapered conversions on a few motorcycle stems. (neck bearings)

 

[SidecarFlip]

On the 2 above comments, I don't know. Next time I'm at the shop, I'll ask. Maybe Wolfman knows, I certainly don't.

t least the conversation was interesting and I don't understand why Kubota don't use tapered rollers throughout the model line, just makes sense to me but again, didn't ask.

I would imagine that without a front loader, it would never be an issue because Kubota as a rule over rates their loaders as to capacity, by that I mean that the loaders are usually able to pick up more than the tractor is capable of moving (lofting the back wheels) and they way it was explained to me by my dealer, adding a weight box or a rear implement and loading the tires and then filling the FEL puts a tremendous strain on the front end and the bearings and get the front in a twist under the right conditions and pop go the bearings. I also didn't ask if it was covered under warranty., so I have no idea if, in fact, it is.

 

[Donystoy]

I have rebuilt both on my B7200 4-5 years ago. Do tons of loader work so mine get a lot of wear. The last one that went literally split the inner race in half. Fortunately I keep an eye out for oil leakage so nothing else was damaged. About $100 in parts and a bit of time and I am back to work. And yes if I knew I was using it as much I would certainly have purchased a larger tractor.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Next time I visit, I'll ask at what model designation the bearings change and why Kubota uses ball bearings instead of tapered rollers.

I'm sure I can get an answer, my dealer is very up front, probably why he's always busy. Honesty pays off in the end.

 

[thepumpguysc]

On the discussion of ball brg. swap to roller brgs.
There is an injection pump that uses ball brgs on the camshaft..but when u go to replace them, the P# they give is for a tapered ROLLER brg..
Of course you have to check/set the camshaft end play after changing them.. & 90% of the time, I find the endplay to be TIGHT & a shim has to be removed inorder for the endplay to be correct.. & the camshaft to rotate..
So what I'm saying is.. its probably possible to change them to a tapered roller.. but A> you'd have to find the correct part #.. & B> you would have to check/set the endplay..

 

[SidecarFlip]

Don't think I've ever bought any bearings from a dealer. All bearing will have a number on them and you can cross that number at a bearing specialty shop like Detroit Ball. I would imagine that a roller set would have a wider footprint than a ball set.

I have an SKF catalog in te shop for reference. Timken too.

 

[skeets]

sidecar,, you are not one of those wack jobs that race bikes with a hack are you? Those guys are just flat out nuts, fun to watch though.

 

[D2Cat]

Different subject, but still at the dealer. Last week I needed some parts and while at the dealer asked who supplied the batteries on their shelf. They are black batteries with Kubota sticker all over them. Parts man and tech there, both said Interstate.

 

[Newlyme]

I used to work at the Coca-Cola bottling plant while my wife used to work at the Pepsi-Cola bottling plant on the next street over. Both plants bottled Dr Pepper under contract with the owner of Dr Pepper. We both made it to their specifications.
Don’t know the Kubota/Interstate battery specifics.

 

[SidecarFlip]

sidecar,, you are not one of those wack jobs that race bikes with a hack are you? Those guys are just flat out nuts, fun to watch though.

No, I'm old...lol I have a vintage Triumph with a sidecar on it. It's a show bike. I ride it once in a while. Mostly a trailer queen.

I collect brit bikes, older ones.. The ones that leak....

 

[SidecarFlip]

Different subject, but still at the dealer. Last week I needed some parts and while at the dealer asked who supplied the batteries on their shelf. They are black batteries with Kubota sticker all over them. Parts man and tech there, both said Interstate.

My M's came with Yuhasa Yumicron batteries with translucent plastic cases. Since replaced them both with Delphi Group 31's because I got them for a good price but, push comes to shove, I'd do Interstate.

Got 8 years from the Yuhasa's.

Dekka's and Crown are good too. Dekka is East Penn and Crown is in Fremont, Ohio Crown builds a lot of electric lift truck batteries.

Interstate (I think) is Johnson Controls in Waterville, Ohio They make Optima as well but Optima is overpriced for my uses.

If I had unlimited funds, I'd have Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries but they are insanely expensive.

 

[D2Cat]

Johnson Controls also make batteries for Walmart.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Said this before and it always applies... When buying a flooded cell battery (any brand), always buy from a volume seller. You always want the freshest battery you can get because once any battery is 'wet charged', it's useful life begins and if it's sitting on a shelf collecting dust, it's life is getting shorter. I bought the Delphi's from a volume Freightliner dealer so I knew they were as fresh as I could get.

Have no idea who makes them as 'Delphi' is just a name.

 

[D2Cat]

Delphi Automotive systems was a part of GM. They had a battery plant in Olathe, Ks. It was closed down and demolished a dozen years ago.

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jun/30/business/fi-delphi30

 

[SidecarFlip]

Delphi Automotive systems was a part of GM. They had a battery plant in Olathe, Ks. It was closed down and demolished a dozen years ago.

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jun/30/business/fi-delphi30

According to the article, looks to be Johnson Controls again... Lead is a funny thing these days. Lots of EPA rules.

They have a huge plant in Waterville, Ohio south of Toledo. Been in both 2 years now and no issues. I think each one was 60 bucks,