Pivot pin

   / Pivot pin #1  

rd_macgregor

Veteran Member
Joined
May 14, 2008
Messages
1,875
Location
Prince Edward Island, Canada
Tractor
Kioti DK45SC, Kubota B2650
When I was changing over from my grapple to my bucket for the winter, I noticed that the lower left pivot pin for the quick-attach had snapped its flange and was creeping out of the hole. I'm very happy to have caught this before the pin fell all the way out, but when I started looking in to repairs, I was surprised to find that the pin does not have a groove for a retaining ring. At first, I thought this must have been a manufacturing error, but I looked up the parts diagram at MI&E's web site and, sure enough, there is no retaining clip shown...this means that the flange bolt is solely responsible for keeping the pin in place.
Does this sound right?
Would it be OK to use a pin of the same diameter but with a groove and retaining clip?
Oh, this is on a DK45S with KL451 loader.
BOB
 
   / Pivot pin #2  
Can you get a picture? I have the same loader and I can check mine.
 
   / Pivot pin
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Kioti calls the QA bracket a "tool carrier". The tool carrier is attached to the FEL at four point, two on each side. The upper attachment is a pivot pin attaching the hydraulic dump cylinder and the lower attachment is a pivot at the end of the lower FEL arm. I don't have an actual photo, but MI&E has been nice enough to provide the parts diagrams and listings for Kiotis online...this helps me figure out what is missing after something falls off in the woods!
OEM Parts
In this diagram, the pins for the tool carrier are numbers 16 and 17. The parts list shows them the same size, but with a grease fitting on the top one, not the bottom one (17); in actuality, both have grease fittings. The critical thing for me was that these pins were apparently held in place solely by the flange bolt (18 and 19 on the diagram).

This kind of surprised me since all the other pins in the FEL, except those attaching the tool carrier, have a flange(with grease fitting) on the outside end and an E-type Cir-Clip seated in a groove on the inboard side.
Maybe this is just the way it is supposed to be and breaking one like this is a fluke...?
 
   / Pivot pin #4  
From memory, the pins are slightly different on my KL451. One is lubed through a zerk fitting on the end and the other is lubed via a zerk in the sleeve at the end of the loader arm. When I first received my then 3-year-old tractor, the pins were reversed such that one pin had two zerks and the other had never been greased. Other than the zerk fitting, my pins were identical.
 
   / Pivot pin
  • Thread Starter
#5  
That's interesting. The tool hanger pins on my DK45 all have the zerk on the end (in the middle of the flange), though the parts diagrams shows the lower pin as not having a zerk. I got a nearby dealer to weld the ear back on the flange for me. Their diagnosis was that I didn't lube enough and the pin bound enough to shear off the flange when I rotated the bucket. Lesson learned!!

BOB
 
   / Pivot pin #6  
As long as every pin has at least one grease fitting, you are OK. When someone (dealer? Wendell?) first assembled mine they reversed the pins so there was no way to lube the two top (I think) pins. The creaky, screechy noise tipped me off when I tried to curl the bucket. All is well since I swapped those pins. I also put a thin coat of grease on the big pins that hold the loader on the tractor; I just used the bucket to unload the force on those pins, slipped them out, lubed, and slid them right back in. They were both a little rusty so this was probably a good move.
 
   / Pivot pin #7  
Those aren't the pins with the half washer welded to em to keep em from turning are they ?

If so, I've gotten GOOD @ collecting large lock washers, cuttin em in half and weldin em to the end...I HATE those kind of pins......thinkin about MAKING some pins, gun drill em, and use....ahh heck...what are they called...those clip pins and using safety wire....oh yeah...lynch pins...duuuh
 
   / Pivot pin
  • Thread Starter
#8  
I put it all back together and tried greasing. One zerk (out of 11) on the left side didn't want to take grease, but the majority on the right side either let it squirt out around the grease gun nozzle or just resisted the pressure totally (ie, without the grease going anywhere). It was something like -15C and breezy at the time, so I couldn't stick with it for long. When it warms up a bit, I'll either try a heat gun on the stubborn zerks or back them out and do some cleanup. I appreciate the suggestion about greasing the FEL mounting pin; I noticed that it didn't have a zerk.
Meanwhile the brakes blew out (corroded line??) yesterday on my GMC truck, so that's a higher priority!
I really need a workshop/garage.
BOB
 
   / Pivot pin #9  
Isn't it amazing how the cold can find all the weak spots. At that temp it is very hard to pump grease.
 
   / Pivot pin #10  
I've had some zerks that wouldn't take grease so I removed them and cleaned them out with a small pick (like a dental tool). It looked like the old grease had hardened into a fiberous mass. After digging out the hard stuff all was well. I've read that these are oddball dealer-only size fittings so don't lose them and buy several if you need to order one. There is also a tool that you hit with a hammer to unjam these fittings but I've never tried one.

Concerning the big pins that hold the entire loader to the big bracket on the tractor: They don't really need lubrication because there's no motion. Still, a light coat of grease will prevent rust and make eventual removal easier. You can unload the force on these pins by pushing the bucket down against the earth; do this gingerly while trying to rotate the pin to find the unloaded point. Once the pin forces are unloaded, you can just slip the pin out to lube it and then slip it right back in. In case it's not plain, you really need to slowly feather the loader control to find the unload point. If you are lucky and on level ground, both pins will be unloaded simultaneously. If not, just do one at a time.
 
 
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