Questions on 3rd Function Kit

   / Questions on 3rd Function Kit #1  

JDeerekid

Platinum Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2004
Messages
879
Location
P-Town, Upstate New York
Tractor
Montana 4340C w/Loader, JD GX345 w/54in. mower
I know this has been talked and posted about numerous time and I have gone and searched everytihing that I can find about them. I have come to the fact that I want the W. R. Long Electric over Hydraulic Valve Kit.
I have a Montana 4340C tractor that I will eventually put a grapple on and a plow on the loader.
Does anyone here have a breakdown lost or directions/parts lost that came with your kit to show what is included that you could share?

I know this kit can be a little pricey and would like to know if you could just buy certain parts not the whole kit to save money?

Another thing is that my loader control handle has 3 knock out holes. Does anyone know of a switch that I can use to put in to my hand instead of replacing it with the one supplied from W. R. Long?
I will attach a picture of my control handle. It is on the lower left of the picture.

Maybe some pictures of the parts would be nice also. I know there have been alot of people asking about them now as the grapples and plows are getting very popular.

Thankyou all ahead of time.
 

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   / Questions on 3rd Function Kit #2  
I can't help you with the kit because I only bought what I needed.
Regarding your loader joystick handle, it's much nicer than the WR Long one. I would contact your dealer or web search the maker of it. With those punched out holes, they are obviously designed to take switches. It follows then that they should have switches for them too. A rocker switch comes in the WR Long kit so you can nix their switch and joystick handle. As a matter of fact, you can buy the Hyvair electric over hydraulic valve from Surplus Center too for a lot less. If you can get your own switch, and hoses ... and make your own mounting brackets and bulkheads, you could do the whole hydraulic thing yourself for quite a bit less, I'm sure.
Check out this thread when doing all that to my wife's 284 Jinma. Components (and cost) needed to do it your self are all listed, including a new joystick (which you don't need) starting on post #21.
My Very Own Grapples
 
   / Questions on 3rd Function Kit #3  
I know this has been talked and posted about numerous time and I have gone and searched everytihing that I can find about them. I have come to the fact that I want the W. R. Long Electric over Hydraulic Valve Kit.
I have a Montana 4340C tractor that I will eventually put a grapple on and a plow on the loader.
Does anyone here have a breakdown lost or directions/parts lost that came with your kit to show what is included that you could share?

I know this kit can be a little pricey and would like to know if you could just buy certain parts not the whole kit to save money?

Another thing is that my loader control handle has 3 knock out holes. Does anyone know of a switch that I can use to put in to my hand instead of replacing it with the one supplied from W. R. Long?
I will attach a picture of my control handle. It is on the lower left of the picture.

Maybe some pictures of the parts would be nice also. I know there have been alot of people asking about them now as the grapples and plows are getting very popular.

Thankyou all ahead of time.

My guess is that the kit price will be cheaper than the piecemeal method to get what you need. That's the way it is with Deere. Piecemealing a kit together can run 2.5x or more the kit price. However, if the kit is no longer available, then piecemealing may be your only option.

Try Del-City Del City - Wiring Products and Professional Electrical Supplies or McMaster-Carr www.mcmaster.com for the switches.
 
   / Questions on 3rd Function Kit #4  
My guess is that the kit price will be cheaper than the piecemeal method to get what you need. That's the way it is with Deere. Piecemealing a kit together can run 2.5x or more the kit price. However, if the kit is no longer available, then piecemealing may be your only option.

Try Del-City Del City - Wiring Products and Professional Electrical Supplies or McMaster-Carr www.mcmaster.com for the switches.


As 3RRL suggested, buying pieces from a discount supplier rather than from the Deere part book would certainly be cheaper. I don't recall exactly but recall generally that some folks have been able to put together either diverter valves or electrohydraulic valves for about half of what WRLong kits cost. The WRLong kits are nice though and allow you to put the whole thing together in an afternoon rather than spending time and money tracking down or fabricating every little piece.
 
   / Questions on 3rd Function Kit #5  
As 3RRL suggested, buying pieces from a discount supplier rather than from the Deere part book would certainly be cheaper. I don't recall exactly but recall generally that some folks have been able to put together either diverter valves or electrohydraulic valves for about half of what WRLong kits cost. The WRLong kits are nice though and allow you to put the whole thing together in an afternoon rather than spending time and money tracking down or fabricating every little piece.

I agree with Island on both counts.
I don't know what the "complete" kit includes, but I can tell you when I did Loretta's grapple, I made a direct comparison to what I paid for the WR Long components equal to what I used. Here's a quote (post #34) from that thread I posted above.

WR Long also has a valve like that, and that one is on my Kama. It came with a Hyvair valve, DO3 subplate, joystick handle with switch for about $350/$380 bucks. I had to order it through my local Kubota dealer since they don't sell to individuals. It is an excellent valve, but as a comparison, the stuff I got from Surplus Center was less expensive to do the same thing totaling $158.35 I did have to buy the joystick handle and switch separately, but it totaled $112. So altogether it cost $270 plus shipping. I made my own brackets for both, so that's a wash.

If you are going to use your own joystick, your cost will be $158.35 for those components. You will need to see what hoses, brackets and QD's will cost if that's included in the kit. So as an alsternative choice, if you don't mind doing a little work yourself, yes, you can save a lot.
 
   / Questions on 3rd Function Kit
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Thanks guys I have gone over all your threads many times and they helped alot. I emailed WR Long and he said that the cost was around $600 - $700 for the kit. He is going to contact me later in the week to give me details.
My plan is to get peices from WR Long as I don't need the joystick handle, brackets, QD's, and hoses.
My only problem right now is that I am trying to look for a switch for my handle. I need 2 buttons that can be wired together that will fit in the handle. I can find buttons and rocker switches, but I am not exactly sure what I am looking for and how to hook it up. This is why I came to you people as I know you have alot of knowledge and first hand experience on hooking the 3rd function up.
I did emailed Montana and they told me that they did carry a kit but it is just a diverter I think and the guy didn't know for sure. All he gave was a part number to take to my dealer. I will contact him later this week for price on that kit and find out more information on it. He is still trying to convince me to run hoses to my rear outlets and run it that way. I wouldnt mind it but if I want to put a TnT kit on this would make it impossible to run the grapple or what not. And I like the idea of having the switch on the handle and no having to reach for another lever.

I know that the kit from Montana has one button for the control. Is it possible to get two of the buttons and hook them up to make a rocker?

Thanks so much for all your help.
 
   / Questions on 3rd Function Kit #7  
He is still trying to convince me to run hoses to my rear outlets and run it that way. I wouldnt mind it but if I want to put a TnT kit on this would make it impossible to run the grapple or what not. And I like the idea of having the switch on the handle and no having to reach for another lever. .

Yes and no on the incompatability of using rear remotes and a TNT. Of course you could not run the grapple and TNT simultaneously unless you had three sets of rear remotes but as a practical matter there are not many times when you would be using the grapple at the same time as a box blade or other 3PT implement where you needed the TNT.

I used a rear remote to control the grapple with my first tractor and found it every bit as natural as using a four on the floor manual transmission. That depends on your particular tractor remote valve control positioning of course but if it is in a natural position you might want to give it a try. It would cost you only a couple of long 1/4 or 3/8 hydraulic hoses and fittings which you could salvage by having them recut with new fittings later if you decided to go with a diverter and reuse the quick connects. The experiment would cost you about $30 for recutting the hoses and putting new crimp fittings on. You could also be up and running in about 15 minutes which is all it takes to route the lines and ziptie them into place.

I currenty use a diverter (not electrohydraulic) from WRLong. I have gotten used to it but I don't like the fact that you can inadvertently dump/curl by not timing the button push exactly with your joystick movements. When you are working fast it is sometimes hard to make sure the joystick is neutral before pushing the button. That is never an issue with the rear remote as your hand is off the joystick to operate the grapple. Of course you are thinking of the electrohydraulic which does not have that quirk either. If I had to do it over I'd choose either the rear remote or go with the electrohydraulic.
 
   / Questions on 3rd Function Kit #8  
ELH has been great for me.
 
   / Questions on 3rd Function Kit
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Update on my progress for installing the 3rd function kit. I contacted WRLong and he said that they dont make a kit for my tractor yet and has not installed one so he recommended that I build one myself. The only thing is I ma not sure what I need. I know I need hoses, quick disconnects, and such. But which solenoid valve, subplate, and connectors. Will the ones that 3rrl got work for all tractors or should I be looking for something more specific?
Also I have been in contact with Brian at Scorpion Technologies. They sell controls, handles, and switches. They have been very helpful in building switches to insert into my handle instead of buying the whole thing. They are great people to deal with and they bend over backwards to help make anything you wish. I highly recommend them for all your control handles and switch needs.

Thankyou again in advance for all your help.
 
   / Questions on 3rd Function Kit #10  
I think Rob (3RRL) is your guy for advice on this.
 
 
 
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