Lubing FEL

Hook · Nov 16, 2001

I just passed 10 hours on my L3010 & want to lube the FEL, as per the maintenance schedule. Three questions:

1) What kind of grease do I use? Can I just grab any kind of multi-purpose grease?

2) The grease fittings have some kind of threaded "screw" entering the joint. Is this a grease fitting? If so, does it take some kind of "standard" grease gun?

3) The directions say to grease the joints of the lever. Do I uust slap some grease in the area where the lever arm connects?

TIA.

--
Hook

Anonymous Poster · Nov 16, 2001

HOOK,
1. A GOOD MOLY GREASE IS OK
2. ALL GREASING POINTS HAVE STANDARD GREASE FITTINGS.
3. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS "LEVER" IS. CONTROL ARM FOR THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL VALVE? A LITTLE OIL IF YOU WANT.
4. LUBING THE FEL AFTER 10 HOURS USE REFERS TO 10 HOURS USE ON THE FEL NOT 10 HOURS OF TRACTOR TIME.
FRED

MDNick · Nov 16, 2001

I also have a L3010 that has 29 hrs on it (the tractor, about 1/2 of that is on the loader). I have yet to Lube my FEL. I like things well lubed. Both bucket cylinders were leaking, so I took them off for warranty repacking. There was a good coating of grease on all assorted pins. Also have read the directions of lubing the control lever. I am going to squirt some penetrating oil (WD-40 or equil) on the various connections, not grease. Like I said, I like things well lubed, but to much grease collects dirt, grit, crud, that then wears on assorted parts. I plan on keeping enough grease on it that there is always evidence of lube, but I won't put in 3 squirts of grease just because my 10 hrs are up. The exceptions to that are the environment. If you are working in a really dusty situation, then 10 hrs of use may not be frequent enough. Or if your tractor were to set outside.

If you want to strictly follow the schedule, then (as Fred said) use any general purpose grease at the fittings and then wipe up the excess.

Nick

Farmer kid usetabe, Farmer Wannabe

Hook · Nov 16, 2001

Poster: FRED.G
Subject: Re: Lubing FEL

> 1. A GOOD MOLY GREASE IS OK

Cool. Thanks.

> 2. ALL GREASING POINTS HAVE STANDARD GREASE
> FITTINGS.

I thought so, but ...

> 3. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS "LEVER" IS. CONTROL ARM
> FOR THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL VALVE? A LITTLE OIL IF YOU
> WANT.
Yes, the control lever. There is a sticker on the FEL that says to "lube" the joints of the control lever.

> FRED

Hook

Jeff396 · Nov 16, 2001

I just took my FEL off for the first time to mow the lawn. Sure was nice to not have to worry about hittin' something with it!! I was wondering, no matter what I did I had to use a little persuasion (tapped with a hammer) to get one of the pins back in....is this normal? They both seemed to come out easy enough.

Jeff

2001 B7500HSD, LA302 fel, 60"mmm, grass catcher

Bird · Nov 16, 2001

Jeff, I'm going to assume that you remove and re-install your loader the same as the LA401 on my B2710; by driving up against it, connecting the hydraulic lines, then roll the bucket forward (dump) to tilt the side frames back into the main frame. Occasionally mine will look like it's almost in place, but not quite, and I simply roll the bucket back (curl) a bit and the bottom end of the side frames slips that tiny distance into the correct place, dump the bucket again, and everything is lined up so the pins always go in easily; I've never had to push or hammer on them. And if I'm way off base with this idea, then I probably can't help you./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Jeff396 · Nov 16, 2001

Went down and messed with it some more. It seems that no matter what I did with the bucket it never slid easily in or out of the hole. Yes, it goes on exactly as you describe. The pin on one side goes in without a bit of pressure. The one on the other side will go in the outer hole and through the Fel okay but hangs up a bit on the inner most hole which is part of the bracket that stays on the tractor. I noticed that there are little pieces of steel that the Fel rests up against just behind the hole. I wonder if I file a bit on this, it may pick up that 1/32 of an inch that's in the way.

Jeff

JimMorrissey · Nov 16, 2001

Jeff,

I would have told you exactly what Bird did. The only other thing I can think of, which gave me trouble in the past, is a irregular surface (sloping one way or another). Make sure you are working with as flat a surface as possible when installing the loader. It made a difference for me.

snowman · Nov 17, 2001

Jeff;

My FEL pins slide right in; I've taken it on and off a number of times (never keep it on when I mow). If the pins don't slide right in, then I know that I'm off a bit and fiddle around with the controls a bit more.

One way to know that it's aligned before putting the pins in is to actually lift the bucket off of the ground (not high; just off the ground) before you put the pins in. Make sure that you look at each side where the FEL sets in the frame good before you lift it though; you don't want one side to slip off.

I also built a dolly for my FEL; makes it much easier and lets me store it easier in the garage.

Bird · Nov 17, 2001

Jeff, other than a slight manufacturing flaw, the only other thing I can think of would be if there was a little debris, dirt, metal shavings, or something similar not letting it slip completely into place, but I'm guessing if that were the case, it would have been cleared out during your tinkering with it.