Loader Cracked loader on CK30HST

[mowog74]

Last weekend I bought a 2007 CK30HST with the KL130 loader, and didn't notice until I got it home that it had the now-infamous cracks in the loader crossmember. I've seen lots of reports from folks here that they've been operating their loaders with these cracks without any issues, so my first question is, is there some way I can tell if the cracks are causing a problem or not? What motivated me to post was that I was leveling out a spot in the woods near our house for the kids' playset, shaving off 2-3" of dirt at a time using the toothbar-equipped bucket, and I noticed that if one corner caught more than the other, that side of the bucket would drop vertically maybe 3" relative to the other side. To me this seemed like a lot of flex but maybe that's normal?

My second question is, if this is (or will be) a problem, is there any chance of getting it fixed by Kioti at this late date? I know that with cars, service bulletin issues are fixed outside the normal warranty period, and I believe that Kioti has acknowledged this was a design problem with this loader, but I don't know if they're still fixing them.

I don't have pics of the cracks right now but can take some tonight and post them if anyone wants to see.

 

[nvip9r]

I would email Kioti. They were great for me when I bought a used 2005 CK30 with the KL130 loader a 1.5yrs ago. It wasn't cracked but they sent a kit to the dealer and the dealer fixed it for me with no charge. I have to say I was surprised they did it with it being so far out of warranty. But like I said for me Kioti stepped up and I was super happy. Good luck.

 

[DK35vince]

If you have one of the CK loaders that has the cracking issue and it never had the crosstube kit installed I would expect Kioti to give me the repair kit regardless of age.

 

[mowog74]

Thanks for the replies! I've got an email in to Kioti and I'll update this thread when I hear something back.

 

[Dmace]

They won't send you the bracket directly so you will have to find a local dealer that will install it for you, all free of charge of course.

Congrats on the purchase and Welcome to the Pack!

 

[mowog74]

Got a phone call from Kioti in response to my email, said to contact my local dealer and it would be taken care of. Thanks all!

 

[Dmace]

Good to hear! :thumbsup:

I have had my bracket on for over a year with tons of hard use and take it off to check the small cracks every now and then. They haven't moved or enlarged at all, it definitely works.

 

[Gittyup]

Got a phone call from Kioti in response to my email, said to contact my local dealer and it would be taken care of. Thanks all!

Do it right away.

 

[mowog74]

Will do. Does anyone know of any pics posted online of this bracket? I'm curious to know what the fix will look like.

 

[IslandTractor]

What motivated me to post was that I was leveling out a spot in the woods near our house for the kids' playset, shaving off 2-3" of dirt at a time using the toothbar-equipped bucket, and I noticed that if one corner caught more than the other, that side of the bucket would drop vertically maybe 3" relative to the other side. To me this seemed like a lot of flex but maybe that's normal?

That amount of flex is normal when you put an asymmetrical load on the bucket. It's a good thing as it keeps you from breaking things.

The cracks have never to my knowledge been associated with an actual loader failure.

 

[Dmace]

Will do. Does anyone know of any pics posted online of this bracket? I'm curious to know what the fix will look like.

I don't have a picture of the underneath but here is a picture from the front. You can see the bracket wrap around the cross arm and it bolts on the bottom, you can see the bolts on the bottom too.

Click the thumbnail for a larger image:


Here it is before the bracket: (tough to tell the difference)

 

[unhappykioti]

The reinforcing bracket on my loader hits the bottom of my brush guard even though I was told this would not happen. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Dmace]

The reinforcing bracket on my loader hits the bottom of my brush guard even though I was told this would not happen. Anyone else have this problem?

Never with mine, is it a Kioti brush guard? I know if i bump it against the side of the dump truck while loading then it bends back just enough to hit the hood when I try and open it. I have to tie the brush guard to a tree and backup a little to bend it back.

 

[Gittyup]

That amount of flex is normal when you put an asymmetrical load on the bucket. It's a good thing as it keeps you from breaking things.

The cracks have never to my knowledge been associated with an actual loader failure.

As far as I'm concerned, mine failed. It bent such that there was about 2" of unlevel from side to side. Made it almost useless when trying to get a level back drag or scrap up a flat load. So, don't do any more digging with it until you get the fix installed.

 

[unhappykioti]

Never with mine, is it a Kioti brush guard? I know if i bump it against the side of the dump truck while loading then it bends back just enough to hit the hood when I try and open it. I have to tie the brush guard to a tree and backup a little to bend it back.

Yes it is a Kioti brush Guard had it installed at the same time as the loader repair and hoe installation.

 

[Gittyup]

If there is nothing wrong with the cracked loaders, then why did Kioti go to all the trouble and expense to create the kits and have them installed for free. The kit were creating in part for appeasement. But given its heft and complexity, it is clearly supposed to actually work. I wonder why they'd make it so if there is no problem? Then Kioti quickly made drastic changes to the design in the form of the KL1x0Bs. The way some of you talk, it was a pure waste of time and money; there's nothing wrong with these loaders at all! How absurb!

 

[laurencen]

If the loader was that far out of level it would work nice to produce the crown one my drivway,

 

[Gittyup]

If the loader was that far out of level it would work nice to produce the crown one my drivway,

It sure would have worked for that, if that is all you want it to do. But, I bought a scraper blade for crowning and expected my loader to work like a loader is supposed to work, like the KL130B does.

I wonder if this loader issue had any bearing on Bobcat using their own loader?

 

[laurencen]

For what its worth, had the original loader on a CK20, after 30 hours it had small cracks, did not work it hard but still had cracks and sat flat on the ground, pulled a few stumps and lots of gravel moving, had a few impacts with rocks and junk buried but still sat flat,

 

[mowog74]

Thanks DMace for the photos.

Sorry to stir up the pot over whether the cracks are a problem or not -- I was away for a few days and was amazed to find how long this thread had gotten! I'm a mechanical engineer by training, and I think there's no question the rectangular torque tube with access hole is, shall we say, a sub-optimal design for a torque member. But my thinking is that if Kioti is willing to step up and provide a reasonable repair for free, even if the fix isn't perfect, then who cares whether the cracks are a problem or not? At that price I'm happy to get it installed just for peace of mind.

One of the things you sacrifice when buying anything used is that, in exchange for paying less, you don't get the design improvements the manufacturer has made since yours was built. If Kioti will provide me a reasonable facsimile of one of those improvements for free on my used tractor, that's just icing on the cake. Smart move on their part -- with a phone call from a customer service rep and a couple hundred bucks' worth of kit, they've managed to make me pretty much dismiss this as something that's not worth worrying about.