CincyFlyer
Veteran Member
When I got my tractor in the spring I didn't want to pay the huge price the dealer got for either a third function or rear remotes (totalling about $2,500!) I also didn't really want an electric third function anyway; give me a lever any time! So I looked online and found this valve: 3 SPOOL 25 GPM JOYSTICK LOADER VALVE W/GRAPPLE | Directional Control Valves | Hydraulic Valves | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com, which looked like the ticket, so I ordered it.
When it came, it was huge. The valve body itself weighed about three times what the original did! There's no way it would fit in the space that of the original. So I called up SC and they would be happy to replace it, but to build a smaller valve would actually have cost quite a bit more! I guess they got some overstock deal on the big one; that is what they do. Here's the size difference of the stock FEL joystick valve compared to the FEL+grapple:
So I said WTH, and decided to cobble it on to the tractor. I had to change the position a bit, as the overall length is greater, and I wanted the joystick in a particular position anyway. I took lots of pictures of the stock setup, and then removed the original FEL joystick valve.
At this point I started to cobble up a mount, from 3/8" x 2" mild steel. The new valve is very heavy, and holding it up for position was a pain, literally. But all went well, considering that I have an FEL upright mount the heck in the way! I tested the mount using a 200 lb. man (me). I have also added a small stay to quell vibration, not shown in the pictures.
I was trying out a rarely-used HF flux-core welder; the welds aren't pretty, but I didn't want to set up for TIG. After it was done, I cleaned and painted it, and installed it in position.
Some notes:
I used the original valve mounting bracket bolts and the original valve bolts on the new valve mount and valveæ‚* needed zero additional hardware. I can reverse the configuration with no footprint!
Besides the great size of the valve, I was worried because it can flow more than twice what the original does; I was told that I'd lose "sensitivity". It turns out that the new valve is much easier to feather than the old! It also has a detented float position, one of the reasons I chose it.
Regardless of how the pictures look, no hose sticks out farther than the hand grip on the FEL release pin. I bought SAE->NP adapters for the valve so that I could use the original hoses, etc.
And the bonus: As I already have a "loop" at the rear of the tractor for the backhoe and I now have a small extra joystick valve, with a couple of fittings and a bracket I can have two remotes, joystick controlled (thinking top'n'tilt!)
Total cost of this adventure (note that I bought new quick release couplers so that I have originals still on the valve for my remote): $808 (valve, PB plug, two hoses and hose mount clamps for my grapple, fittings, QR couplers, bits of steel, and paint). Figure twenty bucks for bits and pieces for the rear remotes, and this is a pretty good deal. It took me just an afternoon to do this (not counting the remotes, that's next.)
When it came, it was huge. The valve body itself weighed about three times what the original did! There's no way it would fit in the space that of the original. So I called up SC and they would be happy to replace it, but to build a smaller valve would actually have cost quite a bit more! I guess they got some overstock deal on the big one; that is what they do. Here's the size difference of the stock FEL joystick valve compared to the FEL+grapple:
So I said WTH, and decided to cobble it on to the tractor. I had to change the position a bit, as the overall length is greater, and I wanted the joystick in a particular position anyway. I took lots of pictures of the stock setup, and then removed the original FEL joystick valve.
At this point I started to cobble up a mount, from 3/8" x 2" mild steel. The new valve is very heavy, and holding it up for position was a pain, literally. But all went well, considering that I have an FEL upright mount the heck in the way! I tested the mount using a 200 lb. man (me). I have also added a small stay to quell vibration, not shown in the pictures.
I was trying out a rarely-used HF flux-core welder; the welds aren't pretty, but I didn't want to set up for TIG. After it was done, I cleaned and painted it, and installed it in position.
Some notes:
I used the original valve mounting bracket bolts and the original valve bolts on the new valve mount and valveæ‚* needed zero additional hardware. I can reverse the configuration with no footprint!
Besides the great size of the valve, I was worried because it can flow more than twice what the original does; I was told that I'd lose "sensitivity". It turns out that the new valve is much easier to feather than the old! It also has a detented float position, one of the reasons I chose it.
Regardless of how the pictures look, no hose sticks out farther than the hand grip on the FEL release pin. I bought SAE->NP adapters for the valve so that I could use the original hoses, etc.
And the bonus: As I already have a "loop" at the rear of the tractor for the backhoe and I now have a small extra joystick valve, with a couple of fittings and a bracket I can have two remotes, joystick controlled (thinking top'n'tilt!)
Total cost of this adventure (note that I bought new quick release couplers so that I have originals still on the valve for my remote): $808 (valve, PB plug, two hoses and hose mount clamps for my grapple, fittings, QR couplers, bits of steel, and paint). Figure twenty bucks for bits and pieces for the rear remotes, and this is a pretty good deal. It took me just an afternoon to do this (not counting the remotes, that's next.)
