Loader Unlevel bucket

[ptsg]

Now that you mention it, I think that's what I read too!!! And we are looking at numbers much, much smaller than more popular brands. So it's still feasible for them to do it that way. No local dealer base to do that work.

That's what I was trying to say before. :thumbsup:

If the left loader mount is slightly tilting forward and the other one tilting backwards, the loader will the get crooked and not sit level.

Like you mentioned, the best way is to get the bolts just snug, then just apply pressure with the loader on a flat ground and tighten the bolts. It's actually an easy fix for others that have this issue.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm not going to loosen mine to test this.

With that said, I doubt there is enough slack in my bolt holes to make my bucket off 1.5".

Since I'm not willing to be the guinea pig, we'll never know.

 

[ptsg]

Clearance bolt holes are usually done 0.50 mm (0.020") over the nominal size. If the loader mount moves forward, it will take the play of the front bolts and rear bolts, so those 0.5 mm are now 1 mm (0.040") of movement. Now if the other mount is moved to the opposite direction (like one tilted forward and the other tilted backwards) we are now looking at 2 mm (0.080") of play.

Those 2 mm might not look much but at the end of the bucket, will be a lot.

 

[Qapla]

They are all assembled at one of two places ... Waverly, Ohio and Williston, Fl ... both small, rural towns.

It could be that the loaders were not correctly tightened or that the torque specs were not followed or not listed.

It would be interesting to know just how tight those bolts are supposed to be.

 

[jmc]

Clearance bolt holes are usually done 0.50 mm (0.020") over the nominal size. If the loader mount moves forward, it will take the play of the front bolts and rear bolts, so those 0.5 mm are now 1 mm (0.040") of movement. Now if the other mount is moved to the opposite direction (like one tilted forward and the other tilted backwards) we are now looking at 2 mm (0.080") of play.

Those 2 mm might not look much but at the end of the bucket, will be a lot.

And furthermore, if that clearance also serves to accommodate all the tolerance stack-ups of both the tractor frame and the loader, the designed clearance is likely even larger.

 

[ptsg]

And furthermore, if that clearance also serves to accommodate all the tolerance stack-ups of both the tractor frame and the loader, the designed clearance is likely even larger.

Good point. Lots of things adding up here. Tire pressure, a full fuel tank and so on.

 

[CADplans]

I do not agree that's it is just an assembly problem. If so we would hear of this problem in all brands. This is the first brand I've heard having this specific problem.

If there is enough slack to cause 1.5-2" change in the bucket being level, the problem will reappear. And will require once again loosening and realigning the FEL mounting framework.

I've never had to do that on my loader tractor, have you?

This EXACT same bolt hole issue occurs on many early model Cub Cadets,, but you almost never hear about it,,

The transaxle can be bolted to the frame, with the frame twisted,,
the frame will STAY twisted, until the bolts are loosened, and the frame is twisted into alignment.

I believe the exact same thing can happen to some model JD GT,,,

So, IMHO,, a twisted alignment during assembly could easily cause the misalignment,,

 

[Btown]

They are all assembled at one of two places ... Waverly, Ohio and Williston, Fl ... both small, rural towns.

It could be that the loaders were not correctly tightened or that the torque specs were not followed or not listed.

It would be interesting to know just how tight those bolts are supposed to be.

Most loaders requires those bolts to be re-torqued by the 50 hour service. They loosen. I’m not sure why thread locker is not applied to stop them from loosening.

 

[ovrszd]

Most loaders requires those bolts to be re-torqued by the 50 hour service. They loosen. I’m not sure why thread locker is not applied to stop them from loosening.

I've owned two FEL tractors. The current one with 1600hrs. Both bought new. I've never re-torqued the FEL mounting bolts.

 

[4tillingdirt]

It can be an assembly problem. Let's say any other brand uses a jig to mount the two loader mounts at the same time or if the person assembling the loader mounts have the thought of pushing or pulling both mounts either back or forward when tightening the bolts to make sure that both mounts are aligned right. I used the second option when I built and assembled my loader.

It's a matter of having attention to details like this, which not everyone have. This is kinda proves that whoever mounted the loader in the US doesn't have much experience dealing with tractors and this kind of stuff or just don't care at all.

It doesn't take much play in the holes to make a whole lot of difference a upfront.

That's probably typical of the entire RK process. Bunch of flunkies handling the assembly of the tractors and probably can't trust them to flip burgers correctly.