FEL question on 5325 with 542 NSL

tjkadar · Apr 26, 2008

I test drove a 5325 with a 542 NSL loader this afternoon. The 5325 had 2 midmount SVCs and 2 rear SVCs. It also had the 9F/3R transmission. After I let the tractor warmup, I backed it out the shed, set the throttle at about 1,400 rpm and proceeded to raise the FEL. I noticed I could only raise and lower the FEL or dump and roll back the bucket at any given time. I could not raise the loader while rolling the bucket back or any other combination of raise/lower and dump/rollback. Is this how the FEL operates?

If so, I'm not buying a JD. The inability to do both functions at the same time is a deal breaker. I do too much loader work to have to stop raising the FEL everytime I need to dump or roll back the bucket.

Any insight ya'll can give would be greatly appreciated. It is possible that it was operator error and I'm willing to take the blame if that is the case.

I would have asked the owner these questions, but he was out of town.

nmu98 · Apr 26, 2008

I cannot imagine that to be the case. I have run a few different 5000 series tractors with buckets and I have been able to lift and curl at the same time. Some loaders have sweet spots that are hard to find. What type of stick did it have. A short or long one?

tjkadar · Apr 26, 2008

I was leaning towards operator error, as I can't imagine it being like that myself. Not sure which stick it had, but then again I failed to mention it was a cab tractor. I tried several times to do two functions at once, but didn't succeed at anytime. Then again, I've never operated a JD 542 FEL in a cab tractor.

Agent · Apr 26, 2008

tjkadar said:
I was leaning towards operator error, as I can't imagine it being like that myself. Not sure which stick it had, but then again I failed to mention it was a cab tractor. I tried several times to do two functions at once, but didn't succeed at anytime. Then again, I've never operated a JD 542 FEL in a cab tractor.

The Control, if you move it in a Cross " + ", it's up, down, curl, curl. If you move it inbetween, like the ends of an " X ", you will get what you want

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tjkadar · Apr 26, 2008

I must have been moving it in the cross pattern. I claim unfamiliarity with the controls!

Thanks for the info! Now I can continue with my plan to buy a loaded 5325.

shot_gun · Apr 26, 2008

I must have been moving it in the cross pattern. I claim unfamiliarity with the controls! Thanks for the info! Now I can continue with my plan to buy a loaded 5325.

Whew! I thought I was going to have a heat attac.

Your dealer rep should have given you some instruction.

tjkadar · Apr 26, 2008

shot_gun said:
Whew! I thought I was going to have a heat attac. Your dealer rep should have given you some instruction.

It was a barely used tractor with only has 30 hours on it! The owner wasn't there but he let me come look at it while he was out of town. If it had the 12F/12R transmission, I would have taken it home today!

shot_gun · Apr 26, 2008

LOL, my bad. That makes it a little better. I'm not sure what your using it for but the 24/24 is pretty good too.

bjcsc · Apr 27, 2008

Funny post. It's infinitely variable: see attached pic. The gray areas are the dual function zones. You might want to download and read through the 5X25 Operator's Manual. As you read it, you'll get familiar with the machine, learn what some options allow you do, and more importantly what not having some options prevents you from doing. Here's a link.

tjkadar · Apr 27, 2008

Thanks for the link. I'll study up on the tractor today.

I figured the FEL operated in the same manner as the M6800, but it didn't appear that way in the field. Of course, there is a world of difference in the way an open station Kubota and a cab JD mount their respective joysticks. Muscle memory has me using the joystick as if I were on the open station M6800, not a JD. My seating position respective to the joystick probably had me doing the + pattern as opposed to the X pattern.

Things felt 'different.' I also didn't experiment too much with Roland's tractor. Even though he trusted me to look at his tractor while he wasn't home, I didn't trust myself to not do something stupid.

I kept the test drive very, very minimal. It covered a total of about 50 ft.

Thanks for all the help guys. Ya'll just confirmed I'm idiot... something my wife has been telling me for years.