FEL loader arms not level.

[Knight]

I noticed my loader arms put the bucket down on a slight angle. One side hits the ground about 2" before the other. The bucket is 66" so the error is multiplied out from the arms.
Kubota L3400, 8 months old, It was like this since day 1.
Is there anyway of making it straight?

 

[ToadHill]

Only 8 months old, I'd call the dealer, most loaders have at least a 1 year warranty.

 

[MarkV]

This may sound silly but check the tire pressure.

MarkV

 

[Piperflyer]

Knight,

I know there was quite an extensive posts on this subject before here. Not sure if there is a way to see if posts are archived here.

 

[Botabill]

I had the same situation with my first tractor. I did it myself trying to lift a heavy rock out of the ground with a corner of the loader. I tried bending it back up and bending the other corner down I tried adjusting the tire pressure but nothing worked. I put up with it for 4 or 5 years. I will say there were times the slanted FEL could be useful. For example if I wanted to crown a driveway I simply backbladed with the higher edge of the FEL to the centre of the drive. When I picked up my new tractor this fall the first thing I checked was the FEL for level. It was and I'll try to keep it that way. I doubt that a dealer will consider a slanted FEL to be warrantee issue even a few days after leaving the dealership if there is any signs of wear on the loader as the new owner COULD have done the bending. Sorry I'm not helping much.

 

[actionaj]

I have seen my loader twist a few times, soon as I see this I dropped the load. It has never bent. scary situation though.

 

[Knight]

This may sound silly but check the tire pressure.

MarkV

I put a level on the tractor, the whole tractor sits off level on a level surface.
The tires are foam filled, so tire pressure is out.
I thinking either the tires are filled a different amount or could it be something else?
I will check the front and rear tire diameters.

 

[john_bud]

On a flat level area measure from the ground to points on the tractor. NOT the loader. Do that on each side, front, middle and rear. That will tell you if the tractor is not level.

Assuming the tractor is level, then measure from the ground to various points on the loader MOUNTS. I am assuming that you may have a loose or incorrectly mounted loader. If all the mounts are on tight, level and square, then you can say the loader boom (the part that the lift cylinders are attached to) is twisted. You can then try and twist it back by lifting a heavy or immovable object chained to just the high side.

Being its used for 8 months, the warranty probably won't cover it. Had you complained right away, then yes. But 8 months later it could easily be from operator error, over load, etc.

jb

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Since the tractor isn't level the loader won't be.You need to check the circomfrence on the rear tires. The best way to do this is to take the tires off. Strech a tape measure out on the ground.Put a mark on the verrybottom of the tire. Put the end of the tape where your mark is and roll the tire 1 revolution untill your mark is back on the bottom and read your tape. Your tires should be with in an inch or two of each other. If they are not I would be talking to whoever filled your tires.
Bill

 

[BillBee]

I also bent the loader arms. When sitting on the tractor you can clearly see it, not to mention the left side of the 72 inch bucket hits the ground first when the right side remains elevated two or three inches. I was thinking I would loosen all mounting bolts, place a block of wood under the left (lowest) side arm and lower the loader and raise the front of tractor off the ground. Has this been tried?

 

[AKfish]

I don't know which loader model you have but, I doubt that the weight of the front of your tractor would be sufficient to change anything.

As well, if you attempt to "adjust" the FEL by leaving the mounting bolts/brackets loose and using the tractors hydraulics to supply the force - you would have a much greater chance of making things a whole lot worse instead of better - IMO.

If it's seriously bent and you know it's the loader arm (not the mast) you might visit your local repair shop or body shop and ask them about straightening the arm.

Body shops have laser guided equipment that can straighten out bent truck frames, etc.

Generally, if you have buggered up the loader arm significantly bad - the mast will have likely been tweaked, too.

Best of luck.

AKfish

 

[kdm0811]

I parked my BX24 on a cement pad with the bucket resting on the ground. I then loosened the bolts that mount the FEL masts to the frame. The clearance in the bolt holes allowed everything to "settle" and the bucket align itself to the floor (and tractor}. I tightened everything up and was ready to go.

Of course, if your FEL is bent bad, the clearance in the mounting bolt holes wont suffice.

 

[Eagleview]

I'm always twisting mine . And that's all it is , just twisted . I simply put the opposite corner of the blade against a stump , select low gear in 4X4 and give it a couple of pushes , sometimes i have to lift as well while i'm pushing to duplicate what i did to twist it . It always comes back , the front tie tube is the area that twists , not the arms .

 

[BillBee]

I'm always twisting mine . And that's all it is , just twisted . I simply put the opposite corner of the blade against a stump , select low gear in 4X4 and give it a couple of pushes , sometimes i have to lift as well while i'm pushing to duplicate what i did to twist it . It always comes back , the front tie tube is the area that twists , not the arms .

That sounds like a good method of correcting the twist and I guess mine is most likely to be the tie tube. I am also not concerned about it as mine was caused by pushing (or trying to push) trees over larger than the machine could handle. Thanks for the tip and I will give it a shot.

 

[mwb]

I noticed my loader arms put the bucket down on a slight angle. One side hits the ground about 2" before the other. The bucket is 66" so the error is multiplied out from the arms.
Kubota L3400, 8 months old, It was like this since day 1.
Is there anyway of making it straight?

I think Kubota will tell you that the L series is an 'economy tractor' and you have to upgrade to get a level bucket

Joking... that loader is very well made and should be stronger than the tractor and cylinder sizes used IMO. I don't see how you could bend it unless you rammed something.

If the tractor is not level then that could only be caused by the rear tires not matching. Measure the height of each fender from the ground to compare.

If you suspect the loader arms then compare pin to pin measurements from each loader arm with the bucket off the ground; the measurements should match. If your torque tube is twisted then I would confirm by measuring and comparing the lengths of each lift cylinder (again with the bucket off the ground).
Put the front tires on some blocks, bucket level, and retract the lift cylinders and make both sides bottom out. Does one cylinder bottom out first? After both are bottomed out does you bucket appear level?

P.S. I guess you have already discovered that the rear tires are the issue, maybe my post will help someone else with a similar problem.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Since the tractor isn't level the loader won't be.You need to check the circomfrence on the rear tires. The best way to do this is to take the tires off. Strech a tape measure out on the ground.Put a mark on the verrybottom of the tire. Put the end of the tape where your mark is and roll the tire 1 revolution untill your mark is back on the bottom and read your tape. Your tires should be with in an inch or two of each other. If they are not I would be talking to whoever filled your tires.
Bill

This is good advice. I take any man's advice that can hang the skinnys like in his avatar.

We learn this trick in drag racing. No 2 tires are made alike, even coming off the line one after the other. I can remember measuring 10 tires to get 2 that were close to the same circumference. In drag racing, this is critical. It's worth a shot in this case.

If that's not the culprit, do you know anyone involved in auto body repair? Reason I'm asking is they know how to measure vehicles for misalignments and can measure the tractor to see where your slant is taking place.

 

[actionaj]

I would think that bent loader arm would make removing and installing the loader a real pain. And it would really show up when the loader is off the tractor and both cylinders are fully retracted.