It was unusually warm here in CT today, so I thought it would be wise to switch out the front loader for the BX2763A plow blade for the first time. We've only had one storm so far this year and I wanted to try the regular bucket first, just to see what how it would do. The dealer told me not to get the plow, that the bucket would handle snow just fine, but I like to use the right tool for the job, so I ordered the plow with my BX. The bucket did ok, but it could only push snow straight ahead. My front drive is 150' long and I had to make several passes to get it clean due to the side spillage out of the bucket. So now, on to the plow.
First I read the instructions on how to detach the front loader arms. It was actually easier than I thought it would be. Drop the loader parking stand, lock it in place. Pull the loader pins. Curl back the bucket (I had my pallet fork attachment on, but same difference), the loader arms rise out of their cradle joint, disconnect the hoses after relieving pressure and back away. So far so good. Next I went to mount the quick-attach unit to the tractor, figured out that I needed to remove the BX front guard to attach the quick attach. Wondered why on earth the guard was not designed to allow for quick attachment of the quick attach??? Anyway, took 25 minutes to attach the (I won't say it again) unit to the front frame. Got it mounted, connected the hoses (First and Last couplings) then started up the BX. Hydraulic fluid poured out. Turns out the hose couplings were only finger tight. Who would send out a hydraulic attachment with finger tight hydraulic hose connections? I spent some time tightening everything up and this time it worked. QC unit raised and lowered as expected.
So now on to the plow itself. Again, both QC couplings were only finger tight. Went through the tightening process and hooked them up. Now I could raise, lower, and swing the blade right and left. I was still getting some fluid drips from the coupling threads so I relieved pressure and tried to tighten the plumbing even more. I still could not get the leaks to completely stop. I've heard you're not supposed to use teflon tape on hydraulic lines, is there something else than can be used? I worried that I'm going to snap the elbow fitting if I apply any more force. I'm pretty sure I need to top off the hydraulic fluid. I left the BX in the gravel parking area tonight, so it would not leak in the tractor shed. I'm going to call the dealer tomorrow. Did anyone else get a new plow with loose QC couplings?
