Morgan Hill, CA - Tractor Repair

[arerrac]

Hi all,

Looking for some leads for tractor repair/service in the Morgan Hill, San Jose, San Martin area. I just bought some land and it came with a Kubota B7100 4x4 diesel tractor. I have no clue as to the condition. I called a few places (L&L , Lewis Tractor Service and the Kubota dealer) and have yet to receive a return call. Maybe it's too old for them or maybe business is booming and it's too small but no return calls whatsoever. So I'm reaching out for a lead. Mobile repair or a pick-up deliver is what I need as I have no means of trailering it. Supposedly it runs, but has some intermittent problems.

[Dan J]

I've had a few Kubota's. It's easier to fix them yourself then find someone
They don't brake often so no one becomes expert on fixing them
The parts and manuals are available on the net and they're simple

[winders]

Hey, neighbor!

If you have not called them yet, I would try:

C&N Tractors Kubota

[hardflex]

Small World, I just acquired a 2wd b7100 myself. It looked like it hadn't run in years, tires flat, oil filter had 2008 etched on it. Battery was from 2005. Hour meter was 1300.


New battery and it turned over. A squirt of starting fluid and it popped off and with a puff of smoke came back to life. Diesels are like that.

Good luck with it, a lot of people love these tractors. FWIW the 4wd versions sold for 4 to 5k where I bought mine.

[intakexhaust]

Its been a long time but somewhat familiar with that lil' B.

Firstly, at least the sheet metal doesn't look all beat up, but that's not really important. That pre-cleaner cup needs to be on there - BIG TIME! Is that duct tape holding it on? Should have two snap clips to hold that cup in place and a removable rubber inside. Pull that rubber off (if still there) and clean the large dirt trap out. Replace the rubber trap, properly remount the main metal cup. Sucking dirt will kill that engine. And toss that air-cleaner away and get a new one right away. Don't try and cheat and blow the element out. TOSS it away. Check that the rubber intake hose is air tight and not leaking.

Drop the engine oil, replace oil filter and replace with CL / diesel rated oil. wt. per your climate and application.

Change out the coolant (should have a little petcock) but make sure when you replenish, its properly burped after running and coolant added after the thermostat opened. 50/50 mix.

Drain ALL the fuel and don't use it. Use fresh filter fuel. Should have a very fine screen at the filler. Change the fuel filters and MUST BLEAD fuel on top of canisters and each line to the injectors. Just crack the lines loose until fuel purges solid- no bubbles. I forget if those have an electric fuel delivery pump, but if not, pull the decompression lever, tractor in neutral, crank engine until each circuit of fuel delivery is bled - starting with the first filter and lastly the injector lines. If you don't bleed it, it will never start. BTW: number 2 fuel is fine

Getting ahead here but should make sure that battery is heavy duty rated, pull a some load and not some cheapo nominal 12 volt junk. Clean the terminals.

[intakexhaust]

Remove the grill screen and radiator screen. Thoroughly air blow the fins out and clean.

Next- That chassis is overburden with weights. The rubber is shot too. As tough as they are, casting's, etc. the chassis is still fabricated sheet stock. THEY will crack in half if overweight on each end. Unless you have a need for all those weights, remove the ones not needed. If it had a front end loader, you'd want the ballast on the rear only. Guessing the PO might have been pulling a drag or running a tiller.... and needed that weight...??

Check the clutch pedal for just a small amount of freeplay. And when operating, don't ride the clutch pedal.

Brakes: Lift the flip lever that combines both left and right pedals. Adjust the pedal sufficiently up with a little freeplay and both are equalized. Flip that lever back down for primary operation. They're turning pedals so if while in operation and you want a tight radius turn, you can depress a pedal independently and steer in that desired direction.

Change the trans., two rear gear reduction axles (3 plugs total). Do the same for the three up front - diff., and two axles. (3 more plugs) Plugs might have a yellow paint and the fill is a small pipe plug (I think). Use straight 80w gear oil. Also, look under the center tractor chassis opening, look for a shaft and grease zerts. Do it to it and any others on the steering link / joints.

Tough little tractors and quite water tight. In the rice fields, these units would be in constant wet and moisture. Not suggesting but could nearly run submerged if the air cleaner and exhaust was above water.

[Evans, Marv]

Can't add much to what has already been said. I have the gray market version B1200. Mine must be one model newer than yours (3 cylinder, 760 cc. Yours might be a 2 cylinder?). The tires must be worn from some heavy pulling as "intakexhaust" says. They look like they were the rice paddy tires, which mine had when I bought it. An FYI that new ag tires cost about $400. Not cheap but not easy to find. New tires will probably last you as long as you have the tractor. The inside of my rims were pitted - maybe from water or being in water, so I painted them with POR-15. Mine might have a million hours for all I know, but it's one of the most dependable machines I've owned. Doesn't smoke but makes a lot of suet (sp?) in the oil, so I change it & the filter decently often. I have another larger Kubota and love them both, but the small one is a little more special. Puts a smile on my face every time I fire it up & get on it.

[Arizona_928]

Soot in the oil is normal. If the oil ain't black then you know you have a problem

[arerrac]

Again, thanks for all the input hardflex, intakexhaust, winders, Dan J, Marv and AZ porschekid. That's why this place is so awesome.

intakexhaust, the information you provided is much appreciated. I'll print it out and see what I can do. I've never even driven a tractor before and all the pedals and levers are a little intimidating. I have a manual on order from Amazon, so hopefully I can figure out where the clutch is so I can at least start it without driving it thru the wall of our barn.

winders, thanks for the welcome. We're excited to be here. In the north end of Morgan Hill off Palm. Really like the rural aspect of the area yet we're still in the "Bay Area". I'll try C&N.

some background - The tractor came with the home we just bought. Its a single family dwelling on 5.5 acres. With 4 of those acres as a viable Kiwi farm!!! So you were right intakexhaust, the tractor is used to pull a trailer while harvesting Kiwi. Most likely in wet/muddy conditions due to the time of harvest, (Oct thru Dec) hence the weights. It also looks like the wheels also have weights bolted onto them. Am I seeing this right? Does seem like an awful lot. Might just be moot this season if there's no rain.

Again, thanks everyone for all the help.

[Arizona_928]

Did not see that coming; Kinda off topic, but do you have an irrigation set up?!

[intakexhaust]

Congrats on the kiwi farm! Completely 'GREEN' on that topic

Anyways, take your time with that little Kubota. As slow as they are one can get in trouble real fast if not up on tractors.

A few more brief tips. That tractor is not like shifting a stick shift / manual automobile. You depress the clutch and select a single gear - could be a low or high, and then slowly release the clutch pedal. DO NOT shift while in motion.

There are two throttles - hand lever on the right side and a foot operated to the right of the brakes. The majority of time should be using the hand throttle and just leave the setting. The foot throttle is just an override. Don't make the habit of always using it. Let that little diesel show its torque and do the work. Don't be afraid of keeping it at 3/4 throttle ALL DAY. No need to labor at its low RPM range. Its made for constant operating approx. 3/4 throttle. Those same engines were used in gen-sets, known for exceptional longevity.

And about the other levers, trans hi/low, 4wd. Those units are known to have detents in the lever that get sticky over time. Spray some penetrant in the base of them and slowly work them loose. There's a hi-low trans. selector, the 4wd engagement, PTO (power take off / rear shaft). The majority of implements running off the rear PTO is the lowest range of 560 rpm! DO NOT use a pump or mower on the higher ranges.

Now that you mentioned the farm, the prior owner probably needed the added weights for stability on banks or steep pitch. I don't know if you have, but they would help in keeping a lower center of gravity. Be very careful on any banks.

With those weights, you should definitely check the wheels for cracks and double check wheel nut torque settings. Especially in the rear hubs. Those are adjustable in axle width settings. They have a preset small pin, that's only for a guide set to desired width. You then tighten down the bolt next to that pin located on that hub.

[arerrac]

AZ_porschekid, unfortunately, I do not. Other than doing lawn sprinkler systems. It came all set up with a drip-type irrigation system. All the hard work getting the vineyard set up was done by the previous owner. We just need to maintain and get the damn fruit off the vine.

[arerrac]

intakexhaust, WOW, thanks again. With your insight, I'm going to tackle this thing myself. I've done the whole engine/tranny drop and split on my Carrera for a clutch job, so I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty! Once I have the manual, I'll jump in.

It's actually a completely flat parcel. So I wondering if the old owner just put the weights on when he moved it from his other farm operation just to keep everything together.

[Evans, Marv]

AZ_porschekid. I guess my L frame Kubota has a problem then, because the oil is/has always been clear, golden color when I'm checking it and at changes of the oil & filter every 50 hrs. Any specific comment on that problem??? The tractor has 750 hrs. on it.
arerrac, intakexhaust has said about all there is to be said, and in a very complete and understandable way. I just want to add on thing. Tractors like ours (and others) don't have any suspension, except for the front axle that pivots (there is a bolt to adjust that). Be mindful of it's stability. I let my BIL drive my small one, while I was on the back behind him. My driveway has an incline, and the first thing he did was put the clutch in and started letting it freewheel down the driveway. I yelled at him to let the clutch out and not let it freewheel. My small one weighs in at about 1K pounds even. If I would not have gone with him, he and the tractor would have been cartwheeling when he tried to turn it.

[arerrac]

Hi Marv,

Thanks for the heads-up on the handling of these things. Slow and steady will be my motto.

[intakexhaust]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

AZ_porschekid. I guess my L frame Kubota has a problem then, because the oil is/has always been clear, golden color when I'm checking it and at changes of the oil & filter every 50 hrs. Any specific comment on that problem??? The tractor has 750 hrs. on it.
arerrac, intakexhaust has said about all there is to be said, and in a very complete and understandable way. I just want to add on thing. Tractors like ours (and others) don't have any suspension, except for the front axle that pivots (there is a bolt to adjust that). Be mindful of it's stability. I let my BIL drive my small one, while I was on the back behind him. My driveway has an incline, and the first thing he did was put the clutch in and started letting it freewheel down the driveway. I yelled at him to let the clutch out and not let it freewheel. My small one weighs in at about 1K pounds even. If I would not have gone with him, he and the tractor would have been cartwheeling when he tried to turn it.

Hi Marv- You mentioned having both a B and L series, would think a quick visual comparing oil off the dip stick would look the same and maybe ease your mind. Its normal if it looks black after a few hours.

BIG + on mentioning freewheel / clutch depress on an incline!

Another for novice is a major caution having ones assistance in attaching an implement on the rear 3 point! If one has an assistance, its often safer to have the operator OFF the tractor. Each partially on the side / rearward of the back tires. You can jump away if something goes awry but while the tractor is on a flat ground, both can work together, slightly roll the tractor and connect the lower links.

More: Never use a hammer or mallet on those connector arms. A slight kick with the sole of your boot normally does it. BTW: DO NOT grease the 3 pt. hitch balls. They will prematurely wear by collecting dirt. Better to just use a spray WD-40 or the like.

Connecting the upper link: Connect only after you've attached the lowers. You would have to refer to the implement being used but normally use the lower hole on the tractor. Use the center link screw to lengthen or shorten to the implement link. This way, its not a back breaker. Thereafter, adjust length to implement application.

Adjust the lower arm swaybars / links. You definitely want to do this, otherwise the implement will be swing left or right into the tires, causing damage or worse. Just center the tool and adjust sway tension allowing a little sway or movement.... NOT TOO tight.

Grab your fave tattered hat and have fun-

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

AZ_porschekid. I guess my L frame Kubota has a problem then, because the oil is/has always been clear, golden color when I'm checking it and at changes of the oil & filter every 50 hrs. Any specific comment on that problem??? The tractor has 750 hrs. on it.

Are you running gas oil, or diesel oil through your machine?

[Evans, Marv]

I put RPM Dello in my 7.3L F350 and my tractors. The small tractor probably has several times more yours than the L frame. If I change oil & filter in it, it's black after running a few minutes & stays the same until the next change. With the L frame tractor, the oil looks she same at drain time & on the dipstick as it does when I put it in the engine. I'll be checking back at a later time. I've got to go get a starter out of storage.

[arerrac]

intakexhaust - thanks for the heads up on attaching implements on the rear 3 points. It came with a tiller and a mulcher (I think that's what they are). No grease and no force.

What about grease on the PTO and the u-joints on the implements?

[intakexhaust]

^^ Definitely give a squirt of grease to those U-joints PLUS, separate the implement drive shaft (slides apart) and smear grease on the shaft. It probably has an outer plastic guard that you don't need to grease. When you re-assemble the implement drive shaft, pay attention to the U-joint yoke and 'clock' them the same. This aids in balance. Often and on modern equipment, they have a key / notch so its fairly foolproof and goes back together correctly.

Clean the U-joint female spline that goes to the PTO. If it has a safety / click release / lock button, make sure its clean and functions. You want to be VERY sure it slides on and clicks in. HINT: Obvious for safety reasons, turn the tractor off. Put the tractor's PTO lever in OFF / neutral. This way, by hand you can rotate the PTO stub and align spline and mate the implement shaft U-joint. Push the button in on the U-joint and connect to the PTO until you hear or feel it click. Also, it may use a snap / pin instead of the push lock. You might ***** about the safety shield surrounding it all, but its there for good reason.

Regarding the shield / guard. If the drive shaft housing has a small chain, connect the clip to the tractor PTO guard. The idea is in keeping the guard from spinning yet the drive shaft underneath continues. Often these are removed or some knucklehead tie them around the housing...

Smear grease onto the tractor PTO shaft / stub.