Centering a front end loader

[blehmann]

I've had a Ford/New Holland 3930 for a couple of weeks now. It came with a Koyker 210 loader. Before I bought it, I noticed that the lifting arms were out of alignment with the sub-frame. There is a gap of about two inches between the rub rail on the left arm and the sub-frame and only about a half inch on the right. Nothing is bent, in fact the loader doesn't show much use at all. There are two 7/8" bolts that draw and lock the pins that hold the working assembly into the rear pocket of sub-frame. I assumed that it was just a matter of loosening one side and tightening the other to shift the loader to center. Not so. Now I'm wondering if perhaps the right lift cylinder is extended slightly more than the left cylinder. Before I go to the effort and mess of trying to sync the cylinders, maybe to no avail, I figured that I would put the problem up for discussion and ideas. Google has been no help. The Koyker mounting instructions don't cover any alignment issues either.

 

[nyone]

Typicaly cylinders have the same port outlet on the loader valve so there alreaty "synchronized".

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

It's a whole lot easier to say that's the way it was when I got it.

 

[Fladogman]

Is the bucket level from the ground?

 

[WinterDeere]

Retract the cylinders fully, and measure pin to pin length on each side. Do they match?

 

[5030]

Lots of thread on here detailing the procedure. Use the search function, it's your friend.

 

[blehmann]

I got nothing using the search function. In fact, I haven't gotten anything other than "no results" for the past several searches.
The bucket seems to be level in use, just shifted to one side a little. It's like the right loader arm needs to seat another quarter to a half inch deeper into the back support pocket. I just went out and looked at the pockets. Both sides appear to be seated equally and both front pins are pressed hard against the half-moon stops. It is what it is. Something is off somewhere, but it apparently is in welded parts. I'll keep looking at it and pondering the situation.

 

[Fladogman]

As long as the bucket is level to the ground you can probably rule out the cross arm being bent, so I'd look at where it bolts to the tractor. Might be able to adjust something there

 

[blehmann]

Retract the cylinders fully, and measure pin to pin length on each side. Do they match?

I don't think that I can fully retract the cylinders while they are mounted. I think that I can get the same information by lifting the bucket off the ground and then measuring. If I get a longer measurement on the right side, that could explain why the top part of the loader isn't centered. If there isn't as much force pushing on the left side, the frame might torque to the left slightly. It's 106 out there at the moment. I might measure it later this evening or in the morning when the sun isn't so hot. As nyone said, the cylinders share the same port, so they should be in sync. If they were bled properly, they should be very close on the measurement.

 

[5030]

yes you can and that applies to full extension as well You just hold the joystick against the stop for 30 seconds and repeat it, full extention, full retraction a few time and the cylinders will fill entirely if you have an air pocket. If not the loader arms or the SSQA mount (if you have one) is tweaked and that will involve some cutting, rewelding and measuring.