Doofy - not sure I want to go making any changes just yet, even if it is a slight shave or so.
Looking4new - yeah, a pipe would probably be smarter than banging. thanks
rlgustafson - tractor is new. About 20 hours on it and I've pretty much had this problem all along. Nothing else in on the bucket and the pallet forks I have I can get on and off with no trouble. Because of storage i usually have to store the tractor with the bucket on the forks so every time I'm done with it, i have to take the bucket off and put the forks back on.
Davis- thanks for the safety reminder and real sorry you had to go through that!
I'm pretty sure everything is lined up properly but I'll take a closer look next time and also look for ware. It goes on with no trouble. I found a picture on my phone from the last time I tried taking it off. That is the height and the angle I was trying.
Looking at your picture, your bucket is offset right by an inch or two. The slots on bucket allow for some mis-alignment but, you may be outside of that range.
Try this;
Align your SSQD as close as you can see.
Curl SSQD forward of vertical.
Lift, a few inches, to engage bucket, visually assure that upper SSQA ears are fully engaged in upper flanges on your bucket.
Curl back.
Check centering of bucket.
Use a pry bar, if needed to center bucket. Please don’t have your feet, or anything else, under bucket.
Try rotating lock arms.
If difficult, note which one or if both.
Raise bucket high enough to see lock pins relationship with bucket lower slots.
If you see obvious interference with slots and bucket is truly centered, you have two choices.
Get dealer to resolve this.
Or
As others have noted, remove some metal in slots in appropriate places to give your pins room to engage fully.
Trust me this should not be as hard as it’s been for you.
Let us know how above works for you. We’re all here to make your life easier.