Mower and 3PH counterweight won't stay up.

[Templeton]

I'm using my BX2380 loader a fair bit, with the MMmower and the 600kg [EDIT - 170KG] counterweight attached to the 3PH. Over a half hour or so, the counterweight and mower slowly drift lower and lower, adversely affecting clearance particularly over uneven ground. If I don't regulalry raise it, it will slowly lower almost all the way down. It has had this problem since new. The dealer came out to do the 50 hour service last week, and said it was the raise/lower lever not being pulled to the back of the 'neutral' position. Sounded a bit dodgy to me, but i thought i should give it a try. I've tried it with the play in the lever moved to the back 'neutral' position, but the devices still slowly lower over half an hour or so.
A work around might be to shift the raise/lower speed knob to 'closed' but to my thinking, a brand new tractor should not have this problem. Is there an adjustment or an obvious problem causing this? My dealer's mechanic doesn't seem to have a solution.

The counterweight slowly drifts lower even when the mower is fully down and being used for mowing as well - most inconvenient, since if you're not vigilante, it can leave big gouges in the lawn.

T

 

[DustyRusty]

The 3 point hitch on my BX has been like that since day 1. I just close the valve under the seat, and it doesn't leak down. If I had to guess, it might be because the cylinder is designed that way, otherwise Kubota would have fixed it 15 years ago.

 

[JackJ]

Yeah, normal behavior. And the fix is as DustyRusty says: close down the valve all the way that adjusts the hydraulic flow. I’d also use the mower deck height adjustment to keep the deck in “top.”

Less weight on the 3ph will slow the drop. Can’t remember the spec for max lift, but 600kg is way above what I’d expect. Even 600lb seems too high.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

While it may be 'normal' behaviour it's not supposed to happen. A properly designed and built hydraulic system will not 'leak down'. What's probably happening is that oil is slowly being forced out of where it should be. One , the weight on the 3pt pushes the piston down and oil seeps around the ram's seals. Two, the 'back pressure' of the 3pt load pushes oil past the oring seals in the control valve. Hydraulics ,like life, is a compromise. Better oring materials cost $$ more orings cost $$$, so 'they' design for cost and 'it'll work ok'.
The classic 'fix' for 3pt leak down is to chain it up during work or transport on roads. It gets real noisey when a disc its the pavement !!

 

[200mph]

Lift capacity @ 24" behind pin lbs. (kg) 680 (310)

600 Kg might be a bit much for the BX2380

 

[dirtydeed]

as the others posted above, this is a very common issue that is easily fixed by closing the drop rate valve. When tractoring over uneven ground, the weight on the 3pt changes when it bounces, putting way more load on the three pint hitch arms.

If you close the valve off, your 3 point implement should stay in the raised position almost indefinably (not recommended for storage).

edit: just saw the 600KG notation. Thought you meant 600lbs. I don't think your going to keep 600KG's up in the air. That's an awful lot of weight for a BX and I think you're headed for trouble doing that.

Is it possible that you have the lift arms in the wrong hole? Not sure if BX series tractors have two different lifting positions on the 3 point arms. If so, use the hole closest to the implement for more lifting power (but lower lift height)

 

[Templeton]

Thanks for all the helpful replies, most appreciated.
Of course its not 600kg - only 170. Don't know how i typed that I'll blame the bushfire smoke.
I've amended the original post.

So if i pin up the 3ph and counterweight, I can then adjust the mower deck up and down as usual? seems useful, since i don't need the counterweight going up and down. I'll do a search here to see how that is done.

Turning the drop rate valve to 0 would mean first setting the mower height, turning the dial, and re-setting that knob every time I wanted to change the mower height - like when going over rough ground etc. Not too inconvenient, but bloody annoying on a brand new $20+K machine. Maybe I should have got a green machine.
T

 

[Templeton]

spent a few hours yesterday chaining up the counterweight.
I initially chained it at full height, only to find the mower deck then won't lower at all!

Spent the afternooon and a couple more trips to the hardware store, getting rated shackles and various weights of chain to find the precise length of chain and shackle combination that will go through the various holes and around bars and that will let the mower deck just kiss the ground while maintaining the counterweight in the highest possible position. There's an afternoon I won't get back...
T

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I don't have a MMM, though it's 'supposed to be easy' to put on/take off, I don't trust 'them'.
Can't be a whole lot of grass left 'down under' that needs cutting from wht I've seen on TV, why not take the MMM off for now ??

I know regular 'riders' decks are a PITA, so I have one dedicated to grass cutting, another for snowblowing. Getting too old to crawl on the dirt !

 

[JackJ]

You may have a good reason to do it the way you do, but personally, I never have a counterweight on when I'm using the mower deck, and almost always have the mower deck off when I'm using the front end loader, which is mostly when I use the counterweight.

Having enough garage (or similar) space to swap the deck and loader on and off is a key factor here I guess. And not wanting to compact my soil when I'm mowing by carrying more weight than necessary. Again, I understand your situation may be different.

 

[Templeton]

I don't have a MMM, though it's 'supposed to be easy' to put on/take off, I don't trust 'them'.
Can't be a whole lot of grass left 'down under' that needs cutting from wht I've seen on TV, why not take the MMM off for now ??
!

While the fires have burned a huge chunk of SE Oz, round my way fire is very infrequent - the woodland just doesn't grow enough fuel to carry huge fires. Still, fire is an issue since I back on to a creekline with huge river red gums, which would carry a crown fire on a code red day. I water my extensive front lawn to keep it green as a fire suppression measure - and to feed the roos who like a bit of green pick.
I leave the counter weight on so i don't have to keep changing up the attachments as I swap back and forth from loader to mower. However, you make good points - once i get into a rhythm at this new place, no doubt i will better sequence my mowing/loading tasks.
cheers, and thanks again for all the comments and suggestions, most appreciated.
T

 

[Tornado]

I see a lot of people here saying this is "Normal" for the bx, as if its no big deal.. For the 3ph to gradually drop its load over time while using the tractor? Really? This is normal? If it is then that is a huge strike against a Kubota bx tractor to me. Surely this isn't "normal". My L2501 doesnt leak down at all on the 3pt, except when the tractor is turned off, and even then it takes hours and hours to leak down. With the tractor running It doesnt leak down at all that Ive ever seen or noticed. Surely this is an issue that needs to be fixed.

 

[200mph]

I'm with Tornado.

I've owned three different Kubota's, one B and two Grand L's and the 3pt hitch always maintains position.

Just because it is normal doesn't make it right. As long as customers are willing to put up with poor quality, the manufacture has no incentive to improve.

 

[BlindBuck]

Is it a ballast box on the 3PH? If so just put the pins in the fixed position holes. At least that is what I do with my counter weight.

Also If you play with the dial it shouldn't lower, mine isn't closed but is fairly close to it. That lets my implements lower nice and controlled and they don't appear to move while in use (only after being shut off). When I initially got it after an hour or so of running I noticed it would drop just as you describe.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[wgator]

Is it a ballast box on the 3PH? If so just put the pins in the fixed position holes. At least that is what I do with my counter weight.

T,
Like blindbuck says, pin your 3PH as shown on page 55 of your operators manual (also shown in below attachment), it will keep your counter weight up but still allow full movement of mower deck.

 

[Tornado]

Some good work arounds, but im still really curious why this is happening. This sounds like a broken tractor issue that should be fixed. Hydraulic pressure should not just bleed out while youre using the tractor, and drop your 3pt implement into the ground. Thats not something you just work around, thats something you fix. If this is indeed completely normal for a BX, I would never recommend one to anyone, and I certainly will never own one. That's just crazy to me.