LA 1353 loader sag.

[DWallis]

We are have never had a tractor that the loader slowly falls when not in use. Our brand new LA 1353 on m9960 settled and put the bale spear through the windshield on our truck. Neither the dealer or the manual said the loader will fall over time(would have been nice to know). The dealer says it is designed to do that(neighbors call B.S.) Is the loader engineered to fall over time or stay put. I don't feel leaky seals should be relevant as the tractor is new. Nor will I ever accept the bucket is safer on the ground than 9 foot in the air.(ever catch a bale spear in the shin or worse) If I missed the wording in the manual than that is my bad.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Bummer!

No chance the grandkids were playing around it...???

They will settle over time. Once system pressure dies of immediately after engine shutdown, the seals relax a little in the valves , bypassing fluid, and the bucket will slowly reflex down. Mine would probably take a day or two.

How long was yours parked? The bale spear didn't help. The added weight helped settle the FEL.

Ray

 

[D2Cat]

DWallis, you said, " Nor will I ever accept the bucket is safer on the ground than 9 foot in the air.(ever catch a bale spear in the shin or worse)..."

Your situation kinda proves your idea isn't correct. There is no manual that I have ever read the recommended leaving a loader in the air.

I leave my bale spike facing down and touching dirt. There is no pressure on the loader arms and the bale spike has never bitten me or any cattle in that position.

 

[Tx Jim]

W Nor will I ever accept the bucket is safer on the ground than 9 foot in the air.(ever catch a bale spear in the shin or worse) If I missed the wording in the manual than that is my bad.

Welcome to OTT
Any piece of equipment is safer resting in the down position than up in the air. Relieving pressure on hyd cylinders extends the life of the piston seals. But it's your equipment and your windshield.

 

[DevilDog]

I have a 724 loader on my Grand L3540 and sometimes after snow removal I leave the 72" HD bucket up off the floor and tilted down so snow/water will run out, It never has drifted down to floor even after a few days that way in barn.
DevilDog

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

NO hydraulic system made will guarantee that they will hold over time.
And I'm sorry this may be a little harsh, but I have never seen or heard of anyone in there right mind leaving a loader up in the air, especially 9'.
and parking something under it??????
That sounds like you were wanting to happen, there is easier ways to get a windshield replaced!
What really bothers me is what would happen if someone hit the controls and someone else was under that loader!

This is from a Kubota loader manual from 30 years back!

 

[TripleR]

We have the same loader and have used it to keep deer in the air over night to cool down and it did not settle any that we could tell, done the same with our LA854 on the L5740.

We don't have a bale spear, so we usually just tilt the bucked flat to avoid tripping on the lip and put it on the ground, how others do it is up to them.

 

[mdhughes]

I hate to add to this, but in the "Operator's Manual" for my LA525 it shows all of the labels on the loader. One of the labels with CAUTION at the top has 7 items listed. Number 6 states, "When parking or storing, choose flat and hard ground. Lower the bucket to the ground, set brakes and remove key before leaving tractor".

I'm sorry your windshield was broken, but I don't think that the tractor is to blame for it.

 

[DWallis]

My question was meerly is the loader design to slowly go down. We have an M6800 Kubota and it doesn't sag. Just saying.....

 

[aeronutt]

Aside from the bashing, the basic question hasn't been answered...

No, there is not a loader in the world that is "designed" to settle. On the flip side, it is pretty much impossible to design a hydraulic system that is guaranteed not to. Settling is a common problem with hydraulic systems. The seals aren't perfect and even a very tiny amount of oil leaking around them will eventually result in settling. Gravity wins eventually. So why do some loaders stay up for weeks while others drop in hours? It's just a matter of luck that the seals are working particularly well on that loader. Perhaps the seals on your new one need to break in a little bit? I don't know. I do know that I have seen some insanely small blemishes in a seal result in settling that you could watch happen. It's possible that a hair got caught under the seal while it was being assembled and that provides just that tiny bit of a path for oil to slip past. As others have noted, you should never rely on hydraulics to hold a position long term. You'll eventually be disappointed.

 

[Billdog350]

Aeronutt summed it up the best. Not much else to say.

 

[user4211]

I work on booms, scissors and telescoping forklifts. I can assure you, a person 150' in the air wants his cylinder to be leak down free. A loader on a tractor has no hold valves. Nor does it have two sets of piston seals. It isn't made to hold itself up. It is made to do work, and return to the ground position. But I can diagnose this for you. Place the bale spear flat on the floor, and take the line from the rod end of the cylinder off on one side. Cap the hydraulic line only. Raise it and allow it to sit. If it settles and you don't lose any fluid from the cylinder, do the same to the other side. If you still see no fluid loss, your valve most likely has an issue. Particles in the load relief or in the multi position valve for the loader dump circuit. Very simple to see what is wrong. If you are losing fluid, it is bypassing the piston in the cylinder and that cylinder needs rebuilt. It should hold itself up, within reason. I would never ever work under, nor park anything under a tractor loader. It's a recipe to get yourself a personalized piece of granite. But I'll take a boom 120' in the air and think nothing of it. You just need to use machines within their limitations.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DWallis]

Thanks to all for the constructive comments. Space in the barn is limited and when you have three loader tractors you can save quite a bit of room by leaving them up(if they'll stay). If not then we go from there. User 4211-great info. Can't wait to try it. Thanks again to all.

 

[Billdog350]

DWallis, why not make a U shaped brace out of metal (many guys use angle iron) that slips over your hydraulic cylinder to prevent it from drifting down? It won't help your bucket curl cylinder but will help your boom one. Those are recommended for any work under the machine while its off anyway....