Loader Removal

[Redneck_Randy]

GEEZ here I am 48, a grown man and all I can say is that attemping this for the first time, I was about ready to mess in my Depends. (no, I don't really wear Depends) LOL The removal of the FEL was pretty easy and didn't take anytime at all. Oh brother, the tractor sure looked funny without the FEL on. LOL After my blood pressure went down I attemped to reinstall the FEL. I drove the tractor in far enough to hook the hydraulic lines back up. The left side pin went in right off the bat. The right side took a bit longer to find the sweet spot. I sat on the end of the seat working the FEL bucket up and down to find the sweet spot and then all of suddenly the pin popped right in. I then put the safety clips in place. I had a clock on me to see just how long it would take me to remove the FEL and then reinstall it. Removal time was 14 minutes and 17 seconds. Reinstall time was 21 minutes and 9 seconds. I thinks that pretty good for this old rookie. LOL I was told by a couple different people and also read here in the forum sometime back that the first time removal and reinstall would take close to 2 hours or more. I have to tell you I was darn scared doing this for the first time after what I was told and read. I got myself worked up over nothhing. I can't believe now just how easy it is to remove and reinstall the FEL. I do have to say I believe part of the success and speed in which I was able to remove and reinstall the FEL goes out to PineRidge (Mike) and jinman (Jim) BIG Thanks guy's for the tutorials. They really helped a bunch!

 

[TMAC]

One does get faster and faster the more times he does it that's for sure. I rarely take mine off. I know a lot of times I would rather have it off for mowing but, I find it more necessary to keep it on because of the branches and ant hills I'm constantly knocking down or leveling off when mowing the outer boundries of the field.

However now that I'm stationary at my new home I will probably start taking it off more. The dang thing is just so handy though. It goes on quick but, you still have the thought of having to put it on for just a simple task. That's why I leave mine on most of the time. Here's to happy FEL removal and install.

 

[Inspector507]

You'll get quicker at it Randy. Mine is a small Class I and I can remove it in about 3-5 mins max. Re-install may take 5. Of course I take it off almost everytime I mow. I didn't today but it takes longer to mow because of all the obstructions I have to mow around. It sure does take more care with that bucket hanging out there so far.

 

[PineRidge]

Randy now you're no longer in the ranks of a FEL rookie! Glad Jim & I could help.

And if you'de like a real experience come-on over sometime and I'll let you put the backhoe back on the 40D. After that you'll probably never want to own one.

Seriously the dolly that I made takes a lot of the work out of realignment problems and speeds up the process.

 

[jinman]

Can you guess what job I like least while removing or installing the FEL? It's unfolding the stand. I kept losing pins because of brush snatching them out. So, I replaced the pins with bolts and locking nuts. Taking the bolts out and unfolding/folding the stand is the hardest part of this job to me. But with the QA bucket, I can be lazy and just drop the bucket and leave the arms on. Then I don't have to "deal" with my PIA bolts.

 

[AndyG]

You'll get quicker at it Randy. Mine is a small Class I and I can remove it in about 3-5 mins max. Re-install may take 5. Of course I take it off almost everytime I mow. I didn't today but it takes longer to mow because of all the obstructions I have to mow around. It sure does take more care with that bucket hanging out there so far.

You can do it in about the same time with a Class III. Follow the sequence in the book and all will go well. I use my tractor to mow the grass so the loader must come off. Quite easy really.