Backhoe 2520 MMM Lift Backhoe Prep

[jdbower]

I was bored today and had my camera out so I figured to snap off a few shots rather than bang my knuckles around. I've found two possible ways to remove enough of the hydraulic lift kit to get the backhoe on my 2520, from the picture below and on the left (taken from the rear of the tractor facing front) it seems like removing the two smaller bolts would allow the "axle" of the ILK to drop and allow the BH subframe to be mounted. On the right (taken with the camera facing the rear from on top of the MMM - sorry about the harsh flash!) we've got option two, remove the larger bolts holding the entire mounting kit to the tractor.

The downside of option 2 is that the larger bolts look as though they'd be tougher to work with, placement is a little more awkward, and I can imagine that the bracket would be a snug fit to get back on again.

The downside of option 1 is that it may not be enough clearance (and, with my luck, I'd let loose a deluge of ball bearings that would haunt me forever).

Neither option looks horrible - just four bolts, unhooking the cylinder, and unhooking the cable that controls the minimum cutting height.

 

[jdbower]

Well, I finally have enough projects to warrant the great backhoe-with-independent-lift-kit experiment (plus the temperatures for the week are a brisk 85 degrees so it's not too hot). For those interested, the picture on the left above is what you need to remove.

I'll photodocument the re-installation if there's interest, but I first started with the easy part - the front pins holding the lift kit arms in place. Then I removed the cotter pins holding the cylinder in place (I'll replace them with hairpins) and pulled out the hydraulic hoses. I detached the left arm where it connects to the upper assembly (again, a cotter pin gave its life so that a hairpin can replace it). This is a bit tougher to explain without a picture (although it's the rear pin shown in the foreground of the image above right), but the left and right sides of the lift kit arms should look the same after you've disconnected this. After giving up on the larger bolts since my 1/2" socket set is inexplicably missing 15mm sockets (not lost, just went straight from 14 to 16mm, 14 to 17mm for the deep sockets) I attacked the 13mm bolts holding the lift kit's "axle" on. They came off very easily and the lift kit bracket dropped down. The backhoe subframe went on fine with just this component removed.

Total time elapsed between finishing mowing and having the backhoe mounted: about 3 hours. Actual time spent with tool in hand working this instead of inside working on my day job: probably about an hour and a half. I'm sure I can cut that down significantly now that I (mostly) know what I'm doing. Tools needed: 13mm socket and wrench, small pliers for hairpins, hammer for some stubborn parts, possibly some cable ties to re-run the hydraulics but I'm hoping to run them to the rear before I have to mow again.

Let me know if you've got any questions, concerns, problems or complaints!

 

[nails_n_glue]

well done!