Shuttle shifter issue?

Carmenie

New member

Equipment
Kubota m7040 tractor and kubota Rtv
Nov 12, 2025
3
0
1
Desboro, Ontario
Hi there. I own a m7040 tractor. Bought new in 2011. During the first snow storm of 2025 it decided it would sluggishly move into reverse. I moved it inside to make sure freezing wasn't an issue, pressure washed and checked the shuttle shifter linkage, oiled it, including oil in the top rubber cover closest to the steering wheel. It moved easily between forward and reverse and neutral after this. Used it a bunch today and after a while it didn't like going into reverse again. Sometimes it does not switch gears when i move the handle. If i turn it off in gear occasionally when i go to restart i need to hold key on and slide it up and down until it finds neutral so it starts. I checked the hydraulic fluid levels at the back of the tractor with its dipstick and its halfway between the 2 marks. It is not milkly. No other issues with the hydraulics. I have not changed the hydraulic fluids as suggested in the manual and it has several hunded hours on it. Could that cause this issue do to a loss of viscosity over time? Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this?

Thank you!
 

Fedup

Active member
Apr 6, 2016
334
127
43
Winchester
Somehow I doubt the problem has anything to do with hydraulic oil. If you're convinced the external shift linkage is all doing it's job and it still feels mushy shifting into reverse with sporadic non engagement issues I'd suspect there are some clutch plates going bad in the reverse side of the shuttle synchronizer. The neutral switch is down in the area where the shuttle shift shaft goes into the transmission case behind the fuel tank.