300CX mast movement

[jd4310man]

I have a 300CX loader and have been happy with it so far but I am beginning to notice that the masts are moving side to side only when I put on a decent load wile raising the boom up. I do have the quick park disabled. I'm wondering if something isn't lined up correctly where the masts meet the mounts? It seems that it has made a slight popping sound when the mast moves, though not all the time.
Any thoughts about this, or has anyone had the same problem?

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

Did you re-torque the mast attaching fasteners as per the manual? Give them a once over as the book says and see if that clears up the issue.

Tom

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I have a 300CX loader and have been happy with it so far but I am beginning to notice that the masts are moving side to side only when I put on a decent load wile raising the boom up. I do have the quick park disabled. I'm wondering if something isn't lined up correctly where the masts meet the mounts? It seems that it has made a slight popping sound when the mast moves, though not all the time.
Any thoughts about this, or has anyone had the same problem?

Welcome to the club....From what I've seen & heard, they pretty much all do that and its "the nature of the beast"....its about the only complaint I have about my entire machine (3520 Cab w/300cx)

 

[jd4310man]

You would think that a big company such as John Deere could give the customer the option to have a quick and easy attach loader or one that bolts on solid, the customer is the paying for it anyway. I'm sure that they spent far more money in research and development to design this quick attaching loader than if they just designed a solid mount one that I think most people would prefer. I know I would.

 

[mfreund]

Me too!! It just seems weak.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

There's been alot of disscussion of this subject on TBN lately. This issue is present on the 300x also. There's some adjustments that can be made to make the situation better but I've yet to completely eliminate the issue. I did find that my loader mounts were installed on the wrong sides. The quik park levers and springs seem to be the main cause of the issue. What I've been doing that seems to help is using a torque wrench to adjust the bolts on the quik parks. So I can make sure that equal force is applied to both sides. Here's where I feel the springs come into play. It seems that the sides become loose after alot of fel work when the load is applied unequally to either loader arms. I feel that since the loader comes off, it's ( like one poster said) the nature of the beast. I only take my loader off when performing maintenance to the engine. I would much rather solid mounts like the 110 than the quik park. Other brands that have the quick attach feature don't seem to have this issue but there lift capacitys are less. So I think Deere must have made the nessecary sacrifices to get the lift cap they desired. Just my two cents.

Matt

 

[JD3520Turbo]

My 300X does the same thing with 55 hours on it. I have used it a good bit of those hours, but It just doesn't seem very sturdy to me. How much difference is there in a cx vs an x model. Does anyone know? I was thinking of trading for a cx, but if isn't going to lift much more, than I will probably stay with what I have.

My biggest complaint is that the thing just won't lift enough to really get the job done. I have a 61 inch bucket, and if you get a big scoop of dirt, it won't break out of the pile. It will just sit there and groan. Not pleased with that aspect of this tractor. I have thought about getting a 5225 with a pwer reverser on it, and a larger loaded, for more lifting capacity.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

My biggest complaint is that the thing just won't lift enough to really get the job done. I have a 61 inch bucket, and if you get a big scoop of dirt, it won't break out of the pile. It will just sit there and groan. Not pleased with that aspect of this tractor. I have thought about getting a 5225 with a pwer reverser on it, and a larger loaded, for more lifting capacity.

I'd have to say my 300cx lifts real good...I've lifted stuff I probably shouldnt have with no issues.. I just dont like all the "Slop" in the masts.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

The 300x vs the 300cx is about 250-300lbs more lift. The design is the same but the 300cx has extra linkages at the bucket and higher lift. But overall the same design. If you compare the other major brands of mid frame units deere specs out well in respect to lift capacity. As far as the x I've had no issues with it's capacity. It really depends on what the moisture content is of the dirt pile your in. Keep in mind your not running a full size frontend loader. Even skid steers with 2500lbs lift cap don't drive into every material and breakout and lift. You need to drive into the piles and curl while lifting. This will help. Like I said I feel the springs under the quick parks seem to be the weak link. The allow the mast to move when under a load. Which seems make the latches loosen over time.

Matt