Acquired used L35 TLB as sibling to other orange iron on the place.
Got him home and was inspecting closely prior to using. Confirmed hydraulic fluid low.
Retrieved trusty long-neck funnel from clean storage in lube locker.
Inserted funnel into fluid fill port behind seat, poured in fluid, removed funnel…and noticed funnel had gotten a lot shorter. Funnel tube or neck had split (age, exposure to oils and solvents), come off funnel itself…and fallen into transmission housing.
Used plumbing camera, spring grabbers, mirror, hemostats, wire, wishful thinking, and three hours standing on my head peering into a small hole all to no avail.
Considered turning to dealer. How to move machine onto trailer? Can’t start it because funnel might land somewhere really bad due to fluid flow. Put it in neutral and pull it aboard trailer? What if funnel tube is in ‘rear wheels turning in neutral’ gears and gets ground into particles thus contaminating entire hydraulic system? Possible clogged lines or dead pump. Or worse, jams gears?
Bit bullet and started disassembly following Illustrated Parts Manual.
Removed, in order, seat, behind-knee access port, seat deck pan and control linkages, fenders.
Linkages include Glide Shift lever with its panel, differential lock, 4-wheel, hand throttle and 3-point and their panels.
Fenders had to be not fully removed but loosened to fold out over wheels in order to lift out under-seat pan. Note seat pan held by bolts from outside to inside except pan has one stud on each side with nuts on outside behind tire. I think I counted 48 bolts total.
Something like 10-man hours to get the sheet metal off, slowly feeling how. Thank you Kroil.
Then had to remove steel hydraulic lines to and from top of gear case. Always use new O-rings when reinstalling. Delay waiting on parts. Wanted to go back with correct part numbers to save doing this again. Place 3-point in ‘down’ position to relieve oil pressure before loosening bolts on feeder line.
Top case held on by ten bolts. Stood on backhoe deck and lifted and bumped using 3-point lift arms as lever.
100-lbs solid metal after peeled loose. Removed to side. Retrieved missing funnel hose standing vertical pinched by 3-point internal ram. Cleaned all surfaces. No gasket per IPL. Went back with good layer of ‘gray’ RTV. Bolts cleaned and reinstalled with Kopr-Kote.
Actual problem resolution only took an hour getting the gearcase top off and back on. 90% of the effort was getting all the other stuff out of the way and then, afterwards, reassembled.
Reassembled all. Every bolt got thread sealant. No leftover parts (reminded me of how many extra parts are in a 1966 Ford carburetor). Learned Kubota makes ‘em stout and minimizes by design the possibility of reassembly error.
Three-weeks and I-quit-counting hours (also quit counting deviations from usual good humor).
Got to know latest machine better than desired.
Funnel tube retained for framing, destined for office wall.
Best of all, tractor works as supposed to.
Finally added additional hydraulic fluid.
Got him home and was inspecting closely prior to using. Confirmed hydraulic fluid low.
Retrieved trusty long-neck funnel from clean storage in lube locker.
Inserted funnel into fluid fill port behind seat, poured in fluid, removed funnel…and noticed funnel had gotten a lot shorter. Funnel tube or neck had split (age, exposure to oils and solvents), come off funnel itself…and fallen into transmission housing.
Used plumbing camera, spring grabbers, mirror, hemostats, wire, wishful thinking, and three hours standing on my head peering into a small hole all to no avail.
Considered turning to dealer. How to move machine onto trailer? Can’t start it because funnel might land somewhere really bad due to fluid flow. Put it in neutral and pull it aboard trailer? What if funnel tube is in ‘rear wheels turning in neutral’ gears and gets ground into particles thus contaminating entire hydraulic system? Possible clogged lines or dead pump. Or worse, jams gears?
Bit bullet and started disassembly following Illustrated Parts Manual.
Removed, in order, seat, behind-knee access port, seat deck pan and control linkages, fenders.
Linkages include Glide Shift lever with its panel, differential lock, 4-wheel, hand throttle and 3-point and their panels.
Fenders had to be not fully removed but loosened to fold out over wheels in order to lift out under-seat pan. Note seat pan held by bolts from outside to inside except pan has one stud on each side with nuts on outside behind tire. I think I counted 48 bolts total.
Something like 10-man hours to get the sheet metal off, slowly feeling how. Thank you Kroil.
Then had to remove steel hydraulic lines to and from top of gear case. Always use new O-rings when reinstalling. Delay waiting on parts. Wanted to go back with correct part numbers to save doing this again. Place 3-point in ‘down’ position to relieve oil pressure before loosening bolts on feeder line.
Top case held on by ten bolts. Stood on backhoe deck and lifted and bumped using 3-point lift arms as lever.
100-lbs solid metal after peeled loose. Removed to side. Retrieved missing funnel hose standing vertical pinched by 3-point internal ram. Cleaned all surfaces. No gasket per IPL. Went back with good layer of ‘gray’ RTV. Bolts cleaned and reinstalled with Kopr-Kote.
Actual problem resolution only took an hour getting the gearcase top off and back on. 90% of the effort was getting all the other stuff out of the way and then, afterwards, reassembled.
Reassembled all. Every bolt got thread sealant. No leftover parts (reminded me of how many extra parts are in a 1966 Ford carburetor). Learned Kubota makes ‘em stout and minimizes by design the possibility of reassembly error.
Three-weeks and I-quit-counting hours (also quit counting deviations from usual good humor).
Got to know latest machine better than desired.
Funnel tube retained for framing, destined for office wall.
Best of all, tractor works as supposed to.
Finally added additional hydraulic fluid.
