Removing the FEL

[GrantMO]

I remember seeing something similar to this in a different post but can't find it in Search. I haven't taken off my loader in >50 hours of use and would like to try it. Reading the manual makes it sound like you have to turn off the tractor several times too many. Any tricks or other things I should know in advance? Sorry if this is redundant but I couldn't find the thread I thought I'd read on the subject.

 

[TresCrows]

Turning the engine on and off I believe is a safety issue. I only shut down during the step where the hoses are connected or disconnected. I suggest though that the first few times you do this simple operation that you follow the manual till you get a feel for it. J

 

[rmc]

When removing my FEL I only also turn OFF the motor when diconnecting the hoses. It is a safety issue.

The other thing you may want to think about is if you are going to move it.

I put my on wheels so that it can be moved if it had to be.

 

[Bird]

Grant, I agree with TresCrows. I certainly won't advocate your doing anything different from the manual, but for me personally, the only time I shut off the engine on mine while removing or re-installing the FEL was prior to and during disconnecting the hydraulic hoses, and that was so I could move the joystick around in all directions to relieve any pressure in the lines before disconnecting them.

 

[chim]

Ditto on what they said. Also, it helps me to raise the bucket and lock the stands down, dump the bucket and lower the arms so the bucket rests on the cutting edge with the stands not touching the floor. After pulling the pins, curling the bucket rolls the frame up neatly. One thing I did was reverse the bolts the dealer had installed to hold the rear part of the bars that go from the tractor-mounted loader frame to the brush guard. They were installed with the bolt heads facing the tractor, and it was hard to pull into the loader without bumping the threaded ends, because they protruded more than the heads. Simply reversing them made a difference. I only attach the loader when I need it, and park the tractor into the loader in the garage, so maybe this was more important to me than it would be to others..............chim

 

[wdn]

Be VERY VERY careful to follow the procedure step by step putting the FEL back on. I got cocky yesterday after about the 5th time I've done it and started to connect the hoses even though the left side loader arm was not fully seated against the chassis. Then I got to the point where your raise the feet that are used to balance the FEL when it is parked. So far so good. But when I moved the joystick to line up the holes so you can get the hinge pins back in, the loader came completely away from the tractor with all the hoses connect and it was a horrorshow having to disconnect all the hoses with the loader arms now clear of the tractor and blocking everything.

So I had to go back and raise the loader arms back by hand so I can disconnect the hose and redo everything now I've made a mess of it. I had to call my 15 year old son (who squat lifts 355 pounds, strong kid), and it took two of us to manhandle the FEL so I could reposition it, get the hoses off, line up everything the right way ... and start over.

Moral of the story: don't get cocky,and don't go on to to the next step until this step is completed just right. It is easy when everything lines up properly and you use hydraulics to help reattach the FEL. Not so easy when you have to start shifting 500 pounds around using muscle power.