LX3310 HSD 50 Hour Maintenance Disaster

[Kat]

This is the first tractor I ever owned/operated. I attempted to do the 50 hour maintenance on it, and it pretty much turned into a disaster. In my defense, I have changed the fluids and filters in my regular vehicles for years with virtually no problems. But this tractor isn't set up anything like my car or my van!

I managed to find the engine oil drains, so I drained the engine oil, installed a new oil filter, and reinstalled the drain bolts. But, I read the manual wrong and poured about 3 quarts of engine oil in the transmission fill hole. I couldn't understand why the dipstick said that the oil was so full, until I realized I put the oil in the wrong hole...

Then I realized that I needed to drain the transmission/hydraulic fluid. The diagrams in the owners manual are terrible, so it took me a while to figure out where the drain by the PTO spline was. I unscrewed that bolt and let the fluid drain out, but I couldn't tell where the other 2 drains were. So I scoured the internet for about 2 hours looking for clues, and I watched several YouTube videos. But there were no clear images of exactly where the drain bolts were, and there were no videos or pictures of LX3310 drain bolt locations. After staring at the underbelly of the tractor for a while, I reasoned which bolts to pull. Fluid drained out, so I figured I pulled the right ones (I did). After all of the oil was drained out, I reinstalled the bolts. Only, I didn't realize that the rear axel case was made out of ALUMINUM, and being a weak female, I used a cheater pipe on the end of the ratchet like I usually do. Because otherwise I don't have the strength of a man and I can't get bolts very tight. Needless to say, I ended up striping the drain bolt hole on the Left Hand rear axel case.

So, I called the Kubota dealer and spoke to someone in the service department. He said that I didn't need to have the transmission flushed out as long as I drained the oil out. Then he asked me for a picture of the bolt hole that was stripped, so I texted that to him. He called me right back and said that this was "the worst possible place" to strip a bolt hole. He said that the bolt holds the 2 halves of the case together, and that there is some tube inside the case right next to the drain hole, and there isn't enough metal to tap a new hole without damaging the tube. So he said that he would need to send someone to pick the tractor up, and they would have to order a new left hand axel case. I asked how much that would cost, and he said $400. for transport and at least $6,000 for the repair. And then he said that if anyone tried to drill or tap a new hole, that would void my warranty on the transmission....

Well, my B.S. detector went off because what he said didn't make sense. Like, how could a drain bolt connect into the other side of the metal housing? If it did, nothing could drain out of it. So I went online and found diagrams of the left hand and right hand rear axel case. The diagrams confirmed that I only pulled out the short drain bolts, and they do not hold the covers on. The diagram for the LH cover does not show me what is on the inside of that cover, but I can't see any tubes or pipes in that diagram. So I looked at the RH rear axel case diagram, and if it is anything like the LH side, there is no visible tube in there. So as far as I can tell, it seems that the service guy either doesn't know what he's talking about, or he's trying to rip me off.

Does anyone know if there are any tubes/pipes in the left hand rear axel case next to the drain hole?
Is there any kind of low cost fix for the stripped hole that won't void my transmission warranty? Like JB Weld, Loctite, silicone, etc.?
I spoke to a local guy who has fixed tractors and heavy equipment for 40 years, and he said that he could fix it with a Helicoil, and he didn't think there would be any tube right next to the drain hole. But, it sounds like that might void the warranty??

Attached is a photo of the LH rear axel case where I stripped the drain bolt hole, a diagram of the Left Hand Rear Axel Case, and a diagram of the Right Hand Rear Axel Case.

Thanks,
Kat

 

[BAP]

Did you finance the tractor purchase? If so, do you have Kubota insurance with the financing? If you do, things like this should be covered by the insurance.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Wow that's quite the adventure.

Have that guy fix it with a Heli-coil and see if he will "show you" how to do it. Its not very hard, and it's a great skill to have.

I have used hundreds (possibly thousands) of them and they work great.

I have no working knowledge of the part you are talking about, but you will only be "heli-coiling" a few threads so it shouldn't make any difference.

There are some dissenting opinions on OTT about using them, but I for one, would have no problem doing that.

In regard to voiding your warranty, I call BS, but warranty's are kind of "subjective" sometimes depending on who is making the call.

However, if nothing goes wrong for "however many months" you have left on your warranty, it will make no difference; And the odds are that nothing will go wrong, it's a Kubota.

 

[DustyRusty]

If you helicoil the hole and it doesn't leak, then who is going to know the difference? The second thing is if you need to tighten something and you don't have the strength in your hands, then buy a long-handle torque wrench and use that instead of a cheater pipe. I will bet that you didn't have a good light underneath when you were working on the tractor, otherwise, you would have recognized that the case was aluminum when you looked at the hole to put the plug back in.

 

[Jim L.]

If you helicoil the hole and it does leak, just use a gasket washer under the bolt head. No big deal.

Use a good bright light to look into the drain hole. If that doesn't work, then get a small borescope. They make these to work with some cell phones now. Inexpensive. Another alternative is to use a bent piece of wire to probe around the inside of the drain hole.

It's upsetting when it happens to you, but not the first nor the last stripped drain plug.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

I have A LOT of really old equipment around as I like buying new but hate selling anything I bought as I tend to keep and repair a cherish my stuff.

All that said I have used lots of nut serts and heli coils on all type of things even spark plug holes etc... to great success. If not under pressure (like a spark plug is) the idea of a sealing washer is a fantastic reminder.

I have no qualms in using nut serts / heli coils and similar to tackle projects like yours. These types of repairs have lasted me very well.

cheers and good luck

 

[Henro]

…This is the first tractor I ever owned/operated. I attempted to do the 50 hour and being a weak female, I used a cheater pipe…

I can’t contribute anything to the thread, other than reassuring you that although, on average, females tend to be physically weaker than males, on the other hand, while the male doesn’t want to admit it, the female is often stronger in other ways…

 

[GeoHorn]

I cannot see any relationship between the pic you posted…and the diagrams you posted… They do not appear to be the same part at all.

But I agree a helicoil is likely the simplest fix…and there’s no way that will “void” any warranty. Any dealer who claims it does is merely wrong. It is a often-claimed B.S. that ANY ALTERATION you perform on equipment voids the warranty. The modifications you do without Mfr’r approval….Must be Shown to be the DIRECT CAUSE of the failure.
Kubota would have to prove that the helicoil contributed directly to any failure….and that would be almost impossible to do.

 

[TheOldHokie]

This is the first tractor I ever owned/operated. I attempted to do the 50 hour maintenance on it, and it pretty much turned into a disaster. In my defense, I have changed the fluids and filters in my regular vehicles for years with virtually no problems. But this tractor isn't set up anything like my car or my van!

I managed to find the engine oil drains, so I drained the engine oil, installed a new oil filter, and reinstalled the drain bolts. But, I read the manual wrong and poured about 3 quarts of engine oil in the transmission fill hole. I couldn't understand why the dipstick said that the oil was so full, until I realized I put the oil in the wrong hole...

Then I realized that I needed to drain the transmission/hydraulic fluid. The diagrams in the owners manual are terrible, so it took me a while to figure out where the drain by the PTO spline was. I unscrewed that bolt and let the fluid drain out, but I couldn't tell where the other 2 drains were. So I scoured the internet for about 2 hours looking for clues, and I watched several YouTube videos. But there were no clear images of exactly where the drain bolts were, and there were no videos or pictures of LX3310 drain bolt locations. After staring at the underbelly of the tractor for a while, I reasoned which bolts to pull. Fluid drained out, so I figured I pulled the right ones (I did). After all of the oil was drained out, I reinstalled the bolts. Only, I didn't realize that the rear axel case was made out of ALUMINUM, and being a weak female, I used a cheater pipe on the end of the ratchet like I usually do. Because otherwise I don't have the strength of a man and I can't get bolts very tight. Needless to say, I ended up striping the drain bolt hole on the Left Hand rear axel case.

So, I called the Kubota dealer and spoke to someone in the service department. He said that I didn't need to have the transmission flushed out as long as I drained the oil out. Then he asked me for a picture of the bolt hole that was stripped, so I texted that to him. He called me right back and said that this was "the worst possible place" to strip a bolt hole. He said that the bolt holds the 2 halves of the case together, and that there is some tube inside the case right next to the drain hole, and there isn't enough metal to tap a new hole without damaging the tube. So he said that he would need to send someone to pick the tractor up, and they would have to order a new left hand axel case. I asked how much that would cost, and he said $400. for transport and at least $6,000 for the repair. And then he said that if anyone tried to drill or tap a new hole, that would void my warranty on the transmission....

Well, my B.S. detector went off because what he said didn't make sense. Like, how could a drain bolt connect into the other side of the metal housing? If it did, nothing could drain out of it. So I went online and found diagrams of the left hand and right hand rear axel case. The diagrams confirmed that I only pulled out the short drain bolts, and they do not hold the covers on. The diagram for the LH cover does not show me what is on the inside of that cover, but I can't see any tubes or pipes in that diagram. So I looked at the RH rear axel case diagram, and if it is anything like the LH side, there is no visible tube in there. So as far as I can tell, it seems that the service guy either doesn't know what he's talking about, or he's trying to rip me off.

Does anyone know if there are any tubes/pipes in the left hand rear axel case next to the drain hole?
Is there any kind of low cost fix for the stripped hole that won't void my transmission warranty? Like JB Weld, Loctite, silicone, etc.?
I spoke to a local guy who has fixed tractors and heavy equipment for 40 years, and he said that he could fix it with a Helicoil, and he didn't think there would be any tube right next to the drain hole. But, it sounds like that might void the warranty??

Attached is a photo of the LH rear axel case where I stripped the drain bolt hole, a diagram of the Left Hand Rear Axel Case, and a diagram of the Right Hand Rear Axel Case.

Thanks,
Kat

The stripped thread can be repaired with a thread repair insert (AKA Helicoil). It is utter fsntasy to characterize that repair as a modificstion that would void any warranty.

The original threads are standard metric screw threads and never functioned as a liquid tight seal. A sealing washer under the head of the bolt is used for thst purpose. The same is true of the repaired threads.

Helicoil it and move on with lessons learned.

Dan

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Personally I'd likely use a Time-Sert instead of a Heli-coil, it resists vibration and therefore leaking better (it's a better product). And of course a proper torque wrench:
TEKTON 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 Inch Drive Micrometer Torque Wrench Set (3-Piece) | TRQ99901

Welcome to your first tractor D-I-Y mishap, it likely won't be the last. You might want to budget the full amount of time you think a job should take and triple it:

1. to walk your way through each step of the job, with enough patience to understand every step,
2. do the job,
3. clean up.

I tend to figure every step could lead to failure, so I'll loosen a fill bolt before a corresponding drain bolt--that way if the fill bolt is stuck the unit still has fluid. If a socket won't fit I'll have an extension or wrench on hand when actually doing the job, etc.

Edison probably took around 10,000 attempts to invent the light bulb, and he expected to fail though learn something each time. If there's any advice I can impart it's: Fail smaller next time.

You'll get this managed. I design things and expect to build an actual "thing" 2 to 5 times (generally 3) before I'm happy with it. Expect to fail, it leads to better successes.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

First line of attack: KTAC Insurance , as they will repair it 100% right for $250.
Second line of attack: Heli coil or time-sert both will do the job.
No tubes or pipes in either side at all, it's just a cavity.
Now if you have it repaired by a local guy, he just can not drill into the back of the hole as that will go right through the Transmission (AKA Rear Housing), RED AREA.

 

[Kat]

If you helicoil the hole and it doesn't leak, then who is going to know the difference? The second thing is if you need to tighten something and you don't have the strength in your hands, then buy a long-handle torque wrench and use that instead of a cheater pipe. I will bet that you didn't have a good light underneath when you were working on the tractor, otherwise, you would have recognized that the case was aluminum when you looked at the hole to put the plug back in.

I had my shop lights and a Petzl headlamp, and I could see. But everything was painted gray from the factory, including the filters and bolts, so everything looked the same. I just had no idea they would make a transmission or this rear axel case out of aluminum.

 

[Kat]

Did you finance the tractor purchase? If so, do you have Kubota insurance with the financing? If you do, things like this should be covered by the insurance.

I paid cash for the tractor and I don't have any insurance on it. I didn't know until today that there was a special insurance you could get for Kubota tractors. When I first got the tractor, I called my insurance (State Farm) about adding it to my policy, but it didn't seem like a very good deal. I guess someone could try to steal it, but I live out in the country down a dead-end road that no one but 3 neighbors and delivery trucks come down. But maybe I should look into that KTAC insurance?

 

[Kat]

Wow that's quite the adventure.

Have that guy fix it with a Heli-coil and see if he will "show you" how to do it. Its not very hard, and it's a great skill to have.

I have used hundreds (possibly thousands) of them and they work great.

I have no working knowledge of the part you are talking about, but you will only be "heli-coiling" a few threads so it shouldn't make any difference.

There are some dissenting opinions on OTT about using them, but I for one, would have no problem doing that.

In regard to voiding your warranty, I call BS, but warranty's are kind of "subjective" sometimes depending on who is making the call.

However, if nothing goes wrong for "however many months" you have left on your warranty, it will make no difference; And the odds are that nothing will go wrong, it's a Kubota.

Well, I'm glad my B.S. detector went off and looked further into it. I sent a text to the service guy at the dealership last night. I attached the diagrams and told him that the drain plug didn't connect the 2 halves, and I asked him to send me something showing where the supposed "tube" was that he spoke of. I haven't heard back from him or anyone else at the dealership (someone was supposed to call to set up a time/date to pick up my tractor). So, I assume that he's either embarrassed or mad that I caught him in his lies. As for the warranty, he said that the transmission warranty is good until 2028.

 

[Kat]

Did you finance the tractor purchase? If so, do you have Kubota insurance with the financing? If you do, things like this should be covered by the insurance.

 

[RCW]

Kat -

So sorry this went south on you.

You’ve gotten some great advice.

While I understand you think you’re a weak gal, you obviously have some experience with wrenches, and can accommodate. Good for you.

First suggestion is that you consider a set of ratcheting combination wrenches.

They’re short enough that you don’t generate a lot of torque on the ratcheting box end side, and can be quicker than a ratchet and socket.

Gotten so I really like them. In some applications where you can get on the bolt/nut, I find I’m less apt to over tighten.

Second suggestion is torque wrench(es) of the size you need like mentioned above for use with sockets.

Wishing you the best of luck.

 

[Kat]

I cannot see any relationship between the pic you posted…and the diagrams you posted… They do not appear to be the same part at all.

But I agree a helicoil is likely the simplest fix…and there’s no way that will “void” any warranty. Any dealer who claims it does is merely wrong. It is a often-claimed B.S. that ANY ALTERATION you perform on equipment voids the warranty. The modifications you do without Mfr’r approval….Must be Shown to be the DIRECT CAUSE of the failure.
Kubota would have to prove that the helicoil contributed directly to any failure….and that would be almost impossible to do.

If they don't appear to be the same part at all... it's probably because the first diagram only shows the top view of the left-hand rear axel case, and they don't show the bottom half where the bolt hole is. The part in question is labeled as #010, and the oil drain bolt that goes into the hole that I stripped is labeled as #060.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Kat]

Kat -

So sorry this went south on you.

You’ve gotten some great advice.

While I understand you think you’re a weak gal, you obviously have some experience with wrenches, and can accommodate. Good for you.

First suggestion is that you consider a set of ratcheting combination wrenches.

They’re short enough that you don’t generate a lot of torque on the ratcheting box end side, and can be quicker than a ratchet and socket.

Gotten so I really like them. In some applications where you can get on the bolt/nut, I find I’m less apt to over tighten.

Second suggestion is torque wrench(es) of the size you need like mentioned above for use with sockets.

Wishing you the best of luck.

Good Idea! I know that I need better tools, and there isn't a good reason that I haven't bought any... except that I'm not sure what all I should get (except that I know I need a good set of screwdrivers.) The ratchet that I was using, was inherited from my dad, so I'm sure it is at least 50 years old.

 

[RCW]

Good Idea! I know that I need better tools, and there isn't a good reason that I haven't bought any... except that I'm not sure what all I should get (except that I know I need a good set of screwdrivers.) The ratchet that I was using, was inherited from my dad, so I'm sure it is at least 50 years old.

Age of tools don’t matter. I’ll take old ones anytime.

I have my grandfather’s S-K socket set circa ‘40’s(?), but they mostly work as new. Had to pitch a couple sockets as they were just whooped.

A good set of screwdrivers is important.

Consider a 3/8” torque wrench and maybe some combination wrenches, ratcheting or conventional.

 

[mcmxi]

I get all of the suggestions of using a helicoil, but I'd probably drill out the hole to the next metric thread size up, tap it and buy a new plug and washer. If the mismatch bothered me enough I'd drill and tap the other side too so that they're the same. I'd use a fine thread pitch tap which results in a stronger thread compared to coarse thread pitches.

@GeoHorn, I think that 090 and 100 on the second schematic do a better job of showing the drain plug and its relation to the housing.

@Kat, in the grand scheme of things this isn't a big problem or even that much of a screw up. Don't beat yourself up about it. It's a cheap fix, and when it's done it'll be as good as new.