Kubota M7 series 2

[Battlefield Machinery]

I’m not sure what he was saying? That you have to take the axle off to remove the prop shaft? From my knowledge that isn’t true?! We have replaced them on M5 series tractors that have had incorrect or badly mid matched front/rear tyres and it was able to be done. Out of interest I will do some research on this , tomorrow, but from my experience of dealing with Kubota, we have found the reliability very good, they’re reputation in the engine market especially is second to none, granted in smaller hp’ than many people are perhaps talking about!
you also have to put into perspective the market presence that Kubota have in North America! Up to the ho of the tractor above I believe that they are around the 30% mark, if not slightly over! Unfortunately working on modern machines compared to splitting a 10 series Ford, is hard work, as my mate said the other day, doing a head gasket on a Jd 6400 took less time than trying to get the tappers done on a new valtra! Progress?!!!

 

[Cowabunga]

Honda is by far the largest volume producer of small engines.
Kubota may well be the largest volume producer of off-road Diesel engines of two litres and under but I have not looked it up to be sure.
They would need to be going some to equal Renault who have made some 10 million of the K9K 1.5 litre diesel model alone between 2001 and 2013 and lord knows how many more since. It continues to be built today and fitted to Renault, Nissan, Dacia and Mercedes Benz cars and light commercials. I'm willing to bet that they have exceeded 15 million units by now. That's just their 1.5 litre diesel engine.

 

[Battlefield Machinery]

Honda is by far the largest volume producer of small engines.
Kubota may well be the largest volume producer of off-road Diesel engines of two litres and under but I have not looked it up to be sure.
They would need to be going some to equal Renault who have made some 10 million of the K9K 1.5 litre diesel model alone.

The Renault volume is phenomenal, cumulative number of Kubota engines is over 30 million on 2019’s figures, I think the last data I remember seeing was about 1.1 million a year...the factory I have visited was making an engine every 29.5 seconds!

 

[daveydiesel1]

The Renault volume is phenomenal, cumulative number of Kubota engines is over 30 million on 2019’s figures, I think the last data I remember seeing was about 1.1 million a year...the factory I have visited was making an engine every 29.5 seconds!

How many factories do they run?

 

[Battlefield Machinery]

How many factories do they run?

I’m not sure if I’m honest! I will find that out! I’ll see if I can find a video about them, the Dunkirk factory is purely assembly although I believe that the cab will start to be manufactured there soon if not already, but I think 4 main sites in Japan for tractors and engines, 2 I think in the us , Thailand I think, a new joint venture in india also...

 

[Cowabunga]

How many factories do they run?

Renault build the K9K in three factories worldwide.

 

[2wheels]

Check it out with your dealer. The Euro is near enough a Dollar.
The price of the new crankshaft was the biggest shocker for me. Not that such parts are exactly fast movers. They should last the life of the engine. However, as you can see, shít happens. It is worth costing parts like these before a long term machine purchase. Maybe Kubota parts in the UK and Ireland are cheaper than others. You won't know until you ask. It won't make any difference to the labour hours involved in a difficult to repair design though.

Here is the video before the one I posted above showing disassembly

re the cost of a crankshaft. i had many moons ago a 1966 hillman minx1500cc with a slipping clutch. i stripped it down and discovered that it wasn't the clutch but the crankshaft thrust washers which had worn the cranshaft web. a new crank was £40 but a new short motor was £45, a no brainer.

 

[Lakesdigger]

Kubota have a different philosophy with engine rebuilds or at least they used to. Many moons ago old lad bought a kubota digger a few years old off local dealer and a few days after getting it head gasket went. Dealer sorted it but i can remember at the time they said if it wasn't just gasket and needed a head as well they would likely be putting a full engine in. At that time only a limited amount of parts were available for a lot of kubota engines. Such was their confidence in their engine build quality their theory was that anything other than a basic fault would need to be a major failure and would be uneconomical to repair anyway.
From any experience I've had with kubota engines (not in tractors mind) serviced regularly they've never been any bother, certainly one of if not the best for small industrial engines.

 

[kiwi pom]

It's probably maintenance related, no matter how good something is if it has no oil etc it wont last long

It's just one mechanics view of course but he has other videos working on them too, doing jobs like cab blowers which aren't really down to poor maintenance.
They don't seem that easy to work on.
That's the smaller range mind and not the model the OP is asking about so perhaps they are better.
I do agree though, some of the customers he has put work his way that a good operator wouldn't, overheating engines, no oil etc.

 

[Battlefield Machinery]

For ref, an M7 crank is about £3,300 RRP, we would have to contact Kubota for a price of an engine, depending how you ordered it, and who off there would be discount on that price...

 

[daveydiesel1]

For ref, an M7 crank is about £3,300 RRP, we would have to contact Kubota for a price of an engine, depending how you ordered it, and who off there would be discount on that price...

Thats not as bad as others makin it out to be. Probably runnin costs similar to other brands

 

[Bronko]

I’m just really interested in how much they will depreciate after say five years. So a proper cost per hour can be worked out. If it’s any good I think Kubota will start selling quite a few of them.

 

[Raisbecw]

It'll be grand on a Haybob..... Possibly slightly overpowered?

Only when times are desperate haha, we run a fleet of Claas 3600 rakes and need something small simple yet quick on the road for keeping in front of balers and foragers. Roughly tick over 1000 - 1200 hrs a year on them

 

[Raisbecw]

We have got nearly 30 out , all 1’s and 2’s but a good mix of std up to full spec.
telling it straight, we have had leaking roof issues on the 1’s, which were sorted/will be sorted by Kubota. Adblue nox sensors (pretty sure most manufacturers have them) have done one tractors brakes from a sticky handbrake pivot, (the 2’s had a cover put over it to stop dirt ingress) the ZF transmission is rated to over 220 hp I believe in other brands, their We’re some major changes on the 1’s to 2’s, mainly the trans change from a 4 speed 6 range to6 speed 5 range box, also 2mm thicker glass in the cab, and a better seat , the 3’snow have active stop start on the teams too which is very useful! They are as long as a jd 6155/NRH t7.210 in the wheel base also, he’ll of a rear lift! If you want to speak to some customers who run them, let us know, have a few on running more than one or who have had them and bought again!

Thank you very much for the honest feedback! I would be extremely keen to possibly talk to a few guys we are hoping to get a good lifespan out of the tractors so anyone who’s got an serious hours would also be very helpful

 

[Raisbecw]

They know exactly what they are doing. It is a very fast and cheap way of building an engine. Which is why it is also used on many budget car's engines. It was used on the BL Rover K series for instance where long stretch bolts were used to keep the head, block and crank web [bottom bearing holder] sections all together in a sandwich.
Fast and cheap to build does not always mean that it is fast and cheap to repair.

Hopefully these things should last a very long time with only some maintenance, but life isn't like that and there is always the odd one, or the odd model range that does need repairs.

thank you for the information it’s certainly well worth while being informed and especially the need to question parts pricing and even possibly of engine replacements

 

[texelburger]

@Raisbecw ,we have three M series one 7171 and two 7172,all being KVT's.We get on with them extremely well and have been pleased in their performances We've had a couple of minor warranty jobs but nothing has stopped the wheels rolling.
Depreciation appears to reasonably low as I have,tentatively enquired about upgrading the 7171 and the initial figures didn't seem too bad although we haven't done anything yet.

 

[Barleycorn]

We have 2 7151, and a 7 132 all mechanical gears. The '2' gearbox is a vast improvement on the '1' according to our drivers, the '1' is very slow to change gear. We were promised all sorts of software updates, but nothing really changed it. Apart from that, we had the roof problem, the cab heater pipes changed because they were so small the heater was cold, the exhaust silencer fell to bits on one, one has had 3 hitch release cables and two have had new wiper / indicator switches. The only other gripe is that the aircon compressor looks like it came off a mini, so the aircon is not great. All fixes were done under warranty, and you would expect a brand new design of tractor to have some teething troubles. They are on to M7 '3' so hopefully they should be pretty well sorted by now. Only trouble we have is that Kubota kicked our dealer out of the franchise.

 

[Classichay]

no and NO, go buy a fendt with 12k hours on would be a far more cost effective way to burn money. parts market is sown up and their designs of gearboxes and hydraulics are leaving a lot to be desired of. ( ex owner )

 

[kiwi pom]

I’m just really interested in how much they will depreciate after say five years. So a proper cost per hour can be worked out. If it’s any good I think Kubota will start selling quite a few of them.

That will all depend if they are sought after on the second hand market and that will depend on parts price/availability and how easy they are to work on for non dealer mechanics/owners.

Only when times are desperate haha, we run a fleet of Claas 3600 rakes and need something small simple yet quick on the road for keeping in front of balers and foragers. Roughly tick over 1000 - 1200 hrs a year on them

Don't forget you've got to get someone to sit on them for 1200 hours a season too. I think it's a bit of a risk buying a brand that doesn't sell a huge number in this part of the world but if they're significantly cheaper than main brands?

 

[DanM]

We have 2 7151, and a 7 132 all mechanical gears. The '2' gearbox is a vast improvement on the '1' according to our drivers, the '1' is very slow to change gear. We were promised all sorts of software updates, but nothing really changed it. Apart from that, we had the roof problem, the cab heater pipes changed because they were so small the heater was cold, the exhaust silencer fell to bits on one, one has had 3 hitch release cables and two have had new wiper / indicator switches. The only other gripe is that the aircon compressor looks like it came off a mini, so the aircon is not great. All fixes were done under warranty, and you would expect a brand new design of tractor to have some teething troubles. They are on to M7 '3' so hopefully they should be pretty well sorted by now. Only trouble we have is that Kubota kicked our dealer out of the franchise.

Will you be following JDE to case or staying with Kubota and opening an account at Listers?