Hst filter leak

OK. The bad news. 7 hours labor total @ $80 per. 3 hours diagnosing and 4 hours putting back the gear case back as well as the fix for the filter. (overcharged in time for sure) They don’t call them stealerships for nothing!

The good news is no gears broken, nothing damaged. it just wasn't meshing correctly. Here's an important piece of info when you replace your PTO shaft.

You have to rotate it a bit as you're putting the gear case back to make sure the teeth are in the right position, BEFORE you tighten it up. You should be able to feel it. I thought that when I put it back in that if it didn’t mesh, it wouldnt have even fit. I was wrong.

OK, on to the filter problem. That's the real killer. It was the cruise control cable that got caught. Its insane because it wasn't hanging in front of the flat area where the gasket goes when I took the first filter off to look at it. When I put on the second filter, it got caught again, and that's why it wouldn't tighten all the way and kept leaking. When I used the cap filter wrench to tighten it up, I crushed and severed the cable. So if anything is to be gained by this trial is that you should LOOK OUT FOR THE CRUISE CONTROL CABLE when you’re putting on your suction filter! I can’t see how I didn't see it!

The service guy said it hangs off the back a bit, he agreed it's a stupid place to put a cable. (When I said. “Well that's a stupid place to put a cable!”)

His guys need to take apart the dash to replace it and zip tie it a bit better. Hence the labor. The cable is like 40 bucks. No parts on the gear case. He said I did a decent job, again, if there is a next time, he said to spin the pto until you feel the gears lock and THEN bolt it in.

SO, 7 hours labor, another 4 gallons of SUDT, yet another filter, and a cruise control cable. $$$$$ That's like two hookers and an eightball!!

I’ll be taking it to the dealer the next time I have a problem while it's still under warranty for sure!

Granted, I believe the best way to learn something is to do it yourself, and I don't regret taking that chance. I will continue to be more mindful and pay closer attention to the details as I poke and prod my tractor for years to come.

Thanks RCW, I appreciate the comment.

To continue, I got the 2650 back a few days ago. They said that when they engaged the Mid PTO it stalled the engine out. (that didn't happen to me, so I thought that was odd) They said the gears weren't meshed properly, and they reinstalled it correctly. Concerned about the stall, I asked him if any of the gears were damaged, but he said funny enough, no, everything was fine.

I started it up to check it out and and the clicking sound is still there. My 8 year old was helping me out and sat in the seat to engage the pto for me

https://youtu.be/3M7Tkw_cdz4

I went to the dealership, had them show me another 2650 on the lot. Started it up and engaged the mid pto. It runs smooth.

https://youtu.be/x_N-nMnwNs4

It's clear something is still not right. What gets me is that they said they reinstalled it "properly."

So what is going wrong and more importantly how did it happen? If the pros at the shop installed it properly, then it stands to reason that I did too.

Maybe this was a pre existing condition? I can't say. I haven't used the mid pto since I got the machine and just spent my time breaking it in with light work around the property.

The service guy has taken copies of the videos and sent it to kubota for them to analyze. He thinks it's the gears and not the bearings when I asked him his opinion.

Any thoughts as to what or why this is happening?

Never a dull moment at my house!

Thanks for the reply NIW. Since I didn't engage the mid pto beforehand, I have no way of knowing if it was a factory defect or not.

My bull**** meter went off too when he told me about the tractor stalling, and not meshing properly. If it in fact had stalled I'm sure some damage would have been done to the gears. It seemed odd he said it was fine. Also, today he said he suspects the gears. Contradicting.

3 hours to diagnose. 3 hours. Another reason for me to think he's taking me for a ride.

Right now I'll wait for him to let me know what kubota says. God knows I ain't puttin out another penny! I've paid enough already. I'll let him pick it up and fix it, and drop it off at no additional cost.

I'll keep ya's in the loop. THX