I bent something

[tundraman01]

I need help identifying what might be bent and how to troubleshoot and repair. Mahindra 2655, I was discing with an implement on the 3 pt with forks on the front. I was backing into a narrow field, dropping the discs and going forward. On one pass, looking over my shoulder, my knee hit the bucket stick, raised the forks up about four feet and tilted them forward on about a 45 degree angle, then dropped them into the dirt. I went forward a couple feet before I realized it. Now one side of the quick attach is not reaching the hole where the pin goes in at the bottom. When I got off the tractor to see what I did, the pin was popped out on one side. How do I tell if I bent the fork bracket or the loader arms? I know I can take the forks off and see if the bucket goes on straight but I wanted to wait to see if you guys think I should do or check something before I take the forks off. I did pick up a load of logs and the fork bracket got closer to the quick attach on the loader arms but still not close enough for the pin to go in. You can see the gap in the pictures.

 

[RjCorazza]

The weak point is almost always the crossover tube that clocks the ssqa. There are a lot of you tube videos that explain the diagnosis and relatively easy repair.

 

[thclimer]

My guess is that you have racked the plates on the loader arms. The square box tubing between the 2 arms can twist more than you would expect.

Here is a link to someone who twisted their loader arms:

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/what-did-i-break.669484/#post-7427171

Its just a matter of leveraging it back to being square.

 

[BlueKnife]

Twisted the cross tube that goes between the loader brackets.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

Twisted the cross tube that goes between the loader brackets.

my first guess as well.
The torque tube twisted doing its job / what it is designed to do protecting loader arms, mounts, etc...

 

[BlueKnife]

Its just a matter of leveraging it back to being square.

It may be possible to do that, but it'd be considerably easier and faster to replace it.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Check out my boneheaded "problem" ... sounds about like what you are facing, but a different way you got there ... Like said above you bent/twisted the crossover beam ... https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/what-did-i-break.669484/

The video in that link shows how it was fixed, I did the same thing!

 

[BlueKnife]

The torque tube twisted doing its job / what it is designed to do protecting loader arms, mounts, etc...

I've read this concept a few times on this forum, but I've not seen any documentation saying that that's why they use the flimsy material that they do. I always assumed it was because they could get away with using cheaper, lighter material there. Heavier duty machines that are built for lifting from the front, such as skid steers and wheel loaders, use sturdy material that's not going to twist like that. You can use that tube for lifting purposes, in many cases. Have you seen some sort of documentation from a manufacturer stating that the cross tube is supposed to be able to twist? I've rebuilt several front loaders where that had happened using stronger material.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I'm also guessing that's it's a designed weak link ... On my Massey Ferguson in the thread I linked above ... The cross member looks easily replaceable, it has one carriage bolt on each side that holds it into a slot cut into the loader arms ...

The cross member is maybe 1/8" steel

 

[BlueKnife]

The cross member looks easily replaceable, it has one carriage bolt on each side that holds it into a slot cut into the loader arms ...

That's not unusual on light duty machines, but I believe it's for shipping purposes. I certainly could be wrong, I've just never seen anything official that said they're supposed to be a weak point. Just seen folks guessing on forums. I'm guessing too though so......

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

I've read this concept a few times on this forum, but I've not seen any documentation saying that that's why they use the flimsy material that they do. I always assumed it was because they could get away with using cheaper, lighter material there. Heavier duty machines that are built for lifting from the front, such as skid steers and wheel loaders, use sturdy material that's not going to twist like that. You can use that tube for lifting purposes, in many cases. Have you seen some sort of documentation from a manufacturer stating that the cross tube is supposed to be able to twist? I've rebuilt several front loaders where that had happened using stronger material.

I don't trust everything I read but for what its worth this AI answer seem passible.
But i'm just a user not an engineer.
where it comes from??? I don't know but I have seen uneven forces or buckets/etc.. not attached correctly twist these bars. I have a tweeked Kubota utility tractor I just live with as its so minor and am guessing someone forgot to lock one side down when scraping.

cheers

___________________________


AI Overview
torque tubes (the structural crossbars connecting the loader arms) are intentionally designed as sacrificial components.
They act much like a mechanical fuse or shear pin, engineered to twist, bend, or yield under extreme stress.

• The Reason for the Design: During an over-stress event (such as a quick-attach mechanism accidentally releasing on one side), the torque tube twists to absorb the massive uneven loads. This localized deformation safely relieves the stress and protects the main loader arms and tractor frame from bending or snapping.
• The Danger of Reinforcing: If you bend a torque tube and decide to weld, reinforce, or replace it with a thicker, stronger, or solid bar, you defeat the design. By removing the "forgiveness" of the sacrificial tube, the next time the loader is overloaded, the stress will transfer directly to the actual loader arms, permanently bending and ruining the expensive primary frame.
• How to Repair/Realign: When a torque tube bends, it often causes the quick-attach or bucket brackets to fall out of sync. Operators typically repair this by pushing the long, misaligned side of the loader gently against a large, stationary tree, which twists the tube back into square.
• Prevention: The most common cause of a twisted torque tube is one side of the quick-attach falling out of the implement. Many operators install safety chains across the quick-attach levers to prevent them from jarring loose and causing the uneven loading in the first place.

 

[BlueKnife]

I don't trust everything I read but for what its worth this AI answer seem passible.
But i'm just a user not an engineer.
where it comes from??? I don't know but I have seen uneven forces or buckets/etc.. not attached correctly twist these bars. I have a tweeked Kubota utility tractor I just live with as its so minor and am guessing someone forgot to lock one side down when scraping.

cheers

I don't trust anything that AI says and do my best to avoid using if at all possible. I believe it will prove to be one of the worst things to have ever happened to humans and the earth. I don't think anyone should use it.

But that's a whole different subject.

I've worked on, operated, repaired and otherwise been around many dozens of different types of front loaders that utilize some sort of quick attach system, mostly SSQA. These ranged in size from 20 HP utility tractors to 200 HP farm tractors as well as wheel loaders and skid steers. I've built half a dozen or so SSQA brackets for loaders and repaired others, including replacement of the cross tube. I've seen attachments come off one side many, many times and the only thing that gets damaged when that happens is that flimsy cross tube. On machines that have a strong cross tube, generally, nothing on the machine gets damaged, beyond the operators pride. On a few occasions, with an inexperienced operator who kept going when he shouldn't have, I have seen the implement get damaged. In one extreme case I saw a bracket get twisted, which would not have happened if the cross tube had been stronger and not collapsed.

I think they're making them flimsy because they can, not because they should.