Need help replacing loader joystick and cables on Branson 4020R With a BL25R Loader

[Asparky]

Been a while without trouble on my 4020R and BL25R loader, but my fender mounted joystick broke the little white plastic inserts so my bucket is out of service and stuck on the ground of course. I'm told they cant be replaced and I will have to buy the complete assembly and cables. I am getting conflicting parts numbers for the assembly. A TA00035125A and a TA00038660A. My cables are green and as I said the white nylon/plastic inserts are broken in the joystick. My cables are about 46.5" to 47" long. I've had some peeps tell me I can just replace the 3 joystick cable ends with steel ball units. I can't get any definitive answers so I'm hoping for some expert help here.

Are the stock cables ends in the joystick able to be removed and refitted with steel balls? I cant find a kit but have seen what looks like a kit that looks very much like mine.

I haven't removed the cables from the lower unit and not sure even how to do so. Is there any safety restriction I would run into? I'm not sure if I disconnect the cables from the lower unit it may have high pressure on it or if the unit is sealed from the cable entrance?? Safety is first on my mind!

And does anyone know for sure which one of these is correct... TA00035125A or TA00038660A I can find no part numbers on the joystick unit or cables at all.

Any help would be appreciated. I'm a little afraid to disconnect the bottom cables from the "pump"

Thanks

Ron

 

[Cougsfan]

I have a 4720ch and one of the FEL cables broke (the cable housing came unattached from the cable housing attachment fitting so the cable couldn't "push"). My dealer (Cascade Tractor) sent me a new Joy stick assembly and cables under warranty. They were kind of a pain to replace the first time, but would be fairly easy to do once you understand how it is put together. I had to tear mine apart twice because I didn't adjust the cable length properly the first time. My cables are definitely not the same as yours. They have different part numbers and are slightly longer than yours. My cables come with steel balls attached to the joy-stick end (non-replaceable and non-removable). I have no little white plastic inserts anywhere. So I can't help you on the parts number.

Where do you live in Washington? If you are in Eastern Washington, I'd suggest you Call Scott at Cascade Tractor in Spokane. He will know what it takes.

I just started removing the cables from the bottom unit, not having a clue as to what I was doing. But once I pulled the allen screws out of the lower cable end covers and screwed the covers back, It was pretty easy to figure out the clever way they are put together. (I'd describe it but I don't think I could do it in a thousand words or less, I'll just leave it at; you should be able to figure it out). When you pull the cables out of the tractor, attach a rope to them so you will know how to route them back. That is important! The biggest hassle was getting access to the lower cables ends. I ended up disconnecting all my hydraulic lines and un-mounting the lower unit from the chassis and swinging it out from the tractor a ways to get adequate cable access . (That wasn't really as hard to do as it sounds.) The whole job took me three or four hours the first time and less than two hours the second time.

If you do get the entire joy stick/cable assembly, there is no need to tear the joystick apart. I did because I tried to fix my cable temporarily while waiting for the new parts. (My temporary repair actually worked!). I could tell you that you do find the parts to fix one cable, it is probably much easier to pull both the joystick and both cables from the tractor than it is to try to replace the one cable with everything in place. You want to get the cables pre-adjusted so the same amount sticks out at the lower end on both cables with the joystick in the neutral position. Measure that distance on your good remaining cable and duplicate that.

I hope that some of this rambling is of help to you

 

[Asparky]

Thanks for the reply! I'm pretty sure I am replacing the entire assembly. Both of the plastic inserts on the 2 cables are broke. I'm looking at a cable assembly later today, TA00035125A. Hopefully is the right one. I have called Scott last week. He has had difficulty getting the right cable and will let me know if the one he ordered will work or not (he said a bit longer cables)

I am not really getting the removing of the lower cable covers and cables. All I see is 2 big nuts threaded on the cable backed up next to the housing. not sure where to even start there. can't see any allen screws. Not sure if what I'm looking at is a cover? There isn't that I can see hyd lines near the cables going into the unit. hopefully I wont have that problem. Also my bucket is about 4 foot off the ground. I'm guessing it should be on the ground. not sure what the neutral position should be for adjustment. (I'm guessing on the ground with open side parallel to ground)Not easy to move the little cable ends in the joystick to operate the FEL. I used a pair of vise grips on one of them to get the bucket in the air so I could move the tractor. It took all I had to move the cable with the vice grip.

My other question about removing the cables from lower unit. Is there any HI Pressure involved if cables are in neutral positions. I saw a video where they were moving a joystick around with engine off to relieve pressure. So was wondering if this was a step to be concerned with. getting the cables in position with the vise grips was harder than it sounds.

Maybe I'm getting to old to be doing this stuff (71) LOL Just hate giving that part of my life up. MacGyver was a Friend... LOL

I do appreciate your input. Maybe today will be more fruitful to what I'm up against

Thanks again
Ron

 

[LouNY]

There is no hydraulic pressure on the cable connections.
There should be a clevis and pin at the hydraulic valve body, once you remove the retainers the clevis pins should come out and then you will be disconnected from the loader valve.
There are most likely two jam nuts at the valve end of the cables, once they are loosened the cables should come out of the bracket at loader valve.
There should be a pair of bolts going thru the plastic block to the joy stick mounting once they are removed your joystick and cables should be able to be removed.

 

[Asparky]

Thanks LouNY
OK glad to hear no pressure. I kind of figured that but wasn't willing to take a chance.
I bought the TA00035125A This Morning for $275. I've heard quotes for up to $500 for it so guess that's a fair price.
Its a lot heavier duty than the OEM Joystick assembly on the 4020R Rear fender. Cables are more heavy duty and steel balls with no nylon inserts.
Yea taking the joystick assembly off is a piece of cake. The jury is still out on the lower unit. the dealer said they were a pain to adjust after they are installed. I guess I'll find out. Its rainy here today in Eastern Washington so hopefully it will be nice outside tomorrow and I'll crawl under and see what is in store for me. I asked the dealer for a exploded picture of the installed assembly but said they had never sold a 4020R and didn't even know they made one and had no drawings in the computer. I thought that was strange.
I'm going to try and get the bucket in a neutral position before I start. I'm thinking that's flat on ground like I was going to start to scoop a bucket full of dirt before I start to curl up... With the 2 cable ends in the joystick being even in height. Then measure of length of old cable to the nuts and use that as a starting measurement. Since I don't know what I'm doing for sure that was the best I could come up with.
I'm sure I'll have more questions but 1 step at a time. not in a real hurry but want to get it done LOL
Thanks again LouNY, I'm sure more questions are forthcoming.

Ron

 

[Cougsfan]

I don't know how similar your tractor is to mine, but I took some pictures that may help you if they are similar.

The first picture shows what your lower cable ends might look like. The smaller threads and lock nut on the end of the inner cable attach to a pin on the hydraulic unit under the cover we'll talk about later. The larger thread and lock nut on the outer cable end will screw into this same cover.

The hydraulic unit on mine can be made to operate from either side (the cables could be made to come in from the right or the left side). My cables come in on the left side. I can't access them to take a decent picture for you, so I took a picture of the unused right side covers instead. The left and right side covers are the same except the ones on the left side are made open on the end so the large threads on the outer cable in will thread into them. The cover is held on to the hydraulic unit with two allen screws. To remove the cable, you back off the big lock nut all the way so it is off the threads and is just sliding loose on the outer cable housing. Then you remove the two allen screws and back off this cover by unthreading it on these same threads the lock nut was on. You unthread the cover until it is off the threads completely and is also sliding freely on the outer cable housing. Then you can access the smaller lock nut and pin to disconnect the inner cable. Hope that makes sense! If yours ends up being substantially different than mine, ignore all of this I'll bet they are the same though.

On mine, I found it far easier to remove the whole hydraulic unit to access the lower cable ends. (I am 70 myself, and working under the tractor in a tight place isn't my cup of tea To remove the hydraulic unit, you have to disconnect all of the hydraulic lines both into the hydraulic unit and out of the hydraulic unit. If you do that, you had better lower the FEL to relieve all pressure on your bucket cylinders or there is a chance that the FEL will fall when you disconnect the hydraulic lines . It shouldn't, the check valves in the quick disconnects should prevent that.... but do lower the FEL just to be safe.

Pay attention to exactly how far each set of male threads on the cable are screwed into their respective female threads before you start. Duplicate that distance on re-assembly and you will make cable adjustment a lot easier.

 

[Asparky]

Thanks Cougsfan
It rained all day here yesterday and still today. I looked at my tractor and don't think there is any access to the covers and cable ends from under the tractor. There is an oblong opening on the front side of the tractor big enough for my hand to get thru, and access from above when I took the floor plate off. I'm guessing the black round covers slip back up the cables when the Allen bolts are removed. I took some pictures I'll post later but like your pics there isn't a real good view of the covers. the hydraulic lines are routed to the side of the hand hole. Hopefully enough to work on it without disconnecting the hydraulics. Guess I'll see on that. I'm sure I'll have more questions when I get into it more.
Wish I had some drawings and or step by step instructions for my 4020R. according to my dealer he has none and never heard of the 4020S. I think that's kind of weird!

Thanks again
Ron

 

[Asparky]

Cougsfan or anyone
Sorry I dropped off the Earth, I got real sick and ended up in pretty bad shape. its just been the last couple weeks I've felt like doing anything. It's **** getting old. So I decided to revisit the joystick replacement. I got off the lower cable but I'm not understanding the small threaded part that goes into the hydraulic unit (that hooks up to the piston for a lack of better words) I'm seeing the small pin that's about a 1/4" in diameter and it comes out of the sides of the piston, but I'm not sure how the threaded part of cable and little nut on the end of the cable end hooks up to the cable. not even sure how to get it out. I don't want to ruin something so any help from anyone would be appreciated
Thanks
Ron

 

[Asparky]

Update...
Figured out that the Pin holds the cable adapter in place on the piston rod. I hate working on stuff like this without a repair manual... LOL... Will try putting everything together tomorrow. I've got good measurements of the threads so hope all goes well. I've spent a lot of hours on this only because of no documentation or how to do hints. Its really not that hard of a job but that said its not done and adjusted... I have to say my 4020R and BL25R loader doesn't require removing the hydraulic unit, It just takes removing a front panel and a floor panel. Its tight getting in to a couple screws and not a lot of wrench swing space but its doable. I started on the bottom cable because there's actually more room on the bottom one from under the tractor. Then the top one from under and above worked well. More tomorrow..
Thanks,
Ron

 

[ptsg]

Well, the service manual doesn't say a thing about that either. Just tells you to remove it, not how to remove.

Here is the link for the service manual for the 20 series:

Dropbox - Branson 2 series service manual.pdf