Kubota L4701 150 hours rear end stripped gear popping noise. NOW WITH VIDEO

MountainMeadows

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I've seen this scenario many time over the years: Customer "thinks" he has a problem, continues to try to replicate it, and in doing so, creates a problem............

Sounds to me like the dealerships in question would rather avoid the customer then the tractor.
 
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fried1765

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I've seen this scenario many time over the years: Customer "thinks" he has a problem, continues to try to replicate it, and in doing so, creates a problem............

Sounds to me like the dealerships in question would rather avoid the customer then the tractor.
Probably a very correct assessment of the current situation.
 
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Rdrett

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I don't think we're getting the full story.

If the general theme here online is similar to how the OP conducts himself when talking to the dealers, I'm not surprised they duck the warranty service. Because he sounds super high maintenance, any dealer would have a decent go at saying "how about you go somewhere else." Once you have his tractor apart you'll have to see it all the way through.

Yes, I hear the stories about how the mechanic told him not to use the brakes. I find that unlikely. Brakes are brakes. So I expect he told him not to use the brakes for things that people don't normally use the brakes on a tractor for, not to not use them at all. As others have said, we're only getting one side of the story. Yes, there are plenty of incompetent tractor mechanics. Yes, they may have said unusual things. But they may also have been trying to deal with a customer who is somewhat difficult and not listening, and trying to put words in their mouth.

As I said way up thread, he's had offers (including from his original dealer) to dismantle and assess, with the usual caveat that if it turns out not to be a warranty issue he'll need to pay. That's standard in any warranty claim. For whatever reason he said no to the first few dealers, and is now saying yes to a dealer a substantial way away from home. I'm guessing too many burned bridges at dealers closer to home.

Yes, a dealer is obligated to do warranty work. But with the half-assed descriptions, how do they know it's warranty work? Plenty of ways to duck customers you don't want.
yea I am super high maintenance, expecting the brakes on my new $60,000 tractor to actually work and not make a dozen loud popping noise when activating them.

A dozen people on this exact forum thread said the same thing “I don’t know why you are using the brake to begin with” , exactly like I was told by the dealer. Yea I was really difficult, so difficult that I stuck a $50 bill in his pocket as a tip. You know those kind of people right?

No dealer offered to take the tractor apart and diagnose it except for the dealer who currently has it.
‘The first dealer said he would not look at it at all. Dealers 2 and 3 both said that it would take them 3 months to look at it, knowing dam well nobody is going to leave there tractor sit at a dealer for 3 months. Dealer 4 kept it a week. Called me after a week and said “it’s fixed” I said what did you do? They said nothing we could not duplicate the loud popping noises, I said did you back it down a hill and hit the brakes? He said no. I said did you hear the loud squeaking noise every time you hit the brakes he said yes but that was normal, then he turned around and lied to kubota and told them that he didn’t hear the brakes squeaking and couldn’t duplicate the loud popping noise. They never said that they were willing to take it apart and never gave me a price to diagnose it. All they said is that they are “pretty sure that it is worn down brake disks“ well guess what after a reputable kubota dealer took it apart and checked the brake disks they were within spec and appeared to be in like new condition.

I am not putting words in anyone in anyone’s mouth, I am just stating the word that DID come out of their mouths.

As I have just said now and multiple times in this thread none of the first 4 dealers offered to disassemble the tractor and diagnose the problem and none ever gave me the price to do so.
‘I said yes to the 5th dealer because they were the only dealer who offered to take it apart and diagnose it and gave me a price to do so $400.

Yes my 1/2 ass description with video evidence was to complicated for them to understand. When you watched the video did you get the impression something is not right with my tractor?

Edit to add some clarity, the 4th dealer did say I would have to pay them to diagnose it, forgot since that was a month and a half ago. They didn’t say like the 5th dealer said “if we take it apart and the discs are worn down below spec THEN and only then you would have to pay for the diagnostic”. They said that I would have to pay no matter what But they never gave me a price on what they would charge me.
After they told me it was normal for a tractor with 150 hours on it to make a squeaky noise when applying the brakes and then lied to kubota saying they didn’t hear the brakes squeaking I didn’t want anything to do with them.
I am too high of a maintenance to deal with that.
 
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Rdrett

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I've seen this scenario many time over the years: Customer "thinks" he has a problem, continues to try to replicate it, and in doing so, creates a problem............

Sounds to me like the dealerships in question would rather avoid the customer then the tractor.
Yeah I don’t know why a brand new tractor which has brakes that have never worked properly from day one and almost killed me once already, makes this loud popping noise is a problem, it is probably just in my head.
‘Nothing wrong here boys, hold my beer and I will show you there is nothing wrong with your tractor.

 
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fried1765

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yea I am super high maintenance, expecting the brakes on my new $60,000 tractor to actually work and not make a dozen loud popping noise when activating them.

A dozen people on this exact forum thread said the same thing “I don’t know why you are using the brake to begin with” , exactly like I was told by the dealer. Yea I was really difficult, so difficult that I stuck a $50 bill in his pocket as a tip. You know those kind of people right?

No dealer offered to take the tractor apart and diagnose it except for the dealer who currently has it.
‘The first dealer said he would not look at it at all. Dealers 2 and 3 both said that it would take them 3 months to look at it, knowing dam well nobody is going to leave there tractor sit at a dealer for 3 months. Dealer 4 kept it a week. Called me after a week and said “it’s fixed” I said what did you do? They said nothing we could not duplicate the loud popping noises, I said did you back it down a hill and hit the brakes? He said no. I said did you hear the loud squeaking noise every time you hit the brakes he said yes but that was normal, then he turned around and lied to kubota and told them that he didn’t hear the brakes squeaking and couldn’t duplicate the loud popping noise. They never said that they were willing to take it apart and never gave me a price to diagnose it. All they said is that they are “pretty sure that it is worn down brake disks“ well guess what after a reputable kubota dealer took it apart and checked the brake disks they were within spec and appeared to be in like new condition.

I am not putting words in anyone in anyone’s mouth, I am just stating the word that DID come out of their mouths.

As I have just said now and multiple times in this thread none of the first 4 dealers offered to disassemble the tractor and diagnose the problem and none ever gave me the price to do so.
‘I said yes to the 5th dealer because they were the only dealer who offered to take it apart and diagnose it and gave me a price to do so $400.

Yes my 1/2 ass description with video evidence was to complicated for them to understand. When you watched the video did you get the impression something is not right with my tractor?
In some ways, this thread kinda reminds me of Shakespeare.......
"thou dost protest to loudly"
 

Rdrett

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In some ways, this thread kinda reminds me of Shakespeare.......
"thou dost protest to loudly"
Yes I posted on OTT to try and get some helpful information. Got several helpful posts. One OTT member tractor rolled down the hill with his parking brake applied and another OTT member had to take his tractor in 3 times under warranty trying to get his brakes repaired to keep his tractor from rolling down the hill with the parking brake applied.
Most all of the other posts are people busting my balls and now telling me that it is just in my head.
‘I do appreciate the dozen or so helpful post tho. So I guess all the ball busting was worth it to get the couple helpful post.
 

Henro

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In my case, I stop my tractor on hills, and I also have very little flat spaces, using the HST pedal, and if necessary certainly push it slightly in the reverse direction. My brakes are parking brakes, nothing more. (Actually, I think I always apply a little bit of reverse pedal when stopping on hills, and forward pedal when backing down hills)

Even on a flat surface an HST tractor may drift, if the linkage is not lubricated or otherwise binds slightly. So drifting is not unheard of on a hill after you stop the HST tractor.

The OP in a post above said his tractor "rolls" down a hill after being stopped if this parking brake is not set. BUT he also in the same post explained he meant drifts or creeps, I don't remember which word was used, but it implied VERY slow movement, not what I visualize when someone says the tractor rolled down hill...

He also said that he leaves his foot off the HST pedal and the tractor takes some time to stop. He might have said 30 feet, again I don't remember exactly. Personally I never do that. I apply a little reverse pedal to the tractors to stop them on hills.

All that being said, the tractor seems to have an issue, if the OP is getting strange popping sounds when the brakes are applied, regardless of when the brakes are applied.

As someone mentioned above, the OP is venting his frustration, but that frustration is getting in the way of focusing on the issue which is a problem. It would have been better if the OP simply asked what might cause a popping sound to appear when the brakes are applied and whether it is normal or not. I doubt anyone here considers that normal.

I realize it is difficult to do, but focusing on the mechanical problem and keeping frustration on one's back pocket might actually result in getting more helpful responses...and keep the thread focused on the issue at hand.

A separate thread focusing on frustration with dealers might have been more appropriate, but that is water over the damn at this point.
 

Rdrett

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In my case, I stop my tractor on hills, and I also have very little flat spaces, using the HST pedal, and if necessary certainly push it slightly in the reverse direction. My brakes are parking brakes, nothing more. (Actually, I think I always apply a little bit of reverse pedal when stopping on hills, and forward pedal when backing down hills)

Even on a flat surface an HST tractor may drift, if the linkage is not lubricated or otherwise binds slightly. So drifting is not unheard of on a hill after you stop the HST tractor.

The OP in a post above said his tractor "rolls" down a hill after being stopped if this parking brake is not set. BUT he also in the same post explained he meant drifts or creeps, I don't remember which word was used, but it implied VERY slow movement, not what I visualize when someone says the tractor rolled down hill...

He also said that he leaves his foot off the HST pedal and the tractor takes some time to stop. He might have said 30 feet, again I don't remember exactly. Personally I never do that. I apply a little reverse pedal to the tractors to stop them on hills.

All that being said, the tractor seems to have an issue, if the OP is getting strange popping sounds when the brakes are applied, regardless of when the brakes are applied.

As someone mentioned above, the OP is venting his frustration, but that frustration is getting in the way of focusing on the issue which is a problem. It would have been better if the OP simply asked what might cause a popping sound to appear when the brakes are applied and whether it is normal or not. I doubt anyone here considers that normal.

I realize it is difficult to do, but focusing on the mechanical problem and keeping frustration on one's back pocket might actually result in getting more helpful responses...and keep the thread focused on the issue at hand.

A separate thread focusing on frustration with dealers might have been more appropriate, but that is water over the damn at this point.
‘What people are not understanding is that I owned a L2501 for 5 years, took it up and down the same mountain trail several 100’s of times without any issues.
I owned the L4701 for a year and put a 150 hour on it, I took it up and down the same mountain trail dozens and dozens of times and never had a issue with the loud popping noise, until one day when it made the one single loud pop. From that point after the one loud pop the brakes squeak every time you apply them going forward or backwards. I immediately took it in for service. In the 6 weeks that I’ve been trying to get it fixed it went from making a single loud pop to a dozen loud pops.
It has been very frustrating dealing with my warranty repair. I figured it would be as easy to get my tractor repaired as the warranty contract started, delivering it to a kubota dealership and it would be repaired, like any other warranty issues I have had in the past from a reputable company. Unfortunately it turned out to not be as easy as I expected.
I have spent more in gas than the $400 the 5th dealership wanted to properly diagnose the tractor. Which after they disassembled it turned out I didn’t have to pay to begin with. That isn’t even counting the days of my life that I’ve wasted trying to get the tractor fixed.
‘At one point I was willing to trade the tractor in and take up to a $20,000 loss on the tractor. If anyone told me that they would fix my tractor and the brakes would work perfectly I would be willing to pay $5,000 right now.
‘I just want the darn thing fixed, nothing more.
 

#40Fan

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Leaving the dealership stuff out of this, I take this thread as a learning experience. This could just be the beginning to a bigger issue that no one has seen before. All it takes is one person to find the weak link for everyone to see that there is a problem that is more wide spread.

Take the dreaded Ford 6.0 when it first came out. First person to get a tune put on and strange things started happening. No-starts when hot, loss of power, turbo veins getting stuck, EGR coolers leaking, etc. Guess what everyone blamed it on....the tune.

Then months later, factory powered engines started having the same issues. Inherent problem or were they lying about having their trucks tuned? I think we all know how that ended up.

We should all sit back and hope for a positive outcome and hopefully we can all learn from this.
 
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Joisey

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I have to say that I'm not thrilled with the parking brakes on my new L47. I posted an article on here about it creeping after I set the parking brake on a fairly steep incline and left the tractor. For some reason the brakes work if you have to use them to stop the machine, but when applied to park the unit, they don't seem to hold very well. My old Case 680 CK had dry brake discs and they would hold the 16000 pound loader on a steep incline with zero creep with a hand actuated parking brake that had a 6 inch handle. The geometry of the Kubota parking brake system, at least on my tractor, leaves a LOT to be desired. And now, thinking back to when my tractor crept downhill with the parking brake set, it did make slight popping noises when the brakes let go for an instant. Not as loud as those of the original poster, but definitely the same noise.
 
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Henro

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What people are not understanding is that I owned a L2501 for 5 years, took it up and down the same mountain trail several 100’s of times without any issues.
I owned the L4701 for a year and put a 150 hour on it, I took it up and down the same mountain trail dozens and dozens of times and never had a issue with the loud popping noise, until one day when it made the one single loud pop. From that point after the one loud pop the brakes squeak every time you apply them going forward or backwards.
I think this is the important part of your previous post. The rest, complaining about the dealers, probably just confuses people and diverts their attention from the issue.

I don’t have any answers, but do think you do have a legitimate problem. Please do report how the tractor with new brakes performs.
 

Cathy Liebchen

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It is real easy to be a D-bag on the phone and on the internet. I called dozens of dealers and got nowhere getting my tractor fixed. i even started calling dealers in Ohio and Tennessee. i even called messicks in PA trying to get it fixed. Even Messicks refused to work on it according to them it “would bring up a red flag with kubota” whatever that means.
That is why I just started hauling it to the closest dealership, no luck with them, took it to the next closest dealership and so on.
I didn’t go into the service department waving a contract and demanding that they fix my tractor.
I walked into the service department and told them exactly what was going on with my tractor and showed them the video, and most of the dealers who didn’t want to work on it all said the same thing, 3 months for them to look at it. One of the dealers who told me 3 months I said okay let make the appointment and I will be back in 3 months and they said no, you have to leave it here.
The dealer in Corbin Kentucky is the only one who refused to work on it. They told me they can only fix some thing under warranty but can’t fix my issue.
i think it helped me taking the tractor across the state of Kentucky trying to get it repaired because when I told the supervisor at kubota corporate they recommend that I take it to the dealer 3 hour round trip away. When I took it there I noticed that they had some kind of Kubota service award in their window. They were really nice people, A small dealership way out in the country. They only had 3 service bays unlike the dealership in Lexington who had a dozen service bays.
‘The dealership who currently has my tractor have been very kind and helpful. When I went down to inspect the tractor after they disassembled it I stuck a $50 bill in his pocket and told him to buy pizza for the dealership for lunch.
150 miles and 3 hours dropping the tractor off at the dealership who currently has it, another 150 miles and 3 hours to inspect the tractor after they disassembled it, and another 150 miles and 3 hours to go back and pick it up. That is 9 hours and 450 miles, not counting loading and unloading time. Just this one dealership who currently has my tractor.
I have literally spent days of my life and several hundreds of dollars in gas trying to get my tractor under warranty fixed.
I am not sure what I could of done differently other than just fixing it myself.
Should have gotten the MX
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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I think he's too busy trying to roll it off his 100 foot cliff to reply back. :confused: