300cx Repair ??

[GreatWhitehunter]

So are you going to share the details of what exactly happened? It's a common tractor and grapple so maybe your bad experience can save someone else the headache your having. FYI those loader parts are often for sale on ebay. Maybe you can save some $$$.

Matt

 

[foggy1111]

I did write about this misshap on the Kioti page and I think on the JD page. Here's the scoop.

I bought a Gator (formerly Markham) 48" grapple last fall and had only used it for light duty work until Tuesday....when I had lots of trees, brush and stumps to move. After several hours of pretty hard work.....the top saddles on the Gator grapple bent under a load....thus un-coupling on the top left side. It must have gone unoticed or I had lots of load on it when this happened....as the lower pin then became stretched, then musta bent and the hole (for the retainer pin) is elongated and finally went missing. Under load....the now, bent and elongated pin musta pushed hard enough on the JD casting to break it.....at which time I noticed the problem. BOTH saddles are streched and bent. grrrr.

When this happened I was in the middle of a thick, nasty pine teee / stump tangle and I was working things pretty hard. Abusive....maybe.....but then grapples get a hard workout. I often tried to pick things up that were stuck down or too heavy. Thats just the way it is.

If you have one of these grapples and have a JD mount.....make certain that you have a gusset (like John Deere puts on there buckets) welded on. With hard use you are LIKELY to have problems with the Gator / John Deere mounting set up the way Gator supplies it......IMO. $2 worth of steel and 2 minutes worth of welding would have prevented this issue for me. Why izzit a person has to re-engineer some stuff? :confused2:

I went back to the tractor today.....and while I see that the pins are independant of the "spreader bar".....I cannot understand how to get them free from same. I can rotate them a bit....but they will not work free. I am missing something here.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

Froggy that sucks, I wish Millonzi was still around. They were kind of the pioneers of these light duty, cut specific grapples. The took great care to double up the saddles similar to JD's design. I hope you informed Gator about this so they fix the issue. There's no way that was your fault.

Matt

 

[JB4310]

I'm gonna go out and look at mine tonight, this is bothering me.

I said I had no issues changing mine, but now I remember I didn't do it, my laborer did it one morning, while I was probably on TBN

He didn't say it was anything special though, so you must be missing something simple.

JB

 

[Zebrafive]

That really looks like a one piece bar holding the two carriers to the loader mast. The two cross pins hold it in and keep the carriers in sinc. They must have put the pins inboard so they would not be thru the internal grease passage. I'll bet you have wear on the bar that formed enough of a shoulder it's hanging up the bar so it wont slide out.

Any sign the bar is bent? How did you determine the bar spins and the ends do not?

 

[Edward. S]

I changed mine, but don't recall any issues. Maybe just pull the carrier off the bar, don't try to push the bar thru the carrier.

That bar is just to keep the carriers in sync with each other. Properly spaced and in the same roll position.

My 300 came with an earlier style carrier that was prone to breakage, even though they never broke the dealer gave me 2 new ones. so I did a little experimenting with the old ones. made a Doctor Seuss contraption

JB

That would be so cool to use with a top link...:licking:

 

[JB4310]

That would be so cool to use with a top link...:licking:

I have a HTL now, but there is not enough travel for it to really be effective with the loader bucket, it's more of a novelty.

It does work great for the pallet forks, and the big bucket makes for plenty of trunk space

JB

 

[foggy1111]

That really looks like a one piece bar holding the two carriers to the loader mast. The two cross pins hold it in and keep the carriers in sinc. They must have put the pins inboard so they would not be thru the internal grease passage. I'll bet you have wear on the bar that formed enough of a shoulder it's hanging up the bar so it wont slide out.

Any sign the bar is bent? How did you determine the bar spins and the ends do not?

I put a vice-grip on the center bar....and one on the end that protrudes slightly just outside the loader mast(s). I can work each in oposite directions-just a bit. The bar does not appear to be bent (but I sure am going to watch this bar better in the future - it is very vulnerable).

I gotta assume that these end pins should just pull out of the loader mast and "shoes".....but I dont know how I am going to get 'em out. The parts "explosion" does not show a seperate pin (???). Your bet that I have a shoulder formed may be a good bet. There is very little to grasp ahold of here....and no way to drive the pin, nor anything to pull on. Seems like an odd application....especially for Deere.

 

[JB4310]

Well I went out to my shed, turned the lights on and puffed on a cigar while daydreaming about a few things, when I came back in I realized I forgot to look at mine :confused2:

I will ask the guy tomorrow for sure how he removed them.

JB.

 

[Zebrafive]

I think I would spray a good penetrating oil where the bar goes into both shoes. Rotate the bar a few turns to loosen it up, then get a brass rod of smaller diameter than the bar and a BIG hammer and pound it thru the shoe.