Loader Custom made hydraulic pump attachemnt?

Skurfer · Aug 19, 2011

Hi LeeJohn, 638 and others...I would love to get a copy of the tractor and loader parts manuals. I will forward you my email address.

I have found what I think is the simplist and least expensive solution and am planning on heading that direction.

I saw a listing on craigslist recently for the same tractor that the guy said he had a new loader on it. So I called him up to ask about the loader installation and it turns out he is part of a company that installs loaders on tractors for about $1800. I didn't ask if this includes the loader, but he was very helpful and said they just tap into the hydraulic lines coming from the pump of the PTO. He made it sound very simple and easy to do.

Well its amazing what is ont he net and a simple query of how do you do this landed me here:
How to Tap Hydraulic Lines | OrangeTractorTalks

Which expalins and shows fairly well what I need to do. I only get a few hours each weekend to work on this so this weekend I plan to cut out a piece out of the hydraulic tubing so I can get the correct size fittings and measure up the length of hose I will need to go to the loader controls. I have alot of the tractor opend up right now so I thought I would throw on some paint as well.

Has anyone reading this painted their tractor before? I know sanding down to bare metal and using primer etc will get the best results, but most of the paint is still pretty good (but faded), and I am not looking for a showroom finish. The Kubota spray paint is very expensive ($11.50 a can) and so I am looking for a cost effective solution. Thoguht I would run to my local paint store today to see what I find. I was also wondering about painting the engine, do you need special high temp paint for that? Not sure how hot the deisel engines get.

rbargeron · Aug 19, 2011

Skurfer said:
......I have found what I think is the simplist and least expensive solution and am planning on heading that direction.......... I plan to cut out a piece out of the hydraulic tubing ..........

I've followed this thread and I need to say I think cutting into the piping is bad advice. I'd recommend against that until you can find out a little more about your tractor.

The flow of the internal hydraulic system is less than the front pump arrangement the tractor had up to now, which is worth reinstating if you can. You might be able to get a second (and more reasonable) opinion about whether the pump is really toast. Gear pumps usually have replaceable seals and wear plates - maybe a more experienced shop will recognize the pump and be able to find parts for it.

If you must abandon the external system, the way people really tap into the internal hydraulics is not by cutting the tubing. There is a hydraulic block - on my L225 it was under the seat on the right side. (see pic below) If you follow the high-pressure pipe from the bottom of your pump it goes to a rectangular block with 4 bolts holding a cover on it. On the parts diagrams the cover is part 064 on the Hydraulics 2 page. The cover can be replaced with a block with connections for running high-pressure hoses out to the loader valve and back.

The L345 has a similar hydraulic block (mounted on the other side) There's some discussion of it in this thread Ronnie Bowman at Tractorsmart.com may be able to find the right block for your L225.

If you can stand it, hold off doing anything irreversible until the whole plan is clear. Loaders were not uncommon on the L225. You'll get there.

Skurfer · Aug 22, 2011

That is some great advice about not cutting intot he hydraulic line if you don't need to. I was there this weekend and followed the pipe to a block which I assume is what you were referring to. I took a picture and will tray contacting Ronnie and see what he can come up with for me.

I still think I am going to go this way though, I am not confident the orginial design is still viable with end of the crankshaft being in tough shape. If I can go the connecting block route, it seems that I would still be able to fall back to the orginial if I wasn't happy with the performance. And the cost savings seems substantial.

I didn't see any picture that you were referring to, maybe it got lost in cyberspace? I have attached one here that I would guess is simialr to what you were talking about.

Also the link you had sent me back to this thread. I would like to read what others have done so if you can find that again and direct me, I would appreciate it.

2458n · Aug 22, 2011

The pump on the front has at least twice the flow as the tractors system. Try to keep it if at all possible. I purchased a replacement for my tractor from a Kubota dealer in Columbus Ohio. I know the pump was less than 150.00. The dealership seemed to know everything about my tractor's setup.

rbargeron · Aug 22, 2011

Yes, that's the block.

I see the link got cross-wired. (I probably had two browser windows going and mixed them up - old dig, new trick, etc.) Here's what I hope is a better link. In the 10th post there's info on the part number and price for the block for a L345. The stock cap on the L225 looks different - Ronnie may be able to steer you to the right part. If not, a machine shop could make one using your cap as a template. The cap now connects the two ports together - it just needs to separate them to route the oil out to a valve and back.