Bx23s arm rest defect?

[FloridaOrange]

Anyone else having this issue? My padded armrest vinyl has split open twice now. Once a couple of months after purchase and again at only 2 years old. This machine is garage kept and only has about 170 hours of lite residential use. It has in no way been abused. The dealer replaced the entire seat on the first go around and I just contacted them again to see if they will again make things right. I am currently awaiting their response. But neither they, or anyone in google land appear to be seeing this type of issue. Just me. Any thoughts?

 

[PaulR]

First world problems. --
sorry don't mean to make light of the issue.

Just a thought: Hard to tell from the pic but it looks like the very leading end of the rest where your hand would be?.....Could it be that when you get out of the seat each time you press all your weight on this edge of the rest to stand up and get off the tractor and that lead it to crack?

 

[OrangeKrush]

Or maybe lifting and slamming it against the stops when exiting.. just fishing here!

 

[MadMax31]

Mines 4 years old, 300+ hours. Nothing like that, and she unfortunately spent a calendar year outside before the shed was built...

 

[GreensvilleJay]

arms are fine, but I've 'lost' the trim cap/covers from the back a couple of times.... $7 parts.
They 'magically' pop off , if you don't do ALL the steps right when going from driving to digging positions.....
3yrs old, 650+ hrs....

 

[FloridaOrange]

arms are fine, but I've 'lost' the trim cap/covers from the back a couple of times.... $7 parts.
They 'magically' pop off , if you don't do ALL the steps right when going from driving to digging positions.....
3yrs old, 650+ hrs....

 

[FloridaOrange]

Negative on the weight on armrest theory. This is the underside near where it pivots. Also, I am 6’2” and 180lbs, so I doubt I am putting more strain on anything mounting or dismounting than any other human would. The trim caps did get gone soon after purchase which was frustrating, but not a huge deal. The cracked cushion, however really does suck. I’m not real fond of spending the rest of my life on a well taken care of shinny like new orange machine with a bunch of gooey duct tape holding the arm rest together. Great tractor otherwise.

 

[Henro]

Anyone else having this issue? My padded armrest vinyl has split open twice now. Once a couple of months after purchase and again at only 2 years old. This machine is garage kept and only has about 170 hours of lite residential use. It has in no way been abused. The dealer replaced the entire seat on the first go around and I just contacted them again to see if they will again make things right. I am currently awaiting their response. But neither they, or anyone in google land appear to be seeing this type of issue. Just me. Any thoughts?

Perhaps your argument could be that you had an immediate failure after purchase, and now you’re suffering the same failure with the replacement seat, that was probably produced at the same time as the original seat was.

So therefore it’s likely they had a defective run of seats at that time…

What’s the chances that you could suffer the same thing twice without some kind of severe abuse? Kubota probably knows they had an issue around the time you purchased your tractor.

Of course, there are three sides to every story...

 

[Pau7220]

The armrest is gray....... JB Weld is gray .
Just to keep the water out (without gooey duct tape).

 

[OrangeKrush]

Any chance you could check any others out at your local dealer? I mean it does look like it would have to be a defect.. have to look very carefully to see if you see any splitting in that area on a new one. I'll check mine if I think about it though it's a 2680 I'm not sure if their the same or not.

 

[FloridaOrange]

Hey guys, got distracted for a while, so failed to keep up with the replies.
Has anyone tried JB Weld for something like this? I did have great success with it on a Swiss Army knife. Nothing else i tried would adhere the plastic handle to the stainless steel. Also just saved myself some serious $ repairing a chip key for my Ford. The plastic self destructed and no way to crank vehicle with out the chip being in exactly the right proximity. A little JBWeld and I’m back in business.
But i digress, that was all for hard repairs and the armrest is that soft foam padded stuff. Would JB work or make the tear worse with use? Please advise. Thanks

 

[GreensvilleJay]

There's a JB Weld 'version' for bumper plastic. I'd take the arm off (download the parts picture...),tape off the arm near split, slowly fill the crack, wait for a day,remove tape, reinstall.....

 

[FloridaOrange]

Thanks G. Was unaware of the JB bumper product. Will give it a try. Ive got my defect documented with my Kubota dealer, so I suppose there is no harm in me attempting a home repair. Especially since they are claiming there are no replacement parts available for the immediate future.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

have them swap out one from the showroom BX23S ! hehehe.....
JB makes 8-10 different types , you could also use 'ureathane' adhesive( stuff glues windshields in...) if you can get grey. It's REAL messy to deal with(fixes workboos good though !!)
whatevere you use ,underfill the crack,better a small valley than a mtn ridge.

 

[Pau7220]

When you apply the epoxy, cover it with clean wax paper then level and feather edge with a squeegee. When it is set you can remove the wax paper. No valley, no ridge. If anything sticks a wet scotch brite will remove it.

 

[kubotafreak]

I would try gorilla glue over jb weld. It would be more appropriate for the sponginess of the inner foam. You would need to mask off the surrounding crack, fill with glue, apply pressure/clamp, and cut off excess that expands out.

Looks to be the same type build as the grand l 60 seats. They would get weather chapped, but never had one crack from being outside.

My take from looking at that seat, is the inner frame has let go internally. Does that arm rest move back further than the vertical position? If that is the case it would very much be a manufacturing defect.(tube weld broke from pivot) I assume you use the arm rest to help rotate the seat to the backhoe position.

Seat is available as complete assembly $908. Sounds like dealer is backing out from you.
Or you might investigate if the seat back(30 $440) includes the arm rests. Which by the images would might be a possibility. The bottom is not avail separate of the "assembly".

 

[Fordtech86]

Random thought from reading through…doesn’t seem to be a common failure. Tractor is garage kept, is it kept near a window that sunlight shines through? Have seen many instances in the auto world that are attributed to the magnifying effect due to where its parked.

 

[FloridaOrange]

Excellent suggestions guys. I will definitely keep beating on my dealer and attempt to do a home repair while i wait. Definitely will NOT spend $900 fir a new seat. Id sooner sit strap on a milk crate.
As for the comment about the internal support being broke. It is stout when i put normal downward pressure, but not sure if it gives any in the up position. Ill check that this evening. I can see where that could be a hidden possibility.
Sun damage is not a possibility unless the materials were just complete s*** to begin with. No way a piece of farm equipment should give up the ghost so soon. Especially since it has been “babied”.
But, with all this said, do any of y’all use any kind of protectant on your plastic/vinyl?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

curious was i...


No code has to be inserted here.
is the # for the RIGHT arm rest, $210 CDN,no price for the LEFT one ......

Had mine all apart after I dropped it ,getting it off to remove fueltank last year.
Note.... seat assembly is HEAVY and AWKWARD...best ave 2 guys. Arm rest is light and easy though.

 

[OrangeKrush]

If I do use anything on my plastics such as Armor All.. I make sure it is "Dry" wiped down good with a dry cloth after applying. If it is somewhere where the sun doesn't get to it like under the hood or inner fender wells I'll leave it.