Found some weird stripped bolts sitting on my new LX-2610

[HowardTractor]

I got my LX-2610 a few months back. it came with the auger attached to the three point hitch. When I got it home I took it off as I didn't need it right away. I've been using the FEL and the MMM for various jobs the last month or so while I have been waiting for the back ordered rear blade. I picked it up today and I was looking to attach the quick hitch to the rear 3 point hitch when I noticed some bolts just sitting loose tucked down below the rear pto.

I looked a little closer at the bolts and it looks like there is metal around the bolt that will just unscrew. In general the bolts look pretty beat up:

Any thoughts as to what is going on here? Did someone just strip these out while they were assembling the tractor and just leave them there? This is really the first time I looked closely at that rear hitch since taking off the auger. I am scratching my head trying to figure this out.

 

[Njtool]

Those belong in the holes right above them. I don’t know what could have caused them to do that!!

 

[je1279]

I agree with @Njtool. Mine look like they were added after paint but that is definitely where they belong. I would contact your dealer ASAP about this.

 

[Lil Foot]

I don’t know what could have caused them to do that!!

Except severe over tightening.

 

[HowardTractor]

Thanks for the pics. So, if when this thing was being assembled, someone had the wrong torque setting and overtightened this so severely that it stripped out the receiving threads, what does a fix for that even look like. That seems like a pretty major piece of metal that is screwing into. Not sure what that is, rear axel? When I am working with the dealer, what should I be making sure get's done? Thoughts.

 

[jimh406]

I’m interested to see what the dealer says. Good luck.

 

[je1279]

I believe the bolts thread into the differential gear case. I would request that be replaced and all associated bolts torqued properly.

 

[wgator]

Thanks for the pics. So, if when this thing was being assembled, someone had the wrong torque setting and overtightened this so severely that it stripped out the receiving threads, what does a fix for that even look like. That seems like a pretty major piece of metal that is screwing into. Not sure what that is, rear axel? When I am working with the dealer, what should I be making sure get's done? Thoughts.

Check out this thread, especially post 12 and 14. Although it is for a B3350, the area and bolts look exactly like yours. Hopefully you didn't get the collateral damage as in post 12 from the top bolts pulling out. Post 14 gives the cause, which possibly is the cause of yours unless the correct bolts were infact used and extremely overtightened. Link to thread CLICK HERE

 

[Fordtech86]

Just an observation, may be way off hard to see in pics.

Is there something added to the tractor at that location for anything (thinking maybe mmm?) The bolts in Howard's have had a socket on them after it left assembly, you can see the marks in the paint. It kind of looks like an extra plate is between the outer piece and the axle housing.

Cant tell if NJs tractor has that, doesn’t look like it but you don’t see witness marks on the bolts, they are still painted.

On JEs tractor I can’t tell either, but the unpainted bolts on his maybe be because something is added and longer bolts supplied for reassembly? Why Im thinking something with mmm since je and op list one, NJ doesn’t (not sure if he has one)

Would think this is a dealer issue and not a Kubota defect.

 

[Russell King]

Thanks for the pics. So, if when this thing was being assembled, someone had the wrong torque setting and overtightened this so severely that it stripped out the receiving threads, what does a fix for that even look like. That seems like a pretty major piece of metal that is screwing into. Not sure what that is, rear axel? When I am working with the dealer, what should I be making sure get's done? Thoughts.

There is a product to repair stripped out threads called Helicoil (and various other trade names are similar products). That is what the repair will be and should have been done by the dealer before delivery. The shop was probably unaware of the problem or was just not honest enough to fix the problem if they were aware.

I can’t imagine they will replace the housing but you can press them on that to see.

If they are ROPS bolts you may get some argument that you damaged them by running the ROPS into something. I would examine the problem further to see if any other bolts are loose or stripped out and if you can see any damage on the upper part of the ROPS. I don’t think you will find anything on the ROPS but I would take pictures of anything you see. I would not take it to the dealer without having them and you take pictures of it un damaged so you have evidence that you did not do anything by running the ROPS into your garage door header or similar situation. You don’t want to get into that argument if it can be easily avoided.

Now if you did something then just fess up and have it repaired on your dime.

And as a last thought = the helicoil repair is stronger than original if done properly with the correct tools and insert length. I am sure you can find out many different opinions about them but that’s my opinion. The dealer may offer to go up in bolt size into the parent metal of the case but that has its own drawbacks and benefits to consider

 

[Justasquid]

While looking at the bolts, that doesn't Look like very much thread engagement, ( ideally 1.5 times the diameter minimum for stressed bolts, which would lead me to think wgator is onto something.

The heli-coils or keenzerts work well in the proper application, however, looking at the picture of the casting, I wouldn’t be comfortable drilling a larger hole in that casting. it looks like an already thin walled tapped hole. the helicoil will require a larger hole to be drilled and tapped, and that would likely weaken casting too much. If the dealer messed up, I would want the proper repair, which is a new case.

After seeing the above posts, I think if my bolts were the same color, I would pull them and measure the thread engagement to make sure it’s adequate. Or at least a call to the local dealer to see if they in fact ship with short bolts that need to be replaced.

either way, sorry about your tractor. Hopefully it gets resolved quickly and not on your dime.

 

[Fordtech86]

There is a product to repair stripped out threads called Helicoil (and various other trade names are similar products). That is what the repair will be and should have been done by the dealer before delivery. The shop was probably unaware of the problem or was just not honest enough to fix the problem if they were aware.

I can’t imagine they will replace the housing but you can press them on that to see.

If they are ROPS bolts you may get some argument that you damaged them by running the ROPS into something. I would examine the problem further to see if any other bolts are loose or stripped out and if you can see any damage on the upper part of the ROPS. I don’t think you will find anything on the ROPS but I would take pictures of anything you see. I would not take it to the dealer without having them and you take pictures of it un damaged so you have evidence that you did not do anything by running the ROPS into your garage door header or similar situation. You don’t want to get into that argument if it can be easily avoided.

Now if you did something then just fess up and have it repaired on your dime.

And as a last thought = the helicoil repair is stronger than original if done properly with the correct tools and insert length. I am sure you can find out many different opinions about them but that’s my opinion. The dealer may offer to go up in bolt size into the parent metal of the case but that has its own drawbacks and benefits to consider

that makes sense as well, I didn’t refer to wgators post before I made mine. Could explain why howards bolts have been touched, JEs has right bolts and NJ has the cab so his weren’t touched.

edit: i hit the wrong reply, meant to reply to @Justasquid

 

[lugbolt]

On the older B series (not familar with the LX series although it looks real similar) there were a couple bolts in those two holes for crating purposes. The assembly book sucks. It is written in Jinglish and 50% of it makes zero sense to Americans. So techs get in a rush to assemble, the book sucks and it doesn't clearly say what bolts go where, so they just take a couple that came out and look like they outta fit, and toss them in. They're too short (usually) and this is the result. I have seen this happen.

Dealer is 100% responsible for repairing that. How they do that will dictate what kind of dealer they are. Approach the situation with tact. I know what I'd do if I were working at that dealer, and that's not the firing of the tech that was responsible. He needs to learn and termination isn't always a learning experience. If it were, I'd have been fired a thousand times.

previous post showed silver (not gray) bolts and that is correct. The ROPS is installed during assembly and PDI. The gray bolts are removed and longer silver bolts that come bagged with the ROPS parts are to be installed.

With that, you "could" be a jerk. If they want to jerk you around, ask them for the pdi. You may have a copy. If ROPS part is checked, you have an advantage in any argument.

 

[kubotafreak]

With .

Gray paint is the give away, too short. Those assembly instructions are very detailed to a good eye. The translations are poor. I just peered through the one from my new tractor purchase.

Im sure the initial installer will get to fix it for 0 flagged hours. Dont fret too much on the Helicoils. I would almost want that over the thing getting torn completely down. As long as the fixer, has a steady hand and does not drill into/through the housing, they are stronger than it originally was. Get them to write you a warranty note for your file. Be nice to them, and they should treat you well. service, fluid, filters, hats, sweaters...

 

[HowardTractor]

If they are ROPS bolts you may get some argument that you damaged them by running the ROPS into something. I would examine the problem further to see if any other bolts are loose or stripped out and if you can see any damage on the upper part of the ROPS. I don’t think you will find anything on the ROPS but I would take pictures of anything you see. I would not take it to the dealer without having them and you take pictures of it un damaged so you have evidence that you did not do anything by running the ROPS into your garage door header or similar situation. You don’t want to get into that argument if it can be easily avoided.

Now if you did something then just fess up and have it repaired on your dime.

Damn. This may have been me. I did bang the ROPS into the top of the garage once. It didn't seem like any real damage was done so I didn't think anything of it.

 

[je1279]

Damn. This may have been me. I did bang the ROPS into the top of the garage once. It didn't seem like any real damage was done so I didn't think anything of it.

Did you do it in forward or reverse? If forward, any damage would have likely been to the top bolts rather than the bottom bolts. Also, if the correct bolts were not added during PDI, that's on them and not you.

 

[HowardTractor]

Did you do it in forward or reverse? If forward, any damage would have likely been to the top bolts rather than the bottom bolts. Also, if the correct bolts were not added during PDI, that's on them and not you.

I was pulling in forward...

 

[Fordtech86]

Damn. This may have been me. I did bang the ROPS into the top of the garage once. It didn't seem like any real damage was done so I didn't think anything of it.

would still be on dealer if correct bolts weren’t installed, just imagine what could happen to the rops in a roll over situation.

 

[802Driver]

Damn. This may have been me. I did bang the ROPS into the top of the garage once. It didn't seem like any real damage was done so I didn't think anything of it.

If you had indeed caused those bolts to pull out from contacting your ROPS, you have 10 other bolts to check then. I don't think that happened unless it was one hell of a big impact.

 

[ctfjr]

Its been my extensive experience that when hitting the garage door frame that the framing gives first.