Kubota M6060HFC, 2019, AC compressor sqealing...

gleaner63

New member

Equipment
Kubota M6060HFC
Jul 13, 2022
4
0
1
Estill, SC
Greetings All,

I have a 2019 purchased brand new Kubota M6060HFC with 190 hours; when I crank it up and enable AC button, AC appears to cool and run normally. However, when I increase the engine RPM, about half throttle, a high pitched "squeal" appears to come from near AC compressor/belt area. I had my wife stand outside and look at it, and the clutch appears to be sticking, or not spinning entirely free. Of course I'm guessing, but is it a good guess that the compressor clutch is in the process of failing and a new compressor is the best option? Many thanks for any or all replies...

-Clarence
 

JimmyJazz

Well-known member

Equipment
B2601
Aug 8, 2020
1,094
643
113
Pittsburgh, Pa
Perhaps the belt is improperly adjusted. Many years ago aerosol hair spray was occasionally applied to shrieking automobile fan belts to "fix" them. Might be worth a try. Good luck.
 

gleaner63

New member

Equipment
Kubota M6060HFC
Jul 13, 2022
4
0
1
Estill, SC
Perhaps the belt is improperly adjusted. Many years ago aerosol hair spray was occasionally applied to shrieking automobile fan belts to "fix" them. Might be worth a try. Good luck.
Thanks and I will give that a try; sure beats the heck out of a 15 -1700 dollar fix given by the dealer.....
 

Motion

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
Kubota MX5100HST/FEL
Aug 17, 2020
518
286
63
Mandeville Louisiana
When squealing have you tried turing the A/C off to see if it stops? If it does then as other have said it may be the belt which may need to be readjusted (most new belts will have an inital stretch). Check your WSM to see how to adjust.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

gleaner63

New member

Equipment
Kubota M6060HFC
Jul 13, 2022
4
0
1
Estill, SC
When squealing have you tried turing the A/C off to see if it stops? If it does then as other have said it may be the belt which may need to be readjusted (most new belts will have an inital stretch). Check your WSM to see how to adjust.
Yes, when I turn the AC off the squeal stops......will check my WSM I purchased on ebay....
 

Dave_eng

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
M7040, Nuffield 465
Oct 6, 2012
5,108
926
113
Williamstown Ontario Canada
Here is the belt tension page from the factory WSM.
Before doing any expensive repair I would replace the belt.
If the original belt has been slipping re tensioning may not fix it.
Dave
 

Attachments

troverman

Well-known member

Equipment
MX6000 HSTC; 2020 Kubota Z421KW-54 zero turn mower
Jun 9, 2015
1,184
263
83
NH
For what its worth, my L4060 HSTC had 360 hours on it with no A/C problems and no belt adjustments. I would definitely start with replacing the belt. Those Kubota A/C compressors are extremely expensive for some reason. They are also very small.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

gleaner63

New member

Equipment
Kubota M6060HFC
Jul 13, 2022
4
0
1
Estill, SC
Great news fellows: swapped out and re-tensioned fan belt and that corrected the issue. Appeared the old belt was stretched, so replaced with new one just in case there were other issues with it......all of the tips here are much appreciated....
 

Dustyx2

Active member

Equipment
BX22, M7060, Landpride RC-2512, Woodmax SB84
Feb 19, 2021
212
56
28
NE Wyoming
I had to tighten the belt on my M7060 at around 100 hours to stop it squealing so probably not an uncommon thing.
 

Tx Jim

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
M7040 HDC-1,JD 4255,Ford 6700
Apr 30, 2013
1,176
117
63
Coyote Flats,Texas
IMHO AC/fan belt routing on my M7040 leaves some to be desired as the belt doesn't have very much pully surface contact for good belt gripping.
 

BAP

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
2012 Kubota 2920, 60MMM, FEL, BH65 48" Bush Hog, 60"Backblade, B2782B Snowblower
Dec 31, 2012
2,513
657
113
New Hampshire
AC compressor belts for any model or make needs to be very tight to keep from slipping. AC is the highest load of any belt driven accessory.
 

Nicolangu

New member
Apr 20, 2021
2
0
1
UK
Do you have a good understanding of how compressors work? That awful squeal could be due to air leakage. Air mass can squeal nastily where the rubber gasket is. By the way, I don't understand why you need to know my location in the UK. If you're interested, I can tell you. I live in a hamlet near Newport. By the way, I now notice the author's post about replacing the fan belts in the #9 reply. I'm glad he solved his problem. I had that problem too, but it was caused specifically by the compressor gasket tension. My friend then brought a lot of pneumatic tools to fix the problem. I don't think I'd have done it myself with a broken arm back then.
 
Last edited:

JP_Austin

New member

Equipment
2021 Kubota M4D-071
Feb 15, 2022
24
15
3
Austin TX
Kubota settled on solid adjusters to maintain tension. Most automotive belts use spring loaded or hydraulic tensioners that tend to self adjust. The old school solid adjustment is simple but not necessarily maintenance free. Glad to hear it quieted up.

Only downside to this method of tension is if you get a bit agressive you can easily over tension a belt and ruin a idler or accessory bearing in a hurry. Follow the tension guidelines closely or you can over do it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,069
4,624
113
NW Montana
Do you have a good understanding of how compressors work? That awful squeal could be due to an air leak. Air mass can make a nasty squeal where the rubber gasket is.
I guess you missed post #9 where the OP provides an update. :rolleyes:

On a friendlier note, where are you from/located in the UK?
 

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,069
4,624
113
NW Montana
Kubota settled on solid adjusters to maintain tension. Most automotive belts use spring loaded or hydraulic tensioners that tend to self adjust. The old school solid adjustment is simple but not necessarily maintenance free. Glad to hear it quieted up.

Only downside to this method of tension is if you get a bit agressive you can easily over tension a belt and ruin a idler or accessory bearing in a hurry. Follow the tension guidelines closely or you can over do it.
I've had a '98 Jeep TJ for more than 22 years and it has solid adjusters for belt tension. I bought an OTC belt tension gauge a few years ago which kind of helps. I would agree that the spring loaded tensioners of today are more user friendly, but it's not like the old way (found on our tractors) is a poor design. I do think that belts are all over the map in terms of quality. Some seem to stretch quickly, others, particulary the factory belts that are often quite a bit more expensive seem to do better.

I had to adjust the belt tension on my first MX6000 fairly soon after receiving it. There was a weird "squelch" sound coming from the belt that went away with a bit more tension. I haven't had a problem with the second MX6000 or M6060 yet.