Is kubota's QC slipping? GR2120 /B3200

[MILESKellogs]

Having bought many new Kubota's over the years, (The most recent a GR 2120) it seems that with each new unit I find more little problems, IE:
1. Belt idler arm tweaked. As the bushing in the arm wore a bit, it allowed the pulley and belt to start to start hitting the deck which resulted in the belt going south at 175 hrs.
Not sure if kubota sells the bushings separately? but I'm guessing they don't :shruggy: So I installed a Clevite bushing that was a perfect fit (clevite # 02705)in the arm. NOTE: The bushing will have to be cut in 1/2 or drilled for lubricant to enter. Also: IF you cut the bushing make sure to install it correctly. After the install, the belt was still riding to lower edge of the pulley. After tweaking the arm a touch, it's now running centered and I have ~.200" clearance between the deck & pulley with even more between the belt and deck .
2. Grease zerks for the front axle pivot being painted over to the point they wouldn't take grease. Remove paint with wire wheel and grease axle pivot.
3. The rear axle breather line became detached and puked a decent amount of fluid out. While there I noted a hose around the back of transaxle which was rubbing on the housing and lever. Reroute hose for clearance and securely mount breather hose
4. The unit always had a problem backing up, especially on a hill. Even on flat ground it was SLOWWWW! Due to other priorities, we lived with it. The unit also seemed to be a bit slow going forward but again, not having any time to look into it we lived with it.
5. It then developed a problem when releasing the pedal, and would continue creeping whichever direction you had been going, and not going to Neutral.
Having read of others experiencing the above two items I dove into resolving both of them during the 400 hour service. What I found the root cause of both was a loose set screw on the arm that activates the hydro.
For clarification, it is the last arm of the linkage and is connected directly to the shaft going into the hydro
The manual I have shows a removable panel to access the linkage. My unit (a 2017) doesn't have this removable panel . And of course, the location is almost inaccessible. With the pedal clamped in the fully depressed position, it gives you better visual access looking down from the top. I was able to get a 1/4 drive ratchet, 6" extension and a short 4mm ball driver to engage the set screw. I backed the screw out as far as I dared (about 4-5 turns), Brake cleaned the area and applied red loctite to the stick end of a 6" long wooden Q tip which was the used to apply the loctite to the SS. I then tightened it as much as I dared.
I proceeded to verify and adjust the neutral position as well as the forward and reverse per the manual. The drawing for the forward speed, rear adjustment measuring point is a bit questionable (even with a magnifying glass) due to the rod being tapered at the end. I used the end of the rod at its full diameter.
The tractor now fly's in forward and has no trouble backing up, even on a steep grade
I hope this info will be helpful to other owners.
I haven't had the number of issues with the 3200 but do wish I had kept the 3030 as there were things about it that were more user-friendly IMO, Same goes for the 3150. It seems as though with every new unit they are changing things that don't need to be and ignoring those that do.

 

[mcmxi]

Is Kubota quality slipping ... not in my experience based on four tractors and one generator purchased over the last six years, but that's a very small sample set obviously.

The zero turn and other mowers aren't made in Japan right? Even for models that are, dealers have to get involved with some amount of assembly, and whenever that happens it can result in inconsistent QC across the country. I've bought three of the four tractors and a generator from a dealer 3 miles from my house and they (the dealer) are excellent in every way and that's in part why I've had zero issues thus far.

 

[forky]

My only experience has been a perfect one, with 0 complaints in regards to everything.
Not even a loose bolt.

 

[lugbolt]

The GR2x series mowers were never great quality. Well, I take that back-the mower itself aside from the transmission ain't too shabby, but that transmission has been a black eye for Kubota since the day they came out. They were problematic, and I think the entire world knows about it. To add insult, they are quite expensive to repair too; often exceeding the value of the running machine.

B3350? Another black eye.

Both of these units were rushed to the market to compete with another brand's similar equipment, without much regard to longevity testing. Part of the 3350's issues are government mandate rooted, but I feel like Kubota still could have done a better job with it, and/or waited a while to get them on the market. I think they're gone now aren't they? Replaced by LX series?

 

[Orangeglow]

My experience is yes, it is slipping. My BX2360 was put together with much better quality than my BX2370. When I mentioned to the salesman that the welding area on my hood were the underside brackets attach was very poorly finished, he just shrugged his shoulders, and said, he had seen much worse ones on other units, and that most of his customers didn,t care, it is a tractor, not a show car. IF I ever trade for another Kubota, I will be checking the exact unit I buy much much closer before writing the cheque.