Ben (12) and I spent the majority of our weekend working on our Kubota BX2350 tractor. A while back I broke off the plastic fan blades on the drive shaft in front of the transmission while I was landscaping at a friends house. Some small braches popped up at exactly the wrong time & spot and the plastic was no match since the mower deck was not installed during that project. This is a very typical repair on the BX1850, BX2350, and BX24 family of tractors.

The engine being lifted up and forward a couple of inches.

Fenders, floor panels, and engine hood pieces

The problem is the drive shaft runs through the center of the fan and there is NO easy way to remove it. It is a captive part. This is a $500-$1000 kind of repair at a shop, not because it is hard, but because it is labor intensive. I have more time than money so I decided to tackle it myself with the aid of one of my sons.

We spent most of Saturday removing the floor panel, the roll bar, the rear fenders, the hood, the engine surround, brackets, etc. Once that was done we loosened up the motor mounts and the radiator surround.

The motor was too heavy to move without an engine hoist so we made a run to the store for a new "tool." We now own a nice 1 ton engine hoist.

Sunday afternoon we lifted up the motor a couple of inches and shifted forward a couple of inches. A few minutes later the drive shaft was loose and the fan was swapped out. When started the reassembly process.

After some reassembly it is starting to look like a tractor again

By the time the dinner bell rang Sunday night the tractor is about 90% reassembled. I need to tighten up all of the bolts for the floor & vendors then install the seat and battery.

I will need to order the little black plastic clips that hold the floor mat in place and a new fan belt. While we were working on the project I noticed that the engine fan belt is starting to separate at the seam. I discovered that the fan belt is captive which means that we will need to drop the front portion of that same drive shaft. Luckily I don't think that it will take more than an hour to complete that job. I need to change the engine oil and the tranny fluid as part of my spring maintenance so it is not a big deal.

With a little bit of luck I should be able to find some time one night this week after work finish up the initial project. It was awesome to have Ben(12) help out on the project. Having a second set of hands was priceless on the project and really reduce the time and frustration of tackling this project solo.