'new' family member: G1800S

[pigdoc]

I am new to this forum.

Just bought this thing on Auction Time:

Serial number indicates it was built in October, 1989. 1162 hours on it. Haven't seen any sell recently with fewer hours on them! Read: I paid about half of what I was willing to pay!
Talked to PO, and he said it had no mechanical issues at all. Not even a crack in the seat!
I'm picking it up on Monday. SO excited!

We used to mow a 1.5-acre yard with a G1800 (non-S) at the place we previously lived at (a rental) and LOVED this machine. Lots of grunt, very reliable. Quiet, smooth. Great deck. Wife loves the hydraulic lift. So, I kind of know what I'm in for. The yard where we live now is only about an acre, but involves more turning, so we'll enjoy the 4WS. Back then, I downloaded the service manual, so I'm all set to take ownership of this one.

I'll probably have to take the deck off to get it into the back of my full size pickup. Before I put the deck back on, it's getting the full service, and at the same time, I'll also give the electricals a thorough going over.

There's a G1900S selling at auction near where I live in SE Pennsylvania. It has the 60" deck, but is pretty clapped out, with 2600 hours on it. Serial number is unreadable. Runs a bit rough, probably needs fuel system work. Did not test the HST. Thinking about buying it for a parts machine if it goes cheap enough...

Thinking about upgrading the shafts with better yokes and joints...My son used to have a Wheel Horse D-250 (20hp gas Renault) with the same itty-bitty non-greasable joints. Major PITA to find parts.

Happy to be here, with all this technical know-how at hand!

-Paul

 

[Lil Foot]

Congratulations, & welcome to the forum!

 

[Henro]

First UBOTA I've ever seen!

(As shown in the photo )

 

[OrangeKrush]

First UBOTA I've ever seen!

(As shown in the photo )

It was a special addition back then..

Congrats on a nice find, looks like a new unit! I'm not familiar with this model. I was on the back roads the other day and saw a smaller Kubota for sale but did not pay much attention to it, later on I was thinking I may have screwed up never know may have been a Steal of a Deal!

 

[PaulR]

Congrats OP.
When I retire, I want to gobble up old (I know 89 aint that old) tractors and make them nice again.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

First UBOTA I've ever seen!

(As shown in the photo )

We'll have to start a collection to buy him a 'K'. New member gift, hah.

 

[mcmxi]

First UBOTA I've ever seen!

(As shown in the photo )

I hope it isn't like the Kabota that Neil Messick talked about on his YouTube channel recently.

 

[pigdoc]

Picked the G1800S up yesterday. I kind of expected it, but in the flesh, it's not as 'shiny' as I had hoped it would be. Seems to have been rather neglected, but I haven't even begun to dive into it yet. That's what you get when you buy sight-unseen, but I factored that into what I was willing to pay.

Everything works, but the mower deck seems quite loud in operation - probably some tired bearings. Or, maybe just dry bearings. No biggie there. One front mower deck guide wheel was shot, the other one was completely gone. And, I notice a peculiar whine coming from the transmission when the tractor is under load. So, I'll be servicing the unit very soon. Runs nice and smooth, plenty of power. I'm banking on the low hours (1192).

By the way, the clapped out G1900S with 2600 hours that sold at auction nearby on August 23? It went for $1400! I couldn't be there, so I placed an online bid for $475. Oh well, one less thing to worry about.

Saw a 2018 G2120 (16 hp diesel) with a 54" deck for sale in the Lancaster Farming weekly. Ad said it had 500 hours on it and the asking price was $6500! Makes me feel pretty good about the G1800 purchase! Pretty much the same machine, for a tiny fraction of that price.

-Paul

 

[pigdoc]

I started on the deck, and found the spindle bearings fried on all 3 spindles. The two ball bearings on each spindle are only separated by about 1.5", so they don't have the leverage to handle high side-loads. But, they need to be greased once in awhile too! Deck stamping itself is in very good shape, some recent paint loss under wet, accumulated clippings and under the pulleys which I'm dealing with using a wire-wheel and epoxy paint. The anti-scalp guide wheels (4) were all missing or torn up, but these are available in the aftermarket for about $12 each. Got a complete bearing/seal kit coming this week ($110). The belt was half-gone, so I ordered one of those (112", $40). I opened the gearbox on the deck this morning and it's full of gear oil. THAT is a big relief! U-joints on the PTO are in good shape, too.

Here's the stripped deck, ready for paint touch up:

I need to wipe it down to remove the oil/grease residue first. Original paint is still tightly adhered, if it wasn't rusty underneath. So, that made it easy to strip. You can see the new anti-scalp rollers at the left side of the image.

The hydrostatic trans has a bit of a whine under load, but the fluid looks new. Filter does not look new.
My next move is to pull the fenders, then pull that return line, so I can look at the screen underneath, and replace the o-ring at the top end of the line. Got two gallons of Super UDT at my local Kubota dealer for $24 each.

Somebody remind me to put the belt under the gearbox before I bolt it in!

-Paul

 

[pigdoc]

An update on this Project.

Finished the RC54 deck rebuild last Saturday night. [See other posting: "RC54 deck rebuild"]
Also finished going through the tractor: engine oil/filter, HST/filters, general clean up.

First, I removed seat, fender, and fuel tank to gain access to the HST return line. There was a MASSIVE amount of chaff accumulated under the fuel tank, and plugging all the cooling fins on the HST. I poked most of it out with a screwdriver, then soaked everything up in Purple Power. Regular hose with a spray nozzle blew everything out, down to the pristine factory-original paint. Beautiful!

Then, I removed the bolt through the banjo fitting at the lower end of the HST return line and drained the fluid. Screen behind that bolt had NOTHING on it. And, the top O-ring on the return line showed no evidence of leakage. So, I replaced the filter and buttoned her back up. Refilled with 6 quarts of Super UDT.

Also drained engine oil and replaced oil filter. Nothing remarkable there.

Had a rainy day yesterday, but we got a break today, so I thought I would fire her up for a test run. My first impression was that the strange whine from the HST was absent! I guess PO had filled trans with off-brand fluid...

Then, the moment of truth - engaging PTO. I had engine just off idle, and the mower bogged the engine big time at first. Took a couple of seconds for the deck to spool up to full speed. I knew it was going to be like that, because the spindles were new-tight and the pulley grooves were rusty, and so the belt was tight.

Went out an mowed the entire yard. Now looks like the fairways at Augusta! A veritable green carpet. Mower spindles generated some heat, but the engine handled it like I had hoped. Water temp gage stayed solidly in the middle of its range, and as within a minute of finishing mowing and disengaging PTO, the water temp fell by about 25%. Gotta love it!

Have you ever had the experience of running into a forgotten girlfriend from 10 years in your past? And, thinking: "We could make this work again!"? That's the feeling I had today. I LOVE this tractor!

-Paul

 

[jkrubi12]

Awesome job on the refurbishment, you'll get many hours of smiles in the future from the machine! Enjoy!

 

[ve9aa]

Post picture of old girlfriend.

I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

Great story. Sounds like it's gonna work out for you.

Well done !

 

[William1]

Great thread. Nice score @pigdoc