430 Loader getting looser

[nmu98]

Seems like you all have seen something I've missed completely!

First I thank you all for your observations. I never would have guessed that this would be revealed in the pic.

Second, I'm going to take it out in good light and examine it more carefully, as you suggested nmu98.

That side is looser than the other so now I'm suspicious.

Besides the magnifying glass, are there any other simple methods to reveal a crack? I was thinking of putting it under stress and looking at it.

Chuck

Putting it under stress and looking at it is a great idea. Sometimes heating things up helps.... But i think you will be able to see whats happening once you remove the paint. That might be where the metal streched?

Just pick at it with your knife blade.

Still think it's a paint crack.

Will. It might be a crack in the paint. But most times paint does not just crack like that. It has to be streched, or moved to create a crack. Rust could have got under there, but looking at the placement of the crack, and the problem discussed, I think it was something other than sun or rust.. Might be wrong... but we are just trying to get to the bottom of his problem.

 

[sixdogs]

I have found cracks by scraping the metal and putting a touch of penetrating oil on. Seems to show the crack.
Looks like a paint crack to me but I'll bet the oil would find it.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

In picture 3 of this post, you have a crack on the front of the clamp. I would think that is why it is getting loose....

That does look like a crack, i believe i would scrape the paint off and check it out. Just to be safe.

 

[jdgreg]

Adding/welding flat steel bar stock under (BOTH sides) of the support frame struts. The flat steel bar will take up the sloppy fit and will give you a uniform repair.

Much faster than the weld buildup repair.

My 420 was doing the same thing, and this is how I fixed mine. It isnt 100%, but a lot better than it was. I tried building up a weld bead, but it didnt work as well as welding flat stock, and it was a lot easier to get it flat to mate to the square tube.

 

[Chuck4310]

Did you weld the flat stock to the square mounting tube? Did you have to do both sides? Were both sides worn evenly?

I'm taking mine out this weekend in good light to clean some paint off the "claw" and check for a possible crack.

Chuck

 

[jdgreg]

I welded small strips onto the claws, and I believe it was just the front claw, but will have to check tonight to make sure. Only one post was loose and needed the shimming. Not only was it loose, but it was also making the bucket slightly crooked.

 

[Chuck4310]

Good news!
I took the tractor out this morning to check it out in the sun. I scraped the paint off from around the area of the paint crack. Then I cleaned it up with a wire wheel put it under stress and looked at it with a magnifying glass.
It looks fine. I could see no sign of a crack.
sixdogs- I tried the penetrating oil also and found nothing.
All I can think of is maybe it flexed there slightly at some point. Seems unlikely because it's pretty beefy.
jdgreg- I think I will try your solution and weld some strips of flat stock to the contact points in front. Beats sending it in to JD for the shim kits. I'll wait for a nice warm day to try it.
As I said before, I'm a beginner welder. I've got an old Lincoln AC 225 that I run off a generator.

 

[sixdogs]

Great news. There is no crack.

To fix the problem, John Deere sells a kit for this. I don't recall the cost but thought it was reasonable----$30??----. "Install" it yourself. My own opinion would be to buy their kit and save the learing curve for something else.

below is from JD website re my 790 with 419 loader

Situation or Problem
The loader is loose on the mounting frames. A gap is created through heavy usage between the square tube of the mounting frame and the front pad of the claw retainer on the upright mast.


Solution Steps
A shim kit, part # AW32306 is available through service parts. Shims are welded onto the front face of the square tubing of the mounting frame. The shim kit eliminates the gap between the mounting frame and mast, preventing looseness.




Affected Equipment 210 Loader 410 Loader
419 Loader 420 Loader
430 Loader 460 Loader

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Good news!
I took the tractor out this morning to check it out in the sun. I scraped the paint off from around the area of the paint crack. Then I cleaned it up with a wire wheel put it under stress and looked at it with a magnifying glass.
It looks fine. I could see no sign of a crack.
sixdogs- I tried the penetrating oil also and found nothing.
All I can think of is maybe it flexed there slightly at some point. Seems unlikely because it's pretty beefy.
jdgreg- I think I will try your solution and weld some strips of flat stock to the contact points in front. Beats sending it in to JD for the shim kits. I'll wait for a nice warm day to try it.
As I said before, I'm a beginner welder. I've got an old Lincoln AC 225 that I run off a generator.

I am glad you didn't find a crack.

I know on mine in that area the paint seems to be a thick, and that
was probably what made it look like a crack.

 

[nmu98]

Great news. There is no crack.

To fix the problem, John Deere sells a kit for this. I don't recall the cost but thought it was reasonable----$30??----. "Install" it yourself. My own opinion would be to buy their kit and save the learing curve for something else.

below is from JD website re my 790 with 419 loader

Situation or Problem
The loader is loose on the mounting frames. A gap is created through heavy usage between the square tube of the mounting frame and the front pad of the claw retainer on the upright mast.


Solution Steps
A shim kit, part # AW32306 is available through service parts. Shims are welded onto the front face of the square tubing of the mounting frame. The shim kit eliminates the gap between the mounting frame and mast, preventing looseness.




Affected Equipment 210 Loader 410 Loader
419 Loader 420 Loader
430 Loader 460 Loader

Glad its not a crack. Sounds like they metal streaches there. That strech probably caused the thick paint to crack. Something had to move to make the paint crack. Glad there is a fix for you!