Everybody loves a guessing game

[Mybota3400]

Jay
You can try Pepper's machine shop, just off Hwy 84 as you go under the I-55. First left and up the hill. Or Poters body shop in Brookhaven.

 

[dstig1]

I don't think the shim on the bottom is going anywhere at this point... there must be 5 lbs of weld on each side. I didn't trust my welding skills, so I welded every inch I could access. But I think I can still make it work with a hefty piece af angle set in between the tines on the ends in front of the QA plates. Based on the fact that the shim did imporve it, I think if I stop the QA mount from moving any more at the top, it should work fine, but the better fix would have been to do what you did up front. The shim at the bottom makes the bottom bracket incredibly sturdy now

The grapple design is different from your bucket as the upper bearing surface is actually the main tube backbone of the unit. They would have had to add on an additional plate (like I will be doing) so it isn't as simple a case as yours, but that's no excuse.

Not having dealt with other QA mounts before, I wasn't aware the Kubota style was different at the top, so it wasn't obvious to me that the top was the problem. Mine was bought from Gator (same outfit, post-Markham) and they acted totally clueless when I called them on it. I even told them what tractor I was using and they still had no clue.

Thanks for the info!

 

[kevinj]

I don't think the shim on the bottom is going anywhere at this point... there must be 5 lbs of weld on each side. I didn't trust my welding skills, so I welded every inch I could access. But I think I can still make it work with a hefty piece af angle set in between the tines on the ends in front of the QA plates. Based on the fact that the shim did imporve it, I think if I stop the QA mount from moving any more at the top, it should work fine, but the better fix would have been to do what you did up front. The shim at the bottom makes the bottom bracket incredibly sturdy now

The grapple design is different from your bucket as the upper bearing surface is actually the main tube backbone of the unit. They would have had to add on an additional plate (like I will be doing) so it isn't as simple a case as yours, but that's no excuse.

Not having dealt with other QA mounts before, I wasn't aware the Kubota style was different at the top, so it wasn't obvious to me that the top was the problem. Mine was bought from Gator (same outfit, post-Markham) and they acted totally clueless when I called them on it. I even told them what tractor I was using and they still had no clue.

Thanks for the info!

I called them on it about 3 years back when I bought that bucket for a project so They were made aware at that time.

 

[dstig1]

They changed ownership in the interim, and most or all of the original players are no longer there, as I understand it. If the new crew understood the issue, they were not letting on. They didn't blame Kubota, they just acted totally clueless as to the cause.

 

[jcliburn]

Alrighty... I have an update on my grapple detachment saga. Finally got a chance to work on it this weekend.

I fixed the twisted and bent SSQA frame that was damaged when one side of my grapple detached while in operation. The frame ain't all that pretty anymore, but it works.

After repairing the SSQA frame, I attached the offending grapple and took a close look at the fit, expecting to find something horribly obvious that would explain why it detached.

I found nothing amiss. Sigh.

Kevin, the tractor SSQA plate foot shows no gap between it and the grapple's latch slot tab at the bottom of the implement. And the latch tongue fits in the slot like a glove. (pic 1)

The spine of the grapple's strut fits flush against the SSQA plate's face just like it ought to. Each of the two struts line up perfectly with their respective SSQA plates. (pic 2, 3)

The angled top of the SSQA plate fits snugly in the implement's receiver. (pic 4)

So Kevin, I don't *think* I have the same issue you had with your bucket.

On the other hand, there isn't ANYTHING contacting the SSQA plates except that edge of the grapple's vertical strut. (indicated by the green arrow in pic 5) Do you folks think adding some metal plate on the grapple to provide more surface contact with the face of the SSQA would help?

Thanks,
Jay

 

[jcliburn]

Jay
You can try Pepper's machine shop, just off Hwy 84 as you go under the I-55. First left and up the hill. Or Poters body shop in Brookhaven.

Jack, I just now saw this. Missed it somehow.

After not getting a decent response from the body shop in Prentiss despite multiple calls to them, I decided today to just fix it myself.

Thanks a lot for the pointers to these folks in Brookhaven, though. I'll use them in the future.

Jay

 

[kevinj]

Can you get a pic of the bottom??? It looks like you have a gap at the bottom of the frame.

If so the grapple can ride up and unhook.

Maybe you forgot to latch one side or it only partly locked and was not under the block allowing the pin to rise up.

I would add one more vertical on each side so that 2 are in contact as opposed to 1. That would insure that the QA can't twist under load.

 

[jake98]

This makes me glad I went with a pin-on grapple. Sure, it's a pita sometimes, but not like that..

 

[jcliburn]

I would add one more vertical on each side so that 2 are in contact as opposed to 1. That would insure that the QA can't twist under load.

I spent the morning adding 3.5" wide, 3/8" thick plates to both sides of each vertical, from top to bottom. The grapple now has 7" wide pads instead of skinny verticals to mate with the SSQA pads.

Will send pics later.

Jay

 

[jcliburn]

First pic is of the plates I added this morning (from scrap). Each one covers pretty much all the SSQA pad behind it.

Second pic is of the bottom of the SSQA frame where it mates with the latch slot. Kevin, there may an sixteenth or an eighth of an inch gap, but not much more.

I sure hope this grapple-detachment-while-operating thing won't ever happen again. What a pita.

Jay