RTV X1120 Exhaust bracket broke again

[wayne_h]

Am I the only one with this issue I wonder? We have a 2015 RTV X1120D with about 4,000 miles/976 hours on it. A few years ago, the muffler bracket that is closest to the exhaust manifold broke. No big deal, I welded it up, put it back together and was a happy camper. Lately I heard this similar tinny rattling sound, and found one of the heat shield tabs was broken. No big deal I welded it up and good to go. But.... the rattle still persisted. IT went away when I grabbed the muffler, so off comes the muffler assuming my TIG weld on the bracket failed. Sadly, my weld looks great and held up fine, but the aluminum casting on the top of the transmission that held this bracket (there are two) broke.... That's not something I can TIG weld. And I'm not going to put a new transmission case in just to hold this bracket. I'm thinking of solutions now, but has anyone else ran into this, and if so, can you tell me what the fix was. Some thoughts:
1) Leave the bracket out. But then the bracket near the back of the machine might fail, or worse yet closer to the engine.
2) Fab up a metal bracket and use some of the bolts in the transmission housing to hold that on.
3) Think up some kind of soft mount. All my other machines have something that has some give between the exhaust manifold and muffler.

Thanks for reading this and thanks for your input.
Wayne

 

[bordercollie]

I think option 1 is out because it could likely cause the others brackets to fail with the tension out of sorts and not being balanced.
I do seem to remember reading something about the manifold needing to be torqued to the right specs to prevent cracks down the road. I'd like to see option #3 but would also like to see what could be for #2, Good Luck , bordercollie

 

[Iron mike]

Must a a flaw in the part as the dealer just changed mine out when they put in the new HST, it was cracked, looking at the part, it is a stress fracture so I am thinking of a hi-temp polyurethane spacer to act as a damper to lesson the vibration from the exhaust on the offending mount. Mine is a 2014 x1120D 700 hrs.

 

[Ohio_Pawpaw_Grower]

At the risk of sounding ignorant....would JB WELD or a similar epoxy work in this situation?

I had a leaf blower muffler support on the head snapped off. I used JB WELD to mend it and it has lasted several years. It is not a diesel obviously and doesn't vibrate or get as hot. But thought I would throw that out there. I am a fellow (2016) 1120D owner so I'll be inspecting mine.

Iron Mike - do you mind telling why they replaced your HST at 700 hours?

 

[geohorn]

I seriously doubt JB Weld will repair that and last. A talented TIG welder might, but it’d be important to keep the rest of the casting cook with wet rags and do it bit-by-bit. A brace or gusset addition would be good idea also.

 

[Iron mike]

Iron Mike - do you mind telling why they replaced your HST at 700 hours?

catastrophic HST and trans failure, best guess from all parties is water in the HST which froze while plowing in -20 weather.

Newbie with a question pausing transmission.

I am not usually the type of guy who jumps right in with a tech question as their first post, but I am a little stuck atm! I picked up a 2014 RTV-X1120D in July and have used it around the acreage all summer, but nothing major used shuttling the wife and I around planting saplings hauling...

www.nettractortalk.com

 

[HBTexas]

I was shown this same fracture on my X1100C yesterday by a dealer. He said the mfg had a bracket that replaced that bolting to another point. At that point I was so pissed off about another issue I didnt follow up on it.
Had been wondering where that occasional exhaust rattle was coming from.
But does anyone know of this replacement bracket part number ?

 

[aurthuritis]

going to have to check my X1100C. thanks for pointing this out.

 

[ncridgerunner]

Kubota must have identified a problem with muffler brackets as they have changed the design on 2021 year models. There is no longer a back bracket attaching the muffler to the aluminum transmission tabs. The muffler tabs and transmission tabs are still there but not used. Instead the muffler has another piece welded on the bottom side that serves as the attachment bracket.

 

[HBTexas]

I saw that in this drawing . ref # 070
They gave me the part number for the changed bracket,. But my muffler does not have the plate with bolt hole to mount,. So Im still hunting for an alternative ,

 

[BiffNH]

I was shown this same fracture on my X1100C yesterday by a dealer. He said the mfg had a bracket that replaced that bolting to another point. At that point I was so pissed off about another issue I didnt follow up on it.
Had been wondering where that occasional exhaust rattle was coming from.
But does anyone know of this replacement bracket part number ?

I had a similar problem with my 2014 X900. Funny rattle after 3 months of ownership. Turned out the rattle was at the manifold and the vibration finally caused the bracket (part of the aluminum transmission casting) snapped. Kubota wanted to blame me for having someone step on the tailpipe! When I showed them the swaged connection between muffler and manifold failed they finally admitted it was a fault and took the machine in under warranty. After a week of having it they called and said the repair was going to be too expensive and would I mind if they farmed out welding of the bracket by a competent aluminum alloy welder. They would provide full warranty on the repair. I agreed and the repair was good. They also welded the exhaust pipe to manifold. All was fine when I sold the machine 7 years and 11,000 mile later.

 

[frodoz737]

Took my slightly used 2018 X1100C in for a full service reset and a few mods at a local Kubota Dealership the day after picking it up. There were 3 each " open" service bulletins they also took care of while there...one dealing with some exhaust bracket. Hopefully this was the problem being addressed proactively. Will check it out when I go back to work this weekend and return it to service. Thanks for the thread.

 

[Ohio_Pawpaw_Grower]

Am I the only one with this issue I wonder? We have a 2015 RTV X1120D with about 4,000 miles/976 hours on it. A few years ago, the muffler bracket that is closest to the exhaust manifold broke. No big deal, I welded it up, put it back together and was a happy camper. Lately I heard this similar tinny rattling sound, and found one of the heat shield tabs was broken. No big deal I welded it up and good to go. But.... the rattle still persisted. IT went away when I grabbed the muffler, so off comes the muffler assuming my TIG weld on the bracket failed. Sadly, my weld looks great and held up fine, but the aluminum casting on the top of the transmission that held this bracket (there are two) broke.... That's not something I can TIG weld. And I'm not going to put a new transmission case in just to hold this bracket. I'm thinking of solutions now, but has anyone else ran into this, and if so, can you tell me what the fix was. Some thoughts:
1) Leave the bracket out. But then the bracket near the back of the machine might fail, or worse yet closer to the engine.
2) Fab up a metal bracket and use some of the bolts in the transmission housing to hold that on.
3) Think up some kind of soft mount. All my other machines have something that has some give between the exhaust manifold and muffler.

Thanks for reading this and thanks for your input.
Wayne

Wayne, to gain access to this area for inspection, did you have to remove a couple of plates labeled "HOT?"

I can't get to the rear muffler bracket on my 2016 1120 without lifting the bed and those two plates.

Thanks

 

[HBTexas]

I feel your pain !
Since the dealers admit this is a common problem, And kubota has to some degree offered a fix for SOME machines.
For some reason my 2014 was not one offered to be fixed.. One would think they would have a alternative for us.
I do hate that little rattle sound as my casing is cracked,.. I guess I am waiting for the rest of it to break so I can fix it my self ?