Tweaked FEL

[mercdv]

A head on frontal impact, is not the way this would have been damaged anyway.

That was pretty much my point and I was responding to the "forks would be damaged."

 

[mercdv]

To the OP, one thing I forgot to mention is that things might not be tweaked as far as you think. With it being unlocked and shifted out of position on one side, that could exaggerate the appearance of the twist. Sometimes you can loosen the nuts on the loader and release the pressure on the hydraulics and it relieves the twist a bit. I wouldn't recommend you try this unless you know exactly what you are doing and the loader was securely attached to the tractor. You have to know how much to loosen things and how far you can safely actuate the cylinders otherwise you can cause more damage and even hurt yourself. It is just extremely hard to tell from the photos without seeing it in person what might and might not work or how far things are really twisted. The only way to really tell how far things are out of spec is taking some measurements to see how far out of square the loader is to itself but it would have to be removed from the tractor or mounted back on correctly. I wouldn't do either of those things until the dealer looks at it.

I'm hoping things look worse in the photos than they actually are. It would be nice if you escaped this with minor costs. None of us like to see someone suffer major damage or major failure. We've all been there, done that and we know how bad it sucks.

 

[goeduck]

One thing I don't understand, is why so many people keep ignoring the fact that the OP already mentioned and showed pictures of the lock that was not fully seated causing the twisted arms.
If that lock had failed with the loader arms lifted all the way up, it could get seriously dangerous.

Right. I suspected the mounts not being secure all the way back in post #3.

 

[mercdv]

Can locks get disengaged as a result of the damage instead of being the cause of the damage? Of course they can so that is why people are discussing other possibilities. Who knows if that happened before or after the failure/damage. In all reality, we all have our opinions since we weren't there, didn't see it happen, and haven't physically examined the tractor. The OP could be telling the truth or he could not. I don't know him so I just have to trust what he says happened. At this point the only thing that truly matters is helping him get it resolved. Ultimately it is up to the JD dealer if they want to cover it under warranty or if the OP has to pay. I would think our collective goal is to guide him on the best way and lowest cost to get the issue resolved. Heck, if he lived near me I'd probably offer to drive over and help him figure it out.

 

[ray66v]

That was pretty much my point and I was responding to the "forks would be damaged."

Sorry, I did not mean to give you the impression I was disagreeing.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Good advice :thumbsup:
If there happens to be pictures of delivery from the dealer of that side showing it unlocked, that would be golden.

EDIT. I did a YouTube search and the release levers are behind the towers so I doubt you would have a picture unless from the operators station. Nice release system by the way. Except there sure should be some sort of pin or something that would prevent accidental disengagement.

I am going to disagree with that statement. Familiarity of equipment operation is paramount to safe use. The operator/owner is responsible for reading and understanding ALL features of any piece of equipment, if not, they should not be operating it.

 

[ddbackhoe]

A head on frontal impact, is not the way this would have been damaged anyway.

The way the loader frame is deformed, is very similar to the kind of damage I saw many hundreds of times on a vehicle frame, when impacted from the side, in the front. It's called "sidesway"

If someone was carrying a heavy load, and hit something with the right side of the load, while moving forward, and turning to the right, I could see it causing the type of damage the OP has. The weight of a heavy load of 2x4's could exert strong forces if it's momentum was suddenly stopped by an impact. In that scenario, you could have no damage, or witness marks on the forks, or signs of direct impact to the loader frame. The loader frame is weakest at resisting heavy side forces, so those forces could conceivably bend it in a manor like we see.

I am not disputing the OP's claim on how this happened. I'm just giving an observation based solely on what I have experienced, and what the photo's show. There could certainly be a material defect, or other explanation that caused this to fail.

But, without prior failures of this model, which would clearly tell them they have a problem, I could see the possibility that JD will conclude it's collision damage.

Isn't there a possibility that it just came undone from being improperly secured? Demount and remount the loader maybe before deciding the whole thing is "toast"?

 

[BKBoiss]

Here are pics of the disengaged right side and the normal left side. I would never think to take pics of something for future use like this; I have pics, but not close-up details. It's going to the dealer tomorrow.View attachment 562810View attachment 562811I guess I shouldn't have touched the lever as it removed the dust.

Just something that popped into my head when I saw your picture of the lock undone; is it possible that the movement of the hydraulic hoses as the loader goes up and down could have hooked that little latch and unlocked it?

 

[ovrszd]

Sadly, it's obvious by the last two pics that the lock was engaged at one time. You can clearly see the skinned paint.

Why it unlocked is going to be the issue to be resolved. The dealer is going to have to be very creative with JD to get this covered under warranty. If he pulls it off I would be a faithful customer from this time forward. Including all fluids and filters.

If a JD warranty rep gets called in this isn't going to end well.

Side note and my opinion only. That lock system sucks!!! An "over center" latching device should never be used here. I'd have zero faith in it from now on......

 

[aczlan]

Side note and my opinion only. That lock system sucks!!! An "over center" latching device should never be used here. I'd have zero faith in it from now on......

That's where I like the system on our B7500, a 1" steel pin that goes through both sides of the bracket and into the loader arm.

Aaron Z

 

[ovrszd]

That's where I like the system on our B7500, a 1" steel pin that goes through both sides of the bracket and into the loader arm.

Aaron Z

Yep. Mine is held in place by a gravity slip pin.

I saw a thread here where an operator had one come out. I modified mine and added a coil spring to hold it in place. Still easy removal with no wrenches required.

I did a thread on that mod if any Kubota owners are interested.

Looking closely at the OP's pic you can see how the latch moved up slightly which took away the "over center" protection. Then it continued to climb upward until it unlatched. Those signs would be my argument with JD. This was not operator failure to relatch. The forces involved unlatched it. That's why I have no faith in it.

 

[Ford850]

That latch system looks like it belongs on a lawn mower to adjust the wheels for cutting height.

 

[ray66v]

Isn't there a possibility that it just came undone from being improperly secured? Demount and remount the loader maybe before deciding the whole thing is "toast"?

Sure. That's why I said:"There could certainly be a material defect, or other explanation that caused this to fail".

I also said, my observations were based strictly on viewing the damage in the photo's.

Having fixed a few bent loader frames, I would say this one is toast.

It's not that it can't be fixed. Anything can. It's probably not worth it.

Considering it's a new tractor, and based on the explanation of what happened, by the OP, he deserves a new loader frame, at a minimum.

 

[ovrszd]

That latch system looks like it belongs on a lawn mower to adjust the wheels for cutting height.

What concerns me the most is the latches adjustability. JD knows this mechanism is finnicky and requires "tuning". And they still produced it. "Take it or buy different brand".

 

[Threepoint]

My opinion (which doesn't count for much): I'd say the OP has given us the correct version of things.
He was exceeding the weight limit, but that wasn't exactly the problem. The problem was, that the load was not centered on the lift arms/forks. With this imbalance and maybe a slight incline, the right mast, which had more weight, gave way. This can be seen in the one picture. It either broke the welds on the mast mount to the tractor or the tube from the tractor to the mast twisted.

But haven't we established that the OP wasn't exceeding the weight limit, after all? See his post #60. He calculates his actual load at 1232 lbs. His initial belief that he had exceeded the limit was based on an assumed lift capacity of 1120 lbs, but that is JD's spec at maximum lift height. The damage occurred at only 6" above the ground. JD rates that loader at 2125 lbs at a height of 59", with a break-out force of 3327 lbs. See post #57. Even allowing for the fact that the center of mass of the load on the forks was maybe 20" or so forward of the pivot pins, he was well within the spec limits. Also, I'm wondering if his forks are lighter than the stock bucket. If so, and if JD rates its loaders with the standard bucket, he'd pick up a few more pounds of capacity from that.

 

[majorwager]

Might send the photos to Good Works Tractors in Michigan, get an opinion and assessment. Sorry I do NOT have a link.

 

[goeduck]

I am going to disagree with that statement. Familiarity of equipment operation is paramount to safe use. The operator/owner is responsible for reading and understanding ALL features of any piece of equipment, if not, they should not be operating it.

You disagree that there should be some sort of pin that holds the mount in place to protect against accidental disengagement? I sure would want to make sure a stray branch did not disengage my FEL. Or the kids flipping a release lever when they are playing farmer.

 

[charlton289]

On my Massey 1705 there is a about a 1" pin that holds the fel arms to the frame that is mounted to the tractor so there is no way that it can even begin to move in a side motion without bending the whole lift arms. The uprights that the fel mount to are about 7/8 to 1" steel it would take a lot of force to even twist them. And with a lift capacity of less than 1000 lbs. I don't see how anything can move without taking the the whole tractor over. When I was shopping around for my tractor I looked at the way the fel was attached to the tractor I didn't particularly trust the way JD did there's it's like they are relying on gravity to hold the locks in place. I agree with that there should be some kind of mechanical latch to hold the release lever in locked position.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I just read through the entire thread. It does appear that the pin came out and possibly caused the tweak in the FEL cross tube. If this is determined to be the case I doubt Deere will cover it under operator error. I hope this is not the case. Most of the time this type of problem is due to hitting something on one edge of the forks or bucket edge as many have already stated. Since this was not the cause the unlocked pin is the only other reason I can think of either. Good luck in your outcome and please keep us posted.

 

[wagne223]

Reading about these types of issues makes me appreciate the KTAC insurance from Kubota. If something like this happens to me, it is either free under warranty or $250 if operator error.

Does JD offer a similar insurance for theft or damage? Or is it up to the buyer to find outside insurance.

Hope JD gives to OP assistance on this!