Cannot Attach FEL on DK40

[ovrszd]

Mowing season coming up soon.
My loader will be coming off.
The loader stays on all winter for snow plowing.
Comes off in the spring/summer for mowing, and only gets put on when I need it, then comes right back off again for mowing.

Yep, I much prefer mowing without the FEL. when I just had one tractor I removed the FEL 5-6 times per year.

 

[grsthegreat]

ya, i take mine off 2 times a year....since 2011. ive never had an issue reattaching. the only issue ive ever had was the time i stored loader outdoors and the sun heated up hydraulic fluids so much it was a bear to reconnect lines. now i remove it in shed. no longer an issue. I can rempve it in a few minutes, and reinstall it in 5 min or so.

 

[WarhammerTF]

Try looking in the brackets where the FEL mounts and clean out any dirt in the bottom. It does not take much accumulation before the FEL will not slide in all the way.

Took off the FEL on my DK40 to get into some tight spaces. Parked loader on bucket and legs per manual.

Today i have spent over an hour in utter frustration.

I'm not sure if I somehow shifted the legs or bucket but I have driven the tractor to a point where the holes almost line up, attached the hydraulic lines and tried to manipulate the bucket to set the pins.

On one side the outer hole lines up but not the inner side regardless of how much I play with the joystick.

On the opposite side I'm off by a good 1/4 inch.

So what is the trick to attaching the FEL?

I was thinking of detaching the hydraulic lines, moving tractor out of barn and maybe tilting the FEL to a different position but it is pretty heavy.

This should be so simple but I have managed to gum this up big time.

Funny that I can repair some complex issues but cannot attach my FEL !!!

Any suggestions??

 

[WarhammerTF]

On my DK45 I took zip ties and wrapped one on the inside line, 2 on the next to inside line and so on so that it was easy to figure out what order the lines go. The zipties have been on the tractor for years and have not come off.
On the no action when inserted sometimes you can put a line on and it feels like its connected but it is not flowing. It take a hard push on a tractor that has not been running for a few minutes to get a good connection.

Problem solved but now bigger ssue !!

Turns out I looked at the cradles in the frame where the loader sits and there was a ton of sand in the cradles. i guess when I removed loader the sand settled.

Cleared out sand and now things are lining up however when I reattached the hydraulics I now have no loader movement !!

Even if I got lines crossed the bucket should do something just not what I expect.

Lines are fully seated, clicked into place and no visible leaking fluid.

When it rains it pours !!

Could I have damaged a pump or something by manipulating the joystick so much ?

I am baffled.

 

[Piney Woods Rooter]

You can't line up one side and replace the pin then using the joy stick, line up the other side?

 

[drjay9051]

was just enough sand in the Cradle to prevent the pins from lining up properly first thing I should have looked at but I'm stupid anyway it's all fixed and I appreciate everyone's help

 

[ritcheyvs]

Well, I learned from this. I just removed my loader to facilitate an injection pump repair. That loader was attached at least since 2009. I decided to pressure-wash the right side of the engine before any disassembly. While I was at it, I washed out the cradles in the loader supports. I can also recommend greasing those big pins that hold the loader in place.

 

[Beezz27]

I know this is an older thread but I will throw my 2 cents in as well. I take my loader off a few times each year for mowing and I don't know that I have ever had it totally level, I take mine off in the gravel under the lean to of the barn. Two things that seem to be a great help have been grease on the pins, this literally make a HUGE difference even if the holes are not perfectly aligned, and then as far as "alignment" (and I should mention that the first time I took the loader off I also tried for about an hour before coming to this) a small sledge hammer, dead blow hammer, or the back side of an ax will quickly take up the misalignment AS LONG AS YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH FOR THE TAPER OF THE PIN TO GET INTO THE HOLE OF THE ACTUAL LOADER!, obviously don't hammer on it if you are not close enough to get the taper in there. But with greased pins and some light persuasion with some light taps (I've never had to use much force) from the sledge it's usually a pretty quick hook up! OH also don't be afraid to put one pin in without the other side be aligned, this will force the other, misaligned, side to get closer to right (again obviously not making huge movements with only one pin in).