new guy

clueless

Member
hello, found this forum by accident,but like it. where i work we got 6 rtv900w6's,all 2005-2006's,been doing a lot of work on them,trans rebuild, shift forks, bearings, front diff,driveshaft u joints and such.now i just got a 1100 in.

fun thing is this past month ive done a hst rebuild,2 shift forks,same vehicle,a front diff,axle shaft,and service all the fluids in them before going back out in the field.last one i got is a squealer,when youre moving forward she squeals,but not moving it doesnt.

amazed at the price of parts for it! the front diff was $1138 complete bolt in, rebuilding would have been round $700,not including labor!!

oh well. later all!! mondays going to be fun,got 2 in to check out and get ready to go out to the workers!!
 
Wow, you are really getting your hands dirty with all them RTV's. Awesome. Lots of GREAT experience there. :tiphat: :clap:
Welcome to our RTV internet forums. I know you'll be a great addition to our gang.
Enjoy and post often. :thumb: :D
 
yep. worse part is no one knew anything about them,no parts manual or service manuals,got both and believe me,the best things sliced bread!!

the downside is they play in the mud with these and are filthy when i get them,steamed off for over an hr to work on them!

other downside is when ordering parts, if it is a rtv 900 w be sure to say w6,or w. i made the mistake once!thats all it took!!
 
I don't have an RTV yet. I still drool over the pics members post of their RTV's. How do you know if you have a 900w? I've never noticed folks talking of them that way ...and what is the difference in a w vs non w?
 
Doc, the "W" represents worksite model. There is also a "G" for the general purpose model and "U" for the utility model. There are also numbers that coincide with the letters to represent a specific year or other revisions. I may have some of this incorrect so please verify with others when purchasing. The current new 2011 RTV 900 also has an "XT" with the model. I don't know the meaning of XT, but do know that the XT has a different brush guard, heavier driveline with grease zerks on the U-joints, a less abrupt engine/transmission braking, greater power with the same engine, and a full heigth seat back. It would be nice to have a cheat sheet that describes the meaning of the various model suffixes. Someone smarter than me can probably create one.

Just before purchasing my new RTV 900 XT worksite model, a dealer (A) stated that the RTV 900 G9 he was showing me was the latest and greatest. Well, he was wrong. Another dealer (B) priced the XT to me stating the upgrades. I shared that his price was higher than dealer A. Dealer B looked at the inventory of dealer A and said that dealer A was selling a previous model as the latest. Well, I bought from dealer B to ensure I was getting the latest. You could also choose to just purchase a new one, then you'll know what you have, that is if the dealer is correct.

By the way, the general purpose does not come standard with hydraulic dump nor brush guard. The worksite comes with hydraulic dump and brush guard, and the utility is same as worksite with extra hydraulics to support operating other optional tools, high rise high capacity air intake, and speedometer. The is also an "S" version that Bordercollie has that has alloy rims and some other options. She can help with this.
 
Pepr has it down right. XT- I was told it stood for e xtra torque. The RTV's have the same engine and use the same filters, The transmissions might be a little different when they were trying to do improvements to the shifting on the fly, with some of the year models and the shop manual may list different part # for a few things but most of the pre 2011 parts are alike. Somethings, like the stop solenoid may have changed style. If you know the year your machine was made or you can find that in the serial # ( either the 5th or 7th number if I remember correctly) and if you have either a WS hyd dump ,basic GP or the Utility model with the extra hydraulics you will have what you need to eliminate concerns when ordering parts.The 2011 transmission has some differences like the extra hydraulic cooler on the WS models. I don't have the Utility model-its cooler is in a different place than mine according to the owner's manual.Mine is in front of the engine fan. about just right for a stick to get in. It's a tight fit to put any protection in front because of the engine fan but I'm considering something there.. Also the transmission fluid capacity is slightly different .The '11 has more places to grease too and the improved drive shaft with boots and u joints with zerks.

clueless, check the carrier bearing- they can squeal like a fan belt when the machine is in motion- just like a pig and when it tears up, it sounds like all heck.. bordercollie
.
 
Welcome to the forum!

Sounds like that fleet is keeping you busy.

How many hours are on these? Wondering how they're holding up and assuming they're taking their fair share of abuse.
 
oh yea,busy!got my latest 2 into the shop tonight. the one is a 2005 rtv900-w. has 3200 hrs,the rtv1100-cw didnt look at the hr meter on it,but it is not good,pushing compression into the radiator.smoking like a pig! oh well,you cant win them all!

the others has anywhere from 1200-2200 hrs,i only see them when they break and they cant fix them out in the field.

abuse,everyday of the week! hard use,every day working on the gas lines in the mountains.

on another note,the squealer was a easy fix,the tail pipe on the muffler is bolted on,and is bent a little bit,blown out the gasket a little bit,when you get her up in the high rpms,she squeals.now to order parts.going to take me a few hrs to order parts for these 3 i got in the shop now.

whats nice is i got a original operators manual for the rtv900w,in the plastic zipper bag.thats here with me right now. has some decent info in it..
 
welcome to the forum, we are pretty much in the same boat. we have a fleet of the 900 w6's ranging fron 05 up to present. alot of what your expieriencing we have seen here as well. amazing how rough these things are treated and still keep going. we have a couple here now that we are going to have to split trans. on. 1 had bearings dropped into the trans. housing by a field mechanic when trying to replace one of the rear propeller shafts, and the other has broken fork on M/H range. we have another that has no compression in the engine and a hole in the bottom of the trans. housing. don't know how we're gonna handle that one right now! again welcome to the forum.
 
Welcome to the Forum.

Clueless and cov62431 I have a question. In your line of work and using the RTV's. Are these machines the best that money can buy for the work they are expected to do? In other words, and in your opinions, is the Kubota the best side by side out there?

Keifer, a RTV wannabe
 
the one with the hole,well,that one of you have a good welder who knows what he is doing with aluminum,possibly plug weld it up.a tig welder would be the best bet on that one. the forks are a easy one,did 3 so far this year. i replace both forks at the same time,i dont do just one. they are cheap enough to do that.the case gasket is a shim,so tr to get the same thickness out of the pack of gaskets they sell you!! expensive gaskets,over $60for them!!

one they ran low on oil,took out the motors and swash plates. what a mess,along with a broken fork also!man was someone hot on that one!! advice,get the rebuild kit,my boss got each individual piece including the valve.

keifer, these things are being used on a pipeline construction in the mountains. they haul over there rated capacity routinely,tow more than they should,and get run hard and put away wet,so to speak.many diffrent drivers,and still they keep running!oh parts arent cheap,but if you use it for your home use,i dont think you will have any problems.

oh priced out a muffler,wow!! did i get a shocker! $400+ for one!! i hope i can fix this one up!
 
i agree with clueless. i wouldn't put these in a class with the other utv's. they won't go as fast as some of the others but i do feel they will work harder. consider how much money is tied up in the powertrain alone. 3 cyl diesel that is tough all by itself, matched up to a hydrastatic trans. now when they break they are pricey to fix. but you don't have any drive belts to change, the diesel is very dependable and our models come with the hyd.lift stock. metal bed, not plastic etc. now i have noticed a couple of ours had issues with the powder coat peeling off, and a few issues with the paint on the roofs that come from Curtis (not kubota). i believe that these are actually overkill for the class they are competing in. this is why i think they should be in their own class. but like clueless said if you are using it recreationally, you shouldn't expierience near the cost of repair as we see.
thanks for the info clueless, i'm sure we'll be talking back and forth on our projects.
 
well,got the 900w done tonight. water pump,belt,key switch,horn button,and finish up the service. man it runs good for 3200 hrs on it.hopefully it give jus as many hours for us!

the other 900w6 is going back together ,rear back in,shaft is going to be fun,both u joints out of it.waiting on a axle shaft and o rings.funny thing is this one is the squealer,pulled the tail pipe out of it,found the screen plugged with carbon,cleaned it off runs like a bear!

now to get the 1100 fixed! got the wsm,work shop manual for it,nice,informative!
 
switch,horn ,pulled the tail pipe out of it,found the screen plugged with carbon,cleaned it off runs like a bear!


Should of asked owner if he would like you to remove the spark arrester. That part should NEVER be part of these machines. They would choke down a mule.

Seen them where the RTV's would barely do anything. Remove the arrester, BAMM, instant
fix and power !!!!

We know it's a goverment thing, but damn >>>>>>>>>>
 
Last edited by a moderator:
well,put it back in,but had a few more bigger holes in it!!runs good,got it finished. 4wd works great,moves right along pretty good.

now the 1100,started it without the radiator cap off, pushed some coolant out, then smoked like a pig out of the radistor fill neck! guess i got to pull her down!
 
Thanks pepr and bordercollie for the details on the model options and differences. :thumb: :beer:
 
Should of asked owner if he would like you to remove the spark arrester. That part should NEVER be part of these machines. They would choke down a mule.

Seen them where the RTV's would barely do anything. Remove the arrester, BAMM, instant
fix and power !!!!

We know it's a goverment thing, but damn >>>>>>>>>>

Working on the gas lines on government or other people's property, they may be required to keep them on.
 
You are most welcome Doc! They are great - I make my pay check using mine every day. With good care, they hold up well. I would make sure if I every bought a used one , to make sure it had a cared for life- obviously, the hours are not as important as the care and maintenance. bordercollie
 
Top