L185dt

ltienken · Mar 27, 2009

I may have an opportunity to purchase a 1980 L185DT at a reasonable price. It has been used mostly for mowing a large grass area. I think it has less than 1500 hours. I am not well versed on tractors and am wondering if this would be a good tractor to use for light blading, some mowing, etc. The fact that it is about 30 years old is a concern to me, but should it be. It has been well taken care of and appears to be in very good shape.

I would appreciate your thoughts if this would be a good buy or am I crazy.

Michael · Mar 27, 2009

Reasonable price is the key. The L185 is a stronger tractor then what it size tells you. One thing is they are LOUD when at working RPM but will work all day and come back and ask for more.

The fact that you stated that you intend to use it for light blading and mowing this tractor is not even worked that hard.

At almost 30 years old the tractor will have some things that are worn but this tractor is fairly easy to work on, I would be prepared if buying it to replace all the hoses, the fan belt, and do a complete oil change, flush of the rad, and transmission change with a cleaned screen. The tractor itself is really easy to work on except for some wiring behind the dash.

I have the gray market version of the same tractor (L1801) and it has slightly higher HP engine but it is a 2 wheel drive and this one stout tractor. If something like that showed up for me I would be sorely tempted but the fiance minister would likely get really mad at me.

Mr. K · Mar 27, 2009

Hello there ltienken, thank you for signing up and posting on the site!

Michael is right - the L185 is a strong runner. Even at 30 years old I would not worry too much, hours are a more important indicator of how much "seat time" the equipment has seen.

Even then, if the previous owner had just used it to mowing then it's actually had a pretty easy life as a tractor so far. 1500 hours in 30 years is less than an hour a week of use! Pretty good!

If the price is right I would say you've found yourself a good deal! There are some things you'll want to do yourself right away like changing the oil, air and fuel filters, coolant flush, adjusting the clutch and so on. That way you'll bring yourself up to speed on the condition of the tractor and won't be left wondering.

Again, we're biased here toward those orange tractors but there's a reason behind that - they're great! Very popular, well built and you can still get parts for them.

Mr. K · Mar 27, 2009

Forgot to mention - the L185 is about 18 horsepower and 15 PTO horsepower. Plenty for running a mower or pushing snow like you mention. Now, if you were pulling stumps out on a regular basis... maybe we'd steer you in another direction...

Michael · Mar 27, 2009

Here are some pictures of what mine did today, I am in the process of building a new garage and we are giving away a log cabin shed, we needed to move a ten foot by 1 foot by 10 inches of concrete slab of concrete from the front of the shed. I curled the bucket and slighly picked up one end of the concrete and pushed it out of the way in one good push in low low gear.

Curbster · Apr 2, 2009

Well, speaking from first hand experience as I own an L185DT, they are worth the purchase price. Especially if you have such low hours and the unit was maintained. See the Gallery for pictures! I just put the bucket back on as I like to think the snow season may very well be over, but never sure. Spread dump truck loads of gravel up a steep driveway last week with no problems. (sort of wish there was a hand lever for the diff lock though, as it would free up my throttle foot!)

How much $$$ are they asking for the tractor??

Curbster · Apr 4, 2009

Yeah Vic the snow sort of sneaks up on us over here, usually at night when yer sleeping, so it's always a surprise in the morning!

Sledge64 · Apr 28, 2009

I too have an oppurtunity to purchase a Kubota L185DT, there is one problem with the tractor it will barely move when you put it in gear, and will not pull itself up an incline. Could this just be the clutch?

cstempert · Aug 12, 2009

Speaking of the L185DT, does anyone have one with a front end loader? If so, what kind? I have an L185DT and am looking for an FEL, preferabley a kit.
I looked into a Wood's 1006, but they say it's a little too big. I called Koyker and they had no suggestions as to a suitable FEL.

I have seen a few NOS Wood's 1006 kits online, but am hesitant to buy because I want to be sure I can adapt it for use. I feel confident I can fab any brackets or modify for a similar tractor.

Also, anyone know of any trasctors that use the same driveline as the Lxxx series? I assume the L175-185-245 are common gearboxes, just larger engines. Do any B series use the same driveline?

L185 · Dec 26, 2009

Hello.
I´m new in the forum. I have 2 questions about a Kubota L185 that i purchased recently. the first is how to change the steering oil and the other is about the clutch, sometimes it´s dificult to engage the gears , often when the tractor drive in 8th, after it stop´s its dificult to put another gear. sorry for my "technical english". congratulations for the mentors of this site

L185 · Dec 27, 2009

Thank you Mr Vic for the explanation , i just download a parts manual and i have a operators manual ( in french only... ) . I´m trying to find a WSM manual in the web but it´s dificult to get the manual in portuguese. in english there are many places in the web but to expensive and i never have bought in the internet. can you give me a opinion? thanks

gssixgun · Jan 6, 2013

Very Strong Tractor indeed, I just traded mine off with over 25000 hours on it...

It had started every snowy morning for the last 6 years I owned it, I finally decided I needed more power

L185dtuser · Jul 8, 2017

cstempert said:
Speaking of the L185DT, does anyone have one with a front end loader? If so, what kind? I have an L185DT and am looking for an FEL, preferabley a kit.
I looked into a Wood's 1006, but they say it's a little too big. I called Koyker and they had no suggestions as to a suitable FEL.

I have seen a few NOS Wood's 1006 kits online, but am hesitant to buy because I want to be sure I can adapt it for use. I feel confident I can fab any brackets or modify for a similar tractor.

Also, anyone know of any trasctors that use the same driveline as the Lxxx series? I assume the L175-185-245 are common gearboxes, just larger engines. Do any B series use the same driveline?

Hello, I also just purchased a L185dt last week and am also looking for a FEL for mine.

Sent from my SCH-I925 using Tapatalk

L185dtuser · Jul 8, 2017

L185dtuser said:
Hello, I also just purchased a L185dt last week and am also looking for a FEL for mine.

Sent from my SCH-I925 using Tapatalk

I found a Bush Hog 186qt that looked like it would work but the guy sold it before I could get measurements for $1500.

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