Photos of Broken Bucket Holder on 400X Loader

Sadler · Oct 23, 2005

This topic, as it mostly pertains to the 300CX loader, has already been covered in this post Broken Bucket Tab on 300CX Loader, but since I had a similar failure on my 400X loader, I thought it would be helpful to post photos of the old holder and the new holder for the 400X; I believe photos of the 300CX holders would look similar. I broke mine dragging dirt backwards off the top of a dirt pile; I was in 4 wheel drive low pulling pretty hard.

The Solution Number and part numbers for the new and old holders were posted by joecdeere (thank you!) here: Replacement Bucket Holder Numbers. Below are photos of my failed holder and the new design holder. I would like to highly recommend my JD dealer, Al at Wilson Equipment in Spartanburg, SC for not only replacing both holders with no hesitation, but for insisting on sending them overnight Saturday delivery so I'd have them for this weekend. I asked to replace them myself since it's simple and I'd not have to wait.

TBN is great. Getting the new parts was easy with all the info available here. Thanks to everyone who posted on this problem.

Broken 400X Bucket Holder-top view
Upgraded Replacement Bucket Holder-top view
Broken 400X Bucket Holder-side view
Upgraded Replacement Bucket Holder-side view

The photos should show that the upgraded holder is stiffened with ribs and has a thicker cross section.

flwiii · Oct 23, 2005

Are the Castings on the 200CX going to be a similar problem as the 300CX and 400X? I am guessing so since they are similar in design. Does John Deere have upgraded parts for them as well?

ddivinia · Oct 23, 2005

Thanks for the pics. I broke my left one by accident when I caught the loader on some stuff. I am going to see if they replaced it with an upgrade one or not.

D.

Tractors4u · Oct 23, 2005

Do your new ones have "Made in China" on them as well. I have heard of poor castings from China before. I wonder if Deere is experiencing some of that.

Sadler · Oct 24, 2005

I did not see Made in China on the new ones, only on the old ones.

rockyridgefarm · Oct 24, 2005

There is a good chance that the replacements are coming from a local jobber, until the original supplier can change production. I would rather not, it has to be doubly aggrevating to shear a part that shouldn't and then see it proudly proclaiming its heritage.

Jomo45 · Oct 24, 2005

Great post Sadler!! Have you had any problems removing the pins with the new brackets installed? At least two of us are unable to remove the pins on the revised 300CX brackets.

Sadler · Oct 25, 2005

I had to remove the pins from the new brackets yesterday to replace the pins with new pins that had the cables intact. The cables were ripped off one of the pins when the holder snapped.

At first the pins would not come out, but by raising the bucket a couple of feet off the ground and curling the bucket all the way up, I was able to use the weight of the bucket to take the drag off the pins and they came right out. Have you tried this? Any outward pull from the bucket could put the pins in a bind and make them difficult to remove. There was no interference from the new ribs on the pins as far as I could tell.

ddivinia · Oct 25, 2005

I believe mine says China on them, I will check later this week.

I have to say guys that I don't think it is a Chinese made casting problem, but rather a poor design. The pics of the new one with the strengthening edge is a much stronger design. It really looks like the people that did the initial design are at fault, not the manufacturer.

D.