L2000DT/L225DT: 3 point problem

AltonaMan

New member

Equipment
L2000DT, 4' rotary cutter, 72" finish mower, 4' TR3
Dec 4, 2020
6
2
3
Ontario
Hello orange tractor talk people. I've been lurking for the last year and a half while I've been fixing up my first tractor (L2000DT with L245DT decals) and the site has been a great resource so thanks to you guys for that. I've rebuilt the steering box, done brakes, wiring, fluids and filters and countless little things but I seem to have hit a dead end with this 3 point hitch issue.

Here's some context leading up to the incident:
  • Since I got it, the 3 point hitch would make a kind of honking or whining nose if I'd try to feather up the lift. No noise if I pulled the lever all the way back to raise it.
  • When starting from cold, I would have to open the drop rate valve quite a bit to get the hitch to lower. Once warmed up I could tighten it up otherwise it would slam down.
  • I changed the hydraulic fluid with Kubota UDT and replaced the screen which was damn near packed solid with filings. Old fluid looked ok, not cloudy or glittering with metal
  • One of the rockshaft arms had been welded and there is a leak at the rockshaft seal on that side.
  • The tractor has done a fair bit of work with a 3 point box blade/arena drag (TR3-E from ABI) in a horse arena, smoothing out gravel driveways and a bunch of grading around my property.
Ok so here's what happened when the hitch died:

  • My uncle ran the TR3 over the arena while I hauled manure then I took over to do his wife's driveway
  • Did a couple of passes then I slowed the drop rate since the machine was warming up as usual, went to lift the implement and the lever got stuck (it's the kind of lever that you pull up on or push down like a remote unlike the usual type of 3 point lever where you set the position) and the drop rate valve sized!
  • Implement was raised about 2/3 of the way up so I drove around back and parked it
  • Came back a week later and the implement was still up.. Didn't leak down at all
  • Used the pallet forks on our loader tractor to lift the implement to take the pressure off and this freed up the drop rate valve which was now leaking oil but the lever was still stuck
  • With a bunch of fiddling with the valve and lifting the implement using the forks I was able to get the lever freed and the hitch would work like normal but each time it would seize up again.. so I took the TR3 off the hitch and drove the tractor back to my place for further troubleshooting.

What I've done now:

  • Took off the cylinder cover and the cylinder and piston were severely scored, I wish I had a picture! The edges of cylinder and piston were sharp!
  • The drop rate valve looked ok but obviously it needs new o-rings now
  • Cleaned and put everything back together, lever still stuck
  • Bit the bullet and pulled off the 3 point cover, took off the control valve and a little metal bit came out with the hydraulic fluid that was in the valve :(
  • Once that little metal bit came out I was able to get the rod in the valve to move with some persuasion but still stiff. Some scoring on the rod thing (sorry not sure about the proper term)
And that's where matters stand... I called up my buddy at the local Kubota parts department and after calling Kubota Canada he confirmed the control valve is NLA i.e. I'm screwed for finding a new one. I've not had luck sourcing a new or used one online switcher.

Obviously the hitch is just about toast... Valve, cylinder and piston. Even if they were available those 3 parts alone would be almost $2k CAD which I can't really justify on a 45 year old tractor I paid $5k for.

So if you wise people have any advice, a source for parts or could even shed some light on what happened here I'd be very grateful. I've read just about ever post I could find on 3 point and hydraulic issues and I'm just about at a dead end.

I was debating doing up some aux hydraulics and a front blade and using it to clear snow since I know the pump is still good and write off the 3 point all together.

Maybe the valve can be rebuilt but then what about the scored up cylinder?

I have the back half of a L1501 that I got for a song but the hitch lift parts are not compatible as far as I can tell.

Sorry for the novel, thanks for reading!
 

RCW

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
Apr 28, 2013
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Chenango County, NY
I can't help much with the mechanicals of your issue, but want to start with the possibility of finding parts.

Is your L2000 a Grey Market tractor?

What made me ask is the L2000/L225 reference. There are some model #'s that are both grey and US/North American, but not the same tractor necessarily.

If so, it can complicate things for parts, but not insurmountable.

Some greys do cross to North American equivalents, but often not 100%.

I would start checking out the "sticky" Moderator Coachgeo put up:

Ultimate gray market must read | OrangeTractorTalks - Everything Kubota

Specifically, check out the cross references with some notes:

A list of Japanese model numbers and same models in USA | OrangeTractorTalks - Everything Kubota I notice this lists L255 as equivalent.

AND:

List of Grey Market Models & North American Equivilant | OrangeTractorTalks - Everything Kubota This lists L225 as equivalent.

If you can (1) ascertain it's grey, and (2) ascertain a GOOD cross reference for the 3PH piston/valve assemblies, I would (3) give Lance AKA 007kubotaguy on OTT an email or private message.

Lance has helped a lot of folks here on OTT with NLA parts for older "l" series tractors.

The Challenge may be figuring what parts on your tractor match a US equivalent, if it is indeed a grey market tractor.

Given that you've done considerable work on the tractor already, you may be well on your way as far as parts compatibilities.
 
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AltonaMan

New member

Equipment
L2000DT, 4' rotary cutter, 72" finish mower, 4' TR3
Dec 4, 2020
6
2
3
Ontario
I can't help much with the mechanicals of your issue, but want to start with the possibility of finding parts.

Is your L2000 a Grey Market tractor?

What made me ask is the L2000/L225 reference. There are some model #'s that are both grey and US/North American, but not the same tractor necessarily.

If so, it can complicate things for parts, but not insurmountable.

Some greys do cross to North American equivalents, but often not 100%.

I would start checking out the "sticky" Moderator Coachgeo put up:

Ultimate gray market must read | OrangeTractorTalks - Everything Kubota

Specifically, check out the cross references with some notes:

A list of Japanese model numbers and same models in USA | OrangeTractorTalks - Everything Kubota I notice this lists L255 as equivalent.

AND:

List of Grey Market Models & North American Equivilant | OrangeTractorTalks - Everything Kubota This lists L225 as equivalent.

If you can (1) ascertain it's grey, and (2) ascertain a GOOD cross reference for the 3PH piston/valve assemblies, I would (3) give Lance AKA 007kubotaguy on OTT an email or private message.

Lance has helped a lot of folks here on OTT with NLA parts for older "l" series tractors.

The Challenge may be figuring what parts on your tractor match a US equivalent, if it is indeed a grey market tractor.

Given that you've done considerable work on the tractor already, you may be well on your way as far as parts compatibilities.
Hey thanks for the reply, I appreciate it!

I've read that sticky and a bunch of the grey market forum - it's been super helpful (y) I suspect the mention of "L255" was a typo since I can't find an "L255" on tractordata.com or on Kubota's website.

I'm confident it's a grey market machine since the serial number plate says "L2000DT" and my local Kubota guy couldn't find anything with the serial number (no surprise) It is odd that it has hood decals for an L245DT since it doesn't have much in common with the 245.

For everything I've encountered so far, the exploded views on the kubota.ca parts lookup for the L225DT have matched my machine almost perfectly so I'm thinking I've got the right PN for the lift components.

I'll shoot Lance a message, hopefully he has some ideas.

Cheers
 
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AltonaMan

New member

Equipment
L2000DT, 4' rotary cutter, 72" finish mower, 4' TR3
Dec 4, 2020
6
2
3
Ontario
Just a wee update to close this off and document the fix for any future readers.

The problem ended up being the drop rate valve itself. Turns out the little metal bit that came out of the spool valve when I removed it was the tip of the drop rate adjustment screw.

There must have been some kind of impact at some point which snapped the tip off. See picture of the old vs new side by side.

New screw was had from Kubota for around $75 give or take.

I was able to source a replacement valve, piston and sleeve online (all used) by Googling part numbers periodically. One thing that helped was making sure I added a dash after the first five digits in the part number. Googlefu

Never did install the new piston or liner since mine actually looked better. Just polished them up a bit.

Put everything back together with new o rings, backup rings etc and she came back to life!

This site was a huge help in figuring this out. Hope this helps someone in the future.
PXL_20210325_175709214.jpg
 
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