Hi. I have been looking for a compact TLB to do some work on 40A of raw land I own in the Blue Ridge (currently live in NJ). There are some pretty steep slopes (including a pretty wicked 150' stretch on the access road), so good brakes & 4WD are indicated. I need to maintain water bars and drainage ditches on said access road, dig some holes for cabin foundation footers, clear some brush, and miscellaneous other stuff. At first I was looking for a big hoe so that I could move some of the pentiful boulders around. After mulling to over, I realized that there will always be some boulders too big to move (I've got one that we is nearly the size of a city bus, and that's just the part above ground), so I scaled back. NTM I have a pickup with a 13,000 lb max tow weight and a trailer with 10,000 net capacity that I'd rather not need to upgrade.
Anyway, I've been searching Craigslist for the "right" tractor for awhile. My budget is $10K. Good buys in 2WD hoes in the CK580 class and larger are common, but for 4WD the prices nearly double. There are also occasional deals that look decent for 2WD compact hydrostatic TLB such as Terramite and Allmand. The 4WD Kubotas that I found previously were $12,000 and up for anything with any power (I'm leaving our the 16 - 20 HP models, and those average nearly 10K anyway). I have now found a L2550 with BL4530 backhoe that has ~2100 hours. I looked at it today and the owner told me he already turned down $7,000. but will take $7,500 (original ask was $8,900). It starts right up and runs smoothly and strong. It drives well, and steers and shifts without difficulty. I looked at the engine and undercarriage and everything seems tight, with no evidence of past or current leaks. The hoe digs and the loader lifts. It does have a few issues. I'm posting to see if I can get some feedback from the resident Kubota gurus on how serious those issues might be, and what will be required to fix them.
There is some significant rust on the body parts: mostly hood and fenders, but some on the floor panels. It looks to me like it could be calcium corrosion.
Front and rear tires are down to about 20%. There is also some of the same kind of corrosion on the rear rims. It doesn't look to be anywhere near through the metal yet, but the bolts and nuts are quite corroded, and the rim edge is slightly swollen, so I'm sure it will need attention at some future date.
There is a modest amount of bluish smoke when it is first started, which entirely disappears within 5 minutes or less.
Finally, the housing of the drive motor for the hoe (or whatever the correct name for the hydraulic unit that is bolted to the rear PTO to power the hoe) has a bar about 4" long that protrudes from the right side of its housing. That unit is free to rotate with the PTO shaft until that bar contacts part of the frame. This doesn't seem to impair function, but if the PTO speed is fluctuating at all, the bar sort of rattles agains the frame a little. The set up looks to me like maybe the hydraulic unit housing should be bolted to something, but there is no evidence of any missing bolts, or holes that they would bolt to.
Now for my questions. First, is there any reason why this model would not be a good choice for the use I described? Does the corrosion I mentioned have any effect on the structural integrity of this tractor? Should I plan to replace the rear rims when I do the tires, and what kind of money is ballpark for that? Could I get away with substituting chains for new tires for a limited time, so that I could put the tractor to work immediately? How much of a concern is the smoke I mentioned? Is the mounting for the hoe motor that I described normal for this model, or is there something wrong there? The references I found on the web for this TLB combination claim that the hoe is 3pt mounted, but there are support bars for it that go well forward under the tractor. Is that a true 3pt, or some kind of hybrid? Finally, does this seem to be a fair price for this tractor in the condition described, and what risk would I run (if any) by putting to work immediately (I would change the filters, natch)?
Wow, that was a lot more long-winded than I had intended, sorry... You have my sincere thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.
Anyway, I've been searching Craigslist for the "right" tractor for awhile. My budget is $10K. Good buys in 2WD hoes in the CK580 class and larger are common, but for 4WD the prices nearly double. There are also occasional deals that look decent for 2WD compact hydrostatic TLB such as Terramite and Allmand. The 4WD Kubotas that I found previously were $12,000 and up for anything with any power (I'm leaving our the 16 - 20 HP models, and those average nearly 10K anyway). I have now found a L2550 with BL4530 backhoe that has ~2100 hours. I looked at it today and the owner told me he already turned down $7,000. but will take $7,500 (original ask was $8,900). It starts right up and runs smoothly and strong. It drives well, and steers and shifts without difficulty. I looked at the engine and undercarriage and everything seems tight, with no evidence of past or current leaks. The hoe digs and the loader lifts. It does have a few issues. I'm posting to see if I can get some feedback from the resident Kubota gurus on how serious those issues might be, and what will be required to fix them.
There is some significant rust on the body parts: mostly hood and fenders, but some on the floor panels. It looks to me like it could be calcium corrosion.
Front and rear tires are down to about 20%. There is also some of the same kind of corrosion on the rear rims. It doesn't look to be anywhere near through the metal yet, but the bolts and nuts are quite corroded, and the rim edge is slightly swollen, so I'm sure it will need attention at some future date.
There is a modest amount of bluish smoke when it is first started, which entirely disappears within 5 minutes or less.
Finally, the housing of the drive motor for the hoe (or whatever the correct name for the hydraulic unit that is bolted to the rear PTO to power the hoe) has a bar about 4" long that protrudes from the right side of its housing. That unit is free to rotate with the PTO shaft until that bar contacts part of the frame. This doesn't seem to impair function, but if the PTO speed is fluctuating at all, the bar sort of rattles agains the frame a little. The set up looks to me like maybe the hydraulic unit housing should be bolted to something, but there is no evidence of any missing bolts, or holes that they would bolt to.
Now for my questions. First, is there any reason why this model would not be a good choice for the use I described? Does the corrosion I mentioned have any effect on the structural integrity of this tractor? Should I plan to replace the rear rims when I do the tires, and what kind of money is ballpark for that? Could I get away with substituting chains for new tires for a limited time, so that I could put the tractor to work immediately? How much of a concern is the smoke I mentioned? Is the mounting for the hoe motor that I described normal for this model, or is there something wrong there? The references I found on the web for this TLB combination claim that the hoe is 3pt mounted, but there are support bars for it that go well forward under the tractor. Is that a true 3pt, or some kind of hybrid? Finally, does this seem to be a fair price for this tractor in the condition described, and what risk would I run (if any) by putting to work immediately (I would change the filters, natch)?
Wow, that was a lot more long-winded than I had intended, sorry... You have my sincere thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.