Give me Tips on Removing, Rebuilding L3710 Steering Cylinder

[MOOTS]

You pay 'em $20/hr (to throw a number out there, ain't too many who'll work for $20/hr now unless they're entry level).

I'm less than $20/hr. I keep 45-50 pieces of turf equipment/mowers/field rakes running. And probably the same amount of weedeaters, chainsaws, blowers and small single cylinder engines.
In our division, I am the 3rd down the ladder. Director, manager, mechanic and turf specialist, crew lead, worker.

And we just raised the worker from $11.33 to $15, crew lead from $16.40 to $17.50 and cant get any applications. They promised a raise for me and turf guy by October, we shall see.

I really don't know why I typed that out. Lol. Your sentence hit a nerve I guess.

 

[Mr Haney]

I still have no tractor. Everything went well until I put the cylinder back in. I made the mistake of moving the steering wheel to move the cylinder so it lined up with the locating pin, and the rod hit my front gear case cover and knocked a hole in it! Engine oil started coming out, so know I can't start or move the tractor until the hole is repaired.

I got a new (old) gear case and cleaned and painted it. Now I'm waiting for the mechanic I called to install it. No word in two days.

Thought I would improve myself and save some money by working on my own tractor. I can't say it has worked out as well as I had hoped.

 

[bjmsam]

The steering cylinder on my L3710 has been leaking for years and the bushings are shot.

Re: L3710 Steering play

I found this thread while preparing to tackle the job myself but am discouraged by your experience.

I have some unfortunate corrections to make to the post I made about getting the steering cylinder out.

I thought there was only one bolt holding the front end of the rod in place, and that bolt is exposed when you remove the battery tray. Sadly, there is a second bolt behind it, and Kubota puts it on good and tight. You won't be able to get a box wrench on it very well, and if you use one, you will probably round the head.

These two bolts keep a piece of sheet steel ("rod end shaft stopper") in place, and the edge of that piece goes into a groove around a pin ("rod end shaft") that holds the hydraulic rod in the tractor's frame. The piece of sheet prevents the pin from coming out. To get the rod loose, you have to take the bolts out and move the plate. Then the rod end shaft lifts out easily.

To get to the rear bolt, I drilled a 7/8" hole over it, in the grey part that blocks it... (photos)

Parts diagrams:

The tiny, grainy, black-and-white pictures in the Kubota manual are no end of help.

 

[Mr Haney]

You'll have to remove the radiator, which is not fun but not a terrible job. I suggest drilling the hole I mentioned above to get access to the hidden bolt you will have to take out. You can paint around the hole later to prevent rust.

Above all, don't use the hydraulics to adjust the position of the rod without attaching the cylinder at the rear to keep it from going through your front engine cover. I think it's best to have someone else watch it as you turn the wheel. If the cylinder goes through the cover, you will end up spending around 10 times as much as a cylinder repair would cost. Attach it at the rear and then adjust it to attach the front. That's my opinion, anyway.

I believe I had the shop write down the figures for the seal parts so I could avoid paying Kubota prices when it fails again, but I don't recall whether aftermarket parts were actually cheaper.

 

[bjmsam]

I suggest drilling the hole I mentioned above to get access to the hidden bolt you will have to take out. You can paint around the hole later to prevent rust.

Curious: Why did you opt to drill a hole through that support rather than removing it (and the bumper) per the instructions (step 6)?

#7 Bonnet Support:

#10 Front Support:

 

[Mr Haney]

It has been a long time. All I remember is that it seemed like less work, especially if I had to go in there more than once. I would have to go out and look it over again to remember everything.

I ended up replacing my battery tray, which was nasty.

Are you replacing your cylinder? Mine was pouring. There was no way to keep up by topping off.

 

[bjmsam]

Only about ten drops a day appear beneath my L3710, so topping off is infrequent, but along with the sloppy bushings shown in my video above, the situation will only get worse. The steering cylinder is allowing fluid to seep past both seals so needs to be rebuilt or replaced. The hydraulic hoses appear to be sound but replacing them might be prudent for peace of mind. The pitman arm may be a candidate for repair but likely should be replaced.

You usually have to ream the bushing after replacing it. Or just get the whole pitman arm that has new reamed bushings already installed. Make sure to get the pin too as it is usually worn as well. There's possibility that the bracket that holds the pin is worn/oblonged, so you might want to look at that before ordering parts. There is a thrust washer between the pitman arm and the bracket, it also wears--I've had to dig around and find thicker washers in the past to take up most of the clearance. You don't want it "tight" but you do want to remove most of the slop. Kubota should have offered the washer as a selective shim.

Takes a hydraulic press to remove/replace the bushings and this repair can only be done if there is a bushing left in the arm. If it's worn through and into the arm, you have to get the arm. Replacement arm is updated. I don't know what they updated, just know that the part number changed a few times since it came out in 1990-whatever year it was.

Even after pressing the bushings out/new one in, a lot of times the bushings are mushroomed just a little so you have to ream it. If you don't have access to a press and the right mandrels to use with it, and a reamer, you may find it more convenient to replace the whole arm assembly.

So, even excluding labor (I don't have a press, mandrels, reamer, etc.), this could get unjustifiably expensive (below are current Messick's prices for my 1999 tractor with serial number >= 50009).

For the pitman arm

definitely:
160 TA040-17250 WASHER $12.62
060 38240-13160 SEAL OIL $10.69 x2 = $21.38
090 TA040-17210 WASHER $12.62

and either:
070 52200-22430 BUSH $17.00 x 2 = $34.00
plus labor, or:
040 TA040-17132 ASSY ARM PITMAN $384.09

and possibly:
020 TA040-14310 SUPPORT SHAFT / SKIRT $116.24

and probably:
150 TA040-17162 SHAFT PITMAN ARM $105.51
190 TA040-17173 SHAFT ROD END $63.43

For the steering cylinder

definitely:
080 TA040-17200 WASHER $8.09
050 08511-02420 BUSH $8.47

and either:
110 08511-02420 BUSH $8.47
plus labor, or:
100 TC059-17100 ARM PITMAN $156.46

and either:
030 TA040-37570 GASKET PISTON $20.97
040 04816-00450 O RING $6.62
060 08511-02820 BUSH $10.05 x 2 = $20.15
110 08511-02512 BUSH $8.94 x 2 = $17.88
120 04817-50500 O RING $5.73 x 2 = $11.46
130 TA040-37560 GASKET ROD $20.97 x 2 = $41.94
140 TA040-37580 SEAL $29.62 x 2 = $59.24
plus labor, or:
010 HTA00-37800 ASSY CYLINDER STEERING $1,579.00

I remain unsure about attempting this myself (labor would be significantly more if I don't), but assuming the LA681 dismount goes smoothly, I likely will proceed once the cost is justified (not yet, as both the leak and the steering slop for this off-road-only tractor are tolerable)! Regardless, thanks again for sharing your experience with both tasks.

 

[Mr Haney]

I hope I helped. If I hadn't made a disastrous mistake, this job would have been unpleasant but not horrible.