BX 1880 130 hours UDT leak lines in or out of transmission

[eastvt]

Finally took the oily puddle under the tractor seriously. I had thought the oily spot was just melting hot grease from the mower bearings (I do grease those up), but I finally climbed under after moving the hot tractor and seeing the new drips under the rear of the tractor, under the seat. It’s dripping off of the hydraulic line at the low point there, quite wet and oily with it. The transmission oil dipstick is only about halfway down the hatched area, so it’s not too bad. But bad enough to fix.

So like I said, it’s very oily at the lowest point, but that could be coming from anywhere above it. Following that line up, it comes out of the transmission on the right side, above the right rear tire. At the high point it’s a little bit oily but not as aggressively leaking as I see coming onto the ground, at all. As near as I can see the whole cover of the line is pretty soaked in UDT. I wrapped a paper towel around it ant the top/transmission connecting points and mowed a little, and none into the paper. So maybe down lower? Cumulative leaks from multiple points? I checked with a wrench, and nothing I can reach seems loose on the lines.

130 hours on it, I guess 4 years old. I’ve had 18 HP Kubota diesel tractors for 25 years now, the old one was really old. This new one has been perfect up to now.

I assume the lines are intact and there are O rings or couplers or something in there? Or maybe a line has a crack? Seems too new for that. I searched the forum and YouTube, but there is so much about hydraulic leaks, hard to sort through and I didn’t see anything about this spot.

Thanks for any wisdom!

 

[eastvt]

Kubota dealer is not too far and does housecalls (at least for maintenance), but if I knew what to do I’m sure I could do anything myself. I’m guessing I take off the rear wheel to have a clear shot at those hoses from top to bottom. Done loads of mechanical work but never had a hydraulic leak before.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

This vent line is very common for getting damaged and leaking.

 

[eastvt]

Ah, interesting.

 

[eastvt]

The hoses between these fittings in the attached photos are soaked, but the fittings themselves are dry. There doesn’t seem to be any leak on any of the metal parts it seems. It seems likely to be one of those hoses I think? And right by the rear wheel there is seems possible a chunk of ice or a stick jammed up there and pulled or scratched something?

I downloaded the workshop manual but it doesn’t show these hoses except maybe on a schematic. 25 years of Kubota diesels and I’ve never had to pull a hydraulic hose, so I don’t know anything about it. Not in the service manual. I’m afraid if I loosen one of those nuts that high pressure fluid sprays out? Or the quick coupler stops that?

Dark out now, probably can’t work on it until Sunday or Monday. It seems like the first thing to do is cut the zip ties and get that black cover off (around both hoses) and examine the hoses directly.

 

[whitetiger]

I downloaded the workshop manual but it doesn’t show these hoses except maybe on a schematic.

Those hoses are part of the loader, so they will only be shown in the loader WSM.

Disconnect the hose at the rear of the hose, remove the sleeve, and reconnect the hose. You can then clean the hoses off, then run the tractor and operate the loader. You will then be able to see which hose is leaking. When you replace the failed hose, you can reinstall the cleaned-up sleeves.

 

[eastvt]

Ah, that’s why I can’t find them! Too bad I just took the loader off. I just finished a bunch of firewood work over the last several weeks, and wasn’t planning on doing more firewood (for ‘26-27) until after frost or so.
I find that putting the loader back on is only sometimes as easy as the YouTube videos. Sometimes it goes right on, sometimes it is a struggle.

It did seem to leak some after I took the loader off and just mowed, so maybe there’s pressure there, and I’ll be able to see without the loader on.

 

[eastvt]

After I troubleshoot and determine for sure it’s one of these two hoses, I’m afraid I’m going to have to go to the dealer for it, which is fine, just more driving. I can’t find it as a part anywhere.

 

[whitetiger]

After I troubleshoot and determine for sure it’s one of these two hoses, I’m afraid I’m going to have to go to the dealer for it, which is fine, just more driving. I can’t find it as a part anywhere.

You do not have to actually have the loader on the tractor; you can just move the control lever back and forth to pressurize the hoses.