B7200 metal shards/gummed up hst filter

[Work Horse]

Hey guys,

I picked up a B7200D hst in January, and overall it's an awesome-stout little tractor. Ive put around 60 hours on it (it's got just over (1000), and now that the warmer weather is coming around I'm starting to perform regular maintenance procedures. PO said he stayed on top of it regularly so I wasn't concerned..until now.

-Engine started leaking oil pretty bad, took a couple components off the engine and sealed with RTV and did an oil change. All seems good now!
-Tons of smoke on startup in the colder weather. Replaced glow plugs and decided to change the fuel filter only to find it was ORIGINAL!! It was so gummed up it started caving in on itself. Could not believe it - tractor starts so much nicer now.
-Went to change out the front diff/hub fluids. Hubs looked great. The front diff.. had water pour out the drain, followed by a molasses like sludgey oil. WTF. Must have been original. Filled it up, ran it, flushed it, filled it up again. Need to flush and fill again soon.

And finally! I went to change out the hydraulic/trans fluid and clean the strainers yesterday. The fluid looked nice and clean on the dipstick, but from everything else I discovered I thought it would be wise to change it anyways. PO probably used UTF or something. The fluid was clean, but I found quite a bit of metal shavings on both filters, and the hst filter was pretty plugged up.

Can anyone tell me what the metal shavings are from!? Is it safe to run the tractor? I spent an hour cleaning the filter yesterday. I used acetone, brake cleaner and even power washed it. I got it a lot cleaner, but I'm thinking about replacing it. Put filters back in, topped off with Mobil fluid 424 and ran it. What a difference it made on the hst trans. I'm really sorry for the long rant, just a bit peeved at the moment. Thank you guys.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Sounds to me like you got screwed. I will say in part that using RTV is a big no. Use 3 Bond instead and you have a multitude of other issues. Im sure there will be many comments to follow.

 

[07wingnut]

If the strainer has never been removed before, as might well by the case as implied by your findings on the other filters, the shavings you found may well be normal machining debris. Others have found the same on the first cleaning of the strainer.

 

[Work Horse]

Sounds to me like you got screwed. I will say in part that using RTV is a big no. Use 3 Bond instead and you have a multitude of other issues. Im sure there will be many comments to follow.

Story of my life. Lol. What's the concern with RTV, pieces breaking off? I used some for the oil filter housing and around the decompression valve (I think that's what it is-front of the engine with a cable coming out of it) Both were leaking pretty good.

Honestly the tractor runs the balls. PO lacked on the preventative maintenance for sure. With what I have done to it already, it shows these are tough machines. I couldn't believe the front diff didn't sieze up especially.

 

[Work Horse]

If the strainer has never been removed before, as might well by the case as implied by your findings on the other filters, the shavings you found may well be normal machining debris. Others have found the same on the first cleaning of the strainer.

I did read up on that the last couple hours. This being my first tractor I'm not entirely sure what worn hydraulic fluid would look like. I would imagine it would darken like most oils do? This stuff looked pretty clean, but I don't believe it was used for anything but a belly mower and hst obviously. I've got a loader coming my way which is why I wanted to start off with fresh fluid. Man, I really don't need to be rebuilding the trans on top of everything else.

 

[SidecarFlip]

One thing I'd do immediately is loose that cheap azzed fluid and replace it with Kubota fluid. That cheap azzed fluid will ruin your HST in pretty short order. Then you'll have a rock.

 

[Work Horse]

One thing I'd do immediately is loose that cheap azzed fluid and replace it with Kubota fluid. That cheap azzed fluid will ruin your HST in pretty short order. Then you'll have a rock.

I did. Mobilflud 424 is the newer version of 330 or whatever it is-which is an approved hst oil by Kubota. It was roughly $90 for 5 gallons. Hard to find anything else that is approved. Drove the 7200 around a bit after putting new fluid in and you can tell the difference.

 

[Pau7220]

The Mobil 424 does state exceeds Kubota UDT. I believe the recommendation you'll see later is that a HST should have SUDT which is a full synthetic.
Messicks or Coleman will ship it to your door via UPS.

 

[Work Horse]

The Mobil 424 does state exceeds Kubota UDT. I believe the recommendation you'll see later is that a HST should have SUDT which is a full synthetic.
Messicks or Coleman will ship it to your door via UPS.

Is that true for the older HST Kubotas too? Just curious. I went with the Mobil 424 cause it's listed as the replacement for Mobil 3xx, which is recommended by Kubota in their manual for the B7200. Anyways, I think I'm gonna roll with the 424 at least for now.

Does anyone have any input on the metal shavings on the strainers? Should I continue to run it as is?

 

[Pau7220]

Is that true for the older HST Kubotas too? Just curious. I went with the Mobil 424 cause it's listed as the replacement for Mobil 3xx, which is recommended by Kubota in their manual for the B7200. Anyways, I think I'm gonna roll with the 424 at least for now.

Does anyone have any input on the metal shavings on the strainers? Should I continue to run it as is?

I'm sure the techs will advise on the oil... Full synthetic would definitely help with preventing oil breakdown from the fluid shearing that goes on inside a HST.
The Mobil is a quality product my GST would be happy with.

Pics would definitely help on what you found on the screen.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

The fluid you've picked is fine.

With everything else you've found wrong and un maintained , it might very well be from the original milling on the parts for the tractor.

If everything is working as it should, I would worry about it.

 

[Work Horse]

As you can see there's quite a bit of metal. I'm hoping for the best here, but it sounds like there's no way of really knowing until either something goes wrong, or I do my next oil change. I don't know a whole lot about these tractor yet, but if I do have an issue here would it be likely to be a pump failure? Thanks everyone.

 

[Pau7220]

You have no issues there. Keep your fluids and filters changed on time.
Enjoy your machine!

 

[Work Horse]

You have no issues there. Keep your fluids and filters changed on time.
Enjoy your machine!

I sure as hell hope your right! If not I'm totally f'd. I had just thought about the new rear tires I put on and was wondering if possibly I screwed something up. The new tires seemed about an inch taller than the old ones even though they were the same size. I was wondering if that could do damage.

 

[rentthis]

Have you factored in wear on the old tires. The new ones will be somewhat taller. Run it like you stole it. You'll be fine.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Only real issue is the previous owner lied to you....

 

[Work Horse]

Only real issue is the previous owner lied to you....

If that's the only issue then I'm doing better than I thought! I typically go through any vehicle/machine I get no matter what the seller says, and I'm glad I did this time!!! Hopefully the next time I do a tranny flush it looks a bit better.

And as for the tires I did factor in some tread wear old vs new, and these still seem way stubbier for a turf tire. Been running like this for months now though and never noticed any sort of binding.

 

[Work Horse]

Here's a pic of my tractor and the tires I got on them. Quite stubbier than originals. Surprised to find the set on ebay, $300 for both and they are 12Ply.

A little off topic - can anyone tell me what the valve in the 2nd picture is for? I cleaned up the engine with degreaser and now it's leaking pretty good right where the valve is, also can anyone tell me what it is used for and whether it should be open/closed? Thanks again everyone

 

[thebicman]

It's called an air vent. Should always be closed. The purpose is it allows you to bleed air from the fuel line if you run it dry or change fuel filter. If you go to Kubota books you can download the full operators and work shop manual for free.

 

[Work Horse]

It's called an air vent. Should always be closed. The purpose is it allows you to bleed air from the fuel line if you run it dry or change fuel filter. If you go to Kubota books you can download the full operators and work shop manual for free.

I did download the manual. Just didn't get a chance to look through it all. When it was completely closed it leaked the most. Is there an O ring or something that might have failed? I'll have to look into it. Thank you once again everyone.