Export thread

I'd be interested in ideas of anyone who has a ZD series mower. I love it, and it is fast and powerful, but doing the daily lube on the pto shafts is a real pain. Anyone have a way to get at them without jacking the machine up (all 1800 lbs of it).

E

Daily??????????

Is that what the manual calls for??

Yep. It's a commercial grade 3 cylinder diesel mower. All of the lube points are easy to access except for a shaft the drives the radiator fan and the universal on the pto shaft to the belly mower. I think the frequency is probably excessive, so I don't do it daily, but I do it every other time I mow which means about after every 8 acres or so.

Your right the back drive shaft is hard to get to the only way is to jack up it up on blocks.I am a Kubota
service tech and service Kubotas daily.All the other grease fittings are easy to get to.If you flip the seat up you can get to the back u-joint on the mower drive shaft and flip up the compartment in front of the seat to get to most all the other grease fittings on the mower deck.I tell most customers to grease thier mower every fourth mowing depending on how long they mow each time. Look in your manual it will tell you your service intervals.Just make sure you keep your mower spindles greased they are expensive to replace. You don't have to grease every time you mow.

Thanks Blackjackjay,

I kinda thought there wasn't going to be an easy short cut. What you describe is pretty much what I do. I usually skip the rear drive shaft every other time. Nice to hear it from a Kubota tech - makes me feel like I didn't really miss something.

E

I own a ZD326P, and I only grease mine every 4 to 5 cuttings. I've never had to raise the machine to gain access to any other zerks. I'm not sure which one you are talking about. Do you have any pictures?

ERE said:

Yep. It's a commercial grade 3 cylinder diesel mower. All of the lube points are easy to access except for a shaft the drives the radiator fan and the universal on the pto shaft to the belly mower. I think the frequency is probably excessive, so I don't do it daily, but I do it every other time I mow which means about after every 8 acres or so.

Click to expand...

Are you saying there's a fitting somewhere between the engine and the radiator fan on my ZD326? I thought the fan was connected to the end of a pully fitted to a bearing shaft. Please tell me the error of my ways. :frown:

marks146 said:

Are you saying there's a fitting somewhere between the engine and the radiator fan on my ZD326? I thought the fan was connected to the end of a pully fitted to a bearing shaft. Please tell me the error of my ways. :frown:

Click to expand...

There is a short shaft between the engine and the transmission with 3 grease fittings. Recommended service interval is 50 hrs. Illustration is on page 52 of Operator's Manual. You have to reach them from under the machine. Jack the rear of the tractor up and rotate the engine using the flywheel to get the fittings facing toward the ground. Don't forget to use safety stands.

I believe you can access a few of the rear shaft zerk fittings from under this plate

KJINTF said:

I believe you can access a few of the rear shaft zerk fittings from under this plate

Click to expand...

Try removing the cover and see if you can access the fittings. I could never get my cover off. I don't think you can get to all three fittings through the opening after the cover is removed. I just rotate the shaft to get the fittings pointed down and grease them from underneath.

Blackjackjay said:

............just make sure you keep your mower spindles greased they are expensive to replace. You don't have to grease every time you mow.

Click to expand...

My spindles are HOT after mowing is this normal? They won't burn you with a quick touch but you cannot leave your hand on them. I do grease mine about 3-4 pumps every day I use it. I'm probably a little older than most of you so this mean I like to see some grease squirt out from somewhere as an indication that it's properly greased and can stop. I never see any come from anywhere on those spindles??? Should I?

Not sure why you would say you are a bit older than the rest of us - I have been retired for more than ten years now and loving life.

I have not noticed the spindles getting hot on my ZD326 w/ 60" deck but will check next time mow. As you I have not noticed any grease coming out of the shafts either will check that as well next time. When I finish mowing I use the shed air compressor to blow clean all the clippings and then do the required greasing

Maybe others can give us an idea as to the temperature of the spindles

bones66 said:

My spindles are HOT after mowing is this normal? They won't burn you with a quick touch but you cannot leave your hand on them. I do grease mine about 3-4 pumps every day I use it. I'm probably a little older than most of you so this mean I like to see some grease squirt out from somewhere as an indication that it's properly greased and can stop. I never see any come from anywhere on those spindles??? Should I?

Click to expand...

Some days I feel a LOT older..
I will check my spindles temp nest time I mow... I know they heat up, but not hot-hot...
I check my gear box frequently, They will run around 160 degrees when worked...

You will not see the grease come out of your spindles unless you are on the bottom... it will squeeze out around the 'grass cup' above the blade, but below the deck...
Kubota's were frequently sold "less than full" of grease, and unless you checked below the deck the first greasing, you may never have been full...
There are a lot of posts on TBN about having to do 10 to 20 strokes on the spindles before there was any indication that they were full... :smile:KennyV
BTW... I see this is your first post bones... WELCOME to another Kubota owner!

KJINTF said:

Not sure why you would say you are a bit older than the rest of us - I have been retired for more than ten years now and loving life. .............

Click to expand...

Just guessing, been retired 3 years now!

KennyV said:

Some days I feel a LOT older..

You will not see the grease come out of your spindles unless you are on the bottom... it will squeeze out around the 'grass cup' above the blade, but below the deck...

Click to expand...

I will look around that area next time I have the blades off. Like I said I like to know about how many strokes it takes to get a little ooze.... than I know it's full. From then on I'll have some sort of reference point to the number of strokes.

KennyV said:

BTW... I see this is your first post bones... WELCOME to another Kubota owner!

Click to expand...

Thanks, I just accidentally stumbled on to the board! Good to be here. Got several more questions so I hope I don't wear out my welcome?

bones66 said:

I just accidentally stumbled on to the board! Good to be here. Got several more questions so I hope I don't wear out my welcome?

Click to expand...

Ask away, anytime... there are a lot of good folks here, also you may be able to answer some of the questions that come up.

Having a Kubota you should check out TBN, Kubota Tractor Forum - B-Series - L-Series - M-Series ... It IS the best Kubota site... owned & operated by the same great people that are bringing us this LMF site... :smile:KennyV

Don't worry about the spindles getting hot unless one spindle is hotter than the rest, especially if you grease them regulary. I usually grease the deck each time out and put 4-5 pumps in each spindle. It has been my experience that if you grease until it comes out the excess gets slung around and makes a mess. The only exception is the gauge wheels. Everything else gets 1-2 pumps.

After 45 minutes of mowing all spindles about the same temperature and warm but not hot.

Check it out I found an easier way to get under the machine. Makes greasing the hard to get at drive shafts a lot easier. I agree too much grease makes a mess no need for that. Only problem is driving it back off the hoist the front wheels want to flip around, I'm still learning how to back up in a straight line.

KJINTF said:

Only problem is driving it back off the hoist the front wheels want to flip around, I'm still learning how to back up in a straight line.

Click to expand...

You can't keep the front wheels from flipping around when you go to back up. Try turning the wheels around by hand before backing off the lift.