Give me Tips on Removing, Rebuilding L3710 Steering Cylinder

[MOOTS]

You pay 'em $20/hr (to throw a number out there, ain't too many who'll work for $20/hr now unless they're entry level).

I'm less than $20/hr. I keep 45-50 pieces of turf equipment/mowers/field rakes running. And probably the same amount of weedeaters, chainsaws, blowers and small single cylinder engines.
In our division, I am the 3rd down the ladder. Director, manager, mechanic and turf specialist, crew lead, worker.

And we just raised the worker from $11.33 to $15, crew lead from $16.40 to $17.50 and cant get any applications. They promised a raise for me and turf guy by October, we shall see.

I really don't know why I typed that out. Lol. Your sentence hit a nerve I guess.

 

[Mr Haney]

I still have no tractor. Everything went well until I put the cylinder back in. I made the mistake of moving the steering wheel to move the cylinder so it lined up with the locating pin, and the rod hit my front gear case cover and knocked a hole in it! Engine oil started coming out, so know I can't start or move the tractor until the hole is repaired.

I got a new (old) gear case and cleaned and painted it. Now I'm waiting for the mechanic I called to install it. No word in two days.

Thought I would improve myself and save some money by working on my own tractor. I can't say it has worked out as well as I had hoped.

 

[bjmsam]

The steering cylinder on my L3710 has been leaking for years and the bushings are shot.

I found this thread while preparing to tackle the job myself but am discouraged by your experience.

I have some unfortunate corrections to make to the post I made about getting the steering cylinder out.

I thought there was only one bolt holding the front end of the rod in place, and that bolt is exposed when you remove the battery tray. Sadly, there is a second bolt behind it, and Kubota puts it on good and tight. You won't be able to get a box wrench on it very well, and if you use one, you will probably round the head.

These two bolts keep a piece of sheet steel ("rod end shaft stopper") in place, and the edge of that piece goes into a groove around a pin ("rod end shaft") that holds the hydraulic rod in the tractor's frame. The piece of sheet prevents the pin from coming out. To get the rod loose, you have to take the bolts out and move the plate. Then the rod end shaft lifts out easily.

To get to the rear bolt, I drilled a 7/8" hole over it, in the grey part that blocks it... (photos)

Parts diagrams:

The tiny, grainy, black-and-white pictures in the Kubota manual are no end of help.

 

[Mr Haney]

You'll have to remove the radiator, which is not fun but not a terrible job. I suggest drilling the hole I mentioned above to get access to the hidden bolt you will have to take out. You can paint around the hole later to prevent rust.

Above all, don't use the hydraulics to adjust the position of the rod without attaching the cylinder at the rear to keep it from going through your front engine cover. I think it's best to have someone else watch it as you turn the wheel. If the cylinder goes through the cover, you will end up spending around 10 times as much as a cylinder repair would cost. Attach it at the rear and then adjust it to attach the front. That's my opinion, anyway.

I believe I had the shop write down the figures for the seal parts so I could avoid paying Kubota prices when it fails again, but I don't recall whether aftermarket parts were actually cheaper.