# Update on the "cheap" Kubota M120



## slowzuki

So I bought a Kubota M120 for about 1/3 to 1/2 the usual advertised prices around here because it won't go forwards.

After 15 hours+ work tearing the interior apart and testing the 50 ugly splices someone made in the harness, the wiring has a problem in something called a snubber diode on the powershift coil harness and a bad ground, both near the transmission and the part is only about 10$ to replace.

While at the dealer getting a few parts I priced a few cosmetic items to bring the tractor back up to a better state.

Rubber floor mat - 500$ !!!!! Ok never mind.

External 3 point hitch buttons on rear fender - 125$ each and I need 2! Never mind.

4wd pushbutton switch on the dash - 105$ !!!

Its great all that stuff is still available but my goodness, it will never be a cream puff tractor again on my watch!


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## Vol

Good for you figuring out what others could not and being rewarded for your efforts. I also find it hilarious about the component/part pricing of Kubota....especially after the whine occasionally heard about JD being over the top in their pricing.

Regards, Mike


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## Circle MC Farms LLC

I had the clutch replaced in my 5410 and the dealer techs decided to rip the mat up to access some bolts instead of loosening the hardware that secured the mat to the floor. Upon discovering it I complained to the service manager multiple times, he claimed it was ripped when I brought it in, and said it would be over $500 for a new one. Pretty sure steam was coming out of my ears and after three phone calls and a threat to go up the management chain I got a brand new floor mat. On top of that, the hood was not re attached correctly and I had to spend three hours with a service tech fiddling with it because whoever took it apart bent it so badly.

Completely dissatisfied with that dealership and will be taking any major repairs to another one in the future.


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## Vol

McDonald Family Farms said:


> Completely dissatisfied with that dealership and will be taking any major repairs to another one in the future.


Don't blame you one bit....crappy service should never be tolerated.

Regards, Mike


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## Tx Jim

Vol said:


> Don't blame you one bit....crappy service should never be tolerated.
> 
> Regards, Mike


DITTO especially for the high shop rates dealers charge.


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## slowzuki

I'm not so sure I'll be rewarded... I have a strong feeling this tractor will give electrical troubles again, hopefully just quitting in the field and not catching fire.

And edit: Since I can't always read your tone, I did not use the previous owner badly. He bought the tractor cheap as well and got 4 years use out of it for little cost. He couldn't fix the problem without taking it to a dealer which would have cost him dearly as he lives on an island with high costs about 7 hours drive from the nearest dealer.



Vol said:


> Good for you figuring out what others could not and being rewarded for your efforts.


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## PaMike

I guess putting in a whole new harness to get rid of the problem once and for all was out of the question due to cost and time?

Splices always seam to come back to get you...


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## slowzuki

I never really considered that but I'm guessing its in the 2500$ range for the harness alone based on the other part prices. The darned computer is "only" 1000$ though, I would have expected 4000$ for a computer like some of the old new hollands are now.

Most of the splices are on the same 4 or 5 circuits just in multiple locations throughout the harness, I'm thinking they overfused it when it was shorted to ground then chased all the melted locations fixing one at a time.

Found a fuse location with a spade lug wedged in place of a fuse running to another fuse that appears to be back feeding the fuse box instead of the normal fusible link.



PaMike said:


> I guess putting in a whole new harness to get rid of the problem once and for all was out of the question due to cost and time?
> 
> Splices always seam to come back to get you...


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## Vol

slowzuki said:


> And edit: Since I can't always read your tone, I did not use the previous owner badly.


Well I cannot exactly interpret your meaning of "I did not use the previous owner badly".

I was simply being glad for you because of your diligence in solving a problem that others could not....and being able to justify your purchase by remedying the situation and having a operational tractor. No tones were applied...just conversation.

Regards, Mike


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## slowzuki

Ignore what I wrote, I just read too far into it hearing a sarcastic tone of a certain family member of mine in my head while reading it lol. I didn't want anyone to thing I fleeced some poor fellow out of a tractor, I actually tried to help him diagnose it over the phone so he could keep it before I had agreed to buy it.



Vol said:


> Well I cannot exactly interpret your meaning of "I did not use the previous owner badly".
> 
> I was simply being glad for you because of your diligence in solving a problem that others could not....and being able to justify your purchase by remedying the situation and having a operational tractor. No tones were applied...just conversation.
> 
> Regards, Mike


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## JD3430

Ken glad you got it fixed.
Look on some of the tractor sites for prices on the remaining parts you need. There's a few kubota parts machines out there. I'm still looking for some used Michelin 540/65/30's if you see any while you're searching 

Good to hear you got a tractor cheap!! 
I only paid $65 for the 3 pt lift buttons. They are really handy.
I have an M-120 for sale locally for $22,000 with 5K hours on it.


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## slowzuki

Grabbed a couple of pics while chasing the remaining problems.


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## slowzuki

Sample of previous wiring repairs on this machine:


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## Vol

Yep....looks pretty hot.

Regards, Mike


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## JD3430

I took a chance on a M125 4 years ago. It was $18,000 IIRC. It had some chaffed and shorted wiring where the steering column tilts. 
Make sure you check there, too.


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## JMT

JD3430 said:


> I took a chance on a M125 4 years ago. It was $18,000 IIRC. It had some chaffed and shorted wiring where the steering column tilts.
> Make sure you check there, too.


My m120 shorted there to.


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## slowzuki

More price shock, the shuttle switch is not working great for forward so I priced the assembly before buying the tractor, 117$. Ordered it yesterday and it came in, the bill was 170$ before taxes and just had three 2 amp microswitches with no plate, no label, wired to a plug, you're expected to transfer them to the existing plate and figure out which one is which. Told them to keep it, only one of the micro switches is sticking and I can solder it in.

Ordered the fender switches off ebay for 1/5 of the the price. Just have to find a floor mat somewhere.


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## Tx Jim

I suppose since you stated plus taxes I guess Canadian farmers don't get ag sales tax exemption???


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## slowzuki

We do file a claim to get it back, just have to pay it up front.



Tx Jim said:


> I suppose since you stated plus taxes I guess Canadian farmers don't get ag sales tax exemption???


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## slowzuki

Tweaked the arm on the microswitch, problem fixed.

Found another intermittent short to ground in the forward solenoid circuit - she now drives forward and reverse perfectly!


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## slowzuki

Out tedding with it! Need to set tires wider, slamming me side to side.


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## Vol

Beautiful view.

Regards, Mike


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## swmnhay

slowzuki said:


> More price shock, the shuttle switch is not working great for forward so I priced the assembly before buying the tractor, 117$. Ordered it yesterday and it came in, the bill was 170$ before taxes and just had three 2 amp microswitches with no plate, no label, wired to a plug, you're expected to transfer them to the existing plate and figure out which one is which. Told them to keep it, only one of the micro switches is sticking and I can solder it in.
> 
> Ordered the fender switches off ebay for 1/5 of the the price. Just have to find a floor mat somewhere.


My shutle switch took a crap also on my 135GX.Kabota sent a new one free even though it was a yr off warranty.


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## slowzuki

Quite a few people have noticed it, luckily the owner voluntarily locked into a tax deferral program to protect farm land and the daughter left it in when the parents passed away. The daughters son is another story, I imagine it will be subdivided hours after he gets ahold of it.



Vol said:


> Beautiful view.
> 
> Regards, Mike


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## slowzuki

Update again, I've run about 12 hours of baling with the small square baler and round baler now, I can see why this size Kubota is popular for hay work.

The steering ratio is fast, it might annoy me later but for hay I love it.

The powershift is nice and the reverser super smooth ( my round baler doesn't have much of a kicker)

The loader is really quite fast, based on the numbers it should be the same as my mf but it must have more main pump flow.

The clearance under the tractor is great for round baling, it's far more than our other tractors to clear our windrows.


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## JD3430

slowzuki said:


> Update again, I've run about 12 hours of baling with the small square baler and round baler now, I can see why this size Kubota is popular for hay work.
> The steering ratio is fast, it might annoy me later but for hay I love it.
> The powershift is nice and the reverser super smooth ( my round baler doesn't have much of a kicker)
> The loader is really quite fast, based on the numbers it should be the same as my mf but it must have more main pump flow.
> The clearance under the tractor is great for round baling, it's far more than our other tractors to clear our windrows.


IMO, the Kubota 120-135x tractors are damn near perfect round baling tractors. They just feel like they're perfectly suited for that task.


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## slowzuki

So with a break in baling and getting ready to do some plowing, I needed the 3 point hitch to start working rather than just flashing the light on the dash.

After much testing turns out the draft / position control dial on the hitch controls has a broken wire inside the potted circuit board. Great. The part is available as a whole assembly but it's 1500$. I think I will soldering in a new knob next to the old one for 5$ instead. Luckily the service manual showed all the ratings of everything.


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## JD3430

Amazing the scope and complexity of these tractors, trucks, equipment and their problems. 
My kubotas have been 100% reliable, but they're only 4-5 years old. Not a single issue. Very happy so far.
I think buying a tractor and its success/failure in terms of ownership satisfaction is tied directly to the previous owners care of the tractor or truck and the age, not so much what brand it is. 
I'm spending thousands on repairs of my trucks and the JCB tractor. They are fairly old and seem to need a significant repair or have a reliability issue every other month. 
Makes it tough to get ahead.


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## JMT

slowzuki said:


> So with a break in baling and getting ready to do some plowing, I needed the 3 point hitch to start working rather than just flashing the light on the dash.
> After much testing turns out the draft / position control dial on the hitch controls has a broken wire inside the potted circuit board. Great. The part is available as a whole assembly but it's 1500$. I think I will soldering in a new knob next to the old one for 5$ instead. Luckily the service manual showed all the ratings of everything.


I have needed several small inexpensive parts for what should be quick fixes, but Kubota only sells them in expensive assemblies. Parts that are easier to replace than the whole assembly to.


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## slowzuki

Their system appears to be keep the individual pieces in stock for the first 10 years then only stock major assemblies. They do at least have practically the whole tractor available if you are willing to pay.

Jd this one is a rough unit, rusty and beat but works well. The hours on my tractors are 2500, 4500, 4700 and 7000 roughly. The condition is completely how they were treated by their previous owners not the hours. It's hard to play catchup on one that was let go pretty far.


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## slowzuki

Some more updates on this project tractor.

-Rebuilt the water pump last summer after the bearing went while baling. Don't ignore the squealing!

-Its been used to feed all winter after changing the battery. Put a group 31 in and its started quite well even at 0 F.

-Bought a 3rd hydraulic valve/slice/SCV on ebay for cheap

-Changed lots of lights.

-Found external 3 point hitch buttons on ebay for cheap, the hitch works now on manual.

-Resealed water separator

-Torched all the bolts off the power adjust wheels on one side to get it set out wider. Haven't tackled the other side yet.

Its on track to be the primary baling tractor this summer. I'm not sure exactly but we put maybe 250 hours on it the last year even though it was down much of hay season with the water pump issue. If the inside 3 point hitch controls get working properly I can see us putting 500+ hours a year on this tractor and keeping our nicer ones off the salt covered roads in the winter.


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## ozarkian

I love my M125X for cutting and baling. Tractor manufacturers are cramming as much technology as they can in their new products. Sometimes I think the average tractor does not need all this technology. AG manufacturers constantly raise their prices as does every other industry. Profit based on cost. The producers like us are stuck with shrinking if any profits. Something has to give.


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## JD3430

Ken 
I picked up a "sorta" cheap M135x a month ago. I'm probably putting a baler behind it and leaving it there.
I really like these tractors
2700 hrs. Had to put on new tires.
3pt hitch settles overnight.

We shall see how well it holds up!! Only time will tell.


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## slowzuki

Mine looks like a junk yard dog next to that one!


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## Palmettokat

I have used rubber mat for pickup bed to make floor mat if your floor is basically flat. Think your's is.

I have a almost 20 year old Kubota M6800 with issue with the turn signals and flashers and with replacing good bit of the system and issue yet to be found. At point going to by pass the Kubota system and install the simpler unit used on some trucks.

Do agree too much electronics on machines today. One reason the old ones were so dependable and might add easier to diagnosis and repair.


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## slowzuki

Have you checked for chaffed wires in the tilt column? I've seen that mentioned several times as an issue.



Palmettokat said:


> I have used rubber mat for pickup bed to make floor mat if your floor is basically flat. Think your's is.
> 
> I have a almost 20 year old Kubota M6800 with issue with the turn signals and flashers and with replacing good bit of the system and issue yet to be found. At point going to by pass the Kubota system and install the simpler unit used on some trucks.
> 
> Do agree too much electronics on machines today. One reason the old ones were so dependable and might add easier to diagnosis and repair.


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## Palmettokat

slowzuki said:


> Have you checked for chaffed wires in the tilt column? I've seen that mentioned several times as an issue.


My column does not tilt. Switch on mine is simple switch in the dash. Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe should look again.


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## slowzuki

What are the exact symptoms? The wiring diagrams for the circuits are very good in the shop manuals including the wiring colours. Without the multi function stalk they are easier to follow too.

Its almost always bad grounds or wires rubbed though somewhere.

EDIT

Not the exact tractor but I've got the diagram for an M-8200N narrow model. It had an L series cab I think but with the M series dash, should work for the wiring you're looking at.

View attachment wiring 8200n.pdf




Palmettokat said:


> My column does not tilt. Switch on mine is simple switch in the dash. Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe should look again.


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## Palmettokat

slowzuki said:


> What are the exact symptoms? The wiring diagrams for the circuits are very good in the shop manuals including the wiring colours. Without the multi function stalk they are easier to follow too.
> 
> Its almost always bad grounds or wires rubbed though somewhere.
> 
> EDIT
> 
> Not the exact tractor but I've got the diagram for an M-8200N narrow model. It had an L series cab I think but with the M series dash, should work for the wiring you're looking at.Have printed it but not looked at it yet.
> 
> The tractor has a simple switch that you turn to the left for left turn and to the right for right and pull the switch for flashers. The turn signals will not flash but bulb does come on, but the reverse one lights up. Does not flash just lights up. Think have all the correct. Been like this about three years since I pulled dash out and pulled out relay thought to be bad replaced it and also the switch.


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## JD3430

slowzuki said:


> Mine looks like a junk yard dog next to that one!


Well, my emergency brake is now stuck "on".....maybe mines the junkyard dog!


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## slowzuki

Mine doesn't work despite the stack of nuts on the cable to get more adjustment lol



JD3430 said:


> Well, my emergency brake is now stuck "on".....maybe mines the junkyard dog!


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## JD3430

slowzuki said:


> Mine doesn't work despite the stack of nuts on the cable to get more adjustment lol


I wish that was my problem 
Mine is stuck in the on position 
Can't get it to release


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## slowzuki

Is the cable slack at the lever when released? If it is, block tires and get ahold of the end at transmission and pull cable back. There seems to be a fine line between on and off on these.

Other thought is I've heard of the shaft that goes into transmission for brake being seized on smaller models used for snow plowing in salt, have to carefully work arm to released position.


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## JD3430

slowzuki said:


> Is the cable slack at the lever when released? If it is, block tires and get ahold of the end at transmission and pull cable back. There seems to be a fine line between on and off on these.
> Other thought is I've heard of the shaft that goes into transmission for brake being seized on smaller models used for snow plowing in salt, have to carefully work arm to released position.


When you turn the brake off (release lever into down position) the cable stays right where it was. It's got 2-3" of threads still showing between the nuts and the brake lever.


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## slowzuki

Ok that's good news, you can tap the other end to release the brake. If it's only been stuck on a short time (days) that would be even better.

Salt gets in around the shaft in the casting and the shaft rusts/swells making it stiffer than the spring can release.

Edit or the cable is no good, that happens too



JD3430 said:


> When you turn the brake off (release lever into down position) the cable stays right where it was. It's got 2-3" of threads still showing between the nuts and the brake lever.


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## JD3430

You mean tap on the end with the nuts? In effect, tapping the cable "in" towards the axle?


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## slowzuki

No I think you’re gonna need to go to the side of the transmission and tap there. I can’t remember which side it is at the moment.


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## slowzuki

JD - check if the spring on number 8 is missing, and pull that lever down to release your parking brake.


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## ozarkian

JD3430 said:


> Well, my emergency brake is now stuck "on".....maybe mines the junkyard dog!


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