FEL bracket bolt head Farmtrac 270

[citytransplant]

I threw this up on the Farmtrac forum and ordinarily I would be patient and wait for a reply there. However the boss is not as patient as I am. She reminded me twice today that the manure pile is not getting any smaller and that it is time to either address the broken bolt on the FEL bracket or use the bucket as is and risk additional damage.

So, forgive me for cutting and pasting what has already been posted on the Farmtrac thread, but has yet to receive a reply. By the way, there are 3 nice pictures posted there by a member who had an almost identical problem and fabricated a nifty improvement to the original design.

I noticed that the entire head of one (of 4) of the rear loader bracket bolts sheered off entirely. I was partly relieved because not too long ago while using the bucket to move stone, I heard a crack. Nothing more ... just ... CRACK. I knew it wasn't good, but didn't know what the heck it was. Now I know.

Anyway, what I know about fasteners, including bolts, is just enough to be dangerous. Therefore I'm here asking for help. The heads of the bolts that remain on the (rear section of the) loader bracket unit read "J D 10.9"

A member with an identical problem wrote ... "I changed my bolts with the metric equivelent of a grd 8 bolt, I think it was 10.9"

Are bolts for this application categorized by both size and hardness? What exactly do I ask for when I go to the hardware store? I do have a set of bolt removers (EZ out) and a counter clockwise cobalt drill bit. I may be getting back to you to determine which of the E-Z extractors I will need. I'm armed with:

-5pcs Multi-Fluted, Machined Alloy Steel Screw Extractor Size: #1-#5
-5pc Left-Hand Cobalt Drill Bits Size: 5/64", 7/64", 5/32", 1/4", 19/64"

Finally, I had to laugh when I read the following on the EZ out package: "Removes Broken Screws Easily"

They don't know who they are dealing with in my case as rarely do I find a task that involves hand tools easy. Whatever can go wrong, will.

 

[cycle_gator]

I think the JD refers to the manufacturer. But I know for sure the 10.9 refers to the hardness, like Grade 8. In fact 10.9 is the hardest commonly available metric bolt. What I would wonder about -- Why did the head shear off? That seems highly unusual unless the bolt was defective or significantly overtightened. But the fact that it apparently sheared while under use makes me wonder about the design and stiffness of the FEL bracket. You definitely want to check the torque on the remaining bolts, may even want to remove them and have a look at them.
I know what you mean about jobs with hand tools. Especially drilling out a high tensile bolt with a hand drill. I wish you lots of luck. I would offer to help, but I forgot to see where you are located and besides it sounds like with the two of us, we could probably stretch what should be a two hour job into a two day job.

 

[Zebrafive]

The 10.9 is the hardness or grade of the bolt. You need to know the size; diameter in mm such as M10, M12, M14 etc. The diameter will usually go by even numbers. then you will need to know the thread pitch (distance between the points of the threads in mm) such as 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 2.0 etc. Then you need to know the length of the bolt in mm. Finally the hardness, which you know is 10.9

Might be easiest to remove the same bolt from the opposite side and take it as sample to match.

Before drilling the bolt to remove, it may be easier to remove the loader bracket and expose the part of the bolt now sticking out of the tractor. Since the head snapped off there may not be any tension on the remaining broken bolt and it may turn out easily. If not you may have enough to thread/slide a nut on and weld then remove or grip with vise grips and turn out.

There are harder bolts than 10.9 the next step up is 12.9, but harder is not always better. I would use what the factory did, unless you find the other bolts are marked different and think this may have been the wrong bolt installed by mistake.