B3030 LA403 loader still crooked....

   / B3030 LA403 loader still crooked....
  • Thread Starter
#22  
Barnboy,

Your loader is off just about as much as mine is and is much cleaner than mine is at the moment /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I need to give her a bath. She deserves it for all the work she does.
Hopefully replacing the loader arms is the fix then you guys can get your dealers in on the fun of replacing yours as well.
I am keeping my fingers crossed. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
   / B3030 LA403 loader still crooked.... #23  
I'm going to start a new post re my blower being uneven. I thought maybe there was a connection with the FEL and Blower being out. Jbota, keep us posted on what happens with your dealer, I'm curious to hear the outcome.
 
   / B3030 LA403 loader still crooked.... #24  
<font color="blue">
Have you checked your front tire pressure just to be sure they are the same? </font>

Small point, but since the front axle has a center pivot, the front tire pressure likely has no affect on the tilt of the loader.

Now REAR tire pressure is a different story, since the rear axle is essentially bolted to the frame and does not pivot.

If the rear tire pressure is different, the tractor frame tilts with respect to a flat surface it may be resting on, because the rear axle is tilted side to side, lower on the side of the tire with the lower pressure.

In this situation, the loader, being bolted to the frame would also tilt, and when lowered to the ground/concrete one corner would touch before the other, even when it was perfectly square with the tractor frame.

This is the way I have come to understand it, for what it is worth... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / B3030 LA403 loader still crooked.... #25  
where have you been? Lots of rumors about you, divorce, murder, tax evasion, lol. Yes, we've all checked tire pressure, we're so educated now. Just kidding you, welcome back.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue">
Have you checked your front tire pressure just to be sure they are the same? </font>

Small point, but since the front axle has a center pivot, the front tire pressure likely has no affect on the tilt of the loader.

Now REAR tire pressure is a different story, since the rear axle is essentially bolted to the frame and does not pivot.

If the rear tire pressure is different, the tractor frame tilts with respect to a flat surface it may be resting on, because the rear axle is tilted side to side, lower on the side of the tire with the lower pressure.

In this situation, the loader, being bolted to the frame would also tilt, and when lowered to the ground/concrete one corner would touch before the other, even when it was perfectly square with the tractor frame.

This is the way I have come to understand it, for what it is worth... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif )</font>
 
   / B3030 LA403 loader still crooked.... #26  
One of your photos caught my eye. I've reattached it with green lines on it. Save the image on your computer and open it in "paint." Yes, paint. Now resize the window so that the window is much too short to see the whole image at once. Use the scroll bar to move the image up and down, comparing the lines to the top or bottom edge of the screen. You might be able to do this without downloading by resizing the browser window.

It seems that you did a very good job of getting the welds on the ROPS level to the camera lens. Also notice that the front guard is also pretty level. Now looking at the loader, it seems that the right arm (the left arm sitting on the tractor) is higher than the left arm, and the crossbar is also off by the same amount.

Since you've pulled all the pins and bolts and checked everything, I say (and others have already said) that the only way for this to happen is that the loader frame is bent.

I would remove the loader in a place where you can rig an overhead crane (like the dealer's rigging bay), then use the crane to lay the loader down on the floor. I bet the back end of one arm does not touch the floor when the bucket and other arm are down. Take the frame to a paint & body shop and have them straighten it. It seems like a simple twist.

Heck, maybe we can use someone else's tractor to lift yours from opposite corners and untwist it!

Regards,

- Just Gary
 
   / B3030 LA403 loader still crooked.... #27  
Well, I *tried* to post the picture. Honest.

- Just Gary
 

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   / B3030 LA403 loader still crooked.... #28  
If you slowly lower the boom arms (bucket fully curled so that the FEL can be fully lowered) I'd bet that one cylinder "bottoms-out" before the other. Not to imply that it's a cylinder problem, but to point out that it certainly ain't tire-related.

The bucket is probably perfectly level with respect to the tractor when the first cylinder bottoms-out. Or level lies somewhere between the cylinders bottoming-out.

Mine is off about 1/2" over 6'. Dealer knows. Kubota rep knows and asked for measurements. Other tractors on dealer's lot have the same problem. Nobody has an answer. My guess (without going out into the cold to measure): uneven cylinder attachment points on the boom arms.
 
   / B3030 LA403 loader still crooked....
  • Thread Starter
#29  
Thanks for the post...that really helps to show where the problem lies. Thats pretty much what the rep said from Kubota is that he thought the loader arms were twisted a bit due to the crosstube not being welded in properly. When you start measuring from a flat floor to each pin you don't start seeing any real variation until the large hollow cross tube which is about a 1/2 inch off from the ther side.
I still haven't got my mind around the idea that if one arm is higher then the other why aren't the bucket pins binding. I would guess maybe because you spread that over a 4 + foot area. Like I said before I am bit skeptical that them replacing the arms will fix it but I sure hope it does and i can put this too bed and maybe help some others here in the process.
Thanks again!
 
   / B3030 LA403 loader still crooked.... #30  
I think that the bucket pins are binding, but the rams apply so much force that you can't tell. You are working with a parallelogram (when viewing the loader from the front), and the pins are part of the rigidity of the system.

Speaking of that, when you pulled the bucket pins, did you remove them all at once? That's a good test of the frame; remove the weight and tension of the bucket and measure the arm heights. That should tell you for sure.

We definitely want to hear how it turns out for you. If it were mine I'd be happy having them straighten the frame instead of replacing it. Since others have the same problem, what will they do when the new frame has the same twist? Maybe you want to see them lay the new one on a level floor before they take the time to install it.

- Just Gary
 

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