How not to attach your FEL.

[CompShooter]

Crooked. The answer is crooked. You do not attach your FEL while your tractor is lined up crooked in relation to sed FEL. When you do things end up broken.

I just got my B7800 yesterday and today I went to re-attach my FEL to show it off to visitors and ended up breaking one of the hydraulic line nipples. I'm not sure if that's the technical term for it. But I like to use the term nipple whenever I can without getting fired. Some picutres are attached.

You might be able to tell that the blue one is bent down. Hydraulic fluid flys fast. It took me about 1.5 seconds to realize something was wrong. Rong with a capital R.

Luckily for me I have years of safety training. I quickly turned off the tractor and ran screaming like a little girl. After realizing I wasn't on fire or anything like that I returned to asses the situation. Bent nipple, no big deal. Of course I got squirted again when I had to releave the pressure to disconnect all the lines. Nice.

I'm not too upset about it, no one got hurt. Actually I am still ecstatic over my new tractor. I spent a few hours on it yesterday moving and spreading 22 tons of crushed stone with my FEL and box blade. It was a lot of fun.

I want to thank everyone for this site and the help you provide. In the past year or so I learned a tremendous amount of information. This next year will be just as interesting as I learn how to operate the B7800 effectively (after I get a new nipple thing-a-ma-jig). Nipple.

 

[ChuckinNH]

Sometimes the stars are just not aligned with us, and those things happen. The hydraulics on these tractors can do damage as quickly as they can do good things...... learning is fun though, and no real damage was done. Thanks for sharing... and making the rest of us feel human too.

 

[themichelob]

At least you didn't put a crease in your hood.......
Regards, Mike

 

[BlacknTan]

Many times experience is the best teacher.. It's an easy fix and inexpensive fix, and you learned something.
I wish all my lessons were as easily repaired!

The good news is that you're gonna' love that B-7800!!

 

[DiezNutz]

Bummer . Look on the bright side... relatively easy fix, and it coulda been alot worse.
Another thing to watch is when you take the FEL off... as the FEL "creeps" away from the tractor, the lines get pulled taut. You'll want to inch the tractor up as you go to keep them slack.

 

[rdsaustintx]

congratulations. it ain't a real tractor til somethin gets bent.

and speakin of gettin bent, that is one hilarious post.

sorry about your nipples.

Russell in Texas

 

[john_bud]

At summer camp I heard about giving a Texas Twister, but never a bent over bleeder!

By the that thing with the blue cap is called a Quick Connect.

Your damage is in the QC, the adaptor or the loader valve.

You won't be quite so giddy if it's the valve. The QC is about 35-50 bucks, the adaptor is about 10-12, but you may want to sit down when you hear the price of the loader valve.

If you would have cycled the loader valve in all directions, the pressure would have been gone and no 2nd lactation would have occured.

jb

 

[bandit67]

Well, I guess I can't blame you for screaming like a little girl when you jammed your nipple, bent your nipple, and saw fluid gushing out of your nipple. Fortunately, your nipple should be repairable, and it will soon be a fully functioning nipple again in no time.

From now on, be careful with the nipples, be gentle on the nipples, and protect the nipples - you've found out just how fragile they can be.

Enjoy your new machine, nipples and all.

 

[Spiveyman]

I have absolutely nothing of any value what-so-ever to add to this post, sorry for that, but dang it's the best laugh I've had in a long time. "lactation" HA! Great one JB. Good luck getting that thing fixed. I'm getting a FEL this week, I'll keep all of this in mind so as to keep all of my nipples in tact and functioning properly.

 

[CompShooter]

I took the QC apart. I actually broke the adapter. But as luck would have it, the threads of the adapter broke off INSIDE the QC. Oh well unless I can get the threads out, it looks like I need a new adapter and QC, no big deal.