M9540 engine life expectancy

[KiwiKubota1]

Hello,

We are looking at an m9540 here with nearly 10k hours on it, it's been on a pony club apparently and does look very tidy. Curious as to how many hours it is capable of given it has had an easy life and has been hopefully well maintained.Also keen to hear whether the shuttle is durable moving forward. Thanks!

 

[85Hokie]

10,000 hours is a bit - however - do you have all the doc's on how the service was done?

I would start it cold - and see if it has a good amount of blow-by........ it would be great to do a compression test but that may not be feasible.

 

[KiwiKubota1]

Hey thanks so much for your reply, appreciate it. Probably not going to have access to service records as it is being on sold through a third party from the main dealer. Apparently it has been used exclusively to move sand for the horse arenas and this is reflected in the appearance of the pto and 3 point linkage, it looks almost new. We are on a small block of 70 acres, it's not going to do a lot of work mainly mowing.The hours are a risk but tbh the overall condition hopefully balances out?!

 

[KiwiKubota1]

It would be very much appreciated if any one could advise if they know of the v3800 engine doing high 10k plus hours without issue.

 

[Workerbee]

Personally, I wouldnt pay more than parts value for a tractor with 10,000 hours. Two things affect value, age and hours. 10,000 is a lot of hours.

 

[KiwiKubota1]

Personally, I wouldnt pay more than parts value for a tractor with 10,000 hours. Two things affect value, age and hours. 10,000 is a lot of hours.

Thanks for your reply. It isn't expensive l, they are asking 20k NZD so it's not huge money

 

[Tx Jim]

10,000 hrs is a lot of hours of use but I've read of some tractors going well over 20,000 hrs of use. I never read anything negative concerning Kubota hyd shuttle & I think the shuttle is durable. I own a '11 M7040 with 1900 hrs on speed/hr meter that the hyd shuttle has handled several 1000's of rd bales with zero problems. Does hyd shuttle shift from fwd to rev & vice-versa firmly after hyd oil is at operating temp?

 

[KiwiKubota1]

Hey thanks for your reply.I have not inspected yet,it was only listed yesterday and I will travel to inspect next week after Easter. Tbh the biggest cost in the short term would probably be tyres I would say as long as nothing major broke.It is an interesting thing because obviously most tractors are off working farms and may have less hours but have done much tougher tasks day to day.Thanks again!

 

[D2Cat]

I'd ask the dealer for owner's contact information. Find out who did the service, whether it was the farm hand or a dealer. If it was a dealer, that's a positive note because the dealer would review all components and "try" to get more business with small item before they become big items. I'd want to know what and when any major repairs were made.

Don't get emotionally involved in the decision, thinking this is a good deal and visualize how nice and good it will be.... then discover your overestimated it's value.

You probably need to determine estimated hours you will use the tractor per year x years of hopefully minor upkeep cost, then add a few thousand for parts if something does give up....and who's doing the repairs...you or hiring it out. Gives you an idea of actual value to you.

Hours, past use, and maintenance determines the value of a machine. Without knowing those items you're guessing on value. If proper maintenance was carried out that's a BIG help, and if you're going to use it for mowing only additional hours will be slow to add up. Have fun deciding!!

 

[KiwiKubota1]

Mate, thank you for your time in replying and helping with this, much appreciated!I am pretty much thinking exactly along these lines already, I will make these inquiries after the holiday weekend here.

I see you have a b7100hst as well!Our 40+ year old beauty is a big part of why this is up for consideration, ours is an angel in orange on our property! Kitty the Kubota is a cherished tool.

I think it will have been serviced by the dealer, although it may not be straight forward or possible getting complete previous information.A big part of it being attractive is that the local dealer 90min away is Kubota, not connected with machine at present but would be if it was ours.

Not emotionally invested at all, have reasonable experience in purchasing bits and pieces like this so yeah that's not a big factor but here in New Zealand good quality large tractors sell very fast, sometimes within hours of being listed. I have first option so a wee bit of pressure there though.

It really is the engine I am mainly interested in with the hours, being a common rail, in a perfect world I would be buying an older 6 cylinder tractor that are simpler and tougher.Good machines like this are unicorns here.This has been used on flat ground and mainly loader work so I would be fairly confident that the rest of the machine is in above average condition for age.

Cheers !!

 

[D2Cat]

I think you'll discover the M9540 is a common rail not direct injection engine. The xx40 series tractors were the last models before the EPA went to tier 4, which added more "stuff" to meet smog requirements which makes that series of tractors actually increase in value over time.

 

[D2Cat]

I was going to post this for you. Here's the catalogue for that tractor. https://media.kubota.io/uploads/Kubota_Tractor-M6040_M7040_M8540_M9540_M9540DualSpeed.pdf

 

[KiwiKubota1]

I think you'll discover the M9540 is a common rail not direct injection engine. The xx40 series tractors were the last models before the EPA went to tier 4, which added more "stuff" to meet smog requirements which makes that series of tractors actually increase in value over time.

Oh yeah, I mean the m9540 is common rail, and in a perfect world I would find a low hour 6 cylinder direct injection tractor!

 

[PoTreeBoy]

I was going to post this for you. Here's the catalogue for that tractor. https://media.kubota.io/uploads/Kubota_Tractor-M6040_M7040_M8540_M9540_M9540DualSpeed.pdf

Looks like mechanical injection

 

[KiwiKubota1]

Gee you guys are awesome, really appreciate your help

 

[KiwiKubota1]

I am a carpenter by trade so you will have to forgive my lack of knowledge in this field

 

[D2Cat]

I am a carpenter by trade so you will have to forgive my lack of knowledge in this field

That's okay, well pound it into you!

 

[whitetiger]

I think you'll discover the M9540 is a common rail not direct injection engine. The xx40 series tractors were the last models before the EPA went to tier 4, which added more "stuff" to meet smog requirements which makes that series of tractors actually increase in value over time.

The M9540 still has a mechanical fuel injection pump and was the last model before common rail.

 

[D2Cat]

The M9540 still has a mechanical fuel injection pump and was the last model before common rail.

You'd think I ought to know that!!

 

[whitetiger]

You'd think I ought to know that!!

I knew you did, probably that darn auto-correct