Ford loader mod and install on YM336D

Recently I bought a FEL which the seller claims went to a Ford 2000. It is hardly an awesome FEL, but it should get me started.

What I have to work with:


In looking at how the OEM bracket is designed, there is no way I'll get it to work. I'm just going to recreate the entire thing.


The bucket is tiny, but I don't see me needing anything huge, so it should do for now. The big problem is a hay spear the PO welded into the bucket. Removing that thing will be a pain in the butt. For scale, the trailer it is on is 16' long x 8' wide


The ghetto hay spear


The center brace is a massive piece of sheet steel which seems to do a better job blocking your bucket line of sight than add structural integrity. I'll likely cut that out and weld in a large pipe like most loaders have today.


These brackets came with it, but I have no idea why. Either way they'll likely just be good for scrap steel.


The loader valves. The good news is they all have quick disconnects and, even better, there is a third one! This means I'll end up having a rear remote, which is very exciting! Alternatively, if I ever get around to it, I can add a grapple to the bucket.


Sorry for the dark photo. I'll get a better one soon.

It seems to have all of the needed hoses and connectors, but a couple of hoses are pretty rotten, so I'll have to replace them.

As for the length of the loader arms.. I think they may be too long for my tractor, but I have yet to made any measurements to verify.

What's next you ask? Well, I have no idea how these loaders connect to this tractor, so if anyone can please post their 336 or similar FEL mounts I'd really appreciate it!

I have a bunch of photos of a 170 or something, but I'd much rather see how a frame attaches to this specific tractor series. I'd rather not break my frame after all of this effort :thumbsup:

Cheers!

Well here is what I have for you in hi-res sorry TBN hth.

Just me thinking out loud here but the basic bracket is not that much steel.

I can only imagine it not being super expensive from Koyker but seem to remember the quick attach option being $100?

If that is these pieces that would be a bargain just saying...

CarDoc,
Thant tractor looks great being kneedeep in new rubber !!!!!

After seeing the loader, you might consider leaving the lower arms as-is and finding a way to attach to the rear of the tractor. I believe they were attached to the under side of the rear axle on the ford they came off of. If the arms are close in length you might be able to fabricate the front brackets to hold the arms in place easier than cutting it up to fit the new style brackets.
Did you do some measuring to see where the unit ends up on the tractor ?DO a search for some pics of this loader on the early fords to see how the arms attach,its a strong loader and the arms to the rear axle are farily easy to attach,maybe just a plate under the axle ...

grainger12002 said:

CarDoc,
Thant tractor looks great being kneedeep in new rubber !!!!!

Click to expand...

Thanks!

It looks like what I would do is set the loader and mount frame assembled together at about 16-20" say off the ground on boards or jack stands, hang it whatever, and drive the tractor into it and then start the design process from there.

The bucket can be replaced with about any 5' bucket I bet. fwtw my bucket I have off mine for other work has a mount bracket that is 45.5" on the outside of the loader arm and has a 2 7/8" opening and uses 1" pins.

I can see the rear end mount they had rigged up and that may or may not work if it does fit and is level with the rest hey its added strength id use it. :thumbsup:

btw you probably got $400 worth of hoses and valves alone if they are as good in person as they look in the pics.

From my own experience of building a loader an a FX24
From my own experience from building a loader for my FX24D, it is critical to keep the bucket as close to the front of the tractor as possible. Shorten the bucket arms and adjust the angle at the attachment points to the lift arms. Keeping the center of gravity close and the weight as close to the front axles will prolong their lives.

Don't forget to build it so it is easy to remove. Look at the newer FELs to see how they do it. Easier to mount/dismount the more flexible will be its use.

If I think of any other things, I will respond.

Hey all,

So I finally got some time to clean up the FEL valve assembly as it was caked in grease and I found an unexpected surprise.. it has a PB port! :thumbsup:

Here are some better, daytime photos of the assembly..





The valve is made by "Cross", which I've never heard of seeing as I've never done anything with hydraulics before this. I couldn't find anything which looked like a model #

Anyone had experience with this valve system before? Quality? Cheapo?

As a side note, I cleaned it with my new-to-me 5HP gas power washer which I bought at a flea market for $30!


The guy said it wouldn't activate the sprayer, but a simple carb rebuild later and, aside from the soap feeder, it now works perfectly!

With a bit of google searching I found it is a Cross 4Z00009, which is the older version of the still-in-production Cross Model BA 3 spool valve.

I'm not sure if this is open center or not, though. There is apparently a closed-center conversion kit still sold by cross which leads me to believe it comes default as open-center, but I'm not sure if it is currently open center. Anyone know how to tell the difference?

If JJ or LD1 sees this they will know what it is and what to do with it. Nice find on the washer btw!