JLG LJ500 Little John stand-on mini skid steer

[shaeff]

Got it going yesterday. Put the carb back together and bolted it on, put the new (used, but good) gas tank on, put some fuel in it. Took the battery off trickle charge (it was dead), bolted it in and bumped the key. It came puttering to life.

First impressions- I wish it moved a bit quicker. Not zero-turn fast but maybe a bit less than half as fast would be nice. It’s quite slow. The hydraulics are pretty slow too. I’m going to change out the hydraulic oil with the proper stuff (SAE 30wt) and see if that helps. I’d imagine it should help the loader move a bit faster.

Otherwise, it runs very well. If I can’t speed it up I will probably not use it as much as originally anticipated. I’ve got 4.5 acres and it takes forever to get around. Maybe a bigger pump would help, not sure.

Anyway, pics:




Also found this loader pin is in need of repair. Yikes!

 

[ddbackhoe]

Got it going yesterday. Put the carb back together and bolted it on, put the new (used, but good) gas tank on, put some fuel in it. Took the battery off trickle charge (it was dead), bolted it in and bumped the key. It came puttering to life.

First impressions- I wish it moved a bit quicker. Not zero-turn fast but maybe a bit less than half as fast would be nice. It’s quite slow. The hydraulics are pretty slow too. I’m going to change out the hydraulic oil with the proper stuff (SAE 30wt) and see if that helps. I’d imagine it should help the loader move a bit faster.

Otherwise, it runs very well. If I can’t speed it up I will probably not use it as much as originally anticipated. I’ve got 4.5 acres and it takes forever to get around. Maybe a bigger pump would help, not sure.

Some guys have all the luck. A little tinkering and next to nothing in parts dollars, always makes me feel better.
Depending on how much oil it holds, ISO 32 may be cheaper than 10W30.
Pump and wheel motors or just change drive chains and sprockets? If you can go that route, dont forget there are 2 different grades of roller chain. More than 1 of my buddies has needed a piece of chain for a baler, mower, etc and come back with standard chain, not the H (heavy duty).

 

[shaeff]

Some guys have all the luck. A little tinkering and next to nothing in parts dollars, always makes me feel better.
Depending on how much oil it holds, ISO 32 may be cheaper than 10W30.
Pump and wheel motors or just change drive chains and sprockets? If you can go that route, dont forget there are 2 different grades of roller chain. More than 1 of my buddies has needed a piece of chain for a baler, mower, etc and come back with standard chain, not the H (heavy duty).

So far so good, I like it so far but coming from a MF35 with gear options, it's painfully slow. It's got lots of torque as it is, so I think I may be able to just get slightly larger sprockets, and loosen the chain tension to fit them (maybe?) I have to look at it closer. I'm going to focus on making it 100% functional and safe before I bother modifying it.

Pipe dream- small diesel and larger pump along with rebuilt controls. (a bit sloppy).

But all that is on hold until I see how much use it actually gets.

I'll take a look at ISO 32. It doesn't hold much, just a few gallons at most. Finding a manual for this is like finding hen's teeth. They just don't exist! I know there's a guy on this forum that has one of these machines and has a manual, but he doesn't visit much. Thanks for the info on the roller chain.

 

[Gordoninvt]

If I could figure out how I would be happy to leave a copy of the manual here. Apparently it's too large a file.

 

[Gordoninvt]

So far so good, I like it so far but coming from a MF35 with gear options, it's painfully slow. It's got lots of torque as it is, so I think I may be able to just get slightly larger sprockets, and loosen the chain tension to fit them (maybe?) I have to look at it closer. I'm going to focus on making it 100% functional and safe before I bother modifying it.

Pipe dream- small diesel and larger pump along with rebuilt controls. (a bit sloppy).

But all that is on hold until I see how much use it actually gets.

I'll take a look at ISO 32. It doesn't hold much, just a few gallons at most. Finding a manual for this is like finding hen's teeth. They just don't exist! I know there's a guy on this forum that has one of these machines and has a manual, but he doesn't visit much. Thanks for the info on the roller chain.

Flip the hooked lever up for more speed and auxiliary. It won't impress you but it's better than low. Also you will have no bucket curl with lever up.

 

[Gordoninvt]

The hook lever on the right will increase speed but you can't curl the bucket with it up.

 

[Gordoninvt]

 

[shaeff]

Flip the hooked lever up for more speed and auxiliary. It won't impress you but it's better than low. Also you will have no bucket curl with lever up.

Good to know! I got the copy you had in the email group, I’m going to print it and make myself a hard copy!

I had no idea what that lever was for, the tag is mostly worn off. Any speed is better than the 1.7mph low haha!

I have to find time to really work on this thing and get it back to 100%, it’s too cool to leave in a state of half-repair.

Thanks for all the info, you’ve been a HUGE help!

 

[shaeff]

Ok, It's been a bit. Slight update, kinda. I've used the LJ500 a bit. I definitely need to flush the hydraulics. I used it yesterday and after the machine warmed up a bit, it started moving a little faster. Cheers to Gordon for mentioning the second speed available with the flip of the right hand side lever. That being said, with only 4.5 acres to traverse, this thing is still too slow for me. Maybe I'm impatient, maybe it's not meant to be driving around that much. Maybe (since it moved more quickly once warmed up, both travel speed and the hydraulics for the loader/dump) if I flush it and put the correct weight fluid in it, that might speed it up a bit since the fluid will pump easier. I will test this theory.

If the speed isn't improved as much as I'd like, I will research using gearing changes to speed it up. I know I'll lose a bit of torque to the ground with taller gears, but for REAL loader work, I'll just use my actual loader. This little sucker isn't going to work that hard because there's no need for it. So, to get a jump on the situation, should I decide to go that route with gearing, here's a picture of how the drive setup runs. Green is the drive motor (there's one per side), uses #60 .75 pitch chain. I believe the drive gears are splined but cannot confirm that yet. So, my question to you guys that are smarter than me:

Would it be better to go undersized on the yellow gears, or oversized on the green gear. (assuming I can find something that works) Going undersized on the yellow gears may retain some torque since they'll be easier to spin, and undersized means the'll rotate more for every revolution of the drive gear meaning higher travel speed, right?

or

If I oversize the drive gear (green), I'll definitely lose torque but should gain some drive speed assuming the motor (11hp Wisconsin Robin) has the power to sustain the hydraulic (gear) pump pushing fluid through it.

I am open to all suggestions. This may never happen, but if it doesn't I may end up having to sell it because of it's wildly slow speed. The two speeds are selected by diverting hydraulic flow and they are as follows:

Low speed currently: 1.7mph
High speed currently: 2.25 blazing mph

 

[shaeff]

For anyone following that's not posting, slight update:

I worked on the LJ500 a bit this weekend. The upper lift cylinder pin (closest to the operator) is seized inside the rod end. As such, when the loader arm/boom is lifted, it rotates against the steel main structure of the unit. It's already caused some significant wear, so until I can get it out I won't be using it at all. I tried using a piece of pipe and a 3lb sledge to knock it loose but to my dismay, it's stuck fast. I've got it soaking in Kroil now, I just keep spraying it every time I walk past. I'll try again this coming weekend. If it doesn't come loose, I'll hit it with the torch. The pin will need to be replaced, and I figure now that I scored a sweet (15?) speed Rigid drill press for $100 I can drill and tap the rod end for a grease zerk. (might as well do both ends, eh?) I did have to use the machine quickly to move the drill press as it was way to heavy for me alone. I put the forks on and drove it straight across my saturated grass to the basement doors and stuffed it right inside, stood it up, done. My Massey 35 would have sunk out of sight where this little thing just left some mud-stained tracks in the grass. No ruts.

So that's where I'm at. Once again, here's a picture of the pin in question. Worst case scenario, I'll have to remove the hydraulic controls off the right side, there's an access hole there. I'll weld a piece of threaded rod to the pin and use a large slide hammer to try and jar it loose. If that doesn't work, I might be able to shift the rod end side to side enough to fit a sawzall blade in there. No clue if that pin is hardened or not. If I can cut it out like that then maybe put the cylinder on my 20T press to pop the seized section out?

I'll figure it out as I go. For now, hopefully Kroil + heat will do the trick.

Also of note: When I ran the machine on Saturday it had been sitting out in the warm sun for a few hours. As such, I'm assuming the hydraulic oil warmed up a good bit, because the machine was MUCH faster than it has been the previous times I've used it. This solidifies the notion that whatever hydraulic oil is in there is too heavy and will 100% need to be replaced with 10w30 as the manual calls for. 9 gallons!