Increasing PT1850 FEL Tilt Range

SpringHollow · Nov 29, 2018

I have never been happy with the tilt range on my PT's FEL. It may be only an issue with my bucket since it is a Lackender bucket, not a PT bucket. My original tilt range was 90ｰ which let me either carry things well or dump well but not both. So I made bolt-on adapter plates to extend the connection point for the top link. They work pretty well, increasing the tilt range to 115ｰ (I made it adjustable so I could get a greater tilt range if I so desired but it will create some issues with certain geometries

I knew the modification would weaken the curling force and it did. I corrected for this by increasing the tilt hydraulic cylinder diameter from 2" to 2 1/2" since I had one on hand. Realize that increasing the cylinder diameter might lead to premature failure of the FEL, especially the pivot for the top link/cylinder arm.

For those interested, a more detailed description can be found at Increasing FEL Tilt Range – Spring Hollow
I am switching over to a new web site and this is the first page. The homepage includes a link to the old site which is still active. If you run into issues with the site, just let me know.

SpringHollow · Nov 30, 2018

Here it is in action:

cqaigy2 · Nov 30, 2018

Looks like a good range of motion. :thumbsup:

MossRoad · Nov 30, 2018

Nice!

So basically you increased the length of the rollover lever on the top side?

BobRip · Nov 30, 2018

MossRoad said:
Nice!

So basically you increased the length of the rollover lever on the top side?

I like the way you increased the cylinder diameter to compensate for more travel. Very thorough job. Do you have any issue with slower curl speed?

SpringHollow · Nov 30, 2018

Yes, I just increased the length of the top side. That made more sense than shortening the bottom side especially since it is all bolt on so it can easily be removed.

No, the curl speed is fine. But then I am tempted to adjust the needle valves on my cylinders to slow down the speed in order to have better control when using pallet forks etc.

Do you guys have any troubles with the tilt range? Since I prefer the swinging mini hoe, I have not used my grapple bucket in years so I can not remember if it had issues.

Ken

SpringHollow · Nov 30, 2018

BTW, you definitely need an adjustable top link if doing this in order to find the sweet spot or mock one up until you find the length you want and then make a fixed one.

Ken

MossRoad · Nov 30, 2018

SpringHollow said:
.....
Do you guys have any troubles with the tilt range? ....

My 425 has a strange dump/curl range. When the FEL arms are down, it only dumps a little before hitting the stops. As I rais the FEL arms, the bucket dump angle keeps increasing. By the time the FEL arms are all the way up, I have very steep dump angle. I guess it makes some sense, in that you want to have the most dump angle when dumping at full FEL height and you don't need to dump that much when the FEL arms are down.

It is one of the drawbacks of their FEL design. It's also not conducive to modification for self-leveling bucket VS a parallelogram design.

On the other hand, it's simple simple simple and sometimes that's 90% of what I want.

SpringHollow · Nov 30, 2018

Things like that are what I meant by the geometry changes significantly (based on loader arm height).

I could lift the bucket all of the way and then dump but it would always leave some in the bucket so I used to bang the tilt or lift to try to get it out - not good for the machine.

MossRoad · Nov 30, 2018

SpringHollow said:
Things like that are what I meant by the geometry changes significantly (based on loader arm height).

I could lift the bucket all of the way and then dump but it would always leave some in the bucket so I used to bang the tilt or lift to try to get it out - not good for the machine.

Now I gotta go out and put my bucket on and see exactly what's what! :laughing:

SpringHollow · Nov 30, 2018

If you don't take pictures, it did not happen. You could always try fooling us with this one:

MossRoad · Nov 30, 2018

Paint it green! :laughing:

SpringHollow · Nov 30, 2018

MossRoad · Nov 30, 2018

:laughing:

agjones · Dec 1, 2018

Hilarious!

Great mod. Thanks for the details....always appreciated.

woodlandfarms · Dec 3, 2018

Hey Ken

So I am pretty excited about your adjustment. Do you have more specifics (actual hole distances and such) you ended up with? I may try and duplicate because I replaced my bottom cylinder a long time ago with something much bigger My dump is totally awful now. Can't get it to dump very well.

One big thing I would be interested in is using the back hoe. I snap those adjustable tilts rods every time I use my backhoe. I made a solid piece for my machine now but if I make your adjusmtent I will have to go back to the adjustable toplink tilt rod.

SpringHollow · Dec 3, 2018

I can draw something up. The pin holes are 3/4" and after the lowest one, you can do them in whatever increment you want. The two lowest holes are arbitrary - they are just bolt holes to keep the extension from rotating. If you do not have a way to make the pin and want one that is greasable, I might be able to make you one after you figure out the rest (it's length will depend upon the thickness of metal you use). What is important is that you drill the 3/4" holes in each plate in the exact same position. I should have added a note that I installed 3/4" bolts for alignment when installing before I tightened down the two lower bolts and the lowest 3/4" bolt. I also added a spacer so I did not pinch the original plates together.

Ken

SpringHollow · Dec 3, 2018

I did bust one adjustable top link but that was after digging lots of holes and trench through thick shale. Broke right at the cross pin holes. Some do seem to be made heavier duty than others. Once you find the right length, you could make a fixed one out of bar stock.

Ken

AVIVIII · Dec 5, 2018

SpringHollow said:
Do you guys have any troubles with the tilt range?

YES! I thought I was crazy. I only recently started using the bucket for snow removal (as I haven't finished my plow yet...) and the loader geometry on this thing is driving me nuts. Plus, the bucket seems to be too deep (and not wide enough, though I haven't taken my duals off yet). It reminds me of the old trip-dump manure bucket we had on the Ford 8N as a kid... It is a PT bucket, but It may have been modified; the cutting edge was definitely added. I know that trying to plow snow with a bucket is fairly miserable anyway, but I can do it with the JD at the farm. On the PT, even if you manage to find the perfect angle to prevent it from digging in, (I do have an indicator) it changes with the loader height! It makes me think that the pivot points are in the wrong spot or something.

I like your idea of replacing the tilt cylinder even if I don't modify the top link, because I have about ZERO breakout power at the end of that long bucket and the tilt action is way too touchy.