LA 525 Loader Issue

[Fro65]

mdhughes,

I too have moved an awful lot of clay and limestone the past two years and have had no problem with my FEL. Just measured my brackets and they are perfectly parallel for the entire length.

My serial number is 04857 and I have the quick attach bucket. Will be interesting to see if others participate and a pattern becomes discernible.

Thanks for volunteering to take on the task.

 

[Ike]

I looked at mine closer and what I saw makes me think this is the way it left the factory. I also cannot see any way that these cylinders could put side pressure on these brackets with out the loader frame being bent. On mine it is flared out maybe 1/8 ti 1/4 inch and where the bend is is where the weld is on the loader frame. I think these were welded and flared out then the holes and bushings were added. I almost bet if I tried to straighten mine the pins would bind. But I am going to keep watch of it for now. I used this loader to load a lot of sand this summer and haul firewood. I also back blade with it but there is no way that this has created this

 

[sheepfarmer]

On my LA 805, 2 yrs old, on all the time, quick attach light materials bucket, the distance outside to outside is about 3" and varies along its length about 1/8 of an inch, with narrowest at about where there is a lot of welding at the midpoint. It looks slightly flared out at the lower end but isn't very much...just enough for the grease to ooze out.

On the new LA 534, completely unused, 2 5/8" there is also about 1/8 variation along its length, and pulled in about midway, which causes a slight flare at the lower end at the pins.

 

[mdhughes]

Okay, let me create the web page and database so everyone that wants to can enter there information. It will take me a couple of days to get it written and up on my server. I will then put the link to the page in this thread.

 

[Fractal]

My dealer finally got ahold f me and came out and picked up the tractor yesterday so they could put on my filled ag tires, canopy, lights etc..., it was actually the service manager that came out. I showed him the brackets, and he said he would research the issue with Kubota and let me know what they say.


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[Ike]

Today I became a little upset with my loader. I was plowing about 6 inches of snow and after the first pass I would take half the width of the bucket on each side in the main drive. I set the bucket flat on the ground then pick it up about 1 and tilt the buck down. When I plow it is float position. I set it down and tipped it forward there was a load pop. I stopped and checked all the bolts and looked for broken welds and found none. When I put the tractor away I walked by the loader in the shed and I notice the top right hand bracket was spread open about 1/2 inch. The other one was about a 1/4 the same as it was the other day. I would really like to know what is going on

 

[MadMax31]

Today I became a little upset with my loader. I was plowing about 6 inches of snow and after the first pass I would take half the width of the bucket on each side in the main drive. I set the bucket flat on the ground then pick it up about 1 and tilt the buck down. When I plow it is float position. I set it down and tipped it forward there was a load pop. I stopped and checked all the bolts and looked for broken welds and found none. When I put the tractor away I walked by the loader in the shed and I notice the top right hand bracket was spread open about 1/2 inch. The other one was about a 1/4 the same as it was the other day. I would really like to know what is going on

That sounds the opposite of what I do, I curl bucket up a touch so I dont gouge my gravel driveway clean off. Maybe you have asphalt or concrete?

Any side to side flex of bucket, will put forces on the upper mounts that could cause the bending. Im not convinced there is an actual problem yet, however in seeing these in person I do not like how tall those mounts are. It doesn't matter if its 1" plate, if it is long enough for leverage to take place, distortion can occur.

 

[bham]

i checked mine yesterday, flared about an 1/8" i think it comes from the factory like that, QA, 48" forks and i have been using them like a root rake

 

[Ike]

That sounds the opposite of what I do, I curl bucket up a touch so I dont gouge my gravel driveway clean off. Maybe you have asphalt or concrete?

Any side to side flex of bucket, will put forces on the upper mounts that could cause the bending. Im not convinced there is an actual problem yet, however in seeing these in person I do not like how tall those mounts are. It doesn't matter if its 1" plate, if it is long enough for leverage to take place, distortion can occur.

I curl the bucket up until I get a base. I have an ice base now so I won't see the gravel for a couple of months yet so I try to scrape it down to prevent build up

 

[Fractal]

I just talked to the service dept at the dealership where my tractor is at. They are welding those brackets right now. Not sure what they are doing to it exactly, but they said the material was a little light on it, so they are fixing it. I will post pics when I get it back, hopefully this evening before a storm hits that is supposed to drop 12" to 18"...


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[Fractal]

Well, they did me right, Kudos to Billings Kubota. They welded in two plates to keep the brackets from spreading apart. They didn't have to do it because Kubota has no service bulletins or recalls out on it, but said they went ahead and did anyway to make sure it was right. Big thanks to them. They also delivered it back out here after 6pm, which I greatly appreciated, even though I did volunteer to go pick it up because I have to leave to get to an appointment at 8. All in all very happy with them.

Also got the canopy, front light kit, and filled ag tires on. They adjusted the tire width so it stays right inside the loader width, but out enough to give added stability.

Had to fold the canopy down to get it in the barn, which will be a pain, but it works.

The barn cat also approves...

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[millsrv]

This is great news. It makes me feel good about starting this post. The fact that your dealer agrees that the brackets are lighter gauge than they should be may lead to other dealers and down the road even Kubota doing something about it.

By the way I really like your new canopy!

 

[Fractal]

Yup, I don't know about other dealers or even Kubota, but I know they made me happy by doing it. I also figured out that the parts guy is in charge of service also, and he is the one to contact. The owner/sales guy is hard to get ahold of, so from now on I will contact parts. They still owe me a service manual and a parts manual as the final outstanding items from when we signed the deal. They said they can take a while because they have to be printed out on a per order basis. I now have pretty good faith that they will follow through with that though.

The front light kit on the canopy makes all the difference for night time use, no more having to position the loader so it isn't blocking the headlights. I had them install them with a quick disconnect for the wiring so it isn't a pain if I need to remove the canopy. The rear light is excellent too. I have a couple LED running lights I was going to put on the old tractor, I may wire them in for side lighting also. Overall I am very satisfied with this machine and dealership so far.

 

[Grouse09]

I am glad that worked out! Good lookin out by you - for all of us.


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[sheepfarmer]

Fyi, mdhughes has just put up a fillable database as he said earlier. (IMHO it is really cool )

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28757

The information would help folks out that have problems and need to negotiate with their dealers or with Kubota.

 

[Ike]

Where is the serial number located at on these loaders?

 

[sheepfarmer]

Where is the serial number located at on these loaders?

On my LA805 it is on the left hand side of the frame, on the big plate near the operator's station. There is a safety sticker nearby, so it may be hiding.

 

[Ryansweatt2004]

One thing I dont like about these loaders is all the slop in the pins. You'd think the gaps between the cylinders and the bushings where they pin would be smaller or at least filled with an appropriate sized washer to keep the loader cylinders from sliding around on the pins.

 

[Benhameen]

Really glad you got your issue worked out!

I just took a look at mine and I didn't see any issues but I'll keep an eye out.

When I pulled this thread up today I saw your cat on the seat of your tractor. One year ago on Christmas Day I had to put down my cat that looked identical to yours after 20 plus years, brought back a lot of fond memories.

 

[mdhughes]

Can all you guys that have measured your loader arms please add your data to the database i setup at the following web site:

FEL database

We are trying to get as many FEL measurements in the database as we can, even if you don't see any problems, your measurements will help. There is a picture showing where we would like you to measure, the model of your tractor, the serial number of the FEL and the model of the FEL.

Thanks!