L4350DT Ever Clutch, how is it supposed to work?

[Rolling Stock]

Quick background:
I am a mechanic for a food processing plant and I maintain anything with wheels and some things without. I have never operated a Kubota ever before this week. I just received a used L4350DT from a sister plant to replace my worn out green tractor. This tractor will be going forward and backward approximately 150 ft scraping dirt away from our potato receiving area on concrete. Unfortunately I had no say in what tractor we got, it was free minus transportation costs.

This tractor has decals that say Ever Clutch, Hydraulic Shuttle and 4wd. I know the DT is 4wd and the ever clutch with hydraulic shuttle means I can shift the forward/reverse lever without using the foot clutch.

While testing I noticed if you are sitting at idle and shift it into either forward or reverse it hesitates for a second then eases into movement. If you push the brake pedal it will stall the engine. Is this normal or should the engine stay running? If you press the clutch you can stop without it stalling but when you let the clutch out it lurches forward (or reverse depending on lever position), spins the tires and jerks real hard. I do not have the operators manual or shop manual yet (on order) but I need to know if this is normal or will I be doing major surgery soon on this tractor.

This tractor has 2857.1 hrs on the meter but I have no way of knowing if it has been rolled over once or not. The model/serial number is L4350DT-60140 and I was told but have not confirmed the tractor is a 1992 model.

Any help will be greatly appreciated, Thank you.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

While testing I noticed if you are sitting at idle and shift it into either forward or reverse it hesitates for a second then eases into movement. If you push the brake pedal it will stall the engine. Is this normal or should the engine stay running?

Yes it's normal to stall the engine, it's not like an automatic, there is play, it's in or out.
Now the hesitation could be as simple as needing a good service, I would start there.
These models need good quality Hydraulic fluid and filters to work properly.
I would recommend, Kubota filters, and I use Mystik JT-5 and have excellent luck with it, I have a GST, same type of hydraulic clutch, in the same generation as your tractor.

If you press the clutch you can stop without it stalling but when you let the clutch out it lurches forward (or reverse depending on lever position), spins the tires and jerks real hard.

That is probably a simple case of non use had caused the plates to rust, take it out and work it a bit and try and slip the clutch, once you get it to slip do that it should clear up, if not then yes it needs to have the clutch replaced.

 

[Grandad4]

The "Articles" section of Orange Tractor Talks has one on Kubota clutches. The "Ever Clutch" is discussed... basically it's a wet clutch setup... much longer life than the more typical dry clutch, but it still involves friction for engagement so it's possible to wear one out with enough use/abuse.

That generation of Kubota tractors, while getting a bit long in the tooth now, was very well built and has held its value well over the years.