new 410 loader

[jyoutz]

Well the dealer delivered my tractor today with my new 410 loader. Really impressive new toy, er tool. One question for you 4100 owners. How do you use float? My salesman told me to move the joystick fully forward and that's what the book says also. But this just seems to continue to lower the bucket with down pressure when I do this. I can't seem to locate a detent position. Any ideas?

 

[jfakerj]

jyoutz

To use the float you have to push the joy stick all the way forward. If it continues to put down pressure push foward farther until the joy stick locks in that foward position. It should stay there and then you are in float. If there is no position all the way forward that the joy stick will stay in then it's probably out af ajustment. On my 420 ldr I have to push fairly hard to get it into float. I hope this helps.

Jerry

 

[Thomas]

Good morning Jim.
Glad to read your new JD finally arrived home. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Most of the FEL when you push the joystick all the way forward the pressure releases and just the weight of the FEL lowers the FEL,also the bucket may tip down a little.
Have you try pulling back easy on the joystick from the float mode...

Have a grand day and gets some tractor practice time on your new JD.


Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Caretaker]

Jim,

Congrats on your new tool!!! I'm sure you'll enjoy it, AND find it extremely useful in the bargain. I have a 4100Hydro w/ the 410 loader, and it's a good machine.

As for acessing the float, when you push the joystick forward (as in lowering the bucket), there's a slight "catch" before it goes into float position. That's so you can push the stick all the way forward w/o going into float. Try it a time or two with the power off, and you'll find how you have to push the stick past the catch. (Make sure there's nothing under the bucket, of course !!!)

There's a difference between "float" and "stick forward". In the float position, the hydraulics are connected so that the bucket can ride up or down with the terrain. Essentially, the valve let's hydraulic fluid flow both ways, so the bucket can move as necessary. In the "stick forward" position, the valve is directing the hydraulic fluid to the appropriate side of the bucket cylinder to FORCE the bucket down.

Are you contemplating getting the pallet fork attachement? I would recommend it - it's pretty heavy duty, and it's a breeze to change. I know the bucket mounted forks are pretty popular - I looked at some of them, but decided against them after a neighbor pointed out some of the things I could use the forks for - I decided I didn't want to chance bending or warping the bucket, and even my wife (withe artificial shoulder & hip joints) can put the JD forks on! Whatever type you might get, defintely get the 3PT Ballast (weight) box - it really balances the rig out.

Best of luck with your setup - may you safely enjoy the learning and using of it !

Dave Wells

 

[jyoutz]

Thanks everyone for the info. I used the loader today and figured out the float feature. Sure is handy. I've had my tractor for quite some time but the loader is new. I don't have either a ballest box or filled tires, but I'm using a 54" boxblade right now. That's only oh 350+ pounds, but I'm building a weight box to put on top of the blade to hold about 225 pounds of steel that I have. That will bring my 3 point weight up to 575 pounds. I'm hoping I can get by with this. Any thoughts? I really don't want to fill my tires since I'm afraid of tearing up my grass. Also, have any of you attached chain grab hooks on the bucket. If so, how did you do it? I looked around town all weekend for some weld-on or bolt-on 3/8" chain grab hooks, and the only ones I can find either have an eye or a clevis pin hookup. None of them sit flat on the back so they can be bolted or welded on. Any mail-order sources for these?

 

[jyoutz]

The pallet fork attachment looks very handy. About how much do they cost? The wife won't be too excited about another high dollar tractor implement so soon after the loader purchase, but let a little time go by....

 

[Thomas]

Jim,
All I did was weld a 1/4" flat steel lenght of the top of the bucket than purchase heavy duty grab hook,and before welding the grab hook to the 1/4" flat steel,I hand grinded the back of the hook a little so it would set flat for welding,also gives you better weld job.


Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Thomas]

Jim,
By the sounds you may need to do a little tool shopping /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif...welder,grinder,sawzail,half inch drill,cut of saw,torches etc..

Building some of these attachment are fun and interesting,also come in handy for repairs and other projects. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif



Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[kerr]

jyoutz,I also dont have any ballast on my 4200,hst,but a 5ft.5tooth gammond box blade.With a 6ft.420 fel.i can round her off as full and high as will stay on or in and no trouble.Yes its pretty light in the rear for sure,and always in 4x4 when using the fel.I carry the bucket as low as pos.at all times.I think half filled rear tires "beet juice"are going to be all i would need.But if i was loading over the side of a 5 or 6 ft.tall trailer or something a full complement of counter weights would be in order.I can stack dirt as high as the loader will reach,i just follow the hight of the pilemaybe 8in.higher to dump.The tilting foward would be bad enough,but when the bucket emptyed,the fall back down aint gonna be good at all.L.O.L.

 

[Caretaker]

Jim,

My Pallet Fork Attachment was $950. That included the frame and the fork blades - all the correct (JD Green) color, of course! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif The frame will also accept haybale spears, but I didn't get those - no need. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif The only thing I added to it was "screws w/Knobs" for the blade locks - I just didn't see the need to carry a wrench!

As for using a 3Pt implement for ballast . . .

The JD Owners manual specifies approx 780 lbs of 3-Pt ballast IN ADDITION to ballast in rear tires. Mine has tire ballast, which definitely helps - although I'm planning on removing the tire ballast this spring, since I use mine for mowing the lawn also. I broke down and bought a JD 3PT Ballast (weight) box after a friend lent me his for a while. It just FEELS so much better, and I haven't raised a rear tire off the ground with it yet, which I DID do when using 3PT implements as ballast. I excavated an entrance to our foundation for a new basement door, and we have some heavy clayey soil here - and of course I loaded the bucket to the top. Some of those loads definitely left me feeling light in the rear - but the area where I was moving it was pretty flat and easy to traverse.

The pallet fork frame & forks are heavier than my bucket, and in addition, the forks let me put weight further out away from the tractor - consequently appropriate ballast is essential!!! One of the first things I did was use the forks to move a brush pile, and when I slid the forks under the pile, and pulled back on the stick, the rear end went up pretty as you please...and I learned that when I put the forks on, I'm not done hooking up until I get the Ballast box on too! /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

My price for a new ballast box was $145, as I recall. The sand to fill it was free./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I saw a post on here where someone had made a ballast box from a 55 gal drum - obviously that works too. I just had too many things to do to take on another project.

I had some talks with my dealer about the proper amount of ballast. He said that most folks get by just fine with tire ballast, and maybe a nice heavy 3PT implement sometimes to even out heavier loads. I suspect that is true for the majority of cases. But, my partner (& wife) uses Ms Jenny (the tractor) also, so I like things to be nice and safe, and as bullet-proof as possible.

BTW, I found it most helpful to get my wife to do some tractoring. She finally said to me one day that I should give her Ms Jenny, and go get myself a 42-4400. Gosh, I love that woman. . .

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can give you any other info.

Dave Wells

 

[jyoutz]

Thanks for the help. I've been thinking about doing the same thing. I can't find any flat-backed weld-on grab hooks, just hooks with eyes or clevis pins. It's also hard to find any high-grade hooks (mostly what I see is grade 40 stuff). I did notice today that the grab hooks on chain binders are grade 70. So looks like my only local buying option is to get a chain binder, cut off the hooks and throw the binder away. Then cut off the eye and grind flat before welding. I'm thinking of welding the hooks to the top of a 4" x 2" x 1/4" angle iron (the full length of the bucket). Then I will use 4 grade 8 bolts to bolt this assembly to the top of the bucket. I will back the bolts on the inside bucket edge by using a piece of 3" x 1/4" flat steel the full length of the bucket. Seems like this would be easy to do and would really reinforce the top of the bucket for lifting.

 

[DFB]

Jim,

You can find different grades of hooks on-line here.McMaster-Carr

Grinding and welding a clevis style hook is the way mine were done. Check this thread on ways for mounting hooks.

Be cautious when lifting or pulling with the corners of the bucket. That can upset your balance real quick. Especially if your not ballasted correctly. I've got the weight box to use too. Works good especially for the real heavy lifts and with my clamp-on loader forks. Filled it with crushed stone. Plus removable wheel weights, 120 lbs each wheel. No liquid ballast.

Your ideas on ballast sound good. You find out quick what works best when and where. Tire air pressures should be near max in the front too.

What size bucket did you get? A bucket level indicator? Did they install the safety latch?

DFB

 

[jyoutz]

Thanks for the tips and the links. I'll check them out. I plan to install a grab hook on each side of the bucket in line with the lift arms, but I'd never lift anything heavy from only one hook. I'm thinking it would be best to drape a chain from both hooks and hook to the center of that chain with a large anchor-style slip link to lift single line loads. I ended up with the 49" bucket. I actually ordered the 54" bucket but my dealer installed the wrong one. He said to keep it for awhile and if I wanted to go to the 54", he would trade me in with full credit. I'm not sure now. The 49" bucket is 1" wider than my rear wheels, seems to be a nice size that doesn't stick out too far beyond the tractor. Nice and manageable. But my boxblade is 54" so I'm wondering??? I did get the bucket level indicator. I'm not sure what you're referring to regarding the safety latch, but it sounds like I had better find out. I have the lever that disconnects the front loader frame plate from the front bumper. Is this the safety latch, or is there something else?

 

[jyoutz]

Could you tell me about your removeable wheel weights? Cost? Installation? are they one piece units weighing 120 pounds? Wow, sounds like time to revisit my chiropractor.

 

[JackIL]

The JD wheel weights are 60 pounds each and you can use up to 3 per each rear wheel. Installation isn't too hard. They make a big difference in the ride and stability of the tractor.

 

[DFB]

Jim,

The latch is to insure the loader frame plate doesn't fall off of the bumper.(see attachment) The way I understand it there were some instances where that had happened. My latch came direct from Deere a couple of months after I had the tractor, even though they had known about it several months before I bought the tractor. Lately I've seen them installed on new tractor/loader combos on dealer's lots. I haven't had any indication of that happening or experienced that problem and I've really given my loader a workout moving tons of sand fill, bulldozed stumps, large stones, and log butts. I'd like to think it was only because of an incorrect loader setup or improper attachment by the operator. Check the mounting bolt torque like the loader operator's manual recommends, especially those that attach to the engine case. I had few loose ones after a while.

I have the 53" bucket. There is not much difference in struck capacity. Only 1.8 cubic ft.

As for those JD wheel weights. I talked about them with RobS in this post. All you need to know is in the full thread. There has been alot of info on wheelweights posted here on TBN.

DFB

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Have you thought about tow hooks for 4X4 trucks. Bolt on w ith 1/2 bolts back up with flat metal or large washers. tracto r supply for about $8

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hey guys,

I've been following this post to get some ideas on how to mount my grab hooks but before I do that, I'd like to get some opinions on how to go about straightening out the top lip of my loader bucket. The previous owner put a whoop -d- do in her about the size of a lemon. I have torches and had given thought to heating the metal and pounding the dimple out. Any suggestions.

Russ

 

[Thomas]

The heat will help but don't over do it or you might take the temper out of the metal.
Can you re enforce the back of where your going to heat than hit w/a piece of metal,somethings that help.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Bird]

Russ, that's the only way I'd know how to do it; put the torch to it and use a big hammer. I suppose Thomas is right about the possibility of taking the temper out, but on the top lip, I don't think I'd worry about it.

Bird