front axle on new tractor very low or no oil in it?

[Trash Panda]

What's that got to do with anything? What "100's of millions of people" do or don't do has no bearing on best practices. I put significant value in the things that I pay a lot of money for, and I have a realistic attitude towards the lack of due diligence or quality work so often seen at car, truck and tractor dealerships. I choose to be proactive and to check things that can have a serious affect on the function and longevity of expensive equipment that I'm paying for.

Blowing smoke up someone's arse and telling them not to worry without actually knowing if they should worry is ridiculous and serves no purpose. I choose not to placate people.

Having a realistic attitude about the level of dealership incompetence doesn’t absolve them of the blame here, IMO.

I also am fairly particular about my machinery, and caught the shortcomings of the PDI, but it’s still just unacceptable.

 

[McMXi]

Having a realistic attitude about the level of dealership incompetence doesn’t absolve them of the blame here, IMO.

I also am fairly particular about my machinery, and caught the shortcomings of the PDI, but it’s still just unacceptable.

Learn to read and comprehend! I'm not absolving the dealership of blame. Read my first post! I clearly stated that it's the dealerships responsibility. But given the piss poor work ethic so common today, I don't take the attitude of assuming that the work has been done, or been done well. I'm not blaming the OP, I merely clarified that it's not Kubota's fault, it's the dealerships fault.

 

[McMXi]

The only person blowing smoke anywhere is you. I told the guy to relax and I stand by that advice. More specifically I said he did nothing wrong and I stand by that as well.

Its water over the dam and absolutely nothing he can do to change it. He filled it up and theres no indication of any problems. He has done his part. Time to quit wringing hands and move on.

No, you're being as usual. I stated a fact in my first post that the dealership is responsible. That's all I stated and it's a statement that you parroted in a later post. You made a statement of pure conjecture regarding whether or not any damage was done. Even when an actual expert came along and mentioned the real risk to the bearings you of course already knew that.

The OP should lodge a complaint with the dealership and possibly Kubota corporate regarding the lack of proper dealer prep in the event that the bearings are damaged so that he/she will have it on file in the event of future premature failure.

Read my first post ... post #5. I placed no blame with the OP, I merely made the point that it's not Kubota's fault. I stated fact, no conjecture.

" It's the dealer's responsibility to fill the front axle, not Kubota's. There are plenty of useless dealers around the country. I've had four Kubotas and zero issues and I put that down to a great product and two awesome dealers. :"

 

[TheOldHokie]

Please have your blood pressure checked and try to have a nice day.

Dan

 

[GeoHorn]

This may not be a “comfort” to know…but it’s a possible explanation of how this occurs:

Kubota ships these tractors from Japan in a “broken-down” unassembled condition. They do this for TWO Major reasons:
1- It saves them shipping cost because the tractor requires less space on board the cargo-ship and they can cram more into the containers.

2- It saves them TAXES …because the equipment is INCOMPLETE when it arrives as “Parts” ….not yet a tractor, etc.

The selling Dealer assembles the machine …from “globally sourced parts”….which make the DEALER the completion-agency. It’s not a tractor (or other equip't) until the DEALER Completes the product assembly.

When delivered to the customer, the new owner should INSPECT the product for CONDITION as they ACCEPT the equip’t.

If the new owner fails to completely inspect the equip’t then it’s their Bad.

BUT…THE DEALER is who FAILED to do their job correctly….and bears responsibility for the improper assembly…and is who Failed in their responsibility and in their representation to the new owner.
And it’s the OWNER who operated the equipment improperly-serviced.

Having written that, the record shows that these front axles actually were shipped with residual oil in them which is usually sufficient to prevent serious damage for quite some time.

HEY OWNERS! HEADS UP! CHECK YOUR EQUIPMENT as you are supposed to! Don’t accept a plate of fried chicken if it still has feathers on it or if it hasn’t been gutted.

 

[Spam Bot]

If it fails before your finance contract is up, and it is insured with KTAC, KTAC will fix it for you. All you will have to pay is the deductible. I would suggest that you drop the front axle into a deep hole and break the casting, but that would be unethical, so I am not suggesting that to you.

 

[Trustable]

when my tractor got delivered to my house and the sales guy was walking me through it all and showing me examples, I specifically asked if it was filled as I heard there have been issues lately (2021 is when I got it) regarding front axles on the smaller series. He told me they have had to top off the front axles on most of their deliveries, and told me he also did the same to the l2501 sitting in my driveway. I should have checked it that day but was a bit nervous to start taking out bolts on a brand new machine when I had no experience operating anything bigger than a ride on mower with a 42 inch deck. I did check the level at my 50 hour service since I already had the wrenches out and it is pretty much level or just a hair below the check bolt housing. I just checked again two days ago after reading this post, as I have put 25 hours on it all in 4wd since mid December and figured it would be good to look. Thankfully Once again it was about a hair lower or pretty much level with the housing. I also didn’t notice the nasty smell you get when a diff or gear oil burns. I’m probably going to end up changing it earlier than recommended just to ensure longevity as I’m not putting tons of hours on it.

IMO it’s not your responsibility to crack that thing open until the hour meter says 400 or whatever the interval your manual says. Unfortunately the QC and PDIs suck in the US for vehicles and manufacturing it seems for some reason so we all probably need to start to verify everything. Just had an incident with my snowblower with the shaft not being tightened properly at the land pride factory.

When you go to drain the axle/diff, I would recommend putting a magnet in the drain pan to see what comes out. I would think if it’s not full of sparkles or a lot of metal shards you should be good. Honestly it’s probably worth it to call the dealer or Kubota customer service even if your past warranty. If it’s a good dealer I’d imagine they would make it right.

 

[Like Tractors]

The remedy is easy...trade that son of a bitch off, then tell the dealer you will assemble the new one. My friendly Kubota dealer knows how fussy I am!

 

[Orangeglow]

I,m surprised the dealer is allowed to let you do that on your own.

 

[JasonW]

I,m surprised the dealer is allowed to let you do that on your own.

 

[Trash Panda]

Learn to read and comprehend! I'm not absolving the dealership of blame. Read my first post! I clearly stated that it's the dealerships responsibility. But given the piss poor work ethic so common today, I don't take the attitude of assuming that the work has been done, or been done well. I'm not blaming the OP, I merely clarified that it's not Kubota's fault, it's the dealerships fault.

Must have missed where I claimed it was Kubotas fault.

Reading comprehension, eh?

 

[TheOldHokie]

Must have missed where I claimed it was Kubotas fault.

Reading comprehension, eh?

And the notion that Kubota is not responsible for the quality and reliability of their dealer service, especially a new tractor PDI, is pure spin. If this is a chronic and widespread problem with Kubota dealerships perhaps Kubota is not deserving of their reputation.

Dan