Loose 430 Loader shim fix

[Chuck4310]

Last winter I rigged a "temporary" shim to tighten up the loader masts. They were really getting sloppy. It worked great and got me through snowplowing.

Well I finally got around to ordering the shim kit from Deere. +- $35.00.

I would NOT reccomend it to you due to the high price. Yes it works fine, but I'm sure you can find flat stock much cheaper elsewhere.

The kit comes with 12 shims and directions.

I removed the brackets and a friend of mine welded the shims on.

It did a fine job of tightening up the loader. Like new.

 

[kennyd]

Good news Chuck

 

[Chuck4310]

Thanks Kenny.

I've put the toothbar back on and am digging out a site for a small above ground swimming pool for the kids for next year.

The wife suggested the spot saying it "looked" fairly level. Turns out to have an 18" difference in 18'! That's quite a bit of digging.

I'm also digging out a banking for some fill. It has a lot of small rocks in it. Has anyone made a screen for removing the rocks?

 

[kennyd]

Thanks Kenny.

I've put the toothbar back on and am digging out a site for a small above ground swimming pool for the kids for next year.

The wife suggested the spot saying it "looked" fairly level. Turns out to have an 18" difference in 18'! That's quite a bit of digging.

I'm also digging out a banking for some fill. It has a lot of small rocks in it. Has anyone made a screen for removing the rocks?

Look for post's by the user SkunkWorks, he made a screener...

 

[dfkrug]

Last winter I rigged a "temporary" shim to tighten up the loader masts. They were really getting sloppy. It worked great and got me through snowplowing.

I am looking at my 420 FEL mounts and thinking about improving them. They
are quite worn. Why not just weld the wear area with a 7018 rod or ER70S
MIG wire? The 70K psi steel welding beads should be much tougher than
the original steel. I never considered shims...I just saw your thread.

 

[Chuck4310]

The short reply is yes you can do that provided that you wind up with a flat wear surface that will not distort the "claws" that contact the square mounting tube.

Also, I found that the contact areas are close to the "round" edge. The directions from Deere have you welding the shims just off the "round".

After installation, the "claws" are only contacting the very edge of the shim.

I'll post some pics of the shims with the loader mounted.

 

[Chuck4310]

Here are a few pics of how the shims are ,by direction, in relation to the bearing surfaces.

If I were to do it again I would position the shims closer to the "round" edge.

It took about 450 hrs. to get to the point of having to fix the sloppiness problem. I use the loader a lot plus snowplowing with a Curtis [plow attached to the loader arms.

What type of gap have you got between the "claw" and the square bracket?

 

[dfkrug]

Looks good, Chuck!

Well, I just went out and welded mine. Even my little "ears", as shown in
your third photo, have significant wear on them. I am not quite done, but
the effort to grind the new welds to make them planar will be more work
than the welding. I am using some 7014 rod with my Miller buzz box. I
am grinding them to bit a bit proud of the existing surface, like your shims.

I was about to install the bell housing, which the FEL mounts connect to, as
part of my 4300 project assembly. I was just agonizing over whether or not
I should repair the worn areas....your post was my "tipping point".

Anyway, I do not know how sloppy my FEL would be as-is, since I got the
tractor non-op. I have never had this style of FEL before. I do notice that
the cast steel "feet" on the FEL vertical mast are also worn. Just getting the
FEL off without hyd power was an extreme PITA. I will post pix in my 4300
thread.

 

[mjncad]

Thanks for the tips on the shims Chuck. I have a 420 loader on my 4200. How much slop is too much to require shimming? I have about 480-hours on mine and most of it has been loader work.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Last winter I rigged a "temporary" shim to tighten up the loader masts. They were really getting sloppy. It worked great and got me through snowplowing.

Well I finally got around to ordering the shim kit from Deere. +- $35.00.

I would NOT reccomend it to you due to the high price. Yes it works fine, but I'm sure you can find flat stock much cheaper elsewhere.

The kit comes with 12 shims and directions.

I removed the brackets and a friend of mine welded the shims on.

It did a fine job of tightening up the loader. Like new.

Glad you finally got it fixed Chuck.

I remember your other thread and couldn't believe yours was that loose with the hours you have... My tractor has over 800 hours and my posts will move just a little bit.. I've done a lot of loader work, and I've moved a lot of big stumps.

Thanks for sharing!.... and Good-luck with it

 

[Chuck4310]

dfk- I'm sure your fix will work fine. If your bead is too much, just grind it down.

mjn- I had about 1/8" gap and it was enough to make me worry about the mounting brackets slipping off! It doesn't sound like much, but it has a big effect way out at the other end.

jd4300- Yes I was suprised at how quickly it got to that point. I thought it was just me because no one else seemed to comment on it.

 

[mjncad]

Here are a few pics of how the shims are ,by direction, in relation to the bearing surfaces.

If I were to do it again I would position the shims closer to the "round" edge.

It took about 450 hrs. to get to the point of having to fix the sloppiness problem. I use the loader a lot plus snowplowing with a Curtis [plow attached to the loader arms.

What type of gap have you got between the "claw" and the square bracket?

I know this is an old post; but I just welded on a 14GA shim on the left front face of the loader mount as shown in photo 3 of post #7. I chose 14GA stock as it was the thickest piece of shim stock that barely fit the gap between loader mount and the loader claw. I put the loader back on, and I still have a gap that is about 16GA as a piece of 14GA wouldn't fit. The right side is still tight. Go figure. :confused2:

At least the shim stock I bought from the scrap yard was about $0.50.

 

[AKfish]

The horizontal post isn't bent or tweaked is it?

Did you run a square across the length?

'Course the wear might be uneven and make the square look off - or square off the bottom as that's "clean"...?

AKfish

 

[mjncad]

Apparently I need to investigate this alignment problem more thoroughly as the apparently obvious turned out to be misleading.

 

[Chuck4310]

There are three contact points on each side.

Five of mine took one shim and one took two.

Only two points looked obviously worn with a visible gap.

I figured that they were all worn to some degree so I didn't want to throw the whole thing out of kilter by just shimming the two points that looked like they needed it.

I don't know if this makes sense but it worked.:confused2:

 

[mjncad]

It makes sense Chuck, and that's what I need to investigate further as the blatantly obvious solution I was hoping for didn't do the trick.

 

[Newfman]

Isn't that funny, I joined this forum awhile back, and finally got around to posting this very problem! Low and behold, the problem, and the fix, were the very first thread I came to!

I have a 4310, and somewhere around the same amount of hours (450ish) and the left side of my 430 is almost ready to literally fall off! I had asked a JD Dealer about this and they just scratched there head and said, Yo gotta bring it in, and for $75 per hour we will see what can be done.'

I didn't know that there was a shim kit. It may be easier than, locating the stock, finding someone to cut it to size, welding it on etc. etc. Is that just mild steel?

Nice job with the photos guys.

 

[beenthere]

Good thread.
I haven't noticed wear on my 430 FEL, but will surely make note that it can happen.

When new FEL's are setup, there are adjustments to make a snug fit. (to the length of the forward 430 stand that latches onto the front weight bar).

Are these adjustments made before the shims are put in place, or after? or not made at all? Seems they would be an integral part of "filling the gap" process.

If I were to weld shims on the loader stubs, my wing plow bracket wouldn't slide on.
But I don't notice any excessive wear to these stubs. (no paint after 12 years, and 500 hours).

 

[JD755]

Just for historical reference, the 70 Loader has a nice convenience for adjusting shims. They are an adjustable wedge. Slightly lift the loader out of the mounts, loosen the bolts, move the shim, tighten the bolts, and lower the loader back into the mount. Pretty slick.

 

[mjncad]

Isn't that funny, I joined this forum awhile back, and finally got around to posting this very problem! Low and behold, the problem, and the fix, were the very first thread I came to!

I have a 4310, and somewhere around the same amount of hours (450ish) and the left side of my 430 is almost ready to literally fall off! I had asked a JD Dealer about this and they just scratched there head and said, Yo gotta bring it in, and for $75 per hour we will see what can be done.'

I didn't know that there was a shim kit. It may be easier than, locating the stock, finding someone to cut it to size, welding it on etc. etc. Is that just mild steel?

Nice job with the photos guys.

Welcome. The shim kit on JD Parts is 'Item 17' in the picture. Apparently it's meant to be used at the front of the loader; but some guys weld them onto the frame stubs where the masts attach. For the ~$40 Deere charges for the kit, I can buy a lot of sheet metal scraps. I used mild steel, and I'm assuming the JD shims are too. Other guys run a weld bead where it needs shimming on the stub, then grind it down till it cures the problem.