2015 L 3901 w 280 hrs,been bushhoging with 52 inch Hardee bushog same trails and driveway nothing rough,cranked up pulled out of garage ,pushed in clutch engaged PTO lever,let out clutch BANG,panic PTO lever stuck midway terrible clicking noise louder than tractor at 2500 rpm and at idle,won't disengage,kill engine. Look at cable and see the lever on the case stuck,manually disengage by hand,crank tractor up and still making noise not as loud ,engage PTO and horrible noise,lever still sticking on housing,it gets worse. Kill engine,drop bushhog,pull bushog driveshaft,disconnect bushog. crank tractor still making noise but not as bad,engage PTO ,shaft not wobbling grab shaft with glove while idling,I know ,not safe but have to,can " feel" grinding/ clicking noise while holding shaft.disengage PTO by hand as cable lever won't work any more,noise stops when I push in clutch. Pretty sure something has broken when made bang noise . Prolly have to go to dealer .Anyone ever have to fix this and how much did it cost. You tube and search of OTT, TBN no help Bummer ,3 payments left and didn't extend insurance. Cheesy assed cable problems on these tractors but mine has gone way beyond any of this. Any advice,thoughts,solutions?
HELP PTO disaster
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BigG
Well-known member
Equipment
l2501, FEL, BB, Rotary cutter, rake,spreader, roller, etc. New Holland TL80 A
I had a MF 1528 that did something very similar to what you described. It was not good news. The casting that held the bearing for the PTO had broken. It was part of the wall of the transmission. I looked at the mechanic and said, "Button it back up." I traded it giving the bad news to the dealer about the problem for the new L2501. It was not worth the cost of the parts to fix it. I must say it had over 2000 hours of hard use. Still do not think the casting should have broken.
Along with the other problems with the design of the machine it will be the last MF I ever own.
Along with the other problems with the design of the machine it will be the last MF I ever own.
Sorry, my problem today is limited to a $140 turn signal on my Kubota.
Remove the pto shaft and if you have a mid pto try shifting it to see if it might lossen the rear pto in any manner at all. With you not being able to disconnect it does sound like issue is in the tractor.
Don't worry about the insurance, don't think it would have covered a mechanical issue, of course could be wrong. If you meant extended warranty that would be different.
Remove the pto shaft and if you have a mid pto try shifting it to see if it might lossen the rear pto in any manner at all. With you not being able to disconnect it does sound like issue is in the tractor.
Don't worry about the insurance, don't think it would have covered a mechanical issue, of course could be wrong. If you meant extended warranty that would be different.
Searched for WSM . Am I able to download one from this site? Or should I buy one from cheapest source.ebay Amazon,or somewhere else? Has anyone ever removed the plate and 4 bolts that the PTO shaft comes out of? Afraid to drive tractor even without PTO engaged. If I can get WSM maybe can look for problem or if someone that has one,send me a page or two that will show exploded view of PTO case and assembly. Crawled under tractor,torision spring on PTO lever intact ,still have to use hand to get I out of gear,still noisy , trying to avoid dealer if I can fix. Any and all help much appreciated. Google and you tube have nothing on this,all they have are cable/bracket,lever stuck/paint to thick,oil cable solutions. Thanks to all who replied. Good luck on all your projects.
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,
you should/can goto Kubota site and 'look for parts'... that will show general idea of what's 'under the hood'...it'll also ,yeesh, tell you the prices for the parts....
Thanks Wgator, rules out me working on it,took a while to find page,don't have computer,only 8 yr old iPad . B of A credit card to whoever I can get to work on it and can only hope that job is done right first time. Potential exists for this to be very bad. Anyone in SC have any experience ,good or bad with any of upstate SC kubota dealership work? Thanks to all who replied. It's not a problem if you can throw cash at it. Want to know how to make a small fortune? Start with a large one and take a broken Kubota to a dealership to be repaired. Have seen lots of posts on different forums about the sticking PTO cable issue Kubota specific. Will post as this situation develops . Thanks to all and good luck on your projects.
I have a suspcion, and ain't going into it at the moment.
For future reference, if the pto lever sticks, lubricate it! Not the cable, the "spring" (mechanism on the side of the transmission). You can spray it down with WD40 using the little straw that comes on the WD40 can stuck between the floor hump and the metal part behind the hump, you see a spring about 3" in diameter where the cable actuates the lever. Spray the spring for a few seconds, drench it, then work the lever on the fender back & forth a few times. DO THIS WITH THE ENGINE OFF.
If the lever sticks, or the lever isn't fully engaged when putting a load on the PTO, there is possibility of damage to the pto clutch cam. That fix is generally splitting the tractor to gain access, but it isn't too terribly hard to do. Backhoe frames gotta come off if the tractor has a hoe on it. Fenders, floor, hump, seat, etc all come off, wirings too. From there it's not bad. Time consuming and you'll have a pile of parts after disassembly but it's not that hard.
For future reference, if the pto lever sticks, lubricate it! Not the cable, the "spring" (mechanism on the side of the transmission). You can spray it down with WD40 using the little straw that comes on the WD40 can stuck between the floor hump and the metal part behind the hump, you see a spring about 3" in diameter where the cable actuates the lever. Spray the spring for a few seconds, drench it, then work the lever on the fender back & forth a few times. DO THIS WITH THE ENGINE OFF.
If the lever sticks, or the lever isn't fully engaged when putting a load on the PTO, there is possibility of damage to the pto clutch cam. That fix is generally splitting the tractor to gain access, but it isn't too terribly hard to do. Backhoe frames gotta come off if the tractor has a hoe on it. Fenders, floor, hump, seat, etc all come off, wirings too. From there it's not bad. Time consuming and you'll have a pile of parts after disassembly but it's not that hard.
Not sure how different these models are but this photo should give you the location and angle when the PTO is off. If someone with another L3901 can confirm, that would be good.
I'm wondering if it's just partially engaged and stuck... I had problems with my PTO (as did many early ones) until the bracket was redesigned. Still had to keep it cleaned and lubed up. The reason why I never re-mounted the decorative shields.
I'll look for the new PTO bracket photos... You have to adjust the cable so it engages just so...
I'm wondering if it's just partially engaged and stuck... I had problems with my PTO (as did many early ones) until the bracket was redesigned. Still had to keep it cleaned and lubed up. The reason why I never re-mounted the decorative shields.
I'll look for the new PTO bracket photos... You have to adjust the cable so it engages just so...
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Talked with mechanic at dealership where I bought tractor. Asked a lot of questions,real specific about the PTO lever/torision spring / bracket/cable Assy. Lot of people have had or will have this problem with this particular series of tractors. Taking tractor Saturday to dealer 3-4 week lead time. Talked to 3 different Kubota dealerships today ,the one I am going with has the least amount of lead time. I am unable to fix this myself so I have to pay to have it done. It involves splitting the rear 2 sections of the tractor and hoping that don't have to go any further. If anyone else has the cable type PTO engagement system,you should oil it and adjust it,and most important,make absolutely sure that the torision Spring/lever Assy on the PTO housing works freely and doesn't bind up. Mine only did it one time and now I will have spend a lot of money to fix it. Thanks to all who replied and good luck on all your projects.
Thank you for this advice and I am sorry for your troubles. If it is any benefit at all, at least by identifying the issue you have helped others avoid the same thing. I am one of those and raced out to lube the daylights out of that assembly.
Thank you for the post and the pictures. I had my PTO cable loosen up on my L2501 with ~39 hours on the clock. I followed the instructions that are not clear but got it tightened up and lubed the shaft. I am going to add lubing that shaft and spring mechanism to my 10 hour greasing schedule. Your picture is a big help as the thing is certainly hidden. I think I can spray it sufficiently with the panels on.
Interesting day at dealership,cable engagement for PTO was deleted 3 years ago,I it's place is a lever actuated PTO that is down low on the floorboard next to the hump in the floorboard and inside of the HST pedal,good location.if you have a belly, and short arms ,might be hard to reach down. Much better than the cheesy assed cable system. Talking with service mgr. and mechanic this is a huge problem,they only see the ones that have broken something, I walked the yard looking,spotted 5 ,2 2501,1 3301,2 3901,with the cable control parked in the incoming repair lot. Don't know the issues but all 5 of them did not appear to have anything wrong with them other than normal use. Under direct questioning service mgr said Kubota knew ,thus the reason for change to floor mtd.lever,and NO ,Kubota did not make a retrofit or upgrade for my tractor to the floor mtd. Lever. I looked really good at a new tractor and I believe it would be possible. I am going to try to get a drawing/ print of the lever ,maybe have to buy one. I expressed extreme dissatisfaction with Kubota and how when I Google problem how many people have this issue. Couldn't get an answer as to cost of my repair,so I went to salesman and asked about trading in for a new tractor ,got cost of new tractor but was told trade in price for my tractor would depend on their cost to fix my tractor. Will be escalating this as far as I can with Kubota Corp. ,my issue is not with the dealer or personnel . I also requested all broken / replaced parts be returned to me after repair,when asked why ,I told them so that I could UPS them to Kubota Regional in Ga. I hate to run this in the ground ,but if you have a tractor with the cable PTO system,you should try to get out ahead of this problem. Rant over,good luck to all on your projects.
OK, you have my interest... Just trying to understand how it happen better...
So, you used the pto lever (attached to a cable) to engage, and you let the clutch out... did you let it out slowly or could you have let it out too fast (like, just prior to fully engaging the PTO cable)?
Did I miss something? Has there been no one else talking about these broken PTO's online? I have to say this is the first I've heard of them...
Secondly, Can L3901 owners with this "new" pto lever post some photos?? I did not know they changed that...
So, you used the pto lever (attached to a cable) to engage, and you let the clutch out... did you let it out slowly or could you have let it out too fast (like, just prior to fully engaging the PTO cable)?
Did I miss something? Has there been no one else talking about these broken PTO's online? I have to say this is the first I've heard of them...
Secondly, Can L3901 owners with this "new" pto lever post some photos?? I did not know they changed that...
Crank tractor ,let warm up, last place to bushog is where bushog sits outside garage on 3 cinder blocks to keep it off ground,move blocks ,back tractor out of garage,1500 rpm as is close to garage,push in clutch,engage PTO,bushog goes up to speed,cut grass spot , should have used lawnmower. Apparently PTO. Lever on case had only partially engaged gears inside housing,stuck in the middle,when I went to reverse tractor,BANG! PTO lever on case that was stuck disengaged while still turning bushhog shaft,since upper PTO cable end was engaged in slot ,it tried to force the lower lever to reengage the gears ,the difference between PTO / bushog rpm was different than the rpm of the PTO shaft from the engine. I hope this makes sense to others. The torision Spring shown in the pic should be strong enough to keep the PTO disengaged if upper lever is in disengaged slot,my upper lever was still in the engaged slot when this happened,there was enough play to let the lower shaft partially disengage,then try to reengage. If someone as a new style PTO lever please post a picture as I don't know how to do this and only have iPad and not able to do this. Only time this has ever happened to me. Look at WSM and you can see how this could happen. Hope this helps someone else to keep this from happening
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,
yeesh, I really feel for you... sound slike Kubota KNOWS it was/is a problem as they made serious changes to how the PTO connects.... I don't like that big spring resting on the bolt side either, might slip off ?? Bet it's not easy to get to either. The 'upgrade' should be a 'kit' of parts,though be nice getting GREAT pictures of the 'new' style'... maybe a 'parts' website will have more details ??
Yes, ALL the parts coming off YOUR tractor are YOURS !! Unless of course Kubota wants to BUY them. The same as the cat converters on your car..when the exhaust is replaced those $$$$$ cats are YOURS.....
I'd definetly 'go up the ladder' ,BTDT, wrote letter to Mr. Gates, yes a real letter, 3 days latter 15 pounds of 'software documentation' arrived so I KNOW it pays to nicely complain.
Jay
Yes, ALL the parts coming off YOUR tractor are YOURS !! Unless of course Kubota wants to BUY them. The same as the cat converters on your car..when the exhaust is replaced those $$$$$ cats are YOURS.....
I'd definetly 'go up the ladder' ,BTDT, wrote letter to Mr. Gates, yes a real letter, 3 days latter 15 pounds of 'software documentation' arrived so I KNOW it pays to nicely complain.
Jay