L3400 CCM hydraulic top link length

[canoetrpr]

StrangeRanger. Looking forward to seeing your pictures. I imagine that all the plumbing went well?

My lovely valve is sitting on my work desk waiting for a mount. Called the guy who was going to make me a mount - haven't heard back from him! Boy I hate depending on other people to get stuff done :-(.

 

[canoetrpr]

SR - if your mount is ready, I'd appreciate some pictures of it too. I might have to come up with an alternate plan if the guy I hired to do the bracket for me does not come through.

 

[Leon Wittner]

If this is what it takes to install a Hydraulic Three Point top link I think I will just keep climbing off my tractor and manually turn the top link.

 

[StrangeRanger]

Canoe,

I'll take some pics tonight when I get home. My bracket is very simple, 3 small pieces of 1/4" steel welded together and bolted to the ROPS. The steel cost me $11 (cut to size) and a tin of Skoal to get my buddy to weld it. Literally took him less than 5 min to weld it. The hardest part was drilling the holes so they lined up right w/ the valve assy as my final dimensions were a tad off from what the spec sheet shows. I think that's due to everyone tightening down the valve assy a little differently.

If you don't hear from your guy and like the way mine looks I can send you some drawings and you'll see how simple it is.

The plumbing all went great. The only issue I had was on my "final inspection" before firing up the tractor was I didn't snug down my PBY hose. It didn't leak at first, but then when I had the tractor running and started wiggling the hoses to check everything a little drop seeped out. No problem, snugged down the nut and it was golden.

Leon,

You have to understand we're two complete hydraulic noobs just prattling on. I know myself I was very excited for the project and it was nice to share the experience w/ someone like Canoe. So we've been chatting back and forth like a couple of hens.

Really, now that I've done it the whole process is actually very easy. And if someone has the $$$ burning a hole in their pocket I'd highly recommend at least doing the top link to anyone.

My stumbling point was that I was leery of just how to tap into the factory hydraulic system. And in the hours of reading and research I did before moving ahead no one mentioned the one thing I didn't grasp until the end. Tapping into the factory hydraulics is literally a simple matter of replacing 1 single line. 1 single line!! OMG if I had figured that out ages ago I would have done this last year.

My favorite part is that my set up cost a LOT less than using Kubotas valves and I now have 2 extra remotes that I would have not gotten if I went w/ my dealer's "recommended" set up.

So if there are any other hydraulic noobs out there wondering about this project I'll be happy to answer questions. It really is very easy to do.

**EDIT** Ooohhh!! Now I get to change my toy list in my signature LOL

 

[canoetrpr]

SR is right. If we didn't think that this discussion might be useful to other noobs, we would have kept it in PMs. While I haven't finished the process yet unlike SR - still waiting for my mount to be made, I have to agree that it is pretty simple once you've got all the right information.

What sort of welding does your buddy do - stick, mig btw?

 

[StrangeRanger]

What sort of welding does your buddy do - stick, mig btw?

Uhhmm... I have no idea. It's bright and very hot when done But he's done lots of stuff over the years for me. Worst case scenario I could have him do one for you like mine. Might make drilling the holes a little more challenging, but it could still be done no problem.

 

[StrangeRanger]

Finally got a chance to snap some pics last night. I know, my hoses are a little long, but I was afraid of getting them too short and then being screwed.

If you look at the valve assy you'll see a set of "risers" next to where the top link goes in. That's where the 90's will go for the side link when I get that back from CCM.

Now I gotta see if I can add a cylinder for my rear blade angle

 

[StrangeRanger]

Canoe,

Per your request here's the mounting plates. As I said before, I used the KISS method. Very basic.

The 2 side plates were simply welded to the base plate, I believe they were 78mm apart. Then I used 2 3/8" x 4" bolts w/ lock washers and nuts to secure it to the ROPS.

The long hole spacing distance on the base plate is the "tricky" one. According to Prince's drawings this distance when you have 4 work ports should be 7.187" between the mounting holes. Well, mine wasn't or I didn't drill exactly right I had to fudge one of the holes a little bit. Oh, and I used 1/4" plate steel so 1" x 3/8" bolts w/ lock washers worked great for mounting the valve assy to the base plate.

Let me know what you think.

 

[StrangeRanger]

**** I keep posting... but I forgot one other little piece of advice my local hydraulics shop gave me. The fittings on the top and side link according to them weren't ideal. They said because the cylinders will be moving and the hosing moving and twisting that the copper/brass washers that were used will leak. Plus on mine one set of the fittings was an odd size of "British" fittings. You may want to swap yours out when you get them.

 

[canoetrpr]

SR:

Really appreciate the photos. You've got me all juiced up now.

Irritated that my mounting plate is taking so long. In hindsight I should have bought a chopsaw and some steel, cut it to size myself and drilled holes myself using my neighbours drill press and then taken it someplace to have it welded.

I like the mount location. Another one I thought about was on the angled part of the ROPS but rotated 90 degrees so that the work ports are along the rear of the tractor. This can be done with your mounting plate as is just by rotating. You will have to move around your handles again so that they are accessible if you do that.

I imagine that whatever my mont plate ends up being, I can get it to fit on that angled part of the ROPS instead of where I had originally planned it (the location of the factory valve).

One thing my mount guy is doing differently from yours is that it is two pieces welded together and the third piece is loose but secured with the pressure of two bolts when mounted on the ROPS - as is the case with the factory one. But no real difference as both work just fine.

 

[canoetrpr]

Didn't think that the top link woudl come with fittings but thanks for the advice. I'll swap them out.

Noticed that you didnt' bother using QD's for the top link. Guess you have no plans to take it out eh? Thats one advantage of having a lot of ports on the valve

 

[StrangeRanger]

Ya, you could flip it to the back of the ROPS, but it's simply personal preference. I tried it there and didn't care for it b/c 1.) it blocked some of my view and 2.) the handles felt weird there. If you do flip it to the back, you simply have to make the side plates a little longer.

I welded the 2 sides on to the base simply for mounting & un-mounting ease. The whole assy just plops onto the ROPS w/out having to fish around w/ bolts holding the whole together. The valve assy is not really light, at least when you're trying to hold it in place w/ one hand to see how it fits or fish around w/ mounting bolts. Again, it's all personal preference.

As for QD's... I couldn't think of a time when I'd not be wanting the top & side link No need to take them off.

 

[canoetrpr]

SR, I've decided to copy your mount EXACTLY. Looks pretty nice to me. It's out of the way but yet accessible. Your pictures and drawings made it real easy to email it out to the guy that is going to build mine so he won't have to come by again to figure out what I'm asking him to do.

Next time around, I'll use the opportunity to buy the tools I need to get the job done instead of outsourcing I need a chopsaw around here and a drill press. Best time I find to buy tools is when you find yourself needing them. Its a great excuse too!

 

[StrangeRanger]

ANY excuse to buy tools is a good one, but just FYI if you have a local metals dealer they would have cut the pieces to spec for you. That's basically how I got to the dimensions I ended up with. And then I just used a plain ole drill and held the steel in a vice so it wouldn't move on me. But those are good tool excuses to run by the wife We won't tell.

For anyone else considering the project my total cost was $973 (see attached). Steep, yes, but a heck of a lot cheaper than Kubota's set up AND I get two extra remotes to boot! Sweet!

 

[canoetrpr]

Finally got a hold of the guy doing my mount. Looks like he's going to get me something by tomorrow! Can't wait. Don't have my cylinders yet but at least I can get the remote install going.

My ROPS measured to only 75mm or 2 15/16" so thats what he's going to stick with.

 

[StrangeRanger]

Hey Canoe,
How goes the isntall? Are you all done and just waiting on cylinders? I'm hoping mine comes back soon.

 

[canoetrpr]

My valve is mounted. I love the location you picked by the way. Copied your mounting plate exactly. I've got the three hoses and fittings to the valve all in place.

The IN hose from the loader just barely fit. Guess I was trying to be too exact. Got it to work out with some creativity. Will post pictures when I'm done.

Waiting on two things now:

- Cylinders (CCM said that they shipped today - yay!).

- Some fittings to convert my 8 ORB work ports to 3/8 NTP male at a 45 degree angle. Should be here tomorrow. I've decided to put QD's on mine. The QD's I picked up are Parker Pioneer - 4000 series 3/8" NTP. Would love to have gotten the QDs from the hydraulic shop but their QDs were about $60 per set - male and female and I picked the Parker ones up for $20.

 

[StrangeRanger]

Sweet! I hope your CCM stuff shows up soon. Wonder if mine shipped too?

It sucks seeing the tractor sitting there just waiting. And my driveway is just begging for some major attention. Not to mention my wife complaining about it

 

[StrangeRanger]

W00t!! I got my sidelink yesterday! Got her all hooked up and it is sweet! Be careful Canoe, the sidelink moves dang quick. Putting 3pt gear on and off takes a little more effort w/ the top and side links, but OH man what a joy it was working on the drive way! Hope yours works out well too!
j

 

[canoetrpr]

SR. Expecting mine to show up anytime now!

I plan on getting 1/4" hoses to limit the flow for both top and tilt.

Interested in hearing why hooking up 3 PT stuff is a bit more work. I've got a Pats. I figured so long as the side link is level I should just be able to lift up as I have been used to doing and tweaking the TL length will be a breeze now - no?

I might well only use the SL when working with a rake or the box blade and leave it off otherwise.