Loader SLOP IN MY FEL BUCKET...

[sngleshot]

Still kind of new to the forum and equipment and all. I notice now after doing some digging with my FEL that there is some 'slop' in the bucket. That is to say it rocks back and forth as though it has more play in the swivel pin areas. I know this is not entirely normal but I am thinking a little of it is normal wear and tear after awhile? The dirt I was digging was just sod type and not a hard caliche or anything like that. Is there a fix for this? Thanks in advance for any reply. There is only about 180 hours on the tractor.

 

[Jim Nelson]

Have you been greasing it every 10 hours? My B7800 starts squealing at me after about 6 or 8 hours of loader work so I grease it and with just over 1000 hrs it's still tight.

 

[PILOON]

With 180 hours you did grease 18 times, correct?
Don't panic, with those low hours it would be virtually impossible to ruin the FEL and for sure a bit of slop as you call it will be normal as things wear in.
There is a lot of linkage and the tiniest wear will multiply and seem serious but it really is not.
Besides real tight would probably seize up. Those joints are designed to have specified clearances, just keep her greased and don't fret.

 

[xring100]

With 180 hours you did grease 18 times, correct?
Don't panic, with those low hours it would be virtually impossible to ruin the FEL and for sure a bit of slop as you call it will be normal as things wear in.
There is a lot of linkage and the tiniest wear will multiply and seem serious but it really is not.
Besides real tight would probably seize up. Those joints are designed to have specified clearances, just keep her greased and don't fret.

Agreed mine had sloop in the linkages from the factory.

I run amsoil Moly fortifued grease for the loader zircs in a dedicated grease gun. This stuff sticks like $h!T to a babies blanket. Its not like the other chassis greases I run it is very difficult to clean up. But is designed for high impact loads and resist pound out. When ever I move the loader pins from height to load priority position I've never had a pin that looked remotely dry. I probably hit the zircs every 20 hours

AMSOIL Synthetic Polymeric Off-Road Grease, NLGI #2

" EXTREME IMPACT RESISTANCE
Greased components in heavy equipment are subjected to serious abuse. Virtually all heavy-duty off-road equipment operates under heavy-load conditions. The extreme impact common to off-road equipment forces all of that heavy load (pressure) onto places where the equipment pivots, relying on the grease to prevent metal-to-metal contact. Lesser-quality greases cannot withstand the load and are pounded out of the impact area. When this occurs, heavily-loaded components are left unlubricated, which can result in metal-to-metal contact and extreme amounts of wear"

 

[dave1949]

Your FEL may have replaceable bushings that the pins ride in. If it does, it wouldn't hurt to pull a couple pins and check the bushing condition. In 180 hours I wouldn't think they could be that worn, but you never know unless you look.

If they get too loose, they won't hold grease as well and will wear faster.

 

[J_J]

You could have air in the bucket cyl also.

Does the slop ever go away?

If it does not, you have some wear in the moving parts.

With the bucket raised, grab hold and shake it and look for signs of wear.