l3400 lifting bucket

[ht1]

I have a L3400 with 60 hrs on it I notice It dose not seam to lift the bucket evenly. The right side comes off the ground sooner than left. It appears all the hydraulics are working. Last weekend while moving some heavy rocks I kept lifting my left rear tire. The load was centered on my forks. Just wondering if this is to be expected.

 

[Harvest Moon]

I'm not an authority on the subject but I suspect these loaders are not built to the exacting specifications we might hope the are. And, I suspect over time and use they may bend and twist to and fro, just enough to notice. Mine has a few quirks, like the center of the bucket doesn't line up with the hood latch most of the time but if the tractor distorts on a little incline it can shift the other way. And one side lifts sooner but I only notice that on my shed floor.

Not to say that yours isn't much more flawed but I'd bet it's normal for some imperfection. I've never noticed one wheel lifting more than the other but I almost always keep enough ballast on it that rear wheel lifts only happen when I lift from a single bucket corner. Throw another 800 pounds back there and your wheel lift will probably go away.

 

[LD1]

First of all, are you on perfectally level ground like a concrete garage floor??

A couple of things it might be though, you could have air in one of the hydraulic lines to a lift cylinder. Try raising and lowering the bucket 4 or 5 times to full height and see if that helps.

Also verify that bot front tires have equal pressure.

I too have a 3400 and have found the loader to be almost indistructable for the given size cylinders and 2300psi pump. I have used mine too lift far heavier things than it was intended for but it is still square and level when I park it in the garage. As an example, I use it to lift logs with the 20" forks I have and when I cant lift the log, I use the curl, b/c it has way more curl power than lift power. But I'm just lifting it enough to cut.

Lifting the rear of the tractor is not any harder on your loader just your front axle. It just means you don't have enough ballast. I have loaded rears and when I use the bushhog for more ballast the loader isn't powerful enough to lift the rear, so I don't think the loader has enough power to teat itself up with a centered load if that makes sense.

But some things to check are, does it still quick detach easily. Because a tweaked loader will be more difficult to get the pins in/out.

Also take some measurements. Between the loader arm and the hood latch (or any reference point) and make sure they are the same on both sides. Measure from a point on the arm to the ground (level concrete for best results) and see if its the same on both sides.

Try this and keep us posted.