Go BottomTractor went out of gear
 | LarryJ
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 10 Kingsport, TN 
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2003-04-26 53802
Just wanted to let everyone know about an incident I had that could have been very bad.
I was mowing up hill with my B2400 that I had just purchased. A 1996 model. I was in low range. All at once to my suprise, the tractor just went straight backwards. It happened so fast that I was traveling backwards so fast that I hesitated to apply the brakes as I thought this would cause the tractor to flip straight back. I tried to steer the tractor around the incline to slow the tractor down. I almost made it. Just as the tractor started slowing down as I approached being horizontal to the incline, the tractor turned over and rolled three times. I had my seat belt on and the ROPS worked like it was supposed to.
When it was all over and I regained my ability to think properly, I saw that the Hi/Lo range shift was in the neutral position. It seems like this should not happen.
Why doesn't the machine have to be stopped and the clutch pushed in to knock this out of gear? Why isn't there some sort of locking mechanism to keep it in gear?
Has this ever happened to anyone else? Is there something wrong with my tractor?
This could have been tragic. As it is, I was not hurt at all.
Any comments or advice on this would be greatly appreciated. I am new to these tractors. I am sure my inexperience played a very large part in the incident, but I did not expect this machine to go out of gear on me.
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| peterR
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 11 western CT
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2003-04-26 53804
My Father's B 2400 1996 did the same thing three times.
Your not alone with this problem. ....
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 | WillieH
Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 543 New England 
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2003-04-26 53806
Gentlemen -
Sorry to have read about your near catastrophic events. They should never happen. Question, Have either or both contacted your dealer or Mother Orange to identify this situation as happening? Mother orange may have had a retrofit that disables such events from occurring. Just a thought. Glad to hear the ROPS worked!
Willie H. ....
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| peterR
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 11 western CT
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2003-04-26 53808
My fathers dealer said they do that sometimes , Larry if
hi/lo is not fully engaged it will move but can pop out of
gear on hills it happened to me twice and once to dad he
rolled too I dropped the bucket when it happened to me and that slowed me down ....
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| LarryJ
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 10 Kingsport, TN
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2003-04-26 53810
During the incident, the seal broke on one of the rear tires and I had to get it refilled. I put it back on today and fired the tractor back up. I worked the Hi/Lo shift and I am not able to get the gear shift handle to travel any farther into gear. I also, while on flat ground, was able to bump the shift lever with not much force at all, and knock it out of gear. This doesn't seem like a good design.
I was thinking of a bungee cord to loop over the handle to hold it in gear. Are there any other techniques others have used to prevent the machine from kicking out of gear?
Thanks for your advice.
....
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 | Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL 
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2003-04-26 53812
I don't believe that this is the way it should be designed. None of the four tractor that I have owned would allow the tractor to move to neutral that easily on the high/low. If anything you had to fight with them. I have never owned a Kubota, maybe Art White or someone else can address this problem. ....
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 | DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-04-26 53817
I think the bungee cord is a great idea until this gets sorted out. ....
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 | harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 1550 Moravia, NY 
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2003-04-26 53822
Just a thought: with all of the cosmetic plastic on this stuff is there a panel there preventing the lever from moving fully? Any thing stuck in the linkage or interfearing below the lever? ....
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| peterR
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 11 western CT
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2003-04-27 53837
I would not trust bungee cord to hold lever in place the lever pops out with a lot of force larry if you play with the speed control pedal while in neutral 1st, then try to move lever it might help to move lever did you lose a lot of fluilds when tipped over? ....
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 | Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2003-04-27 53846
Unfortunatly these are compact tractors which also includes the operators compartment. Normally I hear of more of this type stuff happening in the winter with big over coats and gloves. They normally would not come out with just load, it would take a small hit by an arm or by the body. It does happen, I'm unaware that there is any updates for this. On another note I happened to stop by a customers place as he was outside his garage with his BX, he thought it was to hard moving his PTO lever thru the notches that Kubota put on the tractor to keep from accidently engaging the deck. He was filing them off, oh well. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-04-27 53847
I think that's an old problem with gear tractors and the designs maybe should be better. Maybe it's more of a problem on HST tractors that have conventional geared range sections.
Diesel engines have very little engine braking (without a Jake) and a heavy load on a steep slope requires brakes to keep the speed down. Lower throttle or lower gears doesn't help much. I've heard that HST does provide braking when the speed pedal is up and that is one of their advantages.
There's a chance that people with HST get used to the braking and are less sensitive to slopes than owners of geared tractors. The problem would be that a geared range section in neutral wouldn't have HST braking and would be similar to a geared tractor going down the slope even if it was in gear. Maybe a case could be made that the slope is steep enough that working on it is accepting an extra level of risk, but even so good design shouldn't allow the possibility of going into neutral in the first place.
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 | cutter
Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 1307 The South Shore of Lake Ontario, New York
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2003-04-27 53851
I have not had a problem with my 2910 acting in this fashion. I have pulled a trailer loaded with wood, had a full bucket of wood on the front and climbed a fairly steep incline using low range FWD. It seems if this were a characteristic of the tractor it would happen whenever the drive train is stressed as when using the loader or piling material.
I had a 1969 Blazer that had been used for plowing commercially. When pushing heavy snow it would pop out of low range (transfer case). This I attributed this to excessive wear, sold the truck as is to someone that wanted to mess with it. How many hours on the B24 and what kind of use has it had. ....
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| LarryJ
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 10 Kingsport, TN
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2003-04-27 53852
To answer a couple of questions.
I tilted the seat forward and was able to see the entire lever and linkage of the Hi/Lo shifter. There is no interferance at all.
I did lose some fluid. As the tractor rolled down hill, the ROPS forces the back end of the tractor to cover more ground with every roll and after the third roll, the back end of the tractor was down hill and therefore stopped rolling. I first thought I had torn something up as oil was pooring out the transmission housing. I then realized, after a closer inspection, that oil was coming out the vent. I had to put ~2 gal fluid back in. The engine oil was fine.
After reading Art's comments, it is possible that my left leg rubbed the shift lever. I was going up and down the incline and as I would turn at top and bottom, I would shift from left to right in the seat. I suppose it is possible that my left leg made contact and helped push the lever forward to the neutral position. I am just guessing here. If this is the case, the bungee cord would prevent this inadvertant act. I already have the bungee cord rigged up. It can't hurt.
I will experiment some on the tractor, on level ground of course, to see if I can learn anything else about this incident. I will pass on any learnings.
I must say, with this new machine, and having this incident so quickly after the purchase, I am a little apprehensive about climbing back on. Although, I know I have to. ....
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| Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2003-04-27 53854
Larry, your adreniline must still be pumping, you might want to try building a little flip over stop to hold it in gear incase your leg hits it again. It is a little inconvienent but if the corners are rounded out it won't catch on anything and it should hold it in place. I am not the smallest person and can see how it does happen, I do hope that it doesn't to anyone! ....
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 | Billy
Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 975 Southeast Oklahoma 
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2003-04-27 53859
This happened to me once with my JD 4610. I was driving it over to fuel it up and started down a small hill. When I let off the forward peddle it started free-wheeling. Come to find out, when I change from medium range to high the seat belt buckle was in the way and I hadn't got the range lever all the way engaged.
Billy ....
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 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-04-28 53920
I'm with Art's suggestion, the mechanical lock is the easiest, fastest, surest way, IMHO, to secure the lever in place. A simple hinge located next to the shifter in such a way that when the 'free' side is flipped flat outwards it blocks the shifter from moving will do the trick. If the lever is jumping out with any amount of force it means the gears are not mating correctly.
We do this to our construction equipment to, for instance, prevent the shuttle shift from going into high range, or to lock the machine in neutral as a safety to prevent the machine from being bumped into gear when the operator is not expecting it, or while it is warming up or cooling down.
Glad to hear the safety gear was working the way it should & that you're OK.
Best of luck. ....
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| Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2003-04-30 54039
Murf, the door hinge deal would work. We have used 1" angle iron for the base with two bolts holding and 1/2" box for the flipper to hold the lever. I've found that many times after the operators are aware of it they are fine after and will check every now and then to make sure it is engaged. ....
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| Bernie Galgoci
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2003-04-30 54049
Larry - Sorry it took rolling your tractor to make many of us aware of this issue. I tested my JD4400 on the flat and level yesterday, and it sure seemed pretty easy to knock the range shift lever into neutral and start freewheeling. Easy enough such that I wasn't even interested in doing the test while pulling a wagon up a hill. Thanks Art and Murf for the quick fix! ....
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 | Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-05-05 54349
Larry, glad to hear you are uninjured and your tractor took the roll pretty well. I am sure the first thing you had to clean up before the oil leak from the trans. was your drawers! I know I would be. Until you come up with a final fix for the gear lever popping out; I would suggest not using the bungee cord but the rubber type lashing strap like the truck drivers use. They stretch like a bungee but are much more firm and not near as likely to give as a bungee should the lever try popping out again. Until then, have your tried emailing Kubota Safety in Georgia about this incident? The email address is on the website. They may be able to help you out. They helped me find and purchase a ROPS for my L245. ....
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