Loader Introducing the Kubota Super L45!

[lhansman]

I like the L45 but to be honest I always wished it had a little more loader lifting capacity. An L45 with the lifting capability of the M59 would be ideal for me. I looked seriously at the M59 before purchasing the L45 but the only one I could find was used and so in the end I went with the slightly lighter weight and full warranty of a new L45.

This spring I was finishing up removal of an old retaining wall for a customer and the L45 was struggling to lift some of the broken up concrete foundation pieces. I mentioned to my customer that I wished I could get larger cylinders for the L45 which would increase its lifting capacity. He then tells me that he is in the hydraulic cylinder fabrication and repair business and he could fabricate a new pair of cylinders for me. We took some measurements and determined that we could install cylinders which would increase the lift capacity of the L45 by about 50%. I agreed to do one days work for the client free of charge and in exchange he would have two new loader lifting cylinders fabricated for me. Unfortunately it took him longer than I had hoped to fabricate the cylinders and when I did finally receive them there were a couple of machining issues but he corrected the problems and I finally installed them yesterday.

Attached are a few photos showing the new and factory cylinders. The new cylinders are about 1/2" larger in diameter and what a difference. With the factory cylinders I could barely lift the rock on the forks off the ground. With the new cylinders installed in the photo at idle I can lift that same rock right to the end of the cylinder stroke. I am sure the lifting speed is slightly slower due to the increased amount of oil that has to flow but I did not notice a significant degradation in performance during an hour or two of moving things around yesterday.

I am very pleased with the "new" Super L45!

Regards,

Lauren

 

[ovrszd]

Cool. I'm always all about more capacity in an FEL.

My FEL is a brute. It also has two cylinder pin settings on the lift cylinders. One for power. One for height. The first couple months I used it in the power setting. Then after long and deliberate consideration I moved the cylinders to the height position and left them there.

Although I celebrate your ingenuity I must make these comments. An FEL is a collection of geometrically designed triangles. Cylinder capacity is matched to frame strength as well as cylinder pin/bracket strength. This equation also goes clear down to the FEL frame where it is bolted to the tractor. Then we get to the tractor and the capacity of the front axle assembly.I understand that some overage is built in. But not 50%.

I believe you will eventually suffer structural failure somewhere in this collection. If you added 10%, I would worry about it. But I don't think your FEL will stand 50% more load being applied on a routine basis. If you are like me you'll simply add more ballast to the rear of the tractor so you can lift even more.

I applaud the intent. I'd like to say "use it wisely". But if you use it at all you risk the damage I mentioned above.

I sold my "L" tractor and bought an "M" model to avoid the inevitable damage that I could see in my future by overloading the L. I'll be anxious to hear the long term effects. Good Luck.

 

[rbargeron]

I too applaud your direct approach. Nice mod. Most machinery like our tractors are built with pretty comfortable strength margins. In the old days, detailed structural analysis cost more than using extra steel, so many machines tended to be over built anyway. With more modern design tools (high-res FEA) designers can have better and better control of even modestly priced machinery. The pressure is always on to reduce weight and other costs so today's margins are smaller.

As Richard says above, 50% is a substantial change in the structural calculations for the system. I don't agree that 50% makes it likely to fail. In many structural designs the safety factor against material failure is between 3 and 5 and maybe higher where nearby human activity is present. In boosting the cylinder forces you are indeed extracting more performance, if at the expense of overall service life.

If you are reasonable with it, avoiding big off-center loads and operators who don't know the situation, you can likely get away with narrowing the margin. But just as with a racing engine designed to last just long enough to win the race vs. running trouble-free for years, it's a choice. Meanwhile it's a tool that belongs to you, not the gummint committee for life management. Use it as you will, breathe deep and enjoy - but pay attention. Take care, Dick B

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

just keep a set of front axle seals on hand.

 

[mike69440]

TL1000 is a stout loader.

kactory usualy sets pressures lower than therated max.

Weakest part about the TL1000 loader is the curl, the TL1000A is better.

 

[Piston]

Out of curiosity, did you try increasing the setting on your loader's pressure relief? It wouldn't give you nearly the capability you have now, but it does make a difference. I've increased mine and it's helped picking up some large objects (although in all fairness, it's not like I've tried it both ways on the same object).

I wouldn't attempt to put larger cylinders on mine that would increase the capacity by 50%, but the loaders are much more beefy on the dedicated TLB's than they are on the standard tractors.


Poor picture quality, but this larger rock maxed me out.

 

[xring100]

Good luck. Hopefully it doesn't suffer from a catastrophic failure. Id keep a close eye on the loader and tractor frame and the front axle. I wanted to be able to lift 3000 lb pallets so i bought a tractor appropriately sized.

Adding a 1400 lbs of lift capacity at the pivot pins is serious business.

 

[s219]

I'd be worried that the rest of the loader structure, as well as front axle, is probably not up to the extra 50% capacity.

 

[avc8130]

I'd be worried that the rest of the loader structure, as well as front axle, is probably not up to the extra 50% capacity.

The front axle might actually be up to it. I believe one of the upgrades from the L39 to the L45 was the addition of the M series front axle.

ac

 

[FatTire]

What is the internal diameter of the new and old cylinders? It is easy to calculate the actual percentage change. It doesn't look quite like 50%, but hard to tell. I carefully lift up to the capacity of my loader from time to time, but a friend mentioned the other day he doesn't pick up large rocks because it is "hard on the loader". If that were the case, I'd sell my tractor.

 

[ovrszd]

What is the internal diameter of the new and old cylinders? It is easy to calculate the actual percentage change. It doesn't look quite like 50%, but hard to tell. I carefully lift up to the capacity of my loader from time to time, but a friend mentioned the other day he doesn't pick up large rocks because it is "hard on the loader". If that were the case, I'd sell my tractor.

I hear ya. I leave my loader lift cylinders in the "height" position which limits lift capacity a little. Figure that gives me some cushion before reaching the capacity of the FEL/tractor. I carry rear ballast and use a Grapple. Sometimes I have to push whatever I'm lifting up against something so I can curl it back enough to be able to pick it up. So I know I'm exceeding the manufacturers intent when they designed the loader frame. If I added larger cylinders and continued to "cheat" as I do, I'm positive I would exceed their intent.

 

[FatTire]

How does the change between "height" and "load" work? Is it a change in where the cylinder mounts?

 

[Piston]

How does the change between "height" and "load" work? Is it a change in where the cylinder mounts?

Yes, you change the location of the mounting pin. I do wish my loader had a power position, but alas, it does not...

 

[lhansman]

The main reason that I wanted the increased lifting power is because I do a lot of landscaping with rocks. There are many rocks that I can start to pick up (like the one in the photo) with the stock cylinders but really it is the stronger curl ability that enables me to get them completely off the ground and move them around. There are other rocks that I couldn't really lift at all but if they were on a pile of dirt or elevated I can place the forks under them and then curl back and get to me destination ASAP before the cylinders leak down. Now I will not have to deal with that as much although of course I can now play with larger rocks. Being a TLB the hoe is always on the L45 for 3 seasons and if it does not have enough ballast on its own one can always adjust the hoe to increase the weight on the rear axle.

It is not my intention to suddenly start overloading the L45 on a constant basis. I think the Kubota 4-in-1 for the L45 is poorly designed as the hoses are exposed along the top edge of the bucket. I added a 6" wide piece of 1/4" thick steel plate to the top edge of the bucket with a piece of schedule 80 pipe on the top edge of it. This increased the capacity of the bucket slightly and that added weight plus the 100 pounds or so of my modifications to the bucket resulted in me be able to lift it full of wet soil but only high enough to get the spoil in my dump trailer with the side boards off. Now I expect I won't have to remove the boards when moving heavy, wet soil. But I have no intention of purchasing larger a larger capacity bucket for the L45 to move more spoil on a constant basis.

I forget the exact numbers but based on the cylinder OD's of the factory and new cylinders we estimated the piston size to be 40% - 50% larger but I do not have exact numbers. Unfortunately with winter upon us I have already installed my snow blade and next weekend the hoe will be removed and the snow blower attached so it will be spring before I can do any more thorough testing of the new strength of the L45. I am sure that the loader arms and pins on the L45 are capable of lifting an extra 1,000 pounds or so on occasion without the front axle collapsing, a pin shearing off or a loader arm bending.

Regards,

Lauren

 

[ovrszd]

Lauren,

I agree with what you are saying in concept. But us humans tend to eventually use all the power/capability we are given. With caution you will be fine. Without caution the system will eventually fail somewhere. But then, I feel that way about my Grapple bucket too. It puts excessive strain on my FEL.

 

[rScotty]

Lauren wrote:
"I like the L45 but to be honest I always wished it had a little more loader lifting capacity. An L45 with the lifting capability of the M59 would be ideal for me. I looked seriously at the M59 before purchasing the L45 but the only one I could find was used and so in the end I went with the slightly lighter weight and full warranty of a new L45."

I can't help but wonder what a person of your ability would have done if you had started with the M59?
Creativity is the one thing that all R&D departments hope for ...... but it's the one thing nobody can command.

Kubota might have gained by the transaction if they had simply given you a new M59!

Nice work,
rScotty

 

[Piston]

I still don't understand why they don't offer the TLB's with factory cab. It's such an excellent platform, and would be perfect with a factory cab option.

 

[mike69440]

The front axle might actually be up to it. I believe one of the upgrades from the L39 to the L45 was the addition of the M series front axle.

ac

Yeah true, I broke my L39 fron axle dropping a large boulder in the bucket from my excavator. L45 has lager curl cylinder.

 

[dragoneggs]

Out of curiosity, did you try increasing the setting on your loader's pressure relief? It wouldn't give you nearly the capability you have now, but it does make a difference. I've increased mine and it's helped picking up some large objects (although in all fairness, it's not like I've tried it both ways on the same object).

I wouldn't attempt to put larger cylinders on mine that would increase the capacity by 50%, but the loaders are much more beefy on the dedicated TLB's than they are on the standard tractors.
View attachment 401402


Poor picture quality, but this larger rock maxed me out. View attachment 401403

I'm jealous of your rocks... mine are too many to deal with and up to basketball size. Just a pain in the butt. Can't do much with them.

 

[mike69440]

I'm jealous of your rocks... mine are too many to deal with and up to basketball size. Just a pain in the butt. Can't do much with them.

Rocks & Rocks

Note I have 750 lbs of inner and outer wheel weights, a 120 lb thumb on hoe, The loader tube s are stuffed with 4" dia. steel bars and some other reinforcmets, that adds toatal of =1000 lbs to my L39,

Note rear wheels are very light. I'd need a heavier built machine to lift more. Front Axle is not up to it, 39 HP is already a lot to move an 8,000 Lbs empty tractor, and hydraulics are set as much as I dare.
Lauren,
How do you keep rear on ground with those new pistons. What did you set your hydraulic pressure? My factory setting was way low, as new it could only lift about 1,500 Lbs, I figure about 2,500 Lbs. now at 2800 psi. (Near 2,000 hours on Tractor)