MMM removal and snowblower install...issues

[MuttCat]

Just wanted to share....The mower deck had to come off as winter has arrived. With the new-to-me arthritis, which really...if you got it, you know...anyway, with wifey's help we went at it. In an effort to make things easier, we turned the anti scalp wheels sideways; three of them, one was a no go. Something isn't drilled right and the pin would not lined up, so that's got to be examined later.

On my previous BX, I used a weight rack up front to hang a couple of weights. The rack bolts to the front using existing holes. But my BX2380 has the K connect hitch which has mounting hardware that preclude the use of the rack. So I put the rack and weight up for sale...not much interest, I still have the stuff.

So, without any experience mounting the snowblower (new equipment was delivered with the blower installed late last year) I went to YouTube to see how folks did it. One video was a guy with the same stuff I've got. His front end lacked the hardware up front that mine has, and yet his K connect hitch plopped right on. Huh?

Turns out there's extraneous hardware that you don't need if you do not have a grill guard, which I do not. Whoever did the setup at my dealer simply mounted everything that came with the hitch. I went through the manual and sure enough, optional equipment. Come spring that extra stuff will come off and I can use my rack and weights.

My salesman had said yup, I was not going to be able to use the rack. He was wrong. Last complaint, last fall when the dealer installed the hitch and blower with hydraulic chute rotation and deflector, all four hoses were jammed into those coil type hose guides. It took a half hour to get them out. According to the book, the hitch hoses use the rearward guide only, and the chute hoses run through through the front one only.

Always something. Some might remember the problems I had with the hydraulic diverter that fell apart. Yeesh.

 

[DustyRusty]

You can use your original front weight bracket and weights only if you fully remove the K Connect first. It might bolt on with the K Connect for the summer months, but will be in the way of the snowblower hook-up for the winter months. I know because I tried since I also have the front weight system. I started to figure out how to build a K Connect weight adapter but got bogged down in the project with a bad hip. Bone on bone makes it difficult to do just about anything that requires bending etc.
Please look at these pictures and duplicate what I have done with 2 additional hose support brackets. Best investment of $40 ($20 each) that I spent last snow plowing season. It will make hook-up a breeze for you. I have my snowblower on and off multiple times a winter since sometimes I also use a blade to do the final cleanup.

. Takes me less than 5 minutes to put the snowblower onto a dolly and roll the snowblade to the front of the tractor.

 

[MuttCat]

You can use your original front weight bracket and weights only if you fully remove the K Connect first. It might bolt on with the K Connect for the summer months, but will be in the way of the snowblower hook-up for the winter months. I know because I tried since I also have the front weight system. I started to figure out how to build a K Connect weight adapter but got bogged down in the project with a bad hip. Bone on bone makes it difficult to do just about anything that requires bending etc.
Please look at these pictures and duplicate what I have done with 2 additional hose support brackets. Best investment of $40 ($20 each) that I spent last snow plowing season. It will make hook-up a breeze for you. I have my snowblower on and off multiple times a winter since sometimes I also use a blade to do the final cleanup.

View attachment 92083 . Takes me less than 5 minutes to put the snowblower onto a dolly and roll the snowblade to the front of the tractor.

You can use your original front weight bracket and weights only if you fully remove the K Connect first. It might bolt on with the K Connect for the summer months, but will be in the way of the snowblower hook-up for the winter months. I know because I tried since I also have the front weight system. I started to figure out how to build a K Connect weight adapter but got bogged down in the project with a bad hip. Bone on bone makes it difficult to do just about anything that requires bending etc.
Please look at these pictures and duplicate what I have done with 2 additional hose support brackets. Best investment of $40 ($20 each) that I spent last snow plowing season. It will make hook-up a breeze for you. I have my snowblower on and off multiple times a winter since sometimes I also use a blade to do the final cleanup.

View attachment 92083 . Takes me less than 5 minutes to put the snowblower onto a dolly and roll the snowblade to the front of the tractor.

You can use your original front weight bracket and weights only if you fully remove the K Connect first. It might bolt on with the K Connect for the summer months, but will be in the way of the snowblower hook-up for the winter months. I know because I tried since I also have the front weight system. I started to figure out how to build a K Connect weight adapter but got bogged down in the project with a bad hip. Bone on bone makes it difficult to do just about anything that requires bending etc.
Please look at these pictures and duplicate what I have done with 2 additional hose support brackets. Best investment of $40 ($20 each) that I spent last snow plowing season. It will make hook-up a breeze for you. I have my snowblower on and off multiple times a winter since sometimes I also use a blade to do the final cleanup.

View attachment 92083 . Takes me less than 5 minutes to put the snowblower onto a dolly and roll the snowblade to the front of the tractor.

The guy on YouTube who has all the same equipment has no K hitch bolt heads in the bumper holes I need for the rack. "The Mindful Homestead" video titled "Kubota K-Connect Front PTO and Snowblower Install, at 1:15 min. clearly shows his front bumper free of all interfering hardware. Check it out at six mounting holes are open.

 

[DustyRusty]

I haven't the foggiest idea of how his K Connect is mounted, however, the instructions for the BX2810 clearly show that there are parts that are bolted to the front of the tractor frame for the installation of the BX2810 K Connect installation. Possibly his tractor is an earlier model and Kubota redesigned the mountings because of issues. Unfortunately, the BX2810 installation manual is too large to download to the forums, but I have provided a link to the Messicks parts website that also shows the parts breakdown with those holes having bolts in them.
HITCH AND SUBFRAME BX2810
Take a look at the Messicks video and you will clearly see bolts in those holes at the 30-second mark.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

This thread and others like it ,makes me feel GOOD that I didn't help a neighbour up the road swap his MMM for his snowblower. He'd kinda demanded I do the install,in his driveway ,out in the cold. I told him, I'm busy, but drop the deck, bring the rest over to my WARM garage..That was 3 weeks ago..., silence....

 

[DustyRusty]

Mystery solved!! Watch the video and stop it at exactly at 1:28, and you will clearly see the bracket behind the frame member. However, he hasn't installed the bolts through the frame to secure the bracket behind the frame. There is no way that we could understand what his logic is in not fully completing the installation. This is a very common theme in many "informational" videos on youtube. Important steps of installation are left out for whatever reason, and the person that doesn't have the full instruction booklet follows a video that gives misguided information. I on the other hand have all the instructional manuals for just about every piece of equipment that I install on my tractor and follow them to make sure that my installation is done properly according to what the manufacturer suggests.
You on the other hand are free to do whatever you like with your tractor and are solely responsible for the installation. I am certain that if Kubota didn't think that these items be bolted to the frame, they wouldn't have gone to the expense to create them.

 

[DustyRusty]

This thread and others like it ,makes me feel GOOD that I didn't help a neighbour up the road swap his MMM for his snowblower. He'd kinda demanded I do the install,in his driveway ,out in the cold. I told him, I'm busy, but drop the deck, bring the rest over to my WARM garage..That was 3 weeks ago..., silence....

Once the MMM is off of the tractor, putting the K Connect onto the properly installed mounted bracket is very fast and easy. Lift it up onto the frame and let it down, insert a 1/2" diameter rod, and put a hairpin into the rod to secure it. Put the driveshaft onto the K Connect shaft and then connect it to the PTO. 10 minutes at best if you have done it before. Agreed it is a lot easier to do in a warm garage. If nothing else, you have a smooth floor to work on.

 

[ve9aa]

Neil does not do the "INSTALLS" like a mechanic would. He's a sales guy. He likely does not even know that there are bolts missing.(if there are bolts missing...I can't tell from that video and I have one myself)

That being said, his videos are generally pretty good and I don't see any mistakes in his mounting the snowblower video referenced above.

"... Mystery solved!! Watch the video and stop it at exactly at 1:28, and you will clearly see the bracket behind the frame member. However, he hasn't installed the bolts through the frame to secure the bracket behind the frame. There is no way that we could understand what his logic is in not fully completing the installation. ..."

 

[DustyRusty]

Neil does not do the "INSTALLS" like a mechanic would. He's a sales guy. He likely does not even know that there are bolts missing.(if there are bolts missing...I can't tell from that video and I have one myself)

That being said, his videos are generally pretty good and I don't see any mistakes in his mounting the snowblower video referenced above.

"... Mystery solved!! Watch the video and stop it at exactly at 1:28, and you will clearly see the bracket behind the frame member. However, he hasn't installed the bolts through the frame to secure the bracket behind the frame. There is no way that we could understand what his logic is in not fully completing the installation. ..."

I wasn't talking about Neil's video, but the video that was referenced by Muttcat in post #3 made by "The Mindful Homestead" titled "Kubota K-Connect Front PTO and Snowblower Install. It is essential to start at the beginning and read all the posts to come up to speed with the discussion before jumping to conclusions. This discussion is about the K Connect tractor mounting bolts that go through the front of the BX frame. It has absolutely nothing to do with Neils installation of the snowblower. I used the Messick video to show that there are bolts in the front frame of the tractor, unlike in the video by "The Mindful Homestead"

 

[MuttCat]

I wasn't talking about Neil's video, but the video that was referenced by Muttcat in post #3 made by "The Mindful Homestead" titled "Kubota K-Connect Front PTO and Snowblower Install. It is essential to start at the beginning and read all the posts to come up to speed with the discussion before jumping to conclusions. This discussion is about the K Connect tractor mounting bolts that go through the front of the BX frame. It has absolutely nothing to do with Neils installation of the snowblower. I used the Messick video to show that there are bolts in the front frame of the tractor, unlike in the video by "The Mindful Homestead"

Those bolts and related bracket are to support a front end grill, If you don't have a grill they are optional,,,says so right in the manual. I might add that the K Connect manual also states to remove to remove the top pin holding the hydraulic cylinder and lower it down before mounting the hitch to the tractor...nobody does this.