Bent Frame on FEL

[TripleR]

Actually it is a pretty simple fix. You simply need to hit the opposite side against a big Oak tree while traveling around a corner at a pretty good clip, I can't tell you exactly how fast as my son doesn't remember it...

 

[blueriver]

Well guys & gals, I finally got around to trying to straighten the FEL on my old Yanmar 4220. I tried blocking it up and raising the tractor off the ground and that didnt move anything. Finally I put it up on 2 - 8" CMU blocks, lifted the front wheel and took my other tractor and pushed down on the high side till the rear wheels came off the ground on the Yanmar. I bumped it a few times to really torque it and then backed off. Then I took it back to the shop and set the bucket down on the concrete. It was level within about 1/8". So if it will stay that way now, everything is lovely. I couldnt find anything loose or otherwise but the main lift arms were higher on one side than the other. After stressing it as mentioned, they now look almost level again but still cant find the point of bend or whatever. Anyway thank for the recommendation to push it down on one side while blocking up the low side. It worked but I really had to put the pressure on it.

Good job I'm glad its back to almost perfect. I never did find the point of bend on mine either ... I guess the thing just got twisted.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Something similar might be a contributor to the bend. I have hit some pine with mine right on the outer corner while mowing at a pretty good clip by misjudging the clearance a bit. Really fast stop when that happens. Also misused it digging out tree roots with the corner which I will try to avoid from now on. I have pretty much got my trees down to sapling size which I have been pulling with a chain and my Kubota RTV 900. Surprising how big a sapling I can pop out of the ground with that thing and it is so much easier to get on and off AND maneuver around in the thicket. Most of them are about 2" in diameter and they pop right out. All sweet gum and persimmon.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Thanks, Blue River for the fix. It worked like a charm even though I had to lift the Yanmar rear end off the ground on the oposite side to torque it enough. I could hear it popping in the frame but couldnt see anything bending. I guess I need to be more genteel with my equipment. It needs to be built like a dozer to keep me from wrecking it.
Now if Sears can find out which bolt fell out of my zero turn lawnmower that holds up the electric deck level adjustment, I will have all my stuff running proper again.
I was mowing some rough area (which is about all of my yard but this was more rough) and happened to notice a shiny spacer laying in the grass. It was then that I noticed that the mower deck was running on the anti-scalping wheels on both sides. I got it back to the shop, jacked it up and looked throughly for something loose but didnt see anything so I called the repair service. Glad I got the extended warranty on that thing. Hopefully bolts falling out are covered.

 

[TripleR]

Something similar might be a contributor to the bend. I have hit some pine with mine right on the outer corner while mowing at a pretty good clip by misjudging the clearance a bit. Really fast stop when that happens. Also misused it digging out tree roots with the corner which I will try to avoid from now on. I have pretty much got my trees down to sapling size which I have been pulling with a chain and my Kubota RTV 900. Surprising how big a sapling I can pop out of the ground with that thing and it is so much easier to get on and off AND maneuver around in the thicket. Most of them are about 2" in diameter and they pop right out. All sweet gum and persimmon.

Ours got bent when my son was helping a tractor less friend clear his property. The tractor was left there while my son had to do something else. His friend decided it looked pretty simple, so he figured he could do it. He had no idea how it got bent as he was doing the same things as my son...