L2900 - 3 point arms have no lift, drop like rocks, need help troubleshooting

Tom Hutchins

New member

Equipment
L2900
Jul 26, 2026
4
0
1
Cedar Rapids, IA
Hello, I’m new to this forum also new to Kabota tractors, I have a late 90s L 2900 Kabota

Been a great tractor so far had it for about a year

The arms on the three-point hitch have given away. They just dropped to the ground. I can pick them up. Let them go. They drop straight down. There’s no catch at all.

I had gotten very low on hydraulic oil, so I filled it. I’ve also went ahead and replaced the filter.

Trying to do research on what this could be and getting turned around

I’ve also checked the knob that controls how much it drops and that’s fine, no matter what direction I turn it. It doesn’t change the outcome.

After I filled it out, I tried cycling the control arm up and down multiple times, and that didn’t work

The bucket still works just fine and I’ve cycled through that as well

does anyone have a good suggestion on what to check next?
 

Russell King

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L185F, Modern Ag Competitor 4’ shredder, Rhino tiller, rear dirt scoop
Jun 17, 2012
7,845
3,053
113
Austin, Texas
Ok we could probably help if you had a Kubota but I don’t know much about Kabota tractors! :D

Now seriously I assume that you have some problems with the hydraulic circuit that feeds the three point control valve so I will make some troubleshooting suggestions.

You state that the FEL is working correctly and I assume that the same pump for the FEL provides fluid to the rear hydraulics as well. So I am assuming that the pump is still making fluid move through the system but something is blocking it.

So you probably have some quick disconnects involved in the FEL valve to allow for easier removal of the FEL. There are probably 7 hoses on the FEL valve (4 connecting to the cylinders on the FEL and 3 connecting to the tractor. It is the three connections to the tractor that you need to investigate. The easiest thing to do is to disconnect all three hoses as if you are removing the FEL (I am assuming the valve is removed with the FEL). Disconnect them one at a time so you don’t get confused where they go. Clean both ends and then connect them back together and be sure they are well connected. Then move to the second one and repeat, then the third.

You are really not worried about the Tank Return line or the power in line but you may not be able to identify them so just do all three. The PB line should provide flow back to the three point control valve. I think it may have a bad connection.

After reconnecting the last line start the tractor and test the three point control valve and see if the arms are now moving. If not come back and tell us that it is still giving you problems. And please describe your hydraulic system in more detail (what FEL is installed, are there any other valves on the tractor?, …)
 

Tom Hutchins

New member

Equipment
L2900
Jul 26, 2026
4
0
1
Cedar Rapids, IA
Ok we could probably help if you had a Kubota but I don’t know much about Kabota tractors! :D

Now seriously I assume that you have some problems with the hydraulic circuit that feeds the three point control valve so I will make some troubleshooting suggestions.

You state that the FEL is working correctly and I assume that the same pump for the FEL provides fluid to the rear hydraulics as well. So I am assuming that the pump is still making fluid move through the system but something is blocking it.

So you probably have some quick disconnects involved in the FEL valve to allow for easier removal of the FEL. There are probably 7 hoses on the FEL valve (4 connecting to the cylinders on the FEL and 3 connecting to the tractor. It is the three connections to the tractor that you need to investigate. The easiest thing to do is to disconnect all three hoses as if you are removing the FEL (I am assuming the valve is removed with the FEL). Disconnect them one at a time so you don’t get confused where they go. Clean both ends and then connect them back together and be sure they are well connected. Then move to the second one and repeat, then the third.

You are really not worried about the Tank Return line or the power in line but you may not be able to identify them so just do all three. The PB line should provide flow back to the three point control valve. I think it may have a bad connection.

After reconnecting the last line start the tractor and test the three point control valve and see if the arms are now moving. If not come back and tell us that it is still giving you problems. And please describe your hydraulic system in more detail (what FEL is installed, are there any other valves on the tractor?, …)