this old kubota L225 has been sitting for a long time with some parts removed, Jason, ( 5150mxwv ) youtuber, found this one for us, as far as we know its been sitting for 10 years due to unknown reasons. I bought it as is so lets get it on the trailer and drag it back to the shop. does it run? is it broken? is it junk? lets find out.
Hey guys how's it going hey jason gave me a call otherwise known as 5150 mxvw channel that he knew of this tractor. That's been sitting for how long, as far as i've been driving by it for almost 10 years, i've never seen it move so you're guessing as good as mine, and they were looking to something's going on with the property or something and they're trying to get rid Of it now clean up the property yeah, the property's for sale, so i was contacted if i knew anyone who might be interested in first purchasing. This tractor - and i said i know just the guy, i'm the guy - it's actually the same, almost the same as the one i have now it's an l series. It looks like, but two will drive.
It definitely looks like it was parked for some kind of reason, because the hood's off to the side and smashed and beat up it's a three-cylinder diesel got a bucket on it. Loader small loader on it tires are up. At least it looks like the best part of it's the tiller, that's on the back of it. So i have my car trailer ready to rock and roll and i believe we're going to make a deal the owner's going to be around shortly and we'll kind of go from there, but don't know anything about its issues or history and neither does the owner of The property there's no key in it.
Neither i don't see. I want it's the same as the one that i have. The other problem is the hydraulics are already down, so we got to figure out how to get them up in the air a little bit to be able to get it on the trailer, but jason has his kubota on his trailer and he's come to the property Too, we're going to try to use that for a little bit of a help to get it on there, one way or another we'll get it on there. But this is what we got to work with.
Let's go see what we got for her yeah, it's been there tad huh. Actually, the paint stop. I figured that would have been all rotted out and it is a l. Two two five is this series mine's uh early seventies.
Let me figure this one's about the same. It looks like see if we can figure out a little bit of what's going on. It's got no air cleaner, it's got no crossbar across the front. I don't know if they were having engine problems with it or what was going on sure what that's happening, don't know if it turns.
Fortunately, the intake is going up and back down. So no water probably went down the intake being open like this, but it's cheap enough to screw with again the loader alone is worth what i'm paying for and then the tiller on the back. I believe i'm going to buy separately. It may or may not go with the deal, but we're going to go again work on that to see how it goes all right.
It's got an hour meter on it and it says 1471, which isn't terrible if it works right yeah. I have a feeling that wiring might be an issue on this thing. Seat's gone tires are holding there they've been sitting, however long they've been sitting like that, a little a little dry rotted, but yet it's a tractor, not a car. So it's not that big of a deal going down the road, that's the best part of it. Hopefully you can get that in on the deal awesome you guys see about getting the implements up worst case. We could take that one right off, but we're gon na try hooking a chain to it and working the lever and see if we can lift up on it and just let the valve flow, hopefully it'll stay in the up position. We don't have to go screw with any of that, so let's go find out what oh yeah, i'm not sure which way the valve. I think it just doesn't have any pressure, so it doesn't want to stay.
There's, probably like air in the system. So there's no! No hydraulics to hold it, i tried shutting the valve off, but it wouldn't stay. Raise it up. Yeah, we'll hook a chain to it, is as high as you can get it pull forward too.
So then slip off there. You go that's good, we'll work with that. So we end up going with a ratchet strap from the frame of the loader to the top of that he's gon na. Let it down and see what we get right now.
That'll do just fine, hopefully the front cooperates as much as that did so. There's the about 40 years difference between the two of those okay. This has no hydraulic fluid left in any of the lines for it to stay on, probably gon na try getting a bar or a piece of wood or something to lay in between it on the frame to hold it up. Let's see if this will give us enough room to work with come on down, keep going yeah.
The bucket is gon na, be a little. Let's go away, don't see what you get it's gon na hit on the trailer going down, but yeah. I think we got the right idea. I think if we just get like another four inches, underneath that that'll get that bucket up about another eight okay, okay, come on down, that's got it.
Hopefully the brakes aren't frozen. We're gon na go find out right now. We shall roll a little bit. Oh yeah, the guy gon na set you guys up in a stand.
I got ta go steer, oh okay. I think it's gon na turn. So, yes smooth, isn't it so? Oh, i can't see that i thought you had that side. I had that side yeah, you guys didn't, say a damn thing.
You just watched it all happen. I think you should steer it towards this way a little bit and we just keep winching and we see what happens. Oh yeah easy to do. It falls off and just don't go the other way.
Oh yeah, the other way, oh, you said left. I was busy looking at that wasp, i think you're gon na, i think, there's a mess. Probably gon na fall off. That's okay, ready, oh sure, now straighten it out good, i'm 95 tied down and mother nature started kicking up over the top of us doing that.
So i figured it might be a better idea, just kind of hang out in the truck for a little bit. Just saying, i think we'll let this blow over trying to get out of the tree line. So so uh you look a little moist. You look a little moist i backed up.
I didn't want to be underneath the trees yeah. I don't know if i bashed into anything but yeah, still making a little bit of noise. That way looks better when it's washed well. That certainly takes up a little bit more room than our average garden tractor in this area. All right, let's get into it and see if we can figure out either what it failed for and fix it or not fix it and or we could just get it to run, and it's just you know, being parked and neglected and just needs a little bit Of love so first thing we got ta see if that thing turns over. If the engine has any kind of uh locked up issues again, there's no air cleaner on it. So that's not really a great sign, but at least it goes uphill, first and back down. So water will probably have a tendency not to run in there.
Let's grab a wrench, we'll throw it on the alternator, maybe and see if we can get a little bit of spin out of it, so make sure we get a full circle nothing's running in anything. I don't know if you can see it, there's a bolt down there crank and she went all the way around. That's a good sign, let's uh, i want to get this air cleaner, knobble hose off, make sure there's no crap or nestle in there. That's going to get sucked in let's go check that battery real quick, if there's any chance that that out of any kind of life to it, we'll throw that on a charger while we're screwing around with the other stuff.
Let's get a little bit of a test light a little bit of fun trying to get around all this framework. You guys got a good seat all right. Ah, the battery's actually got a little bit of juice. I'm surprised, let's uh, i'm gon na, take that right out of there throw it on a charger while we're screwing around the battery posts, weren't even tight.
I think it's got one of those little pop-up handles. Maybe there you go come on yeah, i'm gon na fit. It's out there that's our date on it i'll go check that maybe throw the meter on it. You do not see a hot or ground.
It's 50. 50. Yes, once the needle jumps upward, no wrong way sees that needle stays actually not terrible. It's in the weeks.
I'm amazed that battery has been sitting out in the weather for a long time. I'm gon na throw a charger on that, while we're waiting and judging by the wiggle, it's got one of those easy remove exhaust systems for access to maintenance, repairs as needed, wiggle that right out of there, i'm gon na shove, one of you skinny guys down inside There take a look at anything happening. You could actually see in the viewfinder that that's just scratches i put in there right. I think we're good, no mouse.
Looking back at us, don't see a dipstick anywhere on it, but i think what it is is going to be that fill plug, i'm guessing. That is right there not sure. If that is that, or is that just a drain for the coolant? You know anything anywhere else that might be a bleeder for the injection pump do not see a dipstick on. I, like i said i have another tractor. It's like this. It is the smaller engine version in four wheel drive, but that one has a dip stick on it. I don't see anything unless you see something i do not. So, let's go crank that out of there see what we get, whether it's coolant or oil or neither.
I could try looking a little bit harder because it's right there yeah diesel usually is really really nasty. Really quick. I'm not gon na worry about changing it as long as it's got fluid in it just enough to see if it'll run we'll get to that later. Yeah got enough yeah.
She is definitely looks like black paint to me all right anything else. You want to go just check for coolant, real, quick, that's good, your green stuff. I say we try getting some kind of powers. Oh, we need a key, oh yeah, that switch goes along.
The clapped outside like somebody's, been see if we can get it with a yeah all right, that's why it's got no key. It's like somebody punched out the center of it. What am i gon na do with that? So this just turns it on and off. Don't forget, like an old, crappy key i'll shove in there we'll just use so yeah.
We just turn it on with this switch, the one that actually makes it crank and run the glow plugs. Is this one over here yeah, but a forklift keyhand kind of just flops around inside there? There we go all right forklift. Does it jumper pack see if anything comes alive for us oil light which is good, let's um man just for shits and giggles? Let's give her kind of flicks over let's um and it always could have been a failure why this thing would stop being used and that also being the starter, let's run the jumper pack, we'll grab a bolt like right here and we'll put it right here, we'll Eliminate this and we'll take a screwdriver we'll go across the circuit, we'll get rid of the key switch see if it's the starter or anything else. Let's go try with the key one more time.
I relocated that lead the ground. Lead is right to the side of the block there we go. Let's give her a listen. It's got glow plugs on.
I just want to kind of crank it through and get some fuel up to it too. Uh yeah i'll just crank for a little bit, see if she'll just go without the glow plugs. It's really warm out. Where's that throttle.
That should be all the way off. That's full throttles give her just right about there. Just a little butter. Chugging, like it's got something she's gon na go you're losing battery.
I'm gon na give her a little bit more throttle and then uh we'll get some more power to it. Yeah i'm out of juice. Let's start to cool off a little bit. I get some more power, we'll get her to go the other battery's still on the charger right this one, which is test.
Okay, let's see how that one does for us, that's about as tight as those posts were gon na go crank down on them. We'll probably use the jumper pack too, we'll put both of them together, see if we get all right round two or three not sure where we left off. Let's go you're looking in the right spot, keep it right there! Well, let's give it a throttle, sticks full throttle. Let's go see what is going on with that yeah. The levers bound right up is that the gas pedal push down. You got throttle level here and she had some screw. I went to try either direction on the lever. That's idle.
I think i had it the wrong spot. Good thing, the clip popped off all right, that's idle, make sure we're working, that's always good for an engine that never ran before and me being the meat head. Oh well, that was perfect. I get paid more all right.
Let's go try to set her up again, so you can get her to idle. That's trashy in i got no power. I got keys off. I started here, not bad! That's anything leaking out of it.
You wan na try giving the hydraulics a a whirl see if that loader does anything the valves look a little screwed up. I don't know what that one's laying over. I was not even hooked up, go, try the other one get those boards out of it. So wipe out my toolboxes how's everything leaking try to see if that rear ppl will come up, get that strap off of there.
This doesn't feel right might be all the way in the up position. Let's go shut her down. I don't know i think the decompression valve is missing, so i just shut it off by lifting the lever up cool. Let's i don't know what the hell's going on here with all this wiring and stuff holding things together.
Let's even get that kind of stuff hooked up, see if the bucket curls and all and get the strap off we'll get the tiller sitting down and we'll see if any of this stuff works how's that huh, that was pretty easy, except for running full throttle that Part is i own one of these too, the life of a dyslexic and then water coming out of the bucket? I don't see anything being an issue. I got ta go turn the paint on open a garage door get some his hair sucked out of here see if we can smash that onto the floor, nothing toes so so so so three-point hitch. I can't get it to go up. Let me go screw around and see if i can figure it out this, it should be up for me right there.
Actually, that's up go think about that for a minute, let's go screw around with the loader part of it then we'll get back to three point. His worst case, we could take the the tiller off right now we may have a flu a low fluid level just making that do that and what is the deal here. So this needs to get flipped around and in there and that's your curl our bucket. Let's go fire it up again, see if we get anything on there.
These are going to need some kind of emotional support, i'll get any leaks, nothing major anyway. Those lines, look kind of nasty tracker off the ground nope i killed it. Let's give her some rpm get it off those dollies. Now there we go, we don't need these anymore yeah awesome on its own hydraulic system and then i think the transmission - i don't know if the power steering what that's tied into you'll, probably check that too. That looks like it's running off of the transmission, so we'll see if the power steering works. If that works, then we know at least there's some fluid circulating around there. If not, maybe that's our issue, those will sit in the driver's seat right yeah. I think we're just good to go crank.
You've got no power, steering at all no wait trying cycle it a little come exactly as brace walls, it should be yeah. There's no power steering all right go look and see if we got a fluid level issue on the transmission wherever that is and how we go about. Checking that so got jacked up in the air. I'm gon na go just try the uh three-point hitch, pto output.
You see we can see if the tiller is functional and all that kind of stuff and we'll worry about the fact it doesn't go up and down yet a little bit later again just trying to do an assessment what's up with the tractor, and it had to Be parked for some reason where it didn't work and the hood got ripped off of it so that we may have found it, maybe not see we get all right. So that's how it works. It's all nice and quiet. No! She there again.
We just got to figure out, what's happening with the three point here. It might be just something goofy that i'm missing, i'm not quite catching it or something may have broke on that and caused an issue. So i'm not sure, but i'm going to say that we're going to go break this one up right here guys i'd like to continue, but i think my videos are getting a little too long on the long side until maybe we'll bust them up a little bit. We got a lot to do on this tractor anyway, and i got to save some for another video right all right with that guys.
We're going to sign off thanks for hanging out with me and dragging stuff out of abandoned properties and seeing what we got and trying to bring him back to life until the next one i'll see. You then, later in a little addition on the last video we just got done finishing up the log splitter the week before you guys haven't seen that video there's one of the same place that the tractor came from this log. Splitter came from anyway a couple things on the end of it when we went to go fire it up and use it. The gas tank, which was the original mount where it was located, the way it was set up, but they had moved the gas tank and kind of strapped it to the top.
For a reason that reason was when you split a log, the log half would want to fall and land on the gas tank, so i ended up putting some outriggers on it to help support it. So when you you cut a log, it doesn't fall each side. Also doesn't land on your feet on the other side and then you could just take the pieces and keep rotating them and splitting them off. I left the air gap here. If that's going to be an issue later on, i might fill them in, but i'm going to see how that does figure it a lot for, like debris and stuff to go fall through just like they have down below here that little holes will let the crap Out of it and what else i did the charging system, i tried changing the voltage regulator. I had one, it still does not work, so the magneto, underneath the flywheel is no good and just did some labeling of what we got for uh controls on that it should be run good for us. I'm gon na run it at the cabin for a while. I got a bunch of trees to uh, cut up and split up, just probably about a quarter quart and a half to be taken care of, and then i'll bring it back to the house bye guys.
Now we're done.
Inherited my Dad’s 1981 Kubota M4050. Motor blew a hole in the side of the block shortly after I got it. Found a motor in Kentucky and had it shipped to Texas. Praying I didn’t get screwed. These videos are very inspiring and getting me pumped to get started. Been enjoying the heck out of your videos. Thanks!
Those little 3 cylinders are absolute mules. The abuse they can take is pretty astonishing even by todays standards.
The one I use at work daily gets some old oil from another tractor every now and then when she's burning a bit, but Id say she's easily got 30k hours on her over 25 ish years. Hasn't let go a single time, definitely a keeper for the apocalypse.
How can 224 people give this a thumbs down?????? I've bought a L260 that's missing the radiator, H2O pumps off etc and I cant wait for this series! It's my first Kubota !
I was looking to pick up a tractor and after watching Warren @ western truck and tractor repair on YouTube and hear him curse Kubota up oneside and down the other I went with a deere. I have since noticed there aren't many Kubota tractors used on anything serious. Even rental yards don't deal with them anymore. May good luck be on your side.
Thanks for this video! I bought a case 1085C cruz air excavator. It's diesel, I fixed the radiator. Engine runs pretty good, some leak on the transmission, not much and some leak on hydraulic hose. Do you add any diesel fuel additive, and oil additive into hydraulic to keep it in good condition. I rarely used it, what's your recommendation?
Had some equipment with aux lines that, if the pump on one failed, you could hook up another vehicle, and connect the lines to move what every you needed to.
From experience when working on my similar tractor..if you can see it, you can't reach it, and if you can reach it, you can't see it.
I was watching an episode of Hoarders the other day and there was a Kubota with a loader like this that had been sitting for several years. Everyone said it was scrap and would never run again. That was one time the hoarder knew better.