Older B6000 namely I think 73-77

[Oldie68]

Hi all don't seem much info here on this li'l beastie. I recently acquired it with a fel and a smaller than LA340 backhoe. I'll try n upload some pics. The Kubota manuals I've acquired online aren't very informative or descriptive.
Someone must have adapted the fel and the hoe to this unit, not bad job I must say, just needs some refinements.
I'm trying to determine information about the dynamo/alternator (it seems to be referred to as a dynamo in a downloaded operators and service manual). As far as I know a dynamo produces DC current not AC as in normal alternators? Therein lies my dilemma as to what it actually is?
The manual list it as a 90Watt dynamo?
while running with voltmeter on dc volts at battery I read only 11 volts, and on AC setting on 50V scale, at 2 wires from the dynamo I read between 2-4, analog meter (not very good with understanding relevant scales on analog meter with respect to dial settings).
Also the steering didn't seem to work as intended or properly in the sub zero temperatures. From what I'm seeing and assuming the lower part of the steering box/gear seems to be inside the transmission and I'm wondering if there may be water/condensation that has gotten into the transmission oil and during the colder temperatures it freezes somewhat rendering the steering inoperable. Not sure about the pivots at the front axles freezing either.
But the steering was basically frozen or very stiff so I didn't force it I just waited till warmer weather. haven't drained and refilled transmission fluid just yet, also what grade and type of fluid is suggested? Aslo can a spin on engine oil filter be adapted, and a water temperature gauge and an oil pressure gauge>
Help with this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dave_eng]

The charging system is a DYNAMO. It produces alternating current which it outputs through two blue wires. The alternating current is rectified to DC to charge the battery.
Any excess output from the dynamo is dumped as heat by the fins on the rectifier. There is no feedback to the dynamo to reduce its meagre output.
The dynamo is almost trouble free electrically. Sometimes the internal bearings give up.
Forum member Lugbolt has put together a diagnostic procedure for these systems which I will attach.

Steering system will be external of transmission. Water getting inside and freezing breaking the box happens.
Dave

 

[Oldie68]

Thanks for the reply.
From what one individual said that the steering box isnt connected anyway fluid wise to the transmission, and one can see up through from below. Not the case with mine, i can't see anything from below except transmission housing. Doesn't seem to be anything borken once the weather warms up? I tested voltage while running at battery only read 11volts.

The charging system is a DYNAMO. It produces alternating current which it outputs through two blue wires. The alternating current is rectified to DC to charge the battery.
Any excess output from the dynamo is dumped as heat by the fins on the rectifier. There is no feedback to the dynamo to reduce its meagre output.
The dynamo is almost trouble free electrically. Sometimes the internal bearings give up.
Forum member Lugbolt has put together a diagnostic procedure for these systems which I will attach.

Steering system will be external of transmission. Water getting inside and freezing breaking the box happens.
Dave

 

[Russell King]

Most older Kubota tractors have manual steering where the steering column ends up in a gearbox at the lower end. That gearbox is generally bolted onto the top of the transmission case and has a pitman arm that attaches to the steering rod that goes towards the front end of the tractor.

Often the seal at the top of the column will fail and water gets into the gearbox and causes damage through freezing (cracks gearbox case) or rusted bearings.

If you think it was frozen then you might want to be sure to get that water out. But I don’t think that there is a drain on the box so you have to remove it or figure out how to vacuum the fluid out and then flush it out and replace the fluid.

 

[Lil Foot]

My B7100 has a drain plug on the side of the box, but it was so dirty that it was hard to find at first.
Maybe yours is the same?
#27 in the view below.

When I drained it, I got a little water out, then just oil. No apparent damage luckily.
Filled it with 85w-140w gear oil through fill plug, #14.

 

[D2Cat]

Nice looking attachments. I think the loader lifting power because the loader towers should be straight up and down and set in the lower mount. The angle to get the loader to fit restricts it's function some.

 

[kubotasam]

I tested voltage while running at battery only read 11volts.

Disconnect the 2 wires coming from the dynamo. If built like a B7100 their should be disconnects in the wires on the left side of the engine near the front. Measure the voltage across the 2 wires with a meter set to read AC voltage. With engine running a full throttle you should get a reading of somewhere around 30 volts AC. If voltage is correct from dynamo you have a defective rectifier or wiring problem.
The steering box is just bolted to the top of the tunnel that goes from the clutch bell housing back to the transmission. They do not share fluid.

 

[Oldie68]

Most older Kubota tractors have manual steering where the steering column ends up in a gearbox at the lower end. That gearbox is generally bolted onto the top of the transmission case and has a pitman arm that attaches to the steering rod that goes towards the front end of the tractor.

Often the seal at the top of the column will fail and water gets into the gearbox and causes damage through freezing (cracks gearbox case) or rusted bearings.

If you think it was frozen then you might want to be sure to get that water out. But I don’t think that there is a drain on the box so you have to remove it or figure out how to vacuum the fluid out and then flush it out and replace the fluid.

Thanks for the reply. Other than removing to inspect I dont think tgere is much if any danage as itseems to work fine once the weather warms up. If there is any fluid in that area to lubricate it may either be contaminated, low or non existant. Steering seemed tight, almost blocked/locked when the temperature was below freezing. So I didnt force just either worked with it or left it alone. Still learnin about this unit. I sorta understand the lower box compnents if they're similarto a yanmar after wat hong some fellows video on re &re a yannar bix.

 

[Oldie68]

My B7100 has a drain plug on the side of the box, but it was so dirty that it was hard to find at first.
Maybe yours is the same?
#27 in the view below.
View attachment 79674

When I drained it, I got a little water out, then just oil. No apparent damage luckily.
Filled it with 85w-140w gear oil through fill plug, #14.

Thanks for the reply and info. When I get back to it ill check for some sort of drain plug. Seems logical tgat nay ve my problem.

 

[Oldie68]

Thanks for the reply and info. When I get back to it ill check for some sort of drain plug. Seems logical that may be my problem.

 

[Vigo]

Oldie,

If you want me to stop repeating myself i will. However, I have said before, i think more than once, that the steering box does not go into the transmission, that the part it is bolted on top of is not even the transmission, AND I've posted pics of the gearbox removed from the tractor. Here it is again.

The square plug with a little orange paint on it is the fluid fill plug. Not all of them have drain plugs but if it has one it's directly on the other side (left side in this pic) and lower down. There is a preload adjustment which can be seen as a dark thing sticking out on the bottom left of this pic. However, i would NOT advise you to touch it until you know what the fluid condition is. It's easy for the fluid to become contaminated with water because there is no true fluid seal between where the steering shaft sticks out of the column where that rubber grommet is at the top, and the fluid in the gearbox below it.

Even if the fluid comes out nasty, I would remove those 4 bolts holding the steering column onto the gearbox, lift it out, and inspect visually whether there is serious damage before messing with the adjustment.

 

[Oldie68]

Oldie,

If you want me to stop repeating myself i will. However, I have said before, i think more than once, that the steering box does not go into the transmission, that the part it is bolted on top of is not even the transmission, AND I've posted pics of the gearbox removed from the tractor. Here it is again.

View attachment 79819
The square plug with a little orange paint on it is the fluid fill plug. Not all of them have drain plugs but if it has one it's directly on the other side (left side in this pic) and lower down. There is a preload adjustment which can be seen as a dark thing sticking out on the bottom left of this pic. However, i would NOT advise you to touch it until you know what the fluid condition is. It's easy for the fluid to become contaminated with water because there is no true fluid seal between where the steering shaft sticks out of the column where that rubber grommet is at the top, and the fluid in the gearbox below it.

Even if the fluid comes out nasty, I would remove those 4 bolts holding the steering column onto the gearbox, lift it out, and inspect visually whether there is serious damage before messing with the adjustment.

Thankyou for your replies and information, you sort of have to understand I'm learning about this unit, and the free or available online manuals are jinglish and don't really ilustrate or explain well, probably on purpose by kubota.
When I get back home I'll look for this plug indicated in orange.
This leads me to the question of self contained fluid. (which is something i suspected all along whether the transmission fluid lubricated the box or not, and as I have learned by your explanation it does not).
So you're informing me that the steering box has its own containmentin that lower housing for fluid, ok now what type of fluid, and about how much.
Now how much do I have to take apart to inspect, potentially drain and refill the steering box.?
I really appreciate the info. Obviously somone before me knew less, and wasnt very mechanically inclined.

 

[Vigo]

I have not looked up the 'correct' fluid but i can tell you it is a tiny amount, probably a pint or less of fluid. Your original problem is hopefully that there's excess water contamination in the fluid which is crystalizing into ice and making the steering either seized or very crunchy at below freezing temps.

If low temperature viscosity is an issue I would probably run automatic transmission or power steering fluid in it as both circulate through steering gearboxes that need to function at low temps and both are available easily and cheaply. I'm not sure what Kubota calls for in there but i can tell you in my opinion as an ASE master tech that there is no magic or large forces happening in that box, so basically ANY type of lubricating oil that wasn't diluted with water and wasn't overly thick at below freezing temps would serve the purpose. Feel free to use whatever is actually recommended, of course!

 

[Dieseldonato]

My old man's l245dt has gear oil in the steering box 80w90. Doesn't seem to steer any better or worse when plowing snow or working over winter.

 

[Vigo]

Aslo can a spin on engine oil filter be adapted, and a water temperature gauge and an oil pressure gauge>

Forgot to address this, plus i need to make at least one not-rude contribution to break even eh..
So as far as the oil pressure gauge, it is likely very simple and no different from any other engine. I installed oil pressure gauges on two 6100s, but they have a different engine from a 6000. If you have a low oil pressure warning light on top right of dash (next to glow plug indicator, above and left of ignition key) then you have an oil pressure sensor/switch somewhere on the engine. It will have one wire attached to the top of it, and will likely thread into a 1/8" NPT hole in the side of the engine block. 1/8" npt fittings are included in every mechanical oil pressure gauge set. If you want to retain the original warning light function you'll have to install a T fitting so you can run both the original sensor and the new gauge.

As far as water temp, the engine may already have a fitting on it in a suitable location that a regular automotive water temp gauge will screw into. On my 6100 tractor since i have so little dashboard space for gauges I actually cut up and modified a dual voltage&temp gauge that is supposed to plug into the 12v lighter/accessory socket in a car, and mounted it to my dashboard. I had to rewire and extend the temp sensor which i simply zip tied to the upper radiator hose barb to pick up heat through conduction with the radiator metal at the hottest point (where the upper hose dumps into the radiator tank).

These things are $11 on amazon.

I relocated the hour meter under the hood, used a very old oil pressure gauge i scrounged off something in the past, and installed that modified car charger type volt/temp gauge above it on the dash.

Oh and technically my dynamo is bad as well, but i got around it somewhat by installing a small voltage booster module from Amazon. You can get a whole pack of these things for under $10 on amazon.

It won't make free power, it will just reduce amps in order to boost voltage, but it's been working for me for most of a year now. I also have a 5w solar panel mounted under the seat to keep the battery topped off between uses (i leave my seat tipped up to keep rain off my shifter boot). So even though my dynamo only puts out like 14v when revved up, i never have a dead battery. It still won't charge at idle but will charge from like 1200rpm on up, where before installing the booster it would only charge near max rpm. Oh and i also have a 2nd battery mounted on my loader subframe and wired in parallel with the battery under the hood, so i have 2 group U1R riding mower batteries in there instead of 1 group 51 automotive battery.

So yeah, depending on how nutso you want to get, you can cobble dang near anything onto there.

 

[Oldie68]

I found the tiny fill plug, as well as what appeared to be a drain plug on the oppsite side of the steering box. Hardly anything came out whrn i removed it so I topped it of with 80W90 gear oil.

The charging system is a DYNAMO. It produces alternating current which it outputs through two blue wires. The alternating current is rectified to DC to charge the battery.
Any excess output from the dynamo is dumped as heat by the fins on the rectifier. There is no feedback to the dynamo to reduce its meagre output.
The dynamo is almost trouble free electrically. Sometimes the internal bearings give up.
Forum member Lugbolt has put together a diagnostic procedure for these systems which I will attach.

Steering system will be external of transmission. Water getting inside and freezing breaking the box happens.
Dave

 

[Vigo]

What did the fluid look like? There is not much in there, but if what came out looked absolutely terrible there's a chance that what is in there is so gunky that it won't flow out of the drain hole.

If there was no water accumulation freezing in that fluid, you would need to look in the two front hub assemblies to see if those might have water contamination. I wouldn't think those would be as subject to water intrusion from general rain/humidity but if the tractor ever forded water or passed through deep mud the water could intrude around the 'burfield' housing seal, or whatever it's called. Anyway, check the front hub fluids.

 

[Oldie68]

What did the fluid look like? There is not much in there, but if what came out looked absolutely terrible there's a chance that what is in there is so gunky that it won't flow out of the drain hole.

If there was no water accumulation freezing in that fluid, you would need to look in the two front hub assemblies to see if those might have water contamination. I wouldn't think those would be as subject to water intrusion from general rain/humidity but if the tractor ever forded water or passed through deep mud the water could intrude around the 'burfield' housing seal, or whatever it's called. Anyway, check the front hub fluids.

Hey thanks for the info. Well it took a couple ounces at least. Barely a drible came out. I doubt this machine has been that deep in water to affrcy the front hubs but that will be my next check on fluid level/inspection. I've only had it in deep snow so far.

 

[Oldie68]

My B7100 has a drain plug on the side of the box, but it was so dirty that it was hard to find at first.
Maybe yours is the same?
#27 in the view below.
View attachment 79674

When I drained it, I got a little water out, then just oil. No apparent damage luckily.
Filled it with 85w-140w gear oil through fill plug, #14.

Yes I agree. Think I found the filler plug a square head, and the drain plug something like a rubber plug. I filled the filer with 80W90 oil hopefully that will lube it up now. seemingly there wasn't much oil or fluid that came out when i removed the drain plug. have been using it more since so hopefully by winter it will be well worked back in. I'kk make sure to check the level before winter and top up if necessary.