L3710 Slow in Reverse

[Mr Haney]

My L3710, which I bought used, is incredibly slow in reverse. When I got it, I was used to seeing tractors zip around, in both forward and reverse, so I was surprised. I figured maybe it was some new nanny feature, to keep people from backing over their children and suing Kubota. I have gotten used to moving long distances forward in order to avoid moving short distances in reverse.

Is there a way to adjust the reverse speed? I knocked some crud out from under the rear of the pedal the other day, and that helped somewhat, but reverse is still way slower than forward. I have an HST transmission and 4-wheel drive.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Do you have the WSM (AKA service manual)?
If not just ask for it.

In the WSM you will find out how to check and adjust the HST linkage, which sounds like your issue.

 

[Mr Haney]

Do you have the WSM (AKA service manual)?
If not just ask for it.

In the WSM you will find out how to check and adjust the HST linkage, which sounds like your issue.

Thanks. I have a scan of the manual. The first part alone is 400 pages, and because it's a scan, the search function doesn't work. So it's not the pedal linkage?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

No, I said it sounds like an issue with the pedal linkage, I would start there!

 

[Mr Haney]

Thanks for the help.

There is a bolt that attaches the pedal to the linkage, and the bolt is in some kind of swivel fitting at the end where the linkage connects. The nut on the end of the bolt, which ties it all together, fell off at some point in the distant past. The previous owner evidently did not mind backing up at less than one mile per hour, because he never replaced it. The pedal still did a good job of depressing the link to go forward, because it bottomed out on it, but in reverse, you could literally outrace the tractor on your hands and knees.

The threads on the bolt were messed up from years of having the pedal rest directly on them. I tried taking out the link that held the swivel fitting and bolt, but Kubota put them on so tight, it seemed it was not possible to loosen them without rounding the integral nut that is supposed to allow you to turn the link. Surprising. Seems more like a John Deere move to me.

I tried getting snap ring pliers on the ring that holds the pedal on, but they were too big for the holes in the Japanese ring! No one ever told me there was such a thing as a metric snap ring.

I found an M8-1.25 flange nut somewhere and decided to try forcing it on. I figured I had nothing to lose, because if it screwed up the threads, I would be about where I was when all this started, forced to find a way to remove the link.

Fortunately, the nut agreed to go onto the bolt with some persuasion. Now I have a normal tractor. For almost 5 years, I've been creeping in reverse, assuming this was some kind of idiotic OSHA thing, like the incredibly stupid backup beep on my utility cart.