Bent SSQA on Kubota...

[IH782]

Has anyone ever had a problem with bending/twisting their SSQA? Ours is bent about 1" back on the one side. I don't remember hitting anything and its always hooked to the bucket or pallet forks. I just noticed it was bent one day when I went to hook the bucket up. The machine in question is a 2016 Kubota 2650.

 

[John_Mc]

Are you sure you didn't use it with only one side attached to the implement? That's usually how they get bent

 

[skipperbrown]

I bent the QA on my 3940 about 3" due to one side coming unlocked on the bucket. I took it to the dealer and they chained it to a post and straightened it out better than it ever was. Shop guy said the hydraulics are plenty powerful enough to bend one back (if you know what you are doing). I think they charged me about $125. I might add it came from the dealer a little bent.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Are you sure one is bent back. Could be the other one is bent forward.

 

[IH782]

Are you sure one is bent back. Could be the other one is bent forward.

The reason I say back is because the opposite cylinder is not retracted all the way.

 

[IH782]

I bent the QA on my 3940 about 3" due to one side coming unlocked on the bucket. I took it to the dealer and they chained it to a post and straightened it out better than it ever was. Shop guy said the hydraulics are plenty powerful enough to bend one back (if you know what you are doing). I think they charged me about $125. I might add it came from the dealer a little bent.

Good to know, thanks.

 

[downsizingnow48]

The reason I say back is because the opposite cylinder is not retracted all the way.

If the side not fully retracted had been bent forward, it would look the same. I think. I raise the point because if you use the tractor hydraulics to fix, as many do, you want to make sure you end up with both sides in factory position to maintain proper rollback.

 

[kthompson]

Just wondering and I assume SSQA means front end loader but regardless do you have insurance on it? If so check on it.. I bent front end loader on mine recently removing tree off of house from Hurricane Matthew and glad had insurance on it. The dealer did not recommend trying to unbend but another said you could but with the insurance new one has been ordered.

 

[IH782]

Just wondering and I assume SSQA means front end loader but regardless do you have insurance on it? If so check on it.. I bent front end loader on mine recently removing tree off of house from Hurricane Matthew and glad had insurance on it. The dealer did not recommend trying to unbend but another said you could but with the insurance new one has been ordered.

Good point, i don't think its anything i can't fix, but I do remember the insurance I pay every month will cover things like this.

 

[Xfaxman]

Here is one of many threads on a twisted SSQA: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ed-advice-loader-post4414455.html#post4414455

 

[ovrszd]

If the side not fully retracted had been bent forward, it would look the same. I think. I raise the point because if you use the tractor hydraulics to fix, as many do, you want to make sure you end up with both sides in factory position to maintain proper rollback.

Sometimes these things get a bit confusing when zooming thru my brain..... So bear with me.... With that said. The end result won't matter whether he bends one side forward or the other rearward. As long as they are both aligned won't he have the same stroke as before??? He hasn't bent the SSQA tabs. He's twisted the entire SSQA assembly at the crossmember.

 

[ovrszd]

Good point, i don't think its anything i can't fix, but I do remember the insurance I pay every month will cover things like this.

Work checking into. If it's covered by insurance the shop won't straighten it, they'll replace it with a new one. If you go that route, ask to keep the bent one.

 

[TnAndy]

I've twisted my cross member a couple of times on different tractors. Happens to me when moving brush with the forks......a piece will flip one side up, and it comes loose from the pocket, and I don't catch it....by the time I do, I've twisted the cross member.

My previous one, the cross member was a simply piece of angle iron, and I was able to bump one side against a tree and re-align the two 'faces' that way.

My current one uses a piece of 1 1/2" pipe welded on each side....no amount of bumping moved it much, so I simply cut the pipe in the center with a metal cutting wheel on a hand held grinder, re-aligned it, and welded the cut back. Took 10 minutes.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Sometimes these things get a bit confusing when zooming thru my brain..... So bear with me.... With that said. The end result won't matter whether he bends one side forward or the other rearward. As long as they are both aligned won't he have the same stroke as before??? He hasn't bent the SSQA tabs. He's twisted the entire SSQA assembly at the crossmember.

I dunno for sure. guess I would want to see it before opining further.

 

[ovrszd]

I dunno for sure. guess I would want to see it before opining further.

The SSQA is a one piece bracket that pins to the FEL. The two latch mechanisms are held together by a crossmember of some type. Usually a tube. This crossmember twists to produce the "bend" most talk about. So one cylinder is going to extend to the max first and stop the "dump" circuit. The other is going to compress to the max first and stop the "curl" circuit. The two cylinders don't know the other one exists until it reaches max stroke either way.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Yep this is making my head hurt but here goes. I am not thinking about cyl stroke. Thinking this. If you draw a line through the centers of the ssqa attaching pins. Then draw another line extending the face of the ssqa paddle. They form an angle. If one paddle was bent back and you bend the other one to match then that angle will be different from factory. That is why I say have to figger which paddle was bent and was it forward or back then bend it back to factory position.

 

[ovrszd]

Yep, makes me dizzy too.

Here's my analogy. Unpin the SSQA and lay it on flat concrete face down. If you stand on one end making it lay flat on the concrete the other end will only be touching the concrete at either the top or at the bottom. Does it matter whether you lift whichever is touching the concrete or push down on whichever is in the air? Nope. End result is the same.

 

[Xfaxman]

Yep this is making my head hurt but here goes. I am not thinking about cyl stroke. Thinking this. If you draw a line through the centers of the ssqa attaching pins. Then draw another line extending the face of the ssqa paddle. They form an angle. If one paddle was bent back and you bend the other one to match then that angle will be different from factory. That is why I say have to figger which paddle was bent and was it forward or back then bend it back to factory position.

When it left the factory they were perfectly in line. Doesn't matter which one gets bent back perfectly in line, the cylinder travel is the same, maximum to minimum. When you go to hook onto the attachment, they will both touch it at the same time.

The crossbar is only there to make it easy to hook onto an attachment, you can remove the crossbar completely and the SSQA will still work fine.

 

[ovrszd]

When it left the factory they were perfectly in line. Doesn't matter which one gets bent back perfectly in line, the cylinder travel is the same, maximum to minimum. When you go to hook onto the attachment, they will both touch it at the same time.

The crossbar is only there to make it easy to hook onto an attachment, you can remove the crossbar completely and the SSQA will still work fine.

And I believe that's why the crossmembers are usually junk. Only purpose is to hold the two ends of the SSQA at the same angle when changing attachments. Once an attachment is latched you can cut the crossmember out and throw it away...... Until you want to unlatch......

 

[downsizingnow48]

I guess I am confused not for the first time. Oh well. I guess I have to go out and bend mine then take a look!