Butch apparently had better luck with Kubota furnishing the parts for free than I did so I made my own with parts from TSC. I was not about to pay Kubota to fix their design flaw.
It required a 4-foot 3/8 hydraulic line cut off on one end to slide onto the steering box outlet and clamped. A 90 degree 3/8 fitting and 3/8 extension to get over the plate (see pic). Had to buy a tap for making the threads also.
Originally I did not extend the 90 and ran the hose in front of the dipstick, had to grind a little on the bracket. I didn't like that setup and put the extension in and routed it like the kit does. Much cleaner appearance and no more interference with the plastic front cover. If I had to do over I might just use automotive transmission line similar to the OEM line as it would be smaller outside diameter and would be easier to thread through between the hydro pedal and other lines. The 3/8 hydraulic line I used is nice and rugged and I'll not have to worry about it wearing, but it was tricky to get in place. You must be very careful to secure the line so it will not rub on the hydro pedal and cause it to stick.
After making this mod in August and using it very hard in tall grass I have only had slight loss of power steering after 2-3 hours of extreme use and no loss of power steering in normal mowing use (which is still above average hard use). I am going to do a filter change and switch to UDT instead of SUDT this week. For all practical purposes this is a fix, any hint of steering loss is under abnormally hard use and the loss is maybe 10-20% vs. previous 100%.
The third pic is where the original line from the steering box to the pump inlet is cut, plugged, and secured with the original hose clamps. The new power steering line that now runs from the steering box outlet to under the seat as in pic 2 can be seen (the one that says MAX) just behind the hose clamps. The 90 degree fitting has about 1/4 inch clearance between itself and the hydraulic bleed adjuster, the pic is deceptive and makes it look like it's touching.
A side note:
I'm not too happy Kubota refused to send me the kit for free considering it is a design flaw. Doesn't give one a good feeling about recommending Kubota to others after we have suffered with this problem they knew about and haven't recalled or helped out with. I had discovered this thread in July and taken off all the parts needed for inspection and access and the day after I first posted here (July 29th) I had a heart attack and wound up in ER. A few days later (after heart catheterization and stents in the arteries) I was home with a tractor apart and grass 12+ inches tall. I explained my condition to Kubota and requested the kit free of charge, they refused. I was hobbling around my garage with the wound in my femoral artery and dealing with that pain and 94 degree heat to fix the machine I had already taken apart. Would have been far less painful if Kubota had supplied the parts. I talked with Dennis Hood on the phone about this, though he was personable he still had the corporate can't help with parts attitude. Considering my condition at that time I find it unbelievable Kubota refused the parts. After seeing that I could never recommend Kubota to anyone in the future. I refuse to support companies who hide their problems and hope they go away.
