Calculated lost loader lift capacity with quick attach.

[Gary Fowler]

A friend told me that the problem with overloading a FEL was breaking wheel rims and spindles. Has anyone ever done this?

What breaks a rim is loose lug bolts. You don't actually break a rim, just the bolt holes. In all cases, the lug bolts get loose and allow some flex which eventually fatigues the metal and crack out the rim around the holes. I have seen old tractors with the bolt holes so wallowed out from loose lug bolts that they drilled new holes in attempt to not replace the rim.
CAUTION: Check your lug bolts frequently AND all the bolts that hold the FEL on to the tractor frame. I had an old 1984 Yanmar and the frame bolts would not stay tight. I had a couple that I had to tighten every time I use it. So far none has came loose on my LS with exception of 2 behind the fuel tank and I don't think they were ever tightened to start with as they were difficult to see much less tighten. There was a couple of lug bolts that were a bit loose when I checked them. Every 50 hours would be a good checklist to check ALL the attachment bolts. Check the lug bolts and all attachment as soon as you get the tractor.
As for broken spindles, they do break and not necessarily from loader work. I saw one at a tractor dealer that was broke and the parts guy said the owner only used it to mow with, no loader. Broken spindles would be a design flaw or machining flaw, not necessarily overloading.

 

[jmc]

I think your analysis is correct.

Another consideration in your favor is that (I think) loaders are rated at what they can lift to full height, which is less than what they will lift in the lower part of their range. So you may not be able to lift, say, a large bale to full height, but you might be able still load it onto a truck.

And then there is this. My neighbor wanted me to move some skids of landscaping bricks to the other end of his yard. My L4330 would not lift the entire skid so he started removing the furthest bricks from the tractor, several at a time, until the loader would lift it. In other words, we were very near the capacity of the loader in that position. I had on a medium weight box blade for ballast since space was too tight for a bush-hog back there. Anyway, the tractor felt a little squirrelly once it was moving and once I started into a turn, one of the back wheels started to lift off the ground. So I guess that just because it can be lifted doesn't necessarily mean its a good idea to move it.

 

[SSdoxie]

3v0, You have the right idea regarding calculations but each loader & QA system will vary some. Here are the comparisions of mine with & without QA.

All Measurements are @ 20" front of bucket pivot
Rate Lbs. w/pin on w/QA
Full lift 1108 1032 -6.9%
59" (bucket level w/rear pivot 1264 1168 -7.6%
Boom breakout (lift) @ ground 1644 1571 -4.4%
Bucket roll back @ ground 2194 1989 -9.3%

Average performance loss w/QA -7.1%

 

[stuckmotor]

Thanks to everyone for your advise on the loader. Some of the things you've said can be of immediate benefit. I hope to have this outfit for a long time.

 

[xring100]

You mention a 10% lift height increase that really is not practical as this would only be possible if the curl cylinders are fully retracted putting the 4 bar linkage parallel to the ground. With pallet forks that would put the tips pointing towards outer space. But under level bucket or forks, no increase in height only increase in reach. Everything else sounds good enough for government work.

Dave

 

[puckgrinder85]

I havnt noticed any real decrease in capacity.

 

[xring100]

The easiest but far from most cost effective way to relive these concerns would be to keep your existing tractor and buy another tractor that not only comes with quick detach standard, eliminating the need for these calculations. But also lifts about 3 times your average usage but could lift about anything you could think you'd ever want to lift this does of course have some potential draw backs including $$$, but hey that's why you now have two tractors. No job to big, no job to small.

How i selected my tractor
I really only wanted about a 60 -70hp tractor but wanted close to 3000 lift capacity. So i could lift 3000 plus pallets out of a semi. Could not justify the extra cost of the JD 5M series open station so i bought the larger M8540. I dont worry about not being able to lift things now. If i can't lift something now it didn't need to be moved that bad
i realize that this is not an option for most people. I was at my house 8 years before i could afford mine.

Dave

 

[schmism]

the is such a diffrence in loader capacities of CUT and AG tractors. I have a good friend who has a 75hp case AG tractor. his loader will lift 5200 lbs. why do we know this? because he has used it to lift his empty 20' shipping container with the tare weight printed right on the side. my loader is about 800 lbs and 33hp. figure tripple the size, 99hp the loader capacity isnt anywere close.

Just way to much diffrence in the way light CUT's are designed and built vs heavyer AG tractors

 

[boggen]

i am brain fried at moment so i may be off, do a google search for "first class lever" pages should give examples of second and third class levers as well
and i want to say search for "wiki 4 bar linkage" i think it covers 3 bar linkage, and up to 5 bar linkage.

i think those search should give you multi examples of math.

 

[Baby Grand]

3v0 -Your math is good and problem statement is conceptually accurate.
When you get the tape measurements and recalculate, your lift estimate will be very close.