Loader Bucket welds broken - LS won't warranty

[LEOpilot]

I've been lurking this site for a long time, and the information gleaned from this site was helpful in making a decision to buy a LS XU6168 in March of 2016. However, while having the bucket up high doing some fence work the other day; I noticed a big crack in the weld on the bottom of the bucket where the supporting rib wraps around the rear of the bucket. After close inspection, the crack had been there a while as the edges were rusted. I also looked at the other two ribs on the bucket and noticed they were also cracked, but not to the extent the center one was. I called my local dealer that has been awesome. As soon as I mentioned bucket/weld/crack/warranty, it was apparent that LS had been not honoring many bucket warranties by the reaction and tone of the conversation. Nevertheless, I took pictures at his request, and he said he would submit a claim with LS for approval. According to him, LS denied the claim. He said the LS warranty man said I had used the bucket for "other reasons than intended". How he deduced that by looking at the few pictures I'm providing below, I'm not sure. The XU6168 is a newer model tractor from LS, and soon after I bought it, I told my dealership owner that the tractor seemed to have more ***** than the loader and bucket were designed for. So far, all I've used the bucket for is moving and digging dirt, dragging/leveling dirt on driveway and shoving limbs and brush that had been cut down into piles. The bucket that's on this 68 hp tractor is the same one that's on the 40 hp model. I think it's a shame that LS won't honor the warranty or design a heavier duty bucket for the higher hp tractors. The dealer owner told me to call LS directly and complain. Today was 7 days ago that I called corporate HQ in NC and was forwarded to someone's voicemail that never returned the call. I'd recommend you guys, especially those with 50+ hp, inspect your bucket closely.

 

[Tomtint]

I'm certainly not a certified welder.. but that looks like a defect in the weld to me. Hopefully a qualified welder ban grind that out and fix it.

 

[LEOpilot]

I'm certainly not a certified welder.. but that looks like a defect in the weld to me. Hopefully a qualified welder ban grind that out and fix it.

I agree Tom, However on a policeman's salary, I'm the only welder around my farm. I've been waiting for a final resolution with LS before I start screwing with it. I haven't needed it fortunately. I've been using the hay spear more often this time of year.

 

[George2615]

I'm surprised that LS won't honor that repair. Anything loader related should be covered for 1 year which isn't up till next month if you bought last March. I also agree that a 68 HP tractor should have a heavier bucket. Also surprised your dealer didn't offer on his own to repair and beef up your bucket since you are within warranty.
If they don't cover it shouldn't be too hard to reweld.

 

[jeff9366]

The information gleaned from this site was helpful in making a decision to buy a LS XU6168 in March of 2016. However, while having the bucket up high doing some fence work the other day; I noticed a big crack in the weld on the bottom of the bucket where the supporting rib wraps around the rear of the bucket. After close inspection, the crack had been there a while as the edges were rusted.

You would have had the same NO from Kubota. I had Kubota deny a warranty claim on my bucket under somewhat similar circumstances. Fortunately, I had Kubota's KTAC insurance which paid 100% for replacement of bucket and some FEL bits, less $250 deductible.

If you financed your tractor you should have insurance. Check into it.


Presumably you carefully inspected the tractor before taking delivery. You have been working the tractor eleven months.

I would take the bucket to a good welding shop and have it repaired and reinforced.

Move on. Life is short.

 

[sdef]

I understand your frustration and they appear to be faulty welds, from what I can see, and your dealer should have spent a few minutes repairing for good customer service. Really, this would irritate me more than the LS response. I do seem to recall LS buckets were a bit lighter in construction than the ones on the Kiotis I looked at.

At this point just re-weld and move on. I had a tooth tear off of my rock bucket after a moderate amount of intermittent hours of hard operation over a couple months. In my case it appeared to be a defect in the original bucket edge material as the tooth tore through the metal with the bucket cutting edge still attached to the tooth. Since I can't weld 3/4" steel, I took it to a local (30 miles) welder and it looks like they had an apprentice do the job. Nonetheless, it has held up through many more grueling hours of digging out large rocks.

 

[ch1ch2]

I suggest you by a good stick welder and learn to weld.
It is not hard to learn for the small stuff.
If you were near me I would do it for you or teach you enough for you to do it yourself.

 

[LEOpilot]

I suggest you by a good stick welder and learn to weld.
It is not hard to learn for the small stuff.
If you were near me I would do it for you or teach you enough for you to do it yourself.

Thanks for the offer. I have a little Lincoln wire feed flux core welder that'll probably get the job done. The issue is not getting the bucket fixed, that will happen soon enough. My gripe is that apparently a 1 year warranty from manufacture defects doesn't really mean that, and LS is silent. I also want to inform others that have these buckets to be wary.

 

[aarolar]

The weld didn't fail the base metal tore out at the root of the weld instead, that's a common issues when a weld is undercut or a repad is used that is too thick for the base metal itself.

 

[LEOpilot]

The weld didn't fail the base metal tore out at the root of the weld instead, that's a common issues when a weld is undercut or a repad is used that is too thick for the base metal itself.

I agree with you on the crack that you can see daylight through. The other two cracks are right through the center of the weld.