We All Live In An Orange Submarine

[deezler]

That's odd, I thought that all modern Front End Loaders were made with a safety latch on the FEL boom cylinders so that they could be locked in the Full Up position. But on the exploded diagram (Messicks) for that LA844 loader, I don't see a part to do that. Do some FELs not have the safety lock?
rScotty

I feel like I've never seen that feature on a modern CUT front loader.... Most have deployable stands built in for keeping the FEL up on the air for quick attach/detach. But I haven't seen a lock in "full up" option for the boom cyls.

 

[rScotty]

Maybe it's an optional part. It fits on the pivot of one (not both) of the loader cylinders and then swings down into position to latch. Usually on the left side, so photos of the right side won't show it.
Anyway, because both of our new TLBs have it, I thought it was on everything now.
Our old Farm tractors didn't have it on their loaders - but they didn't have any safety equipment at all.

Now I wonder if it is a TLB thing?
rScotty

You can see it in the adv. photo here. It's the reddish/orange piece pinned to the LH front loader pvot right below the Kubota Label. Basically a heavy piece of steel in a tubular U configuration. Pull the pin and it swings down to latch around the cylinder rod. The basic idea is probably adaptable to any FEL - or maybe it is sold as a separate part. Might require some work if the cylinders are inverted with rod at the bottom.
:

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Something like that would be easy enough to make, if one wanted to lock the loader in an up position.

My Unimogs with the Schmidt loaders have similar hinged setup (both sides) but much smaller.
On those they're only meant to keep the bucket from hitting the ground when going down the road.

 

[scootr]

My LA1065 loader has it.

 

[sunandsand]

No progress on the busted Kubota, but we have a new neighbor who just bought 25 acres of uncleared land to the south of me. About six or seven is usable, the rest is wetlands which he can't touch.

His access is via an easement which did not survive Hurricane Ian. It looks like a tank trap, lots of really deep holes, rocks, chunks of concrete, basically impassible if you want your car to be usable at the other end - and it is only 300 feet long!

He decided to get a couple of loads of fill (five or six) delivered Monday. I asked him if they were going to grade it and he said no, he would do it by hand.

No, you're not Paul Bunyan, that is a HUGE amount of work to attempt with a shovel, and you won't be able to compact it by hand. (He's an IT guy and has zero idea of what he's getting into, but he's beginning to realize that machinery makes this kind of work SO much easier and faster.)

He spent most of a rather hot day clearing brush by hand, and then our guy with the tractor/submarine showed up and demonstrated what a root rake and even a sick tractor could accomplish and how quickly, just by comparison you know.

New guy called me at about three today from the local Kubota dealer and says his wife is giving him some static about buying a tractor. My wife (a/k/a SWMBO, She Who Must Be Obeyed) said gimme the phone and let me talk to her.

After a very few and very short minutes, his wife *ordered* him to sign on the dotted line. I expect to see his new tractor (2500 series I think he said, but I'm not sure) by Monday.

I told him that "having a tractor" had never really been on my bucket list either, but now that I do have one, it is endlessly useful, kind of like finding an extra $1,000 in your wallet that you didn't know was there. He talked about a used one, and I asked him if he had any mechanical experience (nope) and then asked him if he wanted to tinker or clear land.

People don't buy tractors and implements because they want to own tractors and implements, they buy tractors because they have land to clear, brush to mow, roads to grade, dirt to move and more.

It is like a camera - nobody buys a camera because they want a camera, they buy a camera because they want pictures.

He got the message . . . Kubota owes my wife a sales commission (yeah, right, dream on).

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Update . . . he's finally admitting to himself that his tractor is busted right and proper, and he is simply going to have to take it apart. He's not quite there yet, but he's realizing he can't avoid the inevitable much longer.

He's thinking a bent rod, I'm thinking possibly that and a cracked piston. He says it stops smoking (mostly) once it is warmed up, but is still down on power.

It was also determined that the PTO shaft on the gang mower was the wrong one. There was no shear bolt and no slip clutch. The weakest link was the square steel drive shaft inside the PTO shaft, which curled up like a pretzel. I'm astonished the PTO drive in the tractor didn't seem to get damaged, but we won't know that for sure until the new PTO comes in and he puts it on.

He still hasn't been able to remove the rear yoke on the gang mower input, he says he wants to try to save that part. (I don't know why, but it isn't my decision.)

In the meantime, I'm going to take a strong magnet, tie a rope to it and to a length of PVC pipe, and go magnet fishing in that "shallow looking pond". Knowing the history of the property, I'm pretty confident that there is "stuff" down there, some of which probably shouldn't be.


And while we are at it, the neighbor with the big green JD bought a stump grinder from one of the well known accessory manufacturers (or more accurately, importers - it was made in China).

We installed it on his tractor and he was itching to try it out. I said hang on a moment, y'all think we ought read the instructions? Nah, what for? Well it sez here make sure to lubricate all the grease fittings (so I did). Then I got to wondering if there was any oil in the gearbox. Used an unbent coat hangar for a dipstick - and it was dry as a bone. If he'd run it, and he planned to put it to work immediately, it would have been a short, merry, and expensive life.

Real men don't read instructions? This one does.

And Scootr is right, I have no need for a TV with all the local entertainment I'm getting!

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

The primary instruction for anything is put lube in the gearbox because they are never ever shipped with oil in them from China.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Maybe it's an optional part. It fits on the pivot of one (not both) of the loader cylinders and then swings down into position to latch. Usually on the left side, so photos of the right side won't show it.
Anyway, because both of our new TLBs have it, I thought it was on everything now.
Our old Farm tractors didn't have it on their loaders - but they didn't have any safety equipment at all.

Now I wonder if it is a TLB thing?
rScotty

You can see it in the adv. photo here. It's the reddish/orange piece pinned to the LH front loader pvot right below the Kubota Label. Basically a heavy piece of steel in a tubular U configuration. Pull the pin and it swings down to latch around the cylinder rod. The basic idea is probably adaptable to any FEL - or maybe it is sold as a separate part. Might require some work if the cylinders are inverted with rod at the bottom.
View attachment 804868:

My New Holland 50 doesn't have them but I bought a pair from Tractor Mike. Since I don't have the fabricating tools or skills, I thought $100 was worth it for safety.

 

[sunandsand]

The primary instruction for anything is put lube in the gearbox because they are never ever shipped with oil in them from China.

I absolutely agree 1,000%. He'd never bought a new one before (every one he'd used wasn't new and had oil in it), and I'd never touched one before, so I read the instructions.

What's interesting is that this thing came with NO instructions. I called the vendor and they said "We don't have any instructions, it is a new product for us.". A couple of days later, a few pages of very poorly translated instructions arrived by e-mail. It didn't mention gearbox oil anywhere!

I told them what had almost happened and suggested that they might put a five cent red tag or sticker on the gearbox filler plug "Add oil before using!" and they said yeah, that might be a good idea but never did it.

Not a lot of people buy more than one of these in their lives, so we aren't likely to hear someone say "well the last one burned up because there was no oil in the gearbox so I'm going to add oil before I use this one".

Unfortunately, it is often necessary to state the obvious, sometimes repeatedly, because sometimes people simply do not listen.

I'm surprised their lawyers haven't gotten to this one, this is a heavy, expensive and potentially dangerous piece of equipment, and some of the risks are not intuitive. Learning about the risks by losing an arm isn't good for repeat business.

My favorite legal disclaimer is on the inside of a Superman cape sold at Walmart: "Warning - garment does not enable wearer to fly."

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Not a lot of people buy more than one of these in their lives, so we aren't likely to hear someone say "well the last one burned up because there was no oil in the gearbox so I'm going to add oil before I use this one".

When I buy a new (or a new to me) vehicle, as soon as I back it off the trailer it goes on the lift. Then I check fluid levels, fasteners for tightness, etc., before I drive for the first time.

After 10 years of doing that I'm no longer surprised when finding low fluid levels, improperly torqued lug nuts, and such. Between that and early fluid changes (especially in diffs) it has saved me from numerous breakdowns and/or excessive wear.

Needless to say, the same goes for tractors and implements.

 

[YanmarFever]

My new Branson arrived with zero oil in the front axle, I checked it within 5 minutes in my shop.
That could of been bad...