What have you done to your Branson today?

[Aquamoose]

That's a really nice idea Aquamoose. That's exactly what I would do if I had a backhoe like you guys get there.

Honestly, the manufacturers should this and wouldn't cost that much to them. I bet they could even get a hydraulic supplier to build a compact block for this purpose and with better access to the hoses.

Those are great ideas and I love your setup. This being my first tractor and having had everything supplied by the dealer I hadn't given that too much thought. The top and tilt hoses I always viewed the way an electrician would view a "service loop." I totally agree that the backhoe hoses are too long and unnecessary on the tractor side.

Thanks for the great tips Moose.

Thanks guys. I plan to put a “bleeder” port somewhere to relieve the hydraulic pressure when connecting the BH. Despite my best effort to ensure all pressure was released on the cylinders before removing the BH, I still get a lock on one line so I always had to crack that fitting loose to be able to connect it.

I agree, the hoses were ridiculously long and after eliminating the excess on the tractor, the BH hoses still had enough reach.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Yesterday I finally adjusted the throttle lever resistance. It came way too stiff making it difficult to do small adjustments. Someone here mentioned that it's adjustable, sorry I don't remember who as it was a while ago.

The lever moves a cable which runs to the injection pump. The adjustment is a spring tension with a conical washer and a friction disc. Similar in concept to what the 3pt position control has but that has two bolts and coil springs. You can get to it by removing the four bolts that hold the instrument panel in place. I also removed the instrument panel's side panels which requires removing the steel and glass guards at the front of the floor. My cable had some friction in the cable and I tried bending the bracket that holds the housing under the dash to get it to line up with the throttle lever better. It helped a little, as did lubricating the cable. But changing the friction adjustment made a huge difference.

That's a good tip and info, thanks. My throttle is also pretty stiff. I just got into the habit of getting it close to where I wanted it, and then "tapping" it (may not be right reference, but "whacking" it doesn't fit either) with the palm of my hand to make "fine" adjustments. Works ok. I guess I'm more worried about it being too loose and moving when I'm going over rough ground?

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

My remote levers aren't very stiff, and there's not really any neutral detents that I can feel either.

 

[Aquamoose]

I can move my throttle by hand and I would “bump” it to increase / decrease it but thought that’s the way it is. Didn’t bother me. Perhaps better that it’s tight than to be too loose for it to vibrate out of set position?

 

[ericm979]

I can move my throttle by hand and I would “bump” it to increase / decrease it but thought that’s the way it is. Didn’t bother me. Perhaps better that it’s tight than to be too loose for it to vibrate out of set position?

That can be fixed by tightening the adjustment a little.
Another concern would be the lever getting accidentally knocked by something and changing the throttle setting. I'll be on the watch for that.

 

[Cougsfan]

The cab version uses cables for linkage, similar to the FEL. However the FEL works much smoother. There is no such thing as throttling the rear remotes. Any position is either full off or on. I had to put in much smaller flow restrictors because of that. Often when I go to stop the movement in one direction, I inadvertently place it in the other direction. Because of that I usually have to stop the tractor when adjusting and pay close attention to what I am doing. I will try lubing the cables, but I don't place much faith in that helping.

 

[Aquamoose]

That can be fixed by tightening the adjustment a little.
Another concern would be the lever getting accidentally knocked by something and changing the throttle setting. I'll be on the watch for that.

Wouldn’t it make it stiffer & harder to move the lever than loosening it?

 

[Texasmark]

Nothing wrong with that Bob. I use my little dump cart behind my riding mower all season long. Very handy tool to have around.

I have a 52" DR Pro Z that I welded a 1 ⅞" ball onto the rear. Hook my TSC 5x8' rear ramp trailer to it and do yard work. Very useful in packing cut tree branches down to the pit.

 

[Texasmark]

Had an interesting project this weekend that ended up taking all of my machinery.

First had to use my homemade backhoe to dig a 25+ years old pine tree stump that had the roots pinching the water supply line for the orchard irrigation system. Ended up breaking the swing cylinder mount, not once but twice. At least now I added enough steel to prevent this from happening again. But got the stump out anyway. It's massive, most likely to be over 1800 lbs.

View attachment 605598View attachment 605597View attachment 605599

Then I had to use the tractor with a 5/8" steel rope to pull the stump out of the garden, up to the driveway, so I could finally use the electric forklift to move it to the resting place where I'll cut it with the chainsaw eventually. No pictures of the tractor pulling the stump though.

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Yepper, your digger is slightly outdone...."ft-lbs" 6'x1800# = 10,800#

 

[Gafn]

Let's see.... I made the payment for third time while the tractor sits at the dealership waiting on parts.