What would you look for in your next tractor?

[EMB5530]

George, please elaborate on how you increased bucket lift capacity so much.

Im glad someone asked I was thinking the same thing.:thumbsup:

 

[George2615]

George, please elaborate on how you increased bucket lift capacity so much.

You have to check the power beyond block. (see attached). Remove item 6 carefully as it is under spring pressure and you will have hydraulic fluid come out once removed. check for item 8 (shims). Each shim is .1mm (.004 inch). Item 7 is an O-ring. See step 8, by adding or subtracting shims will increase or decrease the system pressure.

In my case my loader would not pick up its rated capacity. When I took mine apart I found no shims had ever been installed at the factory. I made my own shims from flat washers and installed the equivalent of 6 shims. Reinstall item 6 and top off hydraulic fluid.

I am not responsible for anyone who does this procedure and damages their tractor. I am only stating what I found and did to my own tractor. After my changes I was able to lift a 1300 lb. garage lift off the back of a truck.

 

[Gary Fowler]

My LS P7010 C has all of the items on the list, except TNT which I dont think you will ever see as standard equipment on a tractor, plus a few more as standard like triple rear remotes, hand operated parking brake (although if it was mounted a bit off the floor it would be easier to bend over and pull up). No one mentioned a tilt steering wheel in their wish list but maybe all tractors have them now. Lights on the Cab model are great additions to the front lights for night time FEL work, along with turn signals. I cant say that getting in and out of a cab is that much more difficult that no cab, just have to push down on the door latch and the door opens itself. Having a cooled and heated cab is the main reason for my new tractor purchase and to me is worth double the price paid.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I forgot to mention some contraindications on the wish list,(1) push button PTO which my tractor has is not something that I would wish for as LAWALL mentioned (2) along with easy access fuel tank which my LS has also but I would prefer it to be behind the cab or in front rather than low to the ground where it could get punctured. I can fuel with a pump easier than I can armor plate the fuel tank for protection.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

My LS P7010 C has all of the items on the list, except TNT which I dont think you will ever see as standard equipment on a tractor, plus a few more as standard like triple rear remotes, hand operated parking brake (although if it was mounted a bit off the floor it would be easier to bend over and pull up). No one mentioned a tilt steering wheel in their wish list but maybe all tractors have them now. Lights on the Cab model are great additions to the front lights for night time FEL work, along with turn signals. I cant say that getting in and out of a cab is that much more difficult that no cab, just have to push down on the door latch and the door opens itself. Having a cooled and heated cab is the main reason for my new tractor purchase and to me is worth double the price paid.

Working in woods, vineyards and orchards is where you notice a cab becoming an issue. Open fields and other open areas it isn't.

 

[Wyld Bill]

You have to check the power beyond block. (see attached). Remove item 6 carefully as it is under spring pressure and you will have hydraulic fluid come out once removed. check for item 8 (shims). Each shim is .1mm (.004 inch). Item 7 is an O-ring. See step 8, by adding or subtracting shims will increase or decrease the system pressure.

In my case my loader would not pick up its rated capacity. When I took mine apart I found no shims had ever been installed at the factory. I made my own shims from flat washers and installed the equivalent of 6 shims. Reinstall item 6 and top off hydraulic fluid.

I am not responsible for anyone who does this procedure and damages their tractor. I am only stating what I found and did to my own tractor. After my changes I was able to lift a 1300 lb. garage lift off the back of a truck.

Cool I'll have to check that out. When I first got my tractor it seemed to have lots of lifting/breakout power. Then it seemed like it wasn't nearly as good. It doesn't bog the engine down or anything, it just plain won't lift at all with much of a heavy load like wet dirt or a bucket of sand. But the strange thing is if I work the hydrostatic drive pedal while holding "up" on the loader lever, it suddenly gets a quick boost of power. ???
Alos what is the "O" & "S" on the block all about??

 

[AchingBack]

You have to check the power beyond block. (see attached). Remove item 6 carefully as it is under spring pressure and you will have hydraulic fluid come out once removed. check for item 8 (shims). Each shim is .1mm (.004 inch). Item 7 is an O-ring. See step 8, by adding or subtracting shims will increase or decrease the system pressure.

In my case my loader would not pick up its rated capacity. When I took mine apart I found no shims had ever been installed at the factory. I made my own shims from flat washers and installed the equivalent of 6 shims. Reinstall item 6 and top off hydraulic fluid.

I am not responsible for anyone who does this procedure and damages their tractor. I am only stating what I found and did to my own tractor. After my changes I was able to lift a 1300 lb. garage lift off the back of a truck.

George, thanks for this valuable info. I am not aware of the function a shim plays. And, I am not about to go through the procedure you did. I believe my block must have been correctly assembled. Using my pin on loader forks, I was able to unload 13, 90lb sacks of redicrete from a flat bed truck at 6'. Including the substantial pallet, I estimate the load to have been about 1200 lb. I had my Bush Hog on the back for ballast, and was praying my tractor would come through a tough assignment.

Just make sure your loads are concentrated toward the pins. I had to restack the sacks of redimix before I could lift the load.

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

Be careful playing with the relief valve shims. If you do, you should have a hydraulic guage that will plug into one of the loader quick couplings, and I would definately not go over 2500 to 2600 PSI.

 

[lgividen]

On adding loader lift capacity..
Most manufacturers mate the loader capacity to their front axle capacity.
If you mate a different brand fel that has additional capacity and you break your front axle and it WILL NOT be a warranty item.
Just saying.....there may be a reason for your lift capacity.

 

[George2615]

Just a note to those who replied to the post on my loader lift modification. It never seemed to lift to full capacity from the day I bought it. I'd scoop in a load of gravel or dirt and have to dump almost half before I could lift. I thought that the loader was doing all it could do until 2 years later. A friend bought the same tractor (a 2006, mines a 2004). I was helping him at his place running his tractor and was amazed at how much more his loader would lift than mine. I decided to read through the service manual and check mine by putting weight in the bucket to see what it would lift. It stopped lifting way below the loader specs which led me to check the shims. That's when I found out the factory forgot to put any in mine. System pressure was way lower than it should have been. I did use a high pressure gauge (0-5000PSI) when I added my shims.

 

[Wyld Bill]

Can't remember if I said this or not but... I don't care HOW nice the tractor is, or how many features it has, or how much of a deal it is,...if you can't fit tires chains on the rear tires then it won't work for me either.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Can't remember if I said this or not but... I don't care HOW nice the tractor is, or how many features it has, or how much of a deal it is,...if you can't fit tires chains on the rear tires then it won't work for me either.

Why can't you fit tire chains on your rear tires?

 

[Martian]

A satellite tv with dvd player and a frige and microwave.

Seems like it could be rather dangerous watching American Idol and driving the tractor at the same time!:laughing:

I'd like a personal assistant to do the maintenance on my tractor. Specifically, a female; about 5' 2", eyes of blue, could she could she could she coo. Has any body seen my gal?

+1,000,000!!!!!!!!!!

Don't forget about the Top N Tilt setup on the 3 point hitch.

I would have to actually agree with this though. Still haven't got one.

If I were to get one tractor here's what I would get;
4520/4720
400cx self leveling loader
Deluxe cab
485 backhoe
Top n tilt

 

[George2615]

Why can't you fit tire chains on your rear tires?

Robert,
On Bill's tractor as well as mine there isn't enough gap between the rear tires and fender for chains (mine is only 1/2" not sure of Bill's). The wheels can be reversed but you don't gain any space. This was only on earlier models of the 2615. Mine is an 2004 and apparently some 2006's have a different backspacing since there is room for chains on my friends 06. I have measured this and he has room ( about 1 1/4" spacing) for chains. My 04 would require at least 1" spacers to move the wheels out far enough to use chains. I have a mechanical drawing for spacers supplied to me by another member but cannot justify the machine shop cost to make them for me. Eventually I'll find a set on line at a decent price since the bolt pattern is a standard 6 lug on 6" spacing. So far in 7 years I really haven't needed chains.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Robert,
On Bill's tractor as well as mine there isn't enough gap between the rear tires and fender for chains (mine is only 1/2" not sure of Bill's). The wheels can be reversed but you don't gain any space. This was only on earlier models of the 2615. Mine is an 2004 and apparently some 2006's have a different backspacing since there is room for chains on my friends 06. I have measured this and he has room ( about 1 1/4" spacing) for chains. My 04 would require at least 1" spacers to move the wheels out far enough to use chains. I have a mechanical drawing for spacers supplied to me by another member but cannot justify the machine shop cost to make them for me. Eventually I'll find a set on line at a decent price since the bolt pattern is a standard 6 lug on 6" spacing. So far in 7 years I really haven't needed chains.

I understand. Did you get a quote from a shop to make the spacers? My friends own a couple rather large machine shops and do a lot of little things for me. They just bought an old big building and were remodeling the first floor for them into a modern office complex so they can combine all their office personel from both shops into one building. If your interested I can show the specs you have to them and see how much they would charge to make them. The one owner even owns a Mahindra (the other has a Ford 1720). I would imagine aluminum 1" thick would be great for spacers and wouldn't weigh too much for shipping purpose but just let me know what material you would want it made of and I will let them know.

 

[George2615]

I understand. Did you get a quote from a shop to make the spacers? My friends own a couple rather large machine shops and do a lot of little things for me. They just bought an old big building and were remodeling the first floor for them into a modern office complex so they can combine all their office personel from both shops into one building. If your interested I can show the specs you have to them and see how much they would charge to make them. The one owner even owns a Mahindra (the other has a Ford 1720). I would imagine aluminum 1" thick would be great for spacers and wouldn't weigh too much for shipping purpose but just let me know what material you would want it made of and I will let them know.

Thanks Robert,
I got a quote a couple years ago from one shop who wanted almost $300 for the set. I didn't need to space my wheels out for that much. I don't know how aluminum spacers would hold up but they would be cheaper to ship. That's for sure. Attached is the drawing I rec'd for 2" thick spacers but I think 1" would be enough. Send me a PM if you can get a quote.

 

[jonyyuma]

Seems like it could be rather dangerous watching American Idol and driving the tractor at the same time!:laughing:




+1,000,000!!!!!!!!!!



I would have to actually agree with this though. Still haven't got one.

If I were to get one tractor here's what I would get;
4520/4720
400cx self leveling loader
Deluxe cab
485 backhoe
Top n tilt

Please add a small jet turbine to mine, a little larger that a chopper model?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Thanks Robert,
I got a quote a couple years ago from one shop who wanted almost $300 for the set. I didn't need to space my wheels out for that much. I don't know how aluminum spacers would hold up but they would be cheaper to ship. That's for sure. Attached is the drawing I rec'd for 2" thick spacers but I think 1" would be enough. Send me a PM if you can get a quote.

I will let you know as soon as I get a chance to talk to them. The one who I need to talk to is currently hunting out of state so it will be a week or so before I catch up with him.

 

[Wyld Bill]

I bought mine from Woods. I think they were $125.

 

[Martian]

Thanks Robert,
I got a quote a couple years ago from one shop who wanted almost $300 for the set. I didn't need to space my wheels out for that much. I don't know how aluminum spacers would hold up but they would be cheaper to ship. That's for sure. Attached is the drawing I rec'd for 2" thick spacers but I think 1" would be enough. Send me a PM if you can get a quote.

I don't need spacers as I have a 3120 and it's spaced out properly but how much do you guys think chains really help? I know they're cheap and all but I don't want to spend money I don't have too. My tractor plows pretty well but I guess she does have a little slip and slide in her so how much do you "NEED" your chains?