Backhoe M59 backhoe quick attach

[Smokeydog]

M59 backhoe attachment came with a 24” pin on bucket with hydraulic thumb. Looked for years to find a 12” bucket used. Kubota QA buckets are a little more common but still rare and have to buy $1,000 adapter.
New M62s and L47s have three options.
Pin on.
Kubota M59 type QA or
Kubota excavator QA.

Several models of Kubota excavators share the same QA.

Called Messicks after studying Wholegoods pricing options.
k7543 excavator QA $989. Not bad but not compatible with my thumb! Thumb compatible with excavator QA $2,730. $4K then about $1K+ per bucket.

Recently saw posts from M59 that solved similar issue using a QA from USA attachments. Requires a little modifications easily done by this novice. He personally shared well documented procedure and ideas on how he made the conversion work for his M59. Cost for USA Attachments M59 to KK excavator QA, 12” and 24” new buckets with ESCO teeth delivered $2,750. Fits my budget better.

Process now of installing and making needed modifications.

Had a Ford 4500 well worn backhoe and changing pin buckets was doable but a messy challenge. The M59 with a thumb, two spacers, two washers, heavy bucket would be extremely difficult. So glad I didn’t go that route.

Before

Curl “out” grinding relief.

Curl “in” interference. Flipped bars and welded in stops.

Thumb modifications underway. Updates to follow.

QA to buckets is quick and easy. No fuss no mess.

Note there is a second hole for the curl linkage. My Ford had this too. Was told it changed the geometry to better dig out under a house? Never used this feature.

Special thanks of appreciation to Mr M59’s considerable help in figuring out this conversion.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Interesting post. Thanks for the information!

I have both a 12" and 24" pin on bucket for my Kubota hoe. I considered converting to QA but I don't change buckets that often. I've had quite a bit of practice and when I do, it takes around 10 minutes. At this point, QA wouldn't be a big time saver for me and not worth a major expense. This could change in the future though so thanks again for the information!

 

[Smokeydog]

Details how I managed the interference with the OEM pin-on bucket thumb with the excavator bucket ears.

Removed an inch of the center plate gusset ears. Then used a hand grinder to remove more material on side arms and center gusset. This allows the thumb to slightly bypass the bucket teeth and 3/4” from touching. Welded a 3x6x0.5” cold rolled gussets external to compensate for the material removed.

Modification are minor compared to a $3,000 Kubota excavator compatible factory thumb.

The excavator quick attach is easy to change buckets and opens up a wide variety of easy to find HD buckets and attachments. Makes an already versatile machine more adaptable. This is a significant upgrade on some older TLB machines. M59, L47 and possibly more.

 

[PsRumors]

Great info, I'll be contacting them Monday about outfitting my L45 with a quick attach.

 

[Smokeydog]

Great info, I'll be contacting them Monday about outfitting my L45 with a quick attach.

The excavator quick hitch comes with 3 pins. I didn’t tell them that mine had a thumb so thumb pin was short. No problem using my old pin but having a spare 14.06” pin wouldn’t hurt. Used a 1.5” split shaft collar to secure it instead of a roll pin. Also needed two 1.5” washers for spacers.

Already sold my old pin 24” bucket for $600. Buyer like me, had been looking for some time. Buying a new bucket not much more than buying ears and converting. Plus USA Attachments offered a free upgrade to ESCO teeth.

Again thanks to Mr M59 for posting about his conversion from USA Attachments.