L175 transmission issues

[ad8mustanggt]

Hey OTT, I'm looking to add an L175 to my fleet dedicated to carrying a 3-point hydraulic dump bed around the property.

There's a local one that caught my eye that needs some work but I'm not sure if it's worth taking a risk on. Below is what the seller is stating, any major red flags here (besides the obvious)? Any specific questions I should ask? He claims to have purchased it with these issues and would rather sell it than try to fix it. I'm very mechanically apt but don't have any experience with the L175.

"none of the gears except reverse work I think something came undone three point all right kind of bumpy low on fluid"

Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Russell King]

The first thing to check is to make sure that it is an actual L175 and not a gray market that is similar (L1500?). Look at the serial number plate and see if it is in English. Look at the labels and transmission and see if they are in English.

if not a L175 I would recommend you avoid it since you will have some problems finding parts for it. Not impossible but the dealer will not sell you parts if they know.

contact @007kubotaguy and see if he has a parts tractof with a “good” transmission and for how much. He has a tractor graveyard but it is in a different state than you.

The dealer will have plenty of parts to repair it but not all are available new

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

The safe side says Avoid it!
Getting transmission parts for an L175 is really hard!

But the risk taker in me says, If the price is really right, could be as simple as the shifter has come out of the gate and it's a 2 min fix for no money!

 

[ad8mustanggt]

The safe side says Avoid it!
Getting transmission parts for an L175 is really hard!

But the risk taker in me says, If the price is really right, could be as simple as the shifter has come out of the gate and it's a 2 min fix for no money!

This right here is my exact internal debate. He's asking $1,000 but it has been for sale for a while so I'm banking on him taking less. I'm sure the rest of the tractor is worth at least what I'd offer if it needed to be parted out.

Would I be able to feel the shifter being out of the gate? I've never experienced that. It does seem odd to me that only reverse works, haven't been able to wrap my mind around what would cause that but like I said, not familiar with these.

 

[007kubotaguy]

If it has been for sale a long time chances are someone has checked it out all ready. It would be very easy to pull the shift cover off and have a peek inside and see what's going on. Would take 5 minutes. Drain a couple gallons of oil out of it and you would know exactly what's going on. Only pull the cover with the shift levers.

 

[Vigo]

If shifter is ‘in its gate’ then you can feel all the spring forces.. as in if in neutral it pops back to center somewhat, and if you push forward or rear into a gear position you feel the ‘click’ of the detent and it is ‘retained’ in that position, etc. So if you dont fee any of those things it would suggest that the end of the shifter has somehow gotten out of its shift gates. But even if it is, it coupe be that someone removed the shifter looking for something else and then didnt care if they slapped it back in wrong because the thing was broke either way. So im with NIW that it could go either way..

 

[ad8mustanggt]

ok, fair enough. Thanks for the feedback all.

Are there any other realistic scenarios that anyone can think of between the shifter being out of the fork and the internals being dust? Is there a scenario where this is a repairable situation or am I looking at either an easy fix or a trans replacement? I realize that nobody has a crystal ball, just looking for insight from anyone who might know these transmissions a bit better.

I don't mind tearing the trans apart if it's repairable, but I understand that parts can be hard to find and at the end of the day I would rather not have to part the thing out just to get my money back.

@007kubotaguy do you have a transmission if, worst case, I move forward and need a replacement? You're on the other side of the country unfortunately but it would still be nice to have that option in my back pocket if available.

 

[Vigo]

The shifter being misassembled is an easy fix no matter what. If the shifter has 5 positions (4 forward 1 reverse?) then it has 3 positions left to right, which means it engages 3 different gates in 3 ‘shift rails’. It is possible for the gate to move out of position on the rail if for example it is retained by a roll pin which shears, but its extremely unlikely for 2 out of 3 gates to be broke loose. So long story short i think its 99% chance the shifter is just ‘in wrong’. What i dont know is if thats the ONLY thing wrong.

Heres a pic showing the gates we are talking about. Pic is supposedly from an L175.