Occasionally I have a problem when I try to shift from forward to reverse while on a slight upward incline. It makes no difference what I do: push on the brake and pull the relief valve knob on the dash, turn the steering wheel, or press the accelerator slightly. The only way I can get it to shift into reverse is to turn the key off and restart. This is stupid! Do any members have any other suggestions???</p>
Shifting Problems--RTV 900 w/60 hrs
- Thread starter GFC
- Start date
Kubota Kanook
Member
GFC...Same issue as you except my mch doesn't have the benefit of the relief valve knob,,mine is an'04. I was able to decrease the problem somewhat...BUT NOT ELIMINATE IT... by</p>
1...set up the cable adjustments for the shifter/hydro</p>
2...decrease the idle rpm on the engine</p>
3...adjust thelinkage at the lever on top of the hydro to minimize creepage at idle while in gear</p>
4...replace the transmission fluid and filters.</p>
With only 60hrs on your machine I'd go for the fluid filters 1st, unless you see an obvious problem with the others..Amazing what a 1st fluid change will do.</p>
Each item above had a noticable effect as I did them 1 at a time and collectively made a 50% decrease in the phenonemon but didn't eliminate totally.</p>
Hope this helps</p>
1...set up the cable adjustments for the shifter/hydro</p>
2...decrease the idle rpm on the engine</p>
3...adjust thelinkage at the lever on top of the hydro to minimize creepage at idle while in gear</p>
4...replace the transmission fluid and filters.</p>
With only 60hrs on your machine I'd go for the fluid filters 1st, unless you see an obvious problem with the others..Amazing what a 1st fluid change will do.</p>
Each item above had a noticable effect as I did them 1 at a time and collectively made a 50% decrease in the phenonemon but didn't eliminate totally.</p>
Hope this helps</p>
Good Evening GFC,</p>
You are exactly correct !!!!" THIS IS STUPID " </p>
First, Let me state this, I AM NO KUBOTA MECHANIC >> Period >>>> BUT ,I believe it is in the cables& adjustments on your linkage. Just a few weeks ago, hadone of the best Kubotamechanics in the south ( told this byseveral dealers and folks ), take a look at my unit. He done some adjustments. Now,let me say, my machine was NOT out of adjustment to say, but he did some things to make sure they were perfect . And after he put his hands on my unit. It even shifted so much better, and I wasn't having ANY problems.While he was there,got him to check my transmission pressure, and some other things.... He done some tweeking on other things. But, what I'm trying to say, I wasNOT having any trouble, and after he done some adjusting, it made it so much easierto shift. </p>
Personally, I would bring it to a KUBOTA mechanic, and let himre-set your linkage and cables. And do the adjustments on the transmission to make things fall into place better ..... I believe it will be money well spent !!!!</p>
</p>
........... two guns </p>
</p>
You are exactly correct !!!!" THIS IS STUPID " </p>
First, Let me state this, I AM NO KUBOTA MECHANIC >> Period >>>> BUT ,I believe it is in the cables& adjustments on your linkage. Just a few weeks ago, hadone of the best Kubotamechanics in the south ( told this byseveral dealers and folks ), take a look at my unit. He done some adjustments. Now,let me say, my machine was NOT out of adjustment to say, but he did some things to make sure they were perfect . And after he put his hands on my unit. It even shifted so much better, and I wasn't having ANY problems.While he was there,got him to check my transmission pressure, and some other things.... He done some tweeking on other things. But, what I'm trying to say, I wasNOT having any trouble, and after he done some adjusting, it made it so much easierto shift. </p>
Personally, I would bring it to a KUBOTA mechanic, and let himre-set your linkage and cables. And do the adjustments on the transmission to make things fall into place better ..... I believe it will be money well spent !!!!</p>
</p>
........... two guns </p>
</p>
Sorry to hear of your problem GFC. When you have to turn the key off in order to get it to shift, will it go to N in order to restart or does it start in gear? Sometimes, My unit sort of catches when it has pressure on it but-- I usually have always got it to work by turning the steering wheel hard, pumping the brake --Or as a last resort,I have luck by going in whatever gear it will slide into and working it in formation until it finally goes in the desired gear for me. What model yr do you have and has it always acted this way? Bordercollie</p>
Kubota Kanook
Member
One other thing...are you sure that relief knob is working? Easy way to check is to pull and hold while trying to move forward. If its working you will lack power or refuse to move at all. ... just athought...</p>
[quote user="Kubota Kanook"]</p>
3...adjust thelinkage at the lever on top of the hydro to minimize creepage at idle while in gear</p>
4...replace the transmission fluid and filters.</p>
</p>
<div style="CLEAR: both"></div>
[/quote]</p>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Kanook is right about the filter & fluid change .... Go back with Super UDT & OEM filters if you haven't aready done so ...</span></p>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The part about the linkage at the lever on top of the hydro tranny, I remember the mechanic explaining a few thing about that linkage, and he said something to the fact if one creeps, it will always be hard to shift and move into or out of any gear, on top of steeling power from the machine .... he jacked my machine up, while running , and shifted the machine in every gear to make sure, when he got finished, it didn't have a bit of creep. That I do remember .... He was telling me that everything in the linkage had to be perfect and so called centered, for one of these machines to work proper and get the FULL benefit out of the RTV's >>>></span></p>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">............ two guns</span> </p>
</p>
3...adjust thelinkage at the lever on top of the hydro to minimize creepage at idle while in gear</p>
4...replace the transmission fluid and filters.</p>
</p>
<div style="CLEAR: both"></div>
[/quote]</p>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Kanook is right about the filter & fluid change .... Go back with Super UDT & OEM filters if you haven't aready done so ...</span></p>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The part about the linkage at the lever on top of the hydro tranny, I remember the mechanic explaining a few thing about that linkage, and he said something to the fact if one creeps, it will always be hard to shift and move into or out of any gear, on top of steeling power from the machine .... he jacked my machine up, while running , and shifted the machine in every gear to make sure, when he got finished, it didn't have a bit of creep. That I do remember .... He was telling me that everything in the linkage had to be perfect and so called centered, for one of these machines to work proper and get the FULL benefit out of the RTV's >>>></span></p>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">............ two guns</span> </p>
</p>
This is really a PROBLEM for LOTS of us. For me, yes, I can change the oil and spray motorcycle chain lube on the cable connections and linkages; but doing much more is far beyond where I can mentally or physically go. Ol brain cells really do go down hill as my dyslexia increases. Anyway, the problem:</p>
With money getting harder and harder to come by, taking it to a dealer for stuff like this is a major big deal. Yes, a worthwhile investment; but to turn it over to a tech that has no knowledge or even worse an attitude of not "caring" is money thrown in the compost pile. </p>
So..............How does one either educate the tech as to what needs to be done about this situation.....or ..........Find a tech that has that knowledge and attitude to do the job right..........</p>
Maybe a list of tech articles from here or other places and compile them to get the tech to use as reference?...............What else?</p>
God bless.........Dennis</p>
With money getting harder and harder to come by, taking it to a dealer for stuff like this is a major big deal. Yes, a worthwhile investment; but to turn it over to a tech that has no knowledge or even worse an attitude of not "caring" is money thrown in the compost pile. </p>
So..............How does one either educate the tech as to what needs to be done about this situation.....or ..........Find a tech that has that knowledge and attitude to do the job right..........</p>
Maybe a list of tech articles from here or other places and compile them to get the tech to use as reference?...............What else?</p>
God bless.........Dennis</p>
[quote user="D&D Farm"]</p>
</p>
With money getting harder and harder to come by, taking it to a dealer for stuff like this is a major big deal. Yes, a worthwhile investment; but to turn it over to a tech that has no knowledge or even worse an attitude of not "caring" is money thrown in the compost pile. </p>
</p>
<div style="CLEAR: both"></div>
[/quote]</p>
And I agree with you D & D Farms ,</p>
For at one time, and that dealership is gone now, ( or should I say replaced by new ownership ), that old dealership that was replaced was a joke. Finding a good tech or mechanic that has the " caring " attitude is a must on getting anything fixed on one of these machines. After talking to a mechanic about your RTV, one can tell if he really knows what in the hell he is doing >></p>
I've seen several people at dealerships, not only Kubota, but others as well, when asked something about a piece of machinery, they look dazed & confused >>>> then attempt to give you some off the wall statement that hoping it will satisfy you and get them away from the situation .... And there is the ones who says, " we will try this or try that and see if that works " >>>> I"m sorry, we are not going to just test fire something on my expense just to " see " if it will works. They already was trained for this type of situations, or suppose to have been >>>>></p>
Did talk to another dealers mechanic way across the state after mine getting set - up. And during the conversation, I could tell he didn't have a damn clue what I was talking about ., and the funny thing about it, that dealership was paying him a salary to fix and keep other folks RTV's a going . So it is a matter of finding the right person to spend your money and get the job done properly.</p>
............. two guns</p>
</p>
</p>
</p>
With money getting harder and harder to come by, taking it to a dealer for stuff like this is a major big deal. Yes, a worthwhile investment; but to turn it over to a tech that has no knowledge or even worse an attitude of not "caring" is money thrown in the compost pile. </p>
</p>
<div style="CLEAR: both"></div>
[/quote]</p>
And I agree with you D & D Farms ,</p>
For at one time, and that dealership is gone now, ( or should I say replaced by new ownership ), that old dealership that was replaced was a joke. Finding a good tech or mechanic that has the " caring " attitude is a must on getting anything fixed on one of these machines. After talking to a mechanic about your RTV, one can tell if he really knows what in the hell he is doing >></p>
I've seen several people at dealerships, not only Kubota, but others as well, when asked something about a piece of machinery, they look dazed & confused >>>> then attempt to give you some off the wall statement that hoping it will satisfy you and get them away from the situation .... And there is the ones who says, " we will try this or try that and see if that works " >>>> I"m sorry, we are not going to just test fire something on my expense just to " see " if it will works. They already was trained for this type of situations, or suppose to have been >>>>></p>
Did talk to another dealers mechanic way across the state after mine getting set - up. And during the conversation, I could tell he didn't have a damn clue what I was talking about ., and the funny thing about it, that dealership was paying him a salary to fix and keep other folks RTV's a going . So it is a matter of finding the right person to spend your money and get the job done properly.</p>
............. two guns</p>
</p>
</p>
Well said, a tech article or special classes for employees would really improve owner attitudes and make many sales for the rtv by making the evil shift "go away".So many folks I have talked to seem to no longer care about their work and just get thru the day. My local Kubota counter guy I consider rude. We need to just to find someone who loves what they do -- mainly starting with the big dogs at Kubota and seeing that we be happy. Evidently Two Guns has done that.. ..Have any of you ever eaten at Chick Filet or Backyard Burger? Every time you see an employee they say " Good Morning" and "It was My Pleasure" .. Gee, they are motivated to do for you and make you happy . (and no cold sandwiches). Not caring there and they are out the door. Anyway I could ramble on... Good Luck with you RTV and I wish we all had a Messicks Equipment nearby. .... Do you have access to the shop manual that tells how to adjust the linkage? Bordercollie</p>
GFC</p>
Have you completed the 50 hour service yet? That is a VERY IMPORTANT thing to do. Your filters may be clogged from manufacturing debris. It's again, very IMPORTANT that you stay with the OEM filters and the Kubota UDT (Or Super UDT) fluids. Anything else can cause the problems you're having.</p>
Being relatively new at 60 hours, things are still a bit tight. Be patient with it as time will loosening things up and your shifting problems will most likely go away on their own. By 100 hours I'm betting it'll be better.</p>
What always worked for me was to pull pretty hard on the emergency brake and wait about 8-10 seconds. By then, the pressure is relieved and now on the mechanical emergency brake and I could shift. I live in the hills so it was a common occurrence for it to have the exact problem you did. Now, with more hours on the machine, it shifts almost flawlessly.</p>
Have you completed the 50 hour service yet? That is a VERY IMPORTANT thing to do. Your filters may be clogged from manufacturing debris. It's again, very IMPORTANT that you stay with the OEM filters and the Kubota UDT (Or Super UDT) fluids. Anything else can cause the problems you're having.</p>
Being relatively new at 60 hours, things are still a bit tight. Be patient with it as time will loosening things up and your shifting problems will most likely go away on their own. By 100 hours I'm betting it'll be better.</p>
What always worked for me was to pull pretty hard on the emergency brake and wait about 8-10 seconds. By then, the pressure is relieved and now on the mechanical emergency brake and I could shift. I live in the hills so it was a common occurrence for it to have the exact problem you did. Now, with more hours on the machine, it shifts almost flawlessly.</p>
Guess I just don't know any different but I just "blip" the throttle with my foot on the brake and it almost always shifts. I have the same deal getting in and out of 4wd. Reverse just a hair and then forward to get it to release. Seems almost second nature to me as I have operated a lot of different equipment over the years. Getting into low hole and reverse in my GMC dump is much the same when loaded heavy. I just work with the machine till it gives it up. I do agree that this is an issue that kubota has flat refused to acknowledge and come up with a solution. Some day I will try out getting it to do hydrostatic reverse with a little cajun engineering!</p>
Thanks for all of your comments on my shifting problems. </p>
I completed the scheduled maintenance including oils and filters on the 2008 RTV 900 at 50 hours. It had no impact on the shifting problem. </p>
The RTV will start in high gear and has done this for quite a while. The unit is still in warranty, and I am reluctant to adjust any of the linkage myself. It is 50 miles to the nearest dealer and a hassle besides to load it up. </p>
A hydrastatic reversal should have been installed from day one on the RTV 900's by Kubota.</p>
I completed the scheduled maintenance including oils and filters on the 2008 RTV 900 at 50 hours. It had no impact on the shifting problem. </p>
The RTV will start in high gear and has done this for quite a while. The unit is still in warranty, and I am reluctant to adjust any of the linkage myself. It is 50 miles to the nearest dealer and a hassle besides to load it up. </p>
A hydrastatic reversal should have been installed from day one on the RTV 900's by Kubota.</p>
Kubota Kanook
Member
[quote user="GFC"]A hydrastatic reversal should have been installed from day one on the RTV 900's by Kubota[/quote]</p>
I second that motion...was workin mine today and had to shut off to shift out of gear more than once...I second the "stupid " comment as well.</p>
I second that motion...was workin mine today and had to shut off to shift out of gear more than once...I second the "stupid " comment as well.</p>
CanyonCreekMT
Member
I found the same answere to my shjft problems. When mine does not want to shift from one gear to another I just tap the foot feed untilRTV moves a smal amount and then it shifts with no problem. I use to pull the pressure relife knob but that did not work as well as just tapping the foot feed enough to move the vehicle slightly. Try it maybe it will work for you!</p>
Kubota Kanook
Member
I've tried 'em all and they all work some of the time....in my case</p>
...stand on the brake pedal</p>
...hard up on the hand brake</p>
...blip the pedal</p>
...crank steering hard to the stops</p>
...etc</p>
With a thousand lb in the box and stopped on an incline you'd rip that shifter out of the dash trying to get it out of gear.</p>
You name it and I've tried it. Like I said some of the tricks work some of the time for me. I've got a feeling that the pressure on some units is just set too high (mine being one of them). Going to try the hydro pressure settings one day with the help of a mechanic friend. Not prepared to leave several hundred green ones with the Kubota dealer without a guarantee of fixin' a problem proper design engineeringwould have avoided in the 1st place.</p>
One suggestion I haven't tried yet is to trade it for a Gator
</p>
Just kiddin'....love my RTV....Hate that shifter...</p>
...stand on the brake pedal</p>
...hard up on the hand brake</p>
...blip the pedal</p>
...crank steering hard to the stops</p>
...etc</p>
With a thousand lb in the box and stopped on an incline you'd rip that shifter out of the dash trying to get it out of gear.</p>
You name it and I've tried it. Like I said some of the tricks work some of the time for me. I've got a feeling that the pressure on some units is just set too high (mine being one of them). Going to try the hydro pressure settings one day with the help of a mechanic friend. Not prepared to leave several hundred green ones with the Kubota dealer without a guarantee of fixin' a problem proper design engineeringwould have avoided in the 1st place.</p>
One suggestion I haven't tried yet is to trade it for a Gator
</p>Just kiddin'....love my RTV....Hate that shifter...</p>
For what it's worth, my own experience (about 70 hours, now) has been along the lines that Muleman described. It is fussy to shift in and out of gears sometimes, as well as between 2wd and 4wd. But it has never been more than a minor annoyance and comparable to my experience shifting my Arctic Cat Prowler (which was belt driven) and shifting gears in my Case 580C backhoe. To date I have never had to turn the RTV off to shift. I do agree that it seems a no-brainer for Kubota to have figured out by now. And clearly many of you are having significant pain in the butt shifting issues. Be interested in hearing what Kanook learns about his hydraulic pressure. All in all, it has been a very minor annoyance in my case, especially when compared to all that is right about the machine.</p>
You are absolutely right Onfoot. I had a "belt burner" before I got the RTV . Get stuck in that and all that would happen was slip --slip and the of smell rubber. The RTV has grown on me and while I would like it to be perfect, I will gladly take it for what it is. If I could send it back and get it perfect it would be nice-- but I'm far from perfect myself so I guess we suit each other "perfectly" Oh, and thanks for the glove info! . Bordercollie</p>
westbrooklawn
New member
You might want to go to tractorbynet.com and search for a poster named mstordahl. He is apparently a Kubota dealer/mechanic, and he seems particulary knowledgeable about Kubota RTV issues. Maybe you can get him to come over here to help folks! I bet he may have some intelligent advice about how to fix the problems. Sorry about the reference to another forum, but we are all here to help each other, and as I said, this guy would be a great addition to this site. Hope I haven't messed up on "forum ethics"...</p>