FEL removal

[TresCrows]

"about 1". I tried different positions of the bucket and the phrase "raise the front wheels slightly" using the sidearms."

Raising the front wheels "slightly" is done to take the pressure off the side arm pins so you can pull them out WHILE the front wheels are off the ground. Then with the pins pulled lower the wheels back down and the loader will rise out of the stancions as if by magic. Before doing any of this you raise the loader and lower the "kickstands" or support legs or whatever you call them. Simple /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif. J

 

[sandyc]

One thing I neglected to mention here is that once I have the stands down and locked on the pins, I stand outside the cab on the right side and put the bucket in a 20 degree dump position. I guess it is 20 but maybe 30. In any event, I move the dump control slightly either way and try to move the pins. Once the pins are loose on the right side I check the main pin on the left. If that too is loose, I pull the three pins and then fiddle with the control valve until the FEL frame comes free from the tractor. All of these actions are done at slow speed and slowly so that the hydraulic lines are not stretched too much.
Life would be easier without the cab as I could remove everything. However, I also use the control valve for the front blade and the snowblower.

 

[Freds]

Thanks for the pics, Jeff. Now that I'm looking at my FEL and how it's sitting, it doesn't look like the ground is as level as I thought it was front to back. The support legs don't look like they're at the same angle as yours. This must be the problem. Maybe a block of wood under the feet next time... Either way, it was so easy to take off I'm sure I'll get a lot more practice in the future.

Fred

 

[chim]

Start by lowering the support arms. Lower the bucket with it slightly in the "dump" position, so the support arms don't touch the floor. Lower the bucket enough to raise the front of the tractor a bit. Remove the two pins. Curl the bucket and the side arms will pop up out of the brackets. Shut the engine off, and wobble the joystick till the loader stops moving. Disconnect the hydraulic lines and that's it.

Sounds like you may not be curling the bucket and the support arms can't do their job..................chim

PS - I went to HD and got colored tyraps for quick ID of the hoses.

 

[Freds]

You may be right, Chim. When I put it back on this morning I had no problem getting the arms to lift back out of the receivers. I think maybe I was using the wrong combination of curl and downpressure.

Fred

PS- I read about the colored nylon straps on here before (maybe from you). That's the first thing I did /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[chim]

Fred, the more you do the "on and off" the easier it will be. I had to really think through the steps to explain it, but when I physically remove/replace the FEL it's almost done via reflex. One thing that really helps is parking the tractor and FEL inside on a concrete floor. That makes lining things up a whole lot nicer.

I did drop it off outside on the ground a couple times, and it adds some difficulty. Since the 302 isn't a huge loader, it's still fairly simple to just grab it by the crossover brace and muscle it into place.

I never keep the loader on when using the RFM. That in itself makes for a lot of practice. With the KK rotary cutter on the back, it NEEDS the weight of the FEL to make it manageable...........chim

 

[Freds]

I took it off again yesterday. The same deal. I was having a hard time getting the arms to raise when I moved the stick this way and that way and the next thing you know their almost fully out of the receivers and ready for me to disconnect and back out. It's still so easy I can't believe I never took it off before.
The next project is to do a search on counterweights for the front. She was definitely light in the front and I could get the front wheels off the ground when I had the RFM raised. Seemed not quite as stable on a slight sidehill grade, too. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
I almost kind of missed not having a place to throw my pop cans and yard debris into, but it's so much nicer being able to get close to a pole or tree before swinging the RFM around.

 

[chim]

Yep. Once you deal with the loader a few times, it's easier than changing your shoes....................chim

 

[Anonymous Poster]

It sure is a good design. I take mine off every week to mow. Sometimes I take it on an off a couple of times a week. I've never timed it but I suspect I can remove or install it in five minutes. I lose a few drops of fluid each time I remove it so I hole a rag over the fitting when I remove it.

Wonder how many times those quick disconnect fittings can be cycleded before they start leaking?

John