Sluggish neutral return in BX

[Jay in Massachusetts]

My recently-bought BX2670 has what seems to me like a very sluggish neutral-return function. If I am going either forward or reverse, and take my foot off the pedal, the tractor does not stop, but rather slows to a creep and keeps moving. I have to use the brake to actually stop the tractor, or lightly step on the transmission pedal in the opposite sense.

I contrast this with my other tractor, a JD 425. On that one, the tractor absolutely stops dead instantly when I take my foot off the pedal.

So, on the Kubota, is this a typical way for it to work? My tractor has about 200 hours on it. Is there any adjustment? Thanks.

 

[1970cs]

Yea they kinda do that. Sometimes you have to tap lightly in the other direction! Have you tried greasing the fitting hiding under the little flap of rubber? U shaped just right of center on the rubber mat.

Pat

 

[Lizlec]

Yes there's some adjustments possible (see owner manual) ... and as 1970CS look for the grease fitting ... it may have been overlooked by the preceeding owner

 

[lordulrich]

I've noticed the same thing. Take a look at the linkages under the tractor. There is a joint where the linkage connects to the transmission that worked loose (apparently not uncommon). Tightening that nut made a big improvement in responsiveness.

 

[ipz2222]

Mine does it also and it is so common that paul short, aka, Wildfire came up with a fix for it. It's in one of his videos.

 

[Jay in Massachusetts]

I did a bunch of internet searches re my problem. I did not see where Paul Short had explicitly addressed it - does someone know the specific video?

Otherwise, it seems many people have this problem to a greater or lesser degree, and no one remedy seems to be the magic fix. Some people grease everything, which may help some. Others have disconnected the transmission linkage damper. Others claim that the neutral safety switch can be binding, and should have lube squirted under the rubber boot. Many others just live with it. Seems like a poor design to me !

 

[Charlie5320]

My 2670 is the same way, I bought it right before Christmas. It is a little better after they serviced it at the dealer. Still not overly happy with it, I think it's because the stiff grease they used to lubricate it with. I'm going to pull the deck off and wash all the old grease out of mine when it warms up some. My old Simplicity legacy don't have that problem, and it is unacceptable on the Kubota. The pedal should return back to neutral on it's own. Just maybe there should be an oil port on it instead of a grease zerk.

 

[eserv]

I did a bunch of internet searches re my problem. I did not see where Paul Short had explicitly addressed it - does someone know the specific video?

Otherwise, it seems many people have this problem to a greater or lesser degree, and no one remedy seems to be the magic fix. Some people grease everything, which may help some. Others have disconnected the transmission linkage damper. Others claim that the neutral safety switch can be binding, and should have lube squirted under the rubber boot. Many others just live with it. Seems like a poor design to me !

There is a spring kit available from Kubota to address this. Part number is K268194200.
It would have been on warranty but that time is likely past on your machine!

 

[Jay in Massachusetts]

eserv -
Yes, my machine was already out of warranty when I bought it last fall. A Google search on that part number did not turn up anything. I will drive to my nearest dealer and see if they know of it.

In my opinion, the neutral-start switch implementation is bass-ackwards. The linkage has to push on the switch when it is in neutral, to engage it. Better would have been a switch that gets pushed on when the linkage is NOT in neutral.

 

[Jay in Massachusetts]

Charlie - Did your dealer tell you just what they did when they had it?

 

[anthonyv]

Put a dash in the part number & it will show. K2681-94200.

http://www.messicks.com/part/k2681-94200/kit-spring-hst

 

[Jay in Massachusetts]

Ahhhh - thanks so much ! Do you have this kit? Is it just a spring, or are any other parts included?

 

[Charlie5320]

Charlie - Did your dealer tell you just what they did when they had it?

They changed the oil, filters on both the engine and trans, and changed the fuel filters, and greased it. My tractor has 348 hours on it and they told me the 500 hour service has NOT been done. It was bought new and traded in at the same dealer. The guy moved up to a B series. It still has 6 months of warrentee left on it.

 

[Jay in Massachusetts]

I finally found this 2015 video by Paul Short up in Canada:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTW799DEwNM

He claims that many have contacted him regarding this problem. Furthermore, he says that he thinks he understands the problem, but will not divulge the solution out of a concern for personal liability if anyone tries it, and an accident happens !

But he demonstrates how dangerous the issue can be. People could get pinned or run over in front of or behind the tractor, if the tractor won't stop promptly. What he recommends is that people in the US contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Washington, and demand a product recall.

I also looked in my operator's manual, and found a mention of transmission linkage under periodic service, page 59 (Adjusting HST Neutral Spring). There is a drawing of the neutral spring assembly, and then the admonition to "consult your local KUBOTA dealer." It looks to me as though at one time a previous version of the owner's manual (maybe for BX 60 or 50 series) actually described how to adjust the linkage, but that "the lawyers" had that text removed.

Very disheartening ! Maybe I should have bought a John Deere after all. But I'm stuck with this tractor for now, and have to persevere in figuring out how to do the adjustment. Perhaps the adjusting spring kit mentioned earlier in this thread, will have useful instructions.

 

[D2Cat]

If you're satisfied the information is in an older manual, I'd be looking for one to see what it actually says! The internet covers a lot of territory for searching.

 

[Jay in Massachusetts]

OK, I did just find an online manual reference that shows the neutral return procedure, which I've attached here as a PDF file. When the weather improves, I'll give it a go. I should have the Spring Kit referenced previously, on hand then.

I notice that this procedure does not address what to do if the tractor doesn't quite come to a stop, and creeps. That must be a separate adjustment.

 

[Jay in Massachusetts]

An update: I ordered and recently received the K2681-94200 HST Spring Kit.

I'm waiting for better weather to install it, but I thought I would show what it consists of - see picture.

The kit costs about $60, and it includes a modified forward HST pedal arm, a pedal pad, a bracket, a (fairly weak) spring, a spacer, and various nuts and bolts.

The instructions are straightforward. Looks like the kit can be easily installed under the right side of the front platform, without having to remove it.

I will update again when I get this installed, and let people know if it helps or not.