I only have 14 hrs on the tractor so it's going to be hard to claim faulty maintenance. I'll at least ask to see it and take pics.
Another question about New BX23S .. Broken bolt on Backhoe
- Thread starter cuzmarc
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Brand new BX 23 S owner here, 1.2 hours of FEL time, haven't even taken the travel pins out of the hoe yet.
My dealer did in fact grease all the zerks from what I can see just by looking at it last night.
I'm going to take a closer look at the OP's pics and see exactly where these pins are and make sure they are greased.
I already saw your "paint ring" issue and had the dealer prep guy cut off a few when I was picking it up yesterday!
Paul
OP: based on your pic, I'd say they definitely missed greasing that painted over zerk.
Here is a pic of my hoe, unused, just brought home from dealership. The got all the zerks for sure.
Here is a pic of my hoe, unused, just brought home from dealership. The got all the zerks for sure.
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Seems odd to me that with a new unit the owner (you) didn't go over it and insure everything was proper before using it the first time. That is referred to as a pre operation inspection. I bet you never checked the fluid levels either or the tire pressure.
Always bad to assume that someone else did it. Assuming will always end badly.
Always bad to assume that someone else did it. Assuming will always end badly.
14 hours.
That means that they'll try to make you prove that it was greased at 10 hours, per the books. Not trying to jerk your chain or anything, just preparing you for what could come up. They might want documentation. They're getting that way, but so is everybody else. Deere is asking for fluid analyses on engine and transmission repairs and I would assume that kubota will be doing it sooner or later too.
That means that they'll try to make you prove that it was greased at 10 hours, per the books. Not trying to jerk your chain or anything, just preparing you for what could come up. They might want documentation. They're getting that way, but so is everybody else. Deere is asking for fluid analyses on engine and transmission repairs and I would assume that kubota will be doing it sooner or later too.
I bet they will and soon.
FYI, with Deere, if you have an internal failure (motor or drive line) and the fluid analysis shows a non Deere approved fluid being used, they will not honor any warranty claim. No exceptions either. You buy a Deere, you are married to Deere no matter what and not just fluids either. Filters as well. No Wix or Baldwin on a Deere unless you want to void the warranty.
SOP for me is checking fluid levels every time I use either tractor and my loaders get greased at least weekly, sometimes more if loading round bales. No backhoe here, don't want one.
Not really, when you own 2 units that were over 50 grand new each, you take care of them and because mine aren't 'hobby' units, when I need them they need to be ready to go, with no issues.
If you don't maintain them and they break, you come on here and ask what the heck happened.
My favorite 'chuckle' posts are the battery threads. I change out my starting batteries every 5 years no matter what and I keep the connections clean and corrosion free too.
leveraddict
Well-known member
Equipment
2017 BX23S 60" LP BoxBlade 54" mower 60" BackBlade EA 12" 1 bottom plow & Forks
Paul that zerk on the right looks painted over! Although there is grease on the zerk I would make sure its coming out of the pin on the other side!
you're absolutely right. I'm a newB. They painted the zerk and the whole pin. My dealership tried to squeeze grease in there and it didn't go. It's plain to see now. I made the same mention in my new owner thread.
When you get your new machine with every zerk fitting filled with grease overflow, you don't typically think I'll clean that grease off and see if its paint plugged. Most of my fittings worked fine with grease flowing correctly. But it's obvious I should have been paying much more attention to the exit flow. After all it's not what goes in but what comes out that tells you if it's properly greased. My bad, I know better now.
leveraddict
Well-known member
Equipment
2017 BX23S 60" LP BoxBlade 54" mower 60" BackBlade EA 12" 1 bottom plow & Forks
I was at my dealer today getting everything for my 400 hr service! Not many machines on the lot like in spring! There was only one BX23S so I went over to look at it. Same painted over zerks with grease on them, but nothing coming out of the joints! I wonder if Kubota has addresed this issue?
I emailed my dealer with what I found, and a pic, and mentioned there are many of us here talking about it. He simply said "grease it". Then he went on about something I think about a design change and that they meant to paint that zerk in question, for some reason I don't know, didn't make make much sense but whatever. I tried my hoe for the first time the other night for just a few scoops after friends with beers stopped by. Seemed fine, no creaky car door sound.
Nonsense. Whoever is prepping these before paint just doesn't feel like covering up all the zerks and the dealers are not checking when they grease up the pins. My new LX had a few zerks painted over, all on the backhoe.
Ok I finally got my tractor fixed. Took it back to Kubota and the tech proceeded to preplace the old pivot pin. He said it was way too hard to pound out and suppected there was something really wrong. After a lot of pounding the old pin was out. Putting the new pin was so hard that he stopped and said it looked like far side of the hole from the zerk is somehow pinching the pin. Said he'd have to grind/hone out the hole (probably a bushing inside?) to get the new one in. Took a ton of grinding and honing but the new pin finally was able to be pounded in. Grease finally came out of both sides of the joint and no noise! Couldn't really see what he was grinding but it worked. There was nothing wrong with the old pin. I've attached a pic of the shiny new pin and the old one the left side of the old pin(the greasy side) was the far side of the pin away from the zerk. This is the side that was being pinched. Still not sure how the grease being pushed out of that small hole would travel to the both sides of the A arm. But it works now! No amount of greasing would have fixed this. Before I noticed that the keeper bolt on the end of the pivot pin would quickly bind up and sear off after a while. All of my other bolts were always loose. After the operation it's now loose.
GreensvilleJay
Well-known member
Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
While I'm glad you've got it fixed...
this concerns me..
re: Took a ton of grinding and honing but the new pin finally was able to be pounded in.
POUNDED IN ??? That should be a HUGE red flag...... there is NO way the pin should have been POUNDED in. They're designed to be silky smooth slid in, maybe a rap,rap with a very small ballpeen hammer not POUNDED in.
just be sure to add grease every 10hrs of use, just 1-2 squirts, enough to push out the old and in with the new...
this concerns me..
re: Took a ton of grinding and honing but the new pin finally was able to be pounded in.
POUNDED IN ??? That should be a HUGE red flag...... there is NO way the pin should have been POUNDED in. They're designed to be silky smooth slid in, maybe a rap,rap with a very small ballpeen hammer not POUNDED in.
just be sure to add grease every 10hrs of use, just 1-2 squirts, enough to push out the old and in with the new...
That sounds fishy to me too. The pivot pins should slide in easily. That is why they are cross drilled and a retaining bolt installed.
Yeah didn't really like the solution. Tech never said anything about sliding in easily. There are bushings inside and I've never done this type of repair. All bushing work on cars are super hard to get in.
Anyway it's done and I'll be monitoring it for the rest of my ownership.
Hey where did you find the "grease every 10 hrs" reference. I've gone over the owners manual and can't find any lube interval reference anywhere. Makes sense though.
I think a more serious aspect is that there is clearly something wrong coming from the factory. Paint covered zerks is bad enough but I think there is clearly a manufacturing defect. Anyone ever heard of a Kubota recall for anything or is it a squeaky wheel situation?
Anyway it's done and I'll be monitoring it for the rest of my ownership.
Hey where did you find the "grease every 10 hrs" reference. I've gone over the owners manual and can't find any lube interval reference anywhere. Makes sense though.
I think a more serious aspect is that there is clearly something wrong coming from the factory. Paint covered zerks is bad enough but I think there is clearly a manufacturing defect. Anyone ever heard of a Kubota recall for anything or is it a squeaky wheel situation?
I think I would try removing the pin. If it does not slip out easily, you have a problem in the making, which may not appear until after the tractor is out of warranty.
Sounds like a half a$$ed fix and not the correct solution. As said above, if things are aligned properly, pins slide in and out very easily.
Hand grinding is NOT precision machining...
Sounds like a half a$$ed fix and not the correct solution. As said above, if things are aligned properly, pins slide in and out very easily.
Hand grinding is NOT precision machining...
