Hi all,
Well, after 4 months I finally took delivery of my L3104 backhoe, or should I say, my backhoe "kit", since it arrived with some assembly required! I would have hoped the dealership would have been a little more forthcoming in what was involved. I knew I would need to attach the two mounting brackets, since the tractor does not have them pre-installed. But, you also need to be able to support the backhoe boom with a hoist of some kind while attaching the dipperstick, and you also need to hook up the hydraulics to the tractor so you can extend the cylinder to line up the pin holes. So, I can't use my LS to hoist, since it needs to be attached to the hydraulics. I guess I will need to have my neighbor come over with his skid steer to support the boom.
My question has to do with mounting the front sub-frame bracket. It attaches in place of the cross member between the front of the two frame rails. To install it I need to unbolt the front end of the frame rails, remove the crossmember, and then bolt the mounting bracket in its place. So, for a few minutes the tractor does not have the support of the frame rails. I don't think this will be a problem since the tractor is just sitting there, but, just being a little cautious before proceeding. The dealership won't be open until Tuesday, so I can't ask them until then, and I am hoping to get this done tomorrow.
Thanks for any advice.
p.s. Since someone will probably ask why I didn't just take my tractor to the dealership and have them install it. I am about 1 3/4 hours away and don't have a trailer to haul it with. And I assumed it would arrive all put together! Happy New Year!
Well, after 4 months I finally took delivery of my L3104 backhoe, or should I say, my backhoe "kit", since it arrived with some assembly required! I would have hoped the dealership would have been a little more forthcoming in what was involved. I knew I would need to attach the two mounting brackets, since the tractor does not have them pre-installed. But, you also need to be able to support the backhoe boom with a hoist of some kind while attaching the dipperstick, and you also need to hook up the hydraulics to the tractor so you can extend the cylinder to line up the pin holes. So, I can't use my LS to hoist, since it needs to be attached to the hydraulics. I guess I will need to have my neighbor come over with his skid steer to support the boom.
My question has to do with mounting the front sub-frame bracket. It attaches in place of the cross member between the front of the two frame rails. To install it I need to unbolt the front end of the frame rails, remove the crossmember, and then bolt the mounting bracket in its place. So, for a few minutes the tractor does not have the support of the frame rails. I don't think this will be a problem since the tractor is just sitting there, but, just being a little cautious before proceeding. The dealership won't be open until Tuesday, so I can't ask them until then, and I am hoping to get this done tomorrow.
Thanks for any advice.
p.s. Since someone will probably ask why I didn't just take my tractor to the dealership and have them install it. I am about 1 3/4 hours away and don't have a trailer to haul it with. And I assumed it would arrive all put together! Happy New Year!