Hello! This is my first post but I’ve been reading threads on here for a good while. I have my first tractor ordered (LXSUHST) and am expecting delivery soon. Will have a FEL, rotary mower, box blade, and pallet forks to begin with.
What sort of supplies and spare parts should I keep on hand? Spare glow plugs, fluids, spare pins/nuts/bolts? I do have a grease gun and will pick up some fresh grease. Any special tools that come in handy for general tractor maintenance and upkeep? I have plenty of common wrenches, drivers, sockets, etc.
I live in NC (Charlotte region) so no extreme cold or heat here.
I apologize if this is a repeat question. I did do a few searches but did not see any threads about this. I have never had much luck with forum (not just this forum) search tools though.
Thanks!
John
Welcome to the forum......
When that LX comes home - you are gonna love it! And as for spare parts?????
Get KUBOTA filters for the hourly changes..... ( get a couple ) DO NOT use another "brand" here ..... research and you'll see what I am talking about.
GET SOME S-UDT2 to have on hand when the time comes.
Perhaps a set of spare blades for you MMM
Really no special tools are needed.
Do grease the zerks often ....
and above ALL read the manual ...... once - twice and then agian!
If anything goes wrong .... your dealer should have your back for a couple of years..... I would not worry about glow plugs and the like!
Let us know when it comes in ..... take pictures and upload them!!!!
You'll get all kinds of opinions. But for me, being an hour and half from my dealer here is what I have.
First I got the service and parts manuals for my tractor from Kubota.
Already had grease gun and a case of grease and big sockets and wrenches.
But what I personally like doing is I keep 2 five gallon pails of Kubota Premium (or Super in the USA) UDT oil. I have enough engine oil to do 2 changes. And I always keep 2 sets of ALL filters and o-rings for the fuel/water separator. Reason being is I can do a fluid and filter change and still have a spare if something were to go wrong and it's a Sunday and dealer is closed.
So everytime I use a set, then I go replace it and still have a spare at home while I'm doing that.
I also keep an assortment of lynch pins. And chain lube for the snow blower chain.
Thanks for the welcomes and good info!
85Hokie: I am also a hokie! I appreciate the input. I’ll be sure to grease often and buy the Kubota filters. The dealer is close to my work so it should be easy to pick up the Kubota parts. No MMM for me, just a 5’ bush hog and a separate ZTR, but good idea on the spare blades.
Russel: Very good point, my sockets don’t go big enough in metric for some of the bolts.
ItBMine/bird dogger: I’ll try to get the service manual from them, I don’t expect them to resist providing it. Good idea taking a flash drive along. I’ll grab some hydraulic oil to keep on hand, but like I said above to 85Hokie, the dealer is luckily very convenient to me.
armylifer: I also had a friend recommend Agri Supply, I’ll look into their closest location.
I suggest you do NOT buy rubber items (like hoses, belts, etc.) because the new ones already on the tractor will last at least 10 years and the new ones you have in your possession will age-harden and not do the job you expect. Those sort of “rotatables” are readily available and will continue to be for decades.
The extra hyd oil: It’s unlikely you’ll need any at all but a 5-gal pail will definitely be over-kill for topping-up due to implement changes and spillage. Unless you open up the system and make a boo-boo... you ain’t gonna need any 5-gals of hyd-fluid. If you just “gotta”... then buy a 1 or 2-gal jug of Super UDT-2 to have on-hand. (But you’ll likely over-fill it if it’s too handy to use and then you’ll be back on here asking how to pull the extra back out. Remember, a full hyd reservoir is already MORE than necessary for proper operation. Several qts low will not hurt a thing But overfull will.)
Engine OIl and filters: Yes, but don’t be in a hurry.... look for oil On-Sale then buy a 2-1/2-gal jug, and when you pick up your new tractor go ahead and buy a new engine oil filter. Kubota filters cost only a “Smidgeon” more than other “similar” replacements and unless it’s a genuine Kubota (especially while under warranty) or a Wix or NAPA... you’ll be using a below-standard filter.
Hyd filters: YOu’ll want to change those at 50 hrs. Get genuine Kubota.
CHECK THAT FRONT AXLE OIL-LEVEL BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE DEALERSHIP with your new tractor. They are notoriously low on oil from the factory and dealers MISS this item often.
Get spare hitch-pins and link pins. You’ll lose some in the grass.
Consider a qt of biocide for your fuel and anti-gel for your fuel if you live “up nawth” or where it gets below 15-degrees F regularly.
Buy two HOOKS to weld onto the top of your new bucket. Kubota dealers sell them for cheap and if you‘re buying a lightweight bucket then ask the dealer to weld a reinforcement plate onto the bucket and weld those hooks on for you also. Then buy a nice, high-grade 5/16” 15- 20-foot-long chain with hooks on each end. You’ll use that with your new bucket hooks.
Get some WD-40 GEL lubricant for all those little places that need lube which don’t have zerks.
ENJOY! And be SAFE!
You may need to get larger size sockets in metric sizes. Kubota tractors will generally larger than most common car sizes. If you have a 1/2 drive set you may be able to buy just the sockets but if all you own now is 3/8 drive you will have to go to 1/2 or 3/4 drive sets. When you get the tractor you will notice that things like wheel lug nuts and some bolts will exceed what you already have and know what size you will need to get eventually.
This is the un-anticipated expense for me. I have gimongous combination wrenches and 3/4 drive sockets. I keep them in the barn to work on the tractors and keep the metric stuff in the garage to work on the vehicles. Went to grab a wrench to take the broken seat belt off of the Kubota. Metric. So, I get to buy a bunch of big metric wrenches (OK, cheap-arse Harber Freight or MIT to start with--I have quality in the smaller sizes (up to 1/2 inch drive 30-ish sockets and some random larger ones I got as needed for suspension on the vehicles and such). The issue is that I have a nice row of nails in the wall, with the SAE sizes labeled (so kid can fetch a wrench and I can see what's missing). I guess I need to chuck those in a box and re-label for the big metric sizes.
Does anybody have a list of the Kubota common sizes? For example, my VWs were always 10, 13, 15, 17mm. Porsche was 12, 14, 17, etc)
To the original question:
It may be different in NC, but I was told to get a few fuel filters in case I needed to change one due to gelling. I did by 2 1/2 gallons of S-UDT just to ensure that I wouldn't be tempted to dump in one of the many other flavors I have floating around.
Not really much you'll ever need. These tractors rarely fail. Like I said, I just keep lots of oil and filters because I don't want to have to take an hour plus drive anytime I decide to service my tractor. And it will all get used eventually, so not like it's a waste of money.
Just make sure you have spare shear pins for any implements that use them, and spare spring pins and lynch pins in case you ever drop or lose one.
And as others have said....don't trust your dealer PM.....check all your fluid levels before you use.
And get yourself a torque wrench if you don't have one. Because you will definitely want to check all the bolts on your loader mounts after a few uses. I discovered someone cross-threaded one of mine and I had to fix that.
One last thing I just remembered......make sure you get the rubber PTO shaft cover for both your rear and mid PTO for when you have no implements on. Keeps them clean. I did not get one for my mid PTO so I ended up making one with a piece of heater hose and the cap off a WD40 spray can (or brake clean or whatever it was?)
Lots of good advice here. Like mcfarmall, my dealer is pretty close, so things like fluids, filters, etc,. I don't really worry about. Grease gun & grease is a good idea.
How many implements do you have and how often do you expect to change them? I swap mine out often enough that I got dedicated tools. I replaced the attached stock toolbox with a bigger one, and I have a screwdriver, hammer, ratchet & sockets, etc. Got the sockets to fit the various nuts & bolts I have to deal with.
A couple of people mentioned pins, I strongly second that - being without one when you're trying to attach something to get work done is not a fun place to be. They're cheap insurance.