GR2100 Diesel Steer Axle Mounts Broken

GR2110 Diesel Steer Cylinder Mounts Broken

I bought this machine new from my local dealer. Just out of warranty the hydrostat began hemorrhaging fluid. The service manager at the dealer tried blowing smoke up my, ahem, anyway, I came away feeling as if they were trying to stroke me. Fixed the problem myself (a seal was leaking) and found evidence that the assembly of the hydrostat was poorly done as I found a bunch of sealer squeeze out in the screen.

That was a couple years ago, and it has been running OK since.

I do all the maintenance myself (after all, I held ASE Auto and Truck Master certifications, was a certified Mobile Fluid Power Specialist, and have a lifetime of experience as a mechanic). Filters, fluids, grease where and when needed, sharpen, balance and change blades, clean chaff from radiator, check and adjust tire pressures, etc.

So today Mrs. Racer hopped on the thing to finish mowing the yard and came in to the shop a short while later telling me the thing started making a weird noise. I went out and had a look, and discovered the brackets holding the steer cylinder to the axle have broken, and the floating freely in front of the axle.

I searched the web, and then this forum, and it looks like I am the only guy in the world who has this problem.

In fact, when the seal gave up I felt the same way.

I take excellent care of all of my machines. I am a competent mechanic and my shop is very well equipped (its even bigger than my house). This clearly is nothing that I cannot repair, but still, I bought the Kubota based on the reputation of the brand. My experience this far would indicate I made a bad choice.

Convince me that I shouldn't fix this lemon and ditch it for a green tractor.

After I get it torn down I'll post some photos.

coachgeo said:

Green... lately seems to be a bit opposite now that they farm out a large part of their product line to get manufactured and built completely out of house.

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Yes, I have read that about them.


Same for the Blue and grey ones, but I may even consider one of them. They produced one a few years back that commemorated the red and grey ones.

Got it torn down. The steering cylinder mounting brackets are broken. It looks like they couldn't take the forces imparted on them by the cylinder. Both are bent, and it looks like the back and forth action of the cylinder pushing in them caused fatigue where the steel part was formed into an L shape.

The only thing locating the cylinder is a bolt between the two brackets, and a snap ring at either end of the cylinder that keep it centered.

I can see how the cylinder has worked around a bit over time, leaving gouges where the snap rings ride against the bracket. These brackets appear to be made from mild steel, and the forming process left tool marks that ultimately were the location for the cracks.


Poor design.


Of course the manufacturer would never admit the design is flawed.

Kubota GR2110 Broken Steering Cylinder Mounts by Racer, on Flickr

Kubota GR2110 Broken Steering Cylinder Mounts by Racer, on Flickr

Kubota GR2110 Broken Steering Cylinder Mounts by Racer, on Flickr

Kubota GR2110 Broken Steering Cylinder Mounts by Racer, on Flickr

Kubota GR2110 Broken Steering Cylinder Mounts by Racer, on Flickr

Kubota GR2110 Broken Steering Cylinder Mounts by Racer, on Flickr

North Idaho Wolfman said:

Depending on the serial # you are only looking at about $30 to replace them.

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I know, I've priced the parts out. Its the downtime and a trip to town and back. By the time I run into town and back the day will be shot. Already lost most of Friday sussing this out.

North Idaho Wolfman said:

It's not what I would call a common failure part.

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I wouldn't expect it to be. A mounting bracket is something that should last the life of the machine. Not like it is a wear item.

North Idaho Wolfman said:

The lack of rust on the cracks makes me think they broke all at the same time or within a very short period of time.

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It looks like at least one of the breaks had been broken for some time, maybe two, the upper ones. The surfaces were hammered pretty smooth. The other ones broke close to the same time, as the breaks are sharp and jagged.

I should have posted photos of the other side of the brackets. The cylinder had pushed hard enough that it bent them outward, away from each other, and the circlips that are on the cylinder have chewed up the brackets some.

North Idaho Wolfman said:

Did someone hit something?

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Not that I know of. It is only Mrs. Racer and I that run it. I haven't been bashing it into anything. I wouldn't want to make any overtures toward the woman and the possibility that she may have been careless with it. I'm sure you can relate, it is good to keep peace with them.

If it has been run into something hard enough to deform both of the brackets in opposite directions I can't imagine what sort of collision could cause that kind of force, short of running it into a tree.

Changnam 59 said:

I think if I were tackling this problem I would start with a new part and add a couple of strengthening gussets to the 90 degree folds.

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I'm with you there.

As I was digging into this today, and working out a plan to make repairs, I was going to weld the pieces back together and add reinforcement.

I've since decided that I am replacing the brackets with new, and will be adding some gussets. I also will try to find a way to secure the cylinder better. As designed it simply floats in the brackets, the circlips limiting the thrust side to side as steering inputs change. It should be bolted or clamped down tight I think.

North Idaho Wolfman said:

The long bolt is the clamp, I was wondering if there should have been more than one holding it?

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Only one shows in the parts diagram, and there isn't another set of holes for one. If another could be added, say on the lower side, that may help with the stiffness of the mount.

I may look into that,thanks.

On one bracket there is a bolt. It is there to keep the cylinder from rotating by catching one of the hydraulic fittings. Again, I feel this is poor engineering. Over time the bolt will wear a hole in the fitting. Had the brackets been made from a forging, with saddles and clamps that held the cylinder rigidly, this failure would not have happened. Sure, that would add to the cost of production, but there would be better quality.

I have been thinking about a question you had earlier, about it getting hit. My yard is large, about 4 or 5 acres. It is rough, from the moles digging and tearing up the turf. I try to stay on top of filling the holes, but over time the burrows and digging that goes on causes the surface to become uneven.

Do you think that repeated bouncing over the rough ground could cause something like this?

Yooper said:

Looking at your last picture, the two 'tabs' are egg shaped which is evidence of loose bolts. Probably the domino effect from there.

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coachgeo said:

Good catch Yopper. Looks like this may have been start of the issue and things cascaded further from there.

2nd and third picture also show egged out mounts on the parent bracket. If re-ued these should be welded and re-drilled IMHO

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The bolts that hold the brackets to the axle case were still tight. I had to use a 3/8 drive impact gun to remove them, so they weren't loose. The bolts have a lockwasher under the head, and the nut is a flanged binding head type. One of the positive things I can say about the machine is the quality of the fasteners is very good.

The brackets are punched out using a press and dies, so the holes have one edge that is rolled down into the opening, and none of them are perfect round holes (look at the outer edges of the parts and that rolled edge is also evident). There is some marking from the lockwashers that were used in the clamp up, but the bores still have a full covering of the powder coating finish.

RCW said:

Racer - You are an experienced mechanic, . . . . . .

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Aw, shucks.

RCW said:

. . . . . . . and Yooper is one of the most talented fabricators on this forum. Look him up - fascinating stuff he does.

I would give Yooper's observations great consideration - It's not his first rodeo, either.

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Absoluteley.

RCW said:

I would bet you guys can figure out cause/effect/correction easily, and probably better than OEM!

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That's why I stumbled in here. Looked like a great place to do just that.

RCW said:

Best wishes!

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Thanks!