FEL removal

[Freds]

How do you get the sidearms on a 302 FEL to raise above the mounting receivers on a B7500? I thought I interpreted the instructions correctly, but I could only get them to raise up about 1". I tried different positions of the bucket and the phrase "raise the front wheels slightly" using the sidearms. When I backed out the sidearms dropped onto the tires. I ended up lifting the sidearms manually and holding them up using a 2x4. Other than that, taking it off was a piece of cake. I'm not sure how this will affect putting it back on.

Thanks,
Fred

 

[Jeff396]

Lift the front wheels high enough to lower the support legs and pull the pins. Now you will return the bucket to level and the arms should pull out of the mount by at leat a few inches. Did you put the support legs down???

Jeff

 

[Freds]

Thanks for trying to give me a hand, Jeff.
Yes, the support legs were down, but the flat bar on the end (the foot) wasn't resting flat like I thought it should. The floor in my pole barn is dirt, but nothing appeared to be sinking in.
The diagram in the instruction manual lookes like the arms clear by quite a bit, but if it's only a few inches I'm thinking I just didn't have something "tweeked" right.

Fred

 

[Jeff396]

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's what mine looks like when not attached. I gotta think there must be a slight rise in front of your wheels that the fel is resting on. I can't imagine what else would make it so tippy. As you can see, my feet rest perfectly flat.

Jeff

 

[Jeff396]

Here's one showing how far the arms rise from their holder.

 

[Jeff396]

Here's one showing the whole thing. maybe you could try and dig down where the bucket sits when removing the fel. Other than that I can't imagine what might be causing the problem. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Jeff

 

[Charliebrn]

Jeff,

A couple things: In the second pic it looks like you've got plenty of room to pull out from under it. Am I seeing things wrong? Second, I always start out with the bucket tipped down about 17 degrees, which gives me a lot of room to move. Perhaps if you were to start with the bucket down like that, you'd have a lot more room to pull the posts up by pulling the bucket up....

 

[sandyc]

The lower right side hydraulic arm does drop if you don't use a bungie cord to hold it up. This is if you are leaving the control on the tractor and have pulled the two clevis pins and their shafts from the FEL. I have the same problem and it is not as easy to R&R the FEL if you leave the control valve on the tractor. I really don't have a choice as I have a cab and the valve cannot be removed because the cab is in the way.

 

[Jeff396]

You're seeing things right....but you have the wrong man! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif It's Freds that's having the problem and I posted some pictures of mine so he could see how it's supposed to look.

Jeff

 

[Jeff396]

It may work different on the BX2200. On the B7500 the valve is meant to stay with the tractor and there isn't a problem with anything dropping.

Jeff

 

[TresCrows]

"about 1". I tried different positions of the bucket and the phrase "raise the front wheels slightly" using the sidearms."

Raising the front wheels "slightly" is done to take the pressure off the side arm pins so you can pull them out WHILE the front wheels are off the ground. Then with the pins pulled lower the wheels back down and the loader will rise out of the stancions as if by magic. Before doing any of this you raise the loader and lower the "kickstands" or support legs or whatever you call them. Simple /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif. J

 

[sandyc]

One thing I neglected to mention here is that once I have the stands down and locked on the pins, I stand outside the cab on the right side and put the bucket in a 20 degree dump position. I guess it is 20 but maybe 30. In any event, I move the dump control slightly either way and try to move the pins. Once the pins are loose on the right side I check the main pin on the left. If that too is loose, I pull the three pins and then fiddle with the control valve until the FEL frame comes free from the tractor. All of these actions are done at slow speed and slowly so that the hydraulic lines are not stretched too much.
Life would be easier without the cab as I could remove everything. However, I also use the control valve for the front blade and the snowblower.

 

[Freds]

Thanks for the pics, Jeff. Now that I'm looking at my FEL and how it's sitting, it doesn't look like the ground is as level as I thought it was front to back. The support legs don't look like they're at the same angle as yours. This must be the problem. Maybe a block of wood under the feet next time... Either way, it was so easy to take off I'm sure I'll get a lot more practice in the future.

Fred

 

[chim]

Start by lowering the support arms. Lower the bucket with it slightly in the "dump" position, so the support arms don't touch the floor. Lower the bucket enough to raise the front of the tractor a bit. Remove the two pins. Curl the bucket and the side arms will pop up out of the brackets. Shut the engine off, and wobble the joystick till the loader stops moving. Disconnect the hydraulic lines and that's it.

Sounds like you may not be curling the bucket and the support arms can't do their job..................chim

PS - I went to HD and got colored tyraps for quick ID of the hoses.

 

[Freds]

You may be right, Chim. When I put it back on this morning I had no problem getting the arms to lift back out of the receivers. I think maybe I was using the wrong combination of curl and downpressure.

Fred

PS- I read about the colored nylon straps on here before (maybe from you). That's the first thing I did /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[chim]

Fred, the more you do the "on and off" the easier it will be. I had to really think through the steps to explain it, but when I physically remove/replace the FEL it's almost done via reflex. One thing that really helps is parking the tractor and FEL inside on a concrete floor. That makes lining things up a whole lot nicer.

I did drop it off outside on the ground a couple times, and it adds some difficulty. Since the 302 isn't a huge loader, it's still fairly simple to just grab it by the crossover brace and muscle it into place.

I never keep the loader on when using the RFM. That in itself makes for a lot of practice. With the KK rotary cutter on the back, it NEEDS the weight of the FEL to make it manageable...........chim

 

[Freds]

I took it off again yesterday. The same deal. I was having a hard time getting the arms to raise when I moved the stick this way and that way and the next thing you know their almost fully out of the receivers and ready for me to disconnect and back out. It's still so easy I can't believe I never took it off before.
The next project is to do a search on counterweights for the front. She was definitely light in the front and I could get the front wheels off the ground when I had the RFM raised. Seemed not quite as stable on a slight sidehill grade, too. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
I almost kind of missed not having a place to throw my pop cans and yard debris into, but it's so much nicer being able to get close to a pole or tree before swinging the RFM around.

 

[chim]

Yep. Once you deal with the loader a few times, it's easier than changing your shoes....................chim

 

[Anonymous Poster]

It sure is a good design. I take mine off every week to mow. Sometimes I take it on an off a couple of times a week. I've never timed it but I suspect I can remove or install it in five minutes. I lose a few drops of fluid each time I remove it so I hole a rag over the fitting when I remove it.

Wonder how many times those quick disconnect fittings can be cycleded before they start leaking?

John