Tweaked FEL

[ovrszd]

That's where I like the system on our B7500, a 1" steel pin that goes through both sides of the bracket and into the loader arm.

Aaron Z

Yep. Mine is held in place by a gravity slip pin.

I saw a thread here where an operator had one come out. I modified mine and added a coil spring to hold it in place. Still easy removal with no wrenches required.

I did a thread on that mod if any Kubota owners are interested.

Looking closely at the OP's pic you can see how the latch moved up slightly which took away the "over center" protection. Then it continued to climb upward until it unlatched. Those signs would be my argument with JD. This was not operator failure to relatch. The forces involved unlatched it. That's why I have no faith in it.

 

[Ford850]

That latch system looks like it belongs on a lawn mower to adjust the wheels for cutting height.

 

[ray66v]

Isn't there a possibility that it just came undone from being improperly secured? Demount and remount the loader maybe before deciding the whole thing is "toast"?

Sure. That's why I said:"There could certainly be a material defect, or other explanation that caused this to fail".

I also said, my observations were based strictly on viewing the damage in the photo's.

Having fixed a few bent loader frames, I would say this one is toast.

It's not that it can't be fixed. Anything can. It's probably not worth it.

Considering it's a new tractor, and based on the explanation of what happened, by the OP, he deserves a new loader frame, at a minimum.

 

[ovrszd]

That latch system looks like it belongs on a lawn mower to adjust the wheels for cutting height.

What concerns me the most is the latches adjustability. JD knows this mechanism is finnicky and requires "tuning". And they still produced it. "Take it or buy different brand".

 

[Threepoint]

My opinion (which doesn't count for much): I'd say the OP has given us the correct version of things.
He was exceeding the weight limit, but that wasn't exactly the problem. The problem was, that the load was not centered on the lift arms/forks. With this imbalance and maybe a slight incline, the right mast, which had more weight, gave way. This can be seen in the one picture. It either broke the welds on the mast mount to the tractor or the tube from the tractor to the mast twisted.

But haven't we established that the OP wasn't exceeding the weight limit, after all? See his post #60. He calculates his actual load at 1232 lbs. His initial belief that he had exceeded the limit was based on an assumed lift capacity of 1120 lbs, but that is JD's spec at maximum lift height. The damage occurred at only 6" above the ground. JD rates that loader at 2125 lbs at a height of 59", with a break-out force of 3327 lbs. See post #57. Even allowing for the fact that the center of mass of the load on the forks was maybe 20" or so forward of the pivot pins, he was well within the spec limits. Also, I'm wondering if his forks are lighter than the stock bucket. If so, and if JD rates its loaders with the standard bucket, he'd pick up a few more pounds of capacity from that.

 

[majorwager]

Might send the photos to Good Works Tractors in Michigan, get an opinion and assessment. Sorry I do NOT have a link.

 

[goeduck]

I am going to disagree with that statement. Familiarity of equipment operation is paramount to safe use. The operator/owner is responsible for reading and understanding ALL features of any piece of equipment, if not, they should not be operating it.

You disagree that there should be some sort of pin that holds the mount in place to protect against accidental disengagement? I sure would want to make sure a stray branch did not disengage my FEL. Or the kids flipping a release lever when they are playing farmer.

 

[charlton289]

On my Massey 1705 there is a about a 1" pin that holds the fel arms to the frame that is mounted to the tractor so there is no way that it can even begin to move in a side motion without bending the whole lift arms. The uprights that the fel mount to are about 7/8 to 1" steel it would take a lot of force to even twist them. And with a lift capacity of less than 1000 lbs. I don't see how anything can move without taking the the whole tractor over. When I was shopping around for my tractor I looked at the way the fel was attached to the tractor I didn't particularly trust the way JD did there's it's like they are relying on gravity to hold the locks in place. I agree with that there should be some kind of mechanical latch to hold the release lever in locked position.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I just read through the entire thread. It does appear that the pin came out and possibly caused the tweak in the FEL cross tube. If this is determined to be the case I doubt Deere will cover it under operator error. I hope this is not the case. Most of the time this type of problem is due to hitting something on one edge of the forks or bucket edge as many have already stated. Since this was not the cause the unlocked pin is the only other reason I can think of either. Good luck in your outcome and please keep us posted.

 

[wagne223]

Reading about these types of issues makes me appreciate the KTAC insurance from Kubota. If something like this happens to me, it is either free under warranty or $250 if operator error.

Does JD offer a similar insurance for theft or damage? Or is it up to the buyer to find outside insurance.

Hope JD gives to OP assistance on this!