Guess I'm calling the dealer

[wagne223]

Not directed at the OP, but more at loader removal in general.

Just my opinion and observation. We are talking about heavy steel brackets and framing, pivot points and hydraulic rams.
All on a piece of farm machinery.

Loaders are often used to their limit, and loaded more on one side then the other.
Typical use results in the loader frame and brackets no longer meeting its "blueprint specs".
Lack of greasing pivot points enough compounds the issues.

I read about people performing loader removal very easily as the manufacturer claims, however.......

I would not expect to be able to remove and reinstall a loader with no tools. Equipment often requires a hammer and prybar to assist aligning holes and installing pins.

I dont blame the owners, I blame the manufacturers for claiming "easy removal of loader"

Reminds me of a post I read the other day about being able to drive over and connect a mower deck without putting down your phone.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Some years ago, when I took possession of my new L3430, the FEL was not plumb with the tractor. On a level concrete floor with the FEL lowered, one side of the bucket was over an inch higher than the other. After removing the FEL from the tractor, I also had a devil of a time reinstalling it. After a couple of hours fooling with it, I discovered if I put a one inch shim under one side of the bucket, it lined up perfectly.

The dealer partially fixed the problem by placing the tractor on a level concrete floor and lowering the FEL. With the joystick in the float position, they loosened all the loader mounting bolts, raised the FEL slightly and re-tightened the mounting bolts. This reduced the misalignment from one inch to less than half an inch. It never was perfect and I had to shim the bucket a bit each time I reinstalled the FEL but it was something of an improvement. As a result, I just removed the SSQA bucket when not needed and left the FEL arms on the tractor. I never could figure out why Kubota doesn't provide an adjustment for this bucket misalignment.

Admittedly, the L is a different tractor than your BX but the misalignment issue could be the same.

 

[atitus74]

After a couple of hours fooling with it, I discovered if I put a one inch shim under one side of the bucket, it lined up perfectly.

You are spot on. I have tried this as well, and found that it helps considerably. I have a piece of plywood I just throw under one corner of the bucket. This is how I have been working around the issue while trying to decide what to do.

 

[JWR]

no, not only do i not want to do that, i shouldn't have to. will call the dealer this morning and ask if they can send someone out to show me how to do it. someone who knows how and has done it before. if they do it without problems, i'll know it's something i'm doing wrong, and he can show me the correct procedure and/or tips. If he has problems, then we'll know it's the tractor and they'll have to fix it.

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. You'd be a fool to bend anything to try to get a brand new rig to connect and disconnect !

 

[chim]

.......................I would not expect to be able to remove and reinstall a loader with no tools. Equipment often requires a hammer and prybar to assist aligning holes and installing pins.....................................................

That's exactly what I'd expect. So far I've had three Kubotas w/ FEL's. B7500HST, L3200HST and L4240HSTC. Loaders on all of them are off or back on in 2 or 3 minutes without any tools. My tractor usage is mostly mowing and I don't mow with the loader on. There have been days that I had a loader on and back off twice. The loader usually gets parked in the shed on a wood floor. Right now the loader from the L4240 is parked just outside the garage on blacktop.

I have removed a loader in the yard, it was more difficult to put back on. We have a Montana at work, and we will NEVER remove that loader again. It was somewhat of a pain to remove and a real horror show to reinstall. It took 3 people with "implements of destruction" to get it back on. And this was on a concrete floor!

 

[JWR]

Just talked with my salesman/owner.
He's sending someone out to the house tmrw at 330. Either they'll teach me how to do it or get it back to the shop and fix it.

Glad i didn't keep messing with it. Before you know it, the whole loader could be laying across the hood, wrecking my new tractor and causing me to leave these forums.

Good, Amen to all that. Have the dealer's people sort it out for you and hopefully all will be well from then on. At very least, you will know how to cope with it.

Looking off beyond your dealer's house call , I am beginning to get the impression that MANY of these tractors have less than easy on/off of the FELs. My BX2200 seemed to be sprung and was around 1/2" off on one side from the holes and pins matching up when sitting on a nice level concrete floor. I just assumed that the previous owner (I bought mine used with only 200 hrs on it) had dorked it up since he was so totally uninformed about other things on the tractor. But MAYBE that kind of misalignment is common ?? Regardless, I found that when re-mounting the FEL I can hook up the hyd lines, attach one side of the loader frame and just pause there. Lift the loader bucket a very few inches (either by curl or by overall frame lifting) and then put a 2x4 under the lower side of the bucket. Then slowly lower it while watching the pin - pin hole alignment. By doing that you line up the FEL and the tractor,push the pin in place, and away you go ! I like this a lot better than crow bars.

Like others have mentioned, I have it down now to a 10 to 15 minute process whereas the first time was 1 or 2 hours.

In effect the process I described above puts slight twist or torque on the loader, twisting it back into alignment. My thinking is that the most common misalignment or "sprung" condition is in the roll axis (twist/torque.) (It will be obvious if you have the 2x4 on the wrong side!) Let's hope after the dealer's house call you will not need this.


It may be worth mentioning (as I have in other threads) that the MFRs have no published specs on torque capacity of loaders, even on the big ones for 50 to 100hp tractors. The premiere tractor testing lab in the US at the Univ. of Nebraska does not test them for torque either. I personally think this is an area in need of attention, both by the manufacturers and the AG engineering standards people.

 

[Diggin It]

^^ I have not had mine off yet and really don't see any reason to in the near future. But, I'm wondering if it might not be a bad idea as part of routine inspections, fluid checks, lube jobs, etc. to do a bucket level and alignment check. Get it all squared up on level pavement and lower the bucket to just touching pavement, no down pressure. See if both sides touch equally.

I'm wondering if this is more about the loader mounted arms being tweaked than the tractor mounted arms, or maybe a bit of both.

 

[eubie5]

my bucket might be a little off. 1 side touched before the other. it's a brand new tractor with about 15 hours. almost all of the hours have been mowing, except when i used the grapple a couple times.
one of the main selling points of the new bx80 series is the easy on/off loader. on the video's, they easily remove it in about 30-45 seconds, without leaving the seat. when they replace it, takes a minute or so and that's it.
if kubota has reworked the way the loader attaches for the new bx, surely they worked all the kinks out before it went to market. it's been in production for several years

 

[robertm]

I’ve had a B7500, a B7510, a BX2660, a B2620, and now a BX2670. The first four had loaders that went on it came off in 2 minutes or less. My current BX2660 does the same, but the right loader arm is always off 5/8 of an inch. If I don’t shim the right leg of the stand, I can’t get it out of the saddle. The point is, these pieces of equipment, despite many parts being welded in a jig, are not perfect. I have measured EVERY measurement side to side, and they are identical. No reason it should require me to manually lift the loader out of the saddle sometimes, or lift it back in. But, it does. I really wanted an 80-Series for the ez-loader, but now, I’m not sure. I’ve taken all my loaders off and on in my concrete floor bar, in the grass, on the slopes asphalt drive without issue. If the 80-Series is that finicky, and is also cutting my capacities down, I’ll keep my 70-Series.
Please post what the dealer finds. The videos look undeniable, but...

 

[sixdogs]

This is a copy of a post I just put in a similar thread but has relevance here. FYI on my experience.


I had a similar issue helping my neighbor with her brand new B2650. I Have done loaders for decades but in removing the loader on a gravel barn surface, I had to stop several times because I thought the loader was coming off crooked. The parking stands seemed flimsy and seemed to be flexing? Not sure what it was but it took me 15 minutes for a two minute job. When I put it back on the right loader arm and bracket was awkward to engage. It didn't instinctively go together as I had expected and took me maybe 20 minutes to make sure everything was OK. Maybe it was me but I have done lots of Kubota loaders.

Note that you have to be very careful when you move in to put a loader on and must line it up 100% or back up and line up again. Arm lengths have to be equal. Maybe the newer BX's and maybe B's need a little more TLC when you put things back together? The second time I R and R'd the loader it was two minutes and more normal.