Backhoe LITW backhoe on T273

[flyer91]

I got some pictures of the LITW hoe in action, digging out some stumps.

See 'em here http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/5129/sort/1/size/big/cat/683/page/

So far I'm really impressed with this tractor, and the LITW hoe.
The thing is a little beast.
I've dug around some huge stumps (5 foot dia. root ball of Oak and Buckeye) tugged them out with the hoe using the thumb, and placed them on top of a burn pile using the loader and a nylon strap (after I installed some tow hooks) doing duty as a poor man's grapple, all with no problems.
I did have to ballast the loader to pick one of the larger stumps out of the hole using the hoe/thumb because the front end wanted to get airborne as I lifted the stump, but a scoop of dirt was all it took to keep it level until I could get the stump out of the ~ 4 foot deep hole, then I drug it to the pile (using the loader hook/nylon strap) going backwards up a bit of an incline, and then hog tied it to the loader hooks, and lifted it up onto the pile.

The only nit'pic issues I've had are ..... the rubber mat slipping, and the lower muffler mount rattling.
I fixed the lower muffler mount by using an extra washer, and will do the floor with spray on truck bed liner.
I don't think this would be as much of an issue if I was on flat ground, but on the hills I have on my property ... the mat slipping is a bit of a pain when getting in and out of the tractor when it's on an incline.

 

[Roady]

Looks good flyer. I'll try to post some pics of my muffler. Last summer TYM redesigned it putting a extra brace on it. My original one broke within the first month. You can look at the pics and see if you have the newer one. If you don't, I'd request it from the dealer.

Roady

 

[flyer91]

Thanks Roady!
I appreciate you doing that.

 

[myyaz33]

I'd like to see the pics as well.

 

[Roady]

Here you go. The long flat brace that runs the length of the muffler on the very bottom is the new part. My first one didn't have it and ended up in 3 pieces within the first 15 hours.



Roady

 

[Roady]

Flyer, one more tip for you now that the backhoe has some use on it. I posted this in another thread but in case you missed it.

Have a magnetic level handy. Place it on the vertical sheetmetal below the joysticks. That way you know how far to tighten (or loosen) the toplink to get the platform exactly level. If it's off one way or the other, it puts undo stress on the subframe. Repeat after hard use.

Trust me on this, I'm on my 2nd subframe.

Roady

 

[flyer91]

I do not have that brace under the muffler.
I'll contact TYM and see if they will send the braced muffler before it breaks.
Hopefully they will send the new one (with the brace) and let me send the one I have back "after the fact". If not I will probably just make a brace using your pic's as a guide, and have my brother weld it on.

Thanks again for posting that Roady.
You have probably saved me from some unexpected down time.

P.S. I have the level and saw your earlier post.
Once again, thanks for the tip Roady.

 

[N.W. Logger]

I am looking at putting a backhoe on my T273 and I would like to know why you picked the LITW over the TYM backhoe?
Is yours frame mounted?
Is the LITW easy to put on and off?

 

[flyer91]

Basically .... it was what was available when I ordered my TLB (I needed to move faster than the lead time to get a TYM, to get the work I'm doing started before the burn season closes up here) and it has good reviews.

Most of the spec's 'are' a tad better that the TYM, but they really are both so close that that's probably a moot point.

It does ride with a lower center of gravity (I operate in a hilly area) while it still has a seat position high enough to put a tool box under it on the T2's rear deck, and provides a good view of the work area. It also comes with a thumb mount factory installed.
It mounts using a frame mount, and goes on and off just like the TYM hoe.

I guess time will tell if it was a wise choice, but so far it's working out very well, and I'm clearing some 'very' large stumps off my property with it.

 

[flyer91]

Well .... I have just over 42 hours on my T273 and the LITW BH6600 backhoe, and I am down for parts.
I'm not sure why, but the O-rings for the boom and swing controls both have blown up between the retaining washers and the shaft of the controls, and they are leaking badly.
I took the control plate off and you can see the blown O-ring here: http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/5261/size/big/sort/1/cat/685 (See the caption for explination)
Another couple of annoying aspects of this hoe are:
1 It's stabilizers creep down faster than I feel is tolerable, not only while parked, but also when in use.
I'm told this is normal. That bleeding down of a few inches overnight is within spec.
But you have to constantly reset them every few minutes or so while in use.
This issue also makes taking it off and parking the hoe a real problem, as you can't count on the stabilizers to hold it in a "parked position" when they bleed down so far and so fast.
And I can only imagine the problems when trying to put it back on it's subframe, after removing it for even just one day.

2 - The manual states you have to lube the hoe 'twice' per day (once at the start and once midway through the job).
There are a lot of zerk fittings on this hoe, but what's worse is that they are a bit too long in most cases, and actually hit the pins.
That means they you have to back them out a bit to get grease to feed into the them.
I was hoping that by 40+ hours that the inner ends would have worn down enough to not have to do this "backing them out twice a day" to get the grease to feed, and then tighten them up again, but so far every time I grease the hoe I have to back out a number of the fittings to get grease to feed into the pivots.
Actually this alone is not a biggie, and just taking some time to place washers under them, or shorten them on a grinder then pump some grease through them to clean them out, would put an end to that issue.
But ... the zerk fittings are threaded into the outer tube of the pivots and not through the pins like on the TYM hoe (where they also are recessed and protected from bumps).
On the LITW the way thay are mounted places the zerk fittings directly in harms way, especially at the bucket pivot end.
The recessed zerks on the TYM BT200, and the requirement for greasing only once a day (or every 10 hours) alone have had me sorta wishing I had waited for the BT200, instead of getting the LITW (except I really needed to get on this project in a timely manner, and the LITW was what was available at the time I ordered my TLB) but when you add that it's now down for leaking O-rings, that pretty much seals it (no pun intended).
I suspect that the T273 might have too much hydraulics for the 6600 (but it 'is' within the hoe's spec's.) or maybe the control block on mine was just not machined properly, and having the O rings blow out in itself would not put me off this hoe as much as the other things I've listed, have.
The O-rings are just the last straw.
As I initially wrote ... "time will tell" and it has.
I really can't recommend this hoe in it's current configuration with it's annoying quirks, and it will be a short time in my equipment shack to be sure.