My NX5510H

[DieselBound]

Just got done doing the 50hr fluid service: hydraulic filters (both), front axle fluid and engine oil and filter. I'm running Delo 400LE 5w-40 and in the front axle I put in hydraulic fluid (from the dealer- that's what they fill with; needed hydraulic fluid anyway for topping off the hydraulic system).

Manual states 1.85 gal for the front axle but I only got about 1.5 gal and even then I'm over (need to drain some out- it's on the high mark before I screw the plug back down, which is how it's supposed to be measured). The fluid that came out really looked glittery: I saved a sample just in case. Not sure if this is to be expected with the initial fluid change, but if so then I suppose it's obvious why Kioti wants it changed at 50hrs.

I didn't put a vacuum on the hydraulic fill as some suggest in order to keep fluid loss to a minimum. Next time I will! Lost a fair amount (maybe a quart?). Will need to start the tractor up and check.

EVERY darn filter was reefed ON- horribly over-tightened. What's up with the factory? Are they not following their own service manual? I almost didn't get the hydraulic fluid filter off; took every bit of strength I had to clamp down, hold my filter wrench and get it to spin the filter.

 

[murph1]

Usually its the paint that locks them up. I about turned the whole tractor trying to get mine off. Just kidding. The shop turned instead.:laughing:

 

[Amvcane]

Before you drain some fluid from the front axle, I would drive the tractor some, forward and reverse, extreme left and right turns to remove any air pockets from around the bevel gears. Although the hydro oil is much thinner than gear oil, I would still go through this procedure before a final reading.
Haven't heard about anyone having an easy time with the hydro filters.

 

[CJONE]

For the 10k difference I am going to keep what I have. Don't want to risk having any issues with a new rig, my dealer is great but not worth the extra $$$ and possible issues. If someone comes out with a higher HP unit in hydrostat 75hp range or so then I'll look but not at the present. CJ

 

[DieselBound]

murph, I'd figure that's the case, but the oil filter was equally over-torqued and it's not painted.

Amvcane, I'm not sure how I'd get air pockets with the filler cap left open for as long as I had it. I had contemplated what all that you're saying but at the time I couldn't figure how I could get such a discrepancy. Fearful of running over-full so I went ahead and drained some (before reading your comment here). I will for sure check the fluid level until I'm confident that it's holding where it should.

Second set of hydraulic lines and the other fittings that I ordered are expected to arrive tomorrow. Hopefully by Friday I can get this all hooked up and then start and run the tractor to get things settled down.

 

[DieselBound]

Finally got the hydraulics hooked up for the fr
ont and was able to operate the grapple. Waiting for the hose minder/support from EA.

 

[DieselBound]

Finally got the hydraulics hooked up for the fr
ont and was able to operate the grapple. Waiting for the hose minder/support from EA.

 

[DieselBound]

Hose Saver from EA arrived today. What works best to affix one of these things to our tractors? (yeah, I should have figured this out BEFORE I bought one)

Looks like they provide the option to use a through-bolt or a weld-on piece that you then bolt to.

I have no welder. I could pop off the shield over the hard lines on the torque tube and take it somewhere for the weld-on piece; not sure if this is study enough metal.

 

[DieselBound]

Staging the Hose Saver (HS) and I'm not liking how it looks. Some of this has to do with the length of the lines on the grapple- they're 6'. EA said that they were going to provide longer lines and it now looks like that wasn't a good choice. While the HS appears like it will support the 3/8" lines on the loader OK the grapple lines (1/2") have too much slack.

Another issue with the HS is that it seem too short, such that the hose couplings hang down and against the torque tube. If I were to lengthen the 3/8" lines to drop the couplers lower then the excess slack on that side (grapple) is going to be worse.

It's a pain trying to temporarily set things in place to check position/operation. I'll see if I can get a picture (need another set of hands).

 

[Threepoint]

Diesel, pics would help. My EA Wicked Root grapple has the Hose Saver mounted on it, so none is needed on the FEL itself. Does your grapple not? Or perhaps are you wanting to add a second HS on the torque tube as well? If so, I hadn't thought of doing that. Can't you just bolt it directly on top of the torque tube cover, using one of the four studs and nuts that fasten the cover to the torque tube? Apologies if I'm misunderstanding.

 

[DieselBound]

Threepoint, yeah, I need to grab a picture (can't do right now).

I briefly thought about mounting the HS on the grapple but thought that it's supposed to go on the tractor.:confused3: The hoses on the grapple are 1/2" and the HS won't, I don't think, accommodate that size.

The 3/8" hoses from the tractor reach just about 1/2' to and along the torque tube. If I lift the hoses up and hold them above the toque tube (to match the height of the HS) then I can reach a little past mid point on the torque tube/middle of the tractor.

I was aiming only to mount one HS (why I only bought one), but when scratching my head over this earlier today I was wondering whether I should have gotten two of them (and mounted one on the grapple).

There are studs on the torque tube that are for affixing the protective cover (for the hard lines). They are too short to use as is, but I had thought about the possibility of using a rod connector. Not sure if that stud would be sturdy enough. I was kind of angling in this direction but don't think it'll work. Kind of leaves only welding on that mount piece (that comes with the HS): positive is that the cover is readily removable and easy to take to a welding shop.

 

[DieselBound]

So, here's a thread where it seems that others have been confused as to where a hose saver should go:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/345779-wicked-utility-grapple-2.html

I'm sending EA e-mail asking if I can get the hose clamp in 1/2". Also going to see if that's even going to work, mounting the saver on the grapple: based on the above thread EA installs the savers on their dual lid grapples.

 

[DieselBound]

OK! I corresponded with Jeremy from EA and got some clarification. The two-lid grapples get the hose saver in order to properly protect the hoses coming between the lids. He said that the single lids don't have that issue and that the hose saver should be mounted in the middle of the loader's torque tube. I should use the 3/8" clamp, he says, because you don't have to tighten it down as hard in order to hold: on the 3/8" line I'm sure this is a no-brainer; I'd asked more so for the possibility of clamping the 1/2" hoses coming off the grapple. I'm contemplating on whether I can just drill and bolt to the protective plate of whether to have the stand base welded to that protective plate: I suspect that bolting might be an issue in that the bolt head would either not fit due to the hard lines or that it would possibly rub against the hard lines. It'll likely take me a while to get around to this because I'm juggling a ton of other (higher priority) things right now: I do want to get this loose end tied up!

 

[DieselBound]

Got the torque tube piece painted and reinstalled along with the hose saver. Need to play around with how the hoses sit: need to have the hoses run more parallel to the torque tube- have it twisted a bit just to work on things. I have a bulkhead connector adapter in there and that makes things a bit bulky: hose saver is clamping on them. Not sure if l will take them out or whether I'll build an adapter that I'll then use to connect to the hose saver.

I'm not having much success getting the couplers connected. I've done all the normal things to relieve pressure (even loosening up a fitting!), but the female adapter on the grapple side (from EA) just won't cooperate. I have a higher quality female adapter on the tractor side (from Discount Hydraulics) and that one works fine.

 

[DieselBound]

Back in the saddle! Did some mowing with my "new" bush hog, but the tail wheel bracket broke (had been patched, and, apparently, not very well in which case with little strain the thing gave way- currently at the welder's being re-welded/strengthened). Several dry days strung together so I was finally able to get back to hauling material. Here's a shot I took going down the road, monitor viewing the rear is captured:



Ordered a stereo. I'll give a report once it's installed and working.

I'm also pursuing a box blade. This has become a big challenge, but I think I might have found what I want. Will report back.

 

[DieselBound]

Busy with various things, though the tractor is sitting (still too wet, and waiting for attachments).

Got the BH 286's tail wheel back from the welder's, so now when things are dry enough I'll be able to get it out and really "make hay"

Bought a stereo, a JVC KD-X33MBS. Got is cheaper because it was "Open Box." Can anyone tell me how one goes about mounting/securing something like this in one of these tractors? The unit is shallow, which means that it shouldn't put a lot of stress on any attachment points at the face: I may attach something to the back to stabilize though- I see up in that pocket there's a bracket back there with a largish square(?) hole that I could use rest a support in/through. Have the Metra wiring harness thats folks here have said matches up to Kioti's harness (verified that it does): will need to parse through the wire connections.

I FINALLY purchased a box blade! It should ship in a few days, and get to me within a couple weeks. I'm holding off saying any more until I actually have it!

 

[mudplugger]

Share a photo of your tires some time.

Just realised I never did this Eric...
Here's four pictures:



Sadly she's not so clean now.. These were taken the day the tractor was delivered..

 

[DieselBound]

mudplugger, awesome tires!

FINALLY got my box blade!


84" Tufline. I was going to go a bit smaller/narrower, but realized that the wheels were set out on my tractor, in which case with an 84" unit I won't have as much sticking out as I'd initially feared. This, IMO, was the best deal that was out there. Not that I'm banking on it, but this may be QH compatible. The scarifiers are pretty cheap, not replaceable tips. I'm not really digging into a lot of hard ground so maybe they'll hold up: I've only broken one scarifier on my five-footer on the B7800 (my folly).

Might be a while before I get this set up and start using it. Need to focus on getting a new PTO shaft for the bush hog.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

mudplugger, awesome tires!

FINALLY got my box blade!
View attachment 511362

84" Tufline. I was going to go a bit smaller/narrower, but realized that the wheels were set out on my tractor, in which case with an 84" unit I won't have as much sticking out as I'd initially feared. This, IMO, was the best deal that was out there. Not that I'm banking on it, but this may be QH compatible. The scarifiers are pretty cheap, not replaceable tips. I'm not really digging into a lot of hard ground so maybe they'll hold up: I've only broken one scarifier on my five-footer on the B7800 (my folly).

Might be a while before I get this set up and start using it. Need to focus on getting a new PTO shaft for the bush hog.

The same as my Frontier!

 

[DieselBound]

Eric, yeah, I'd figured this out after watching one of your YouTube videos. Does your Frontier have non-replaceable scarifier tips? But, really, and as you've found out, it seems like the "wear" is more likely the scarifiers getting bent than the tips getting worn out.

Tracked down someone selling these at a very good price: closest I could come to the pricing (plus shipping) on a used Gannon (which I was going to spring for right up until it finally moved before I could pull the trigger- trying to price out shipping); and given that they're likely QH compatible I figured that this was a plus. Price was so good that I wondered whether I wasn't shelling out money into an Internet hole (scam). I didn't even get a receipt: I called and they tried e-mailing another one but that didn't work either. Wasn't until I was contacted by the shipper did I actually feel like this was legit! Yeah, a big risk... (not the first time- wasn't the most scary, THAT would have been when I ordered a bunch of folding wire crates direct from a Chinese company!).