New B2301 - Rust?

[whobee]

First tractor. Is this amount of rust acceptable?

Quick background - B2301/B2601s are hard to find in the northeast at the moment. Contacted several dealers and one had this unit in stock due to original buyer backing out. I purchased it given that it was spec'd with turfs as I wanted. Also dealer came off of MSRP by 9% whereas all other dealers were MSRP or above and couldn't guarantee price due to estimated delivery times of up to 16 weeks.

I felt lucky and luck is usually not on my side. Then delivery came and I noticed rust. Tractor was manufactured in Nov/Dec 2021; not sure when it arrived to dealer lot and/or how long it sat but appears 2 months maximum. We do live in heavily salted Northeast.

Not sure if I should make a stink about it or if this is to be accepted and just be happy I got the B2301 and saved a couple of grand versus the others dealers had no inventory and higher pricing (with pricing uncertainty).

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I wouldn't worry about it.
You could clean it really good this summer then spray it with a rust converter/ inhibitor and you'll be fine.

 

[lynnmor]

Looks like the paint job was light and incomplete, not a big deal. I would ask for a couple of spray cans of the matching paint and take care of the issue on a nice day.

 

[Shekkie]

I’d clean up what bothers you, spray paint anything exposed then Fluid Film/WoolWax it and put it to work.

I see nothing to make too much of a fuss about.

 

[mcfarmall]

I would demand, in no uncertain terms, that they give you a new, rust free unit and knock another 10% off the final price...oh wait, it's a tractor, nevermind.

 

[ZTMAN]

Was looking at an unassembled Grand L in a dealers lot on Monday. Parts looked about the same as yours.

 

[Chanceywd]

I bought mine just about a year ago. It has similar rust and I figured it was because up until I got it, it had been outside somewhere. It is a DT model and since most want the HST it could have been quite a while. The 3pt balls were stuck tight, I would have thought dealer would have caught that but all in all I was happy to get the package I wanted in just a couple weeks including the BH77 at that time.
As I live in the north east I would think there is always the salt factor just from spray in the original to the dealer delivery and from vehicles driving by when on the lot.

 

[whobee]

Thanks all. Appreciate the feedback and glad I asked here first and didn’t make a mountain out of a molehill with my dealer over it.

 

[top gnome]

Congrats on your tractor. I too just got a b2301 this January. I did not think to check for rust but where they changed the seat for the swivel seat I had some rust and I thank you for calling attention to it as the treaded holes for the seat mount should be filled or at least some fluid film in them. I too live very close to the ocean so rust is always an issue. It is full of mud right now so I will look closer if I ever get it clean enough to see the rust.

 

[fried1765]

First tractor. Is this amount of rust acceptable?

Quick background - B2301/B2601s are hard to find in the northeast at the moment. Contacted several dealers and one had this unit in stock due to original buyer backing out. I purchased it given that it was spec'd with turfs as I wanted. Also dealer came off of MSRP by 9% whereas all other dealers were MSRP or above and couldn't guarantee price due to estimated delivery times of up to 16 weeks.

I felt lucky and luck is usually not on my side. Then delivery came and I noticed rust. Tractor was manufactured in Nov/Dec 2021; not sure when it arrived to dealer lot and/or how long it sat but appears 2 months maximum. We do live in heavily salted Northeast.

Not sure if I should make a stink about it or if this is to be accepted and just be happy I got the B2301 and saved a couple of grand versus the others dealers had no inventory and higher pricing (with pricing uncertainty).

Best solution for that annoying very light rust would be to treat those areas with OSPHO, using a small paint brush.
Then:.....several weeks (or more) later use some Kubota touch up paint.

OSPHO after thoroughly drying, will act as a primer for your touch up paint.
OSPHO is suitable for all rusted steel, or castings.
Follow the instructions on the OSPHO container.

OSPHO is Phosphoric acid, and is available at most hardware and marine stores.
Wear rubber, or vinyl gloves when applying OSPHO.

 

[RalphVa]

Buy some Rustoleum Rust Reformer. Just spray some into the top cap and use a Q tip to apply to the rusted areas. It inerts rust to iron sulfide.

 

[fried1765]

Buy some Rustoleum Rust Reformer. Just spray some into the top cap and use a Q tip to apply to the rusted areas. It inerts rust to iron sulfide.

OSPHO does exactly the same thing!

 

[leveraddict]

Thats how they look after being outside for a while even in the crate! Water/snow /dirt sits in those places and soon will turn rust colored. Its all part of the upkeep!

 

[RalphVa]

OSPHO does exactly the same thing!

There have been several of them come out since about the 70s.