Loader DIY Quick Attach

[jfay]

So like many others here on TBN, I decided to change over my old pin on Woods Dual 165 loader for my Kubota L3300 to a quick attach. I searched around and there is no direct conversion available for this loader as it is too old. There are some universal quick attachs, but they all push the attachments too far forward and don't really seem that solid. So I set off to make my own.

First step was too spend a lot of time looking at what others here have done, which was incredibly helpful, particularly with the design of the locking latches.

Then off to the steel supplier to get some plate, square tubing and solid square steel for the quick attach. Ordered a quick attach plate for my bucket.

Here is the loader and bucket at the start.

 

[jfay]

So next step was to remove the "ears" from the bucket so I could use them for the quick attach. What a royal pain in the ***. Lots of cutting with cutoff blade, reciprocating saw and then grinding. But in the end, it came out pretty good, the ears were easy to reuse and not too much grinding was required to get the bucket smooth.

Here's the pics of work in progress

 

[jfay]

Now its time to put the quick attach plate on the bucket. Wasn't an exact fit as the plate was higher than the back of the bucket, but that comes with the old style bucket. Some pretty ugly welding along the way, but it is very solid and strong. Next time I would use a smaller size plate with just the fittings for the quick attach as the bucket did not need the strength of the full size plate. So it is heavier than it needs to be, but live and learn.

 

[jfay]

Next I tackled the quick attach fittings. My goal was to get them as close to the loader as possible, so I mounted the old bucket ears directly to the plate. Here I am fitting the pieces together and trying the fit in the plate. Also welding the ears onto the back plate. I used my Evolution steel cutting saw for most of the cuts, which worked out great. Nice and straight and smooth.

 

[jfay]

Now for the latch mechanism. This took a lot of trial and error as it is a pretty complex movement. Lots of trips to the hardware store for springs, spacers, bushings and bolts.

 

[jfay]

Now I tied the two pieces together with a square tube crossbar and it is ready for painting.

 

[jfay]

Here is the finished product. Not a great paint job, but it was hard to get the temp above 50 in the barn. Winter is not the time for painting. Haven't put it on the loader yet as I have some work to do on the frame, but it fits the bucket and fork lift attachments perfectly. Can't wait to get the snowplow off and the bucket loader back on and try it out. But with 50 inches of white stuff so far this year, it could be a long wait. Sorry about the photos, my phone isn't the best quality, but it sure is convenient.

 

[countrybumpkin]

Looks really nice, this is by far the most used attachment I built for mine. I do have one concern may not be a problem on yours but the loader mounts being welded straight to the plate will the loader arms not hit the bottom plate when dumping the bucket all the way?

 

[Ductape]

I commend you for building it yourself. Very nice work. The first time you swap buckets, or drop the bucket for a set of forks you will wonder how you lived so long with out the QA ! It was the single best modification I did to my tractor.

 

[jfay]

Countrybumpkin
Good point. I guess it could be an issue depending on how far the bucket goes over, but I won't be able to tell until I get the loaderback on the tractor.