Front-End Loader Help Removing The FEL

[wushaw]

Lindy, It just takes a little practice and a "FLAT" piece of dirt or concrete.

I remove my FEL for maintence, it's easy.

 

[Westendorf-RR]

There are a lot of reasons to remove your FEL, some were listed previously, I'd say with the price of gas, remove any added weight you can when you mow. Because it's such a chore and a lot of wasted time, I always hear reasons why you DON'T have to take off your loader. Let me ask everyone... If you were able take off your FEL as quickly as you can change out your quick attach bucket, WHY WOULDN'T YOU? Power-Mount video. http://www.loaders.com/userdocs/products/23_WindowsMedia_-_DSL.wmv

 

[pitt_md]

I am sure I'm not alone when I say that my land grows rocks. Its great to have the loader on to toss the rocks into. There are times that having it on is a pain. It's hard to get close to the fences to mow with the brushHog. I'm getting better at watching where the bucket is but my wife can tell you about a couple of section of fence that didn't stand up to the abuse a FEL can dish out.

 

[N80]

That's the main reason mine stays on most of the time. I don't want to be mowing the woods road on the back 40 without the FEL and find a dead tree across the road. And I'm always finding rocks, logs, etc etc in many of the places I mow. And some of our fire ant hills are huge. Less stress on the mower if I knock it over with the FEL. Don't even have to slow down.

However, after a few years of mowing and clearing, the areas around my cabin are pretty much obstacle free and I don't let the grass get too deep so not much can hide there anymore. So, I've started removing the FEL for mowing there and I have to admit, it is very liberating. You can see better and turn in a smaller area. I have trees, buildings, etc in this area and the tighter turning area is nice. The front is a little more bouncy (I have no front weights) but it is a much less violent bounce than when you hit a bump with the FEL on.

For me there are three keys to removing and attaching the FEL. (Although, attaching it is always the hard part for me, removing it is easy.) 1) Memorize the procedure listed above (and printed in the FEL manual). It is not entirely intuitive, but once you do it a few times you remember the steps. And they work. 2) It has to be on dry level ground. Unfortunately I don't own any of that and so attaching is always a little bit of a hassle. When I've done it on concrete, it is super easy. 3) Sometimes the hoses don't want to go back on. This is from pressure remaining in the loader hoses. For me, this is usually due to heat (from the sun). If this happens, tap the little pin in the quick attach of the loader hose. This releases the pressure. Sometimes a brisk tap is needed. I use a ratchet extension bar. A rag can help prevent getting splattered. I re-attached mine the other day in the cool of the morning and there was no pressure build up.

If I had a concrete slab to do it on, I'd probably remove the loader more often. But still, other than mowing the 'lawn' type areas, I usually end up needing the loader for something no matter what else I am doing.

 

[RussMan]

I have a B3030 - and my books simply says "remove the pins". since I have never removed the FEL until now, can someone tell me how many pins there are. Is there 1 or 2 on each side? Anyone have pics for us non-farmer types.

 

[stimpee]

I have a B3030 - and my books simply says "remove the pins". since I have never removed the FEL until now, can someone tell me how many pins there are. Is there 1 or 2 on each side? Anyone have pics for us non-farmer types.

There are 2 total, one per side, look on the side of the loader frame just forward of your operator station where the loader arms come back. They are very large pins. Hard to miss.

Your dealer should have shown you how to remove and install the loader upon pickup/delivery though.

I have gotten to the point that I can probably get mine on/off within 2 minutes in either direction. It is dirt simple, and only occasionally takes a little bit of fussing with the control to get the pins to slide in/out easily.

 

[KennK]

I have a JD 3320 with a FEL and a MMM. I almost always just remove the bucket. Sometimes I'll need to raise the arms high in the air to be able to get the front of the tractor close to something, but it is plenty easy enough to mow the yard with the arms on.

I have more issues with the ROPS getting in the way (around trees) than I do with the FEL arms.