chevyzr2s10
Member
I just thought I should share some pictures of my front loader project that I recently finished. I got most of my ideas and information from the people on tractorbynet and appreciate all of the help.
The tractor is a 1985 Cub Cadet 1204 that I got for free with 600 hours on it. I got most of the hydraulics from the Surplus center. Most of the steel was from my own scrap collection except for a few pieces I had to purchase.
The hydraulic reservoir is built in to the main support of the loader arms and the pump is mounted directly to the front of the engine. The hydraulic lines are a combination of hard steel lines with compression fittings and Synflex thermoplastic hose. I used 3/8" hose because I got all of the hydraulics made for free at my work and that was the smallest that they had.
The loader works extremely well. I filled the tires with about 70lbs each of antifreeze and added a weight box filled with about 300lbs of steel scrap metal. I also have an additional 100lbs in wheel weights I will add later.
With the filled tires and weight box and a 250lb driver it can lift about 500lbs in the bucket. I have successfully tested it by scooping full buckets of gravel and dirt.
So far this has been very handy around my house. I have used it to move some firewood around as well as remove and reinstall a 4 cyl engine from my S10.
Some of the improvements for the future will be to add power steering and move the front axle forward by about 6 in to add more capacity. Also I would like to find some lug tires to give it more traction.
Please comment and ask any questions you like.
The tractor is a 1985 Cub Cadet 1204 that I got for free with 600 hours on it. I got most of the hydraulics from the Surplus center. Most of the steel was from my own scrap collection except for a few pieces I had to purchase.
The hydraulic reservoir is built in to the main support of the loader arms and the pump is mounted directly to the front of the engine. The hydraulic lines are a combination of hard steel lines with compression fittings and Synflex thermoplastic hose. I used 3/8" hose because I got all of the hydraulics made for free at my work and that was the smallest that they had.
The loader works extremely well. I filled the tires with about 70lbs each of antifreeze and added a weight box filled with about 300lbs of steel scrap metal. I also have an additional 100lbs in wheel weights I will add later.
With the filled tires and weight box and a 250lb driver it can lift about 500lbs in the bucket. I have successfully tested it by scooping full buckets of gravel and dirt.
So far this has been very handy around my house. I have used it to move some firewood around as well as remove and reinstall a 4 cyl engine from my S10.
Some of the improvements for the future will be to add power steering and move the front axle forward by about 6 in to add more capacity. Also I would like to find some lug tires to give it more traction.
Please comment and ask any questions you like.
