Brand new L2501 owner here. Machine has just 8 hours on it right now. Ive encountered only 1 issue so far that Ive noticed that I consider a factory or manufacturer fault, and thankfully its mostly a non issue I think - The loader valve lock. Picture is attached of the valve lock. Once I got the tractor home and began to use it and really look it over with a fine tooth comb I noticed that the lock valve would only go about halfway then stop, and I could tell it was hitting something. No amount of forcing would get it beyond half way. With the lock stuck halfway, it is enough to prevent the loader from going up and down, but not from operating the bucket itself up and down (side to side movement of the stick is still possible) With the lock halfway its also easy to bump it or for it to move back to unlocked. How often will I ever use this really? Probably never honestly, so Ive mostly ignored the issue, though it does kind of annoy me to have something not function right on a brand new piece of equipment, so I decided this weekend to remove the whole plastic cover and investigate what the issue actually was.
Once I got the cover off, I was able to see the locking mechanism is very basic - a Pin simply slides through 2 holes in the lever mechanism to prevent the lever from moving. I quickly realized what the problem was as well. The pin is hitting the rim of the 2nd hole it is supposed to go through, as it isnt drilled just right for smooth operation. I was able to take a hammer and tap it all the way through, but its super tight when you do this and you can not physically unlock it again without using a hammer and screw driver to tap the pin back out. No amount of jiggling or moving the stick around helps. I also got a pair of pliers and tried manipulating the 2 little lever plates to jiggle the pin in/out - it just wont work without being forced in and out with a hammer. Its just machined poorly and its visible to the eye. I also put greese in the pin hole to lube the area up good, and that didn't really help. You can not lock it with the lever, you have to beat the actual pin with a hammer to get it to move.
Im starting to ramble but you guys get the drift of the issue I hope. I tried to get a drill bit in there but its a tough little spot to drill, and you hit the pin which is soldered into the mechanism so its hard to really drill the hole out to allow free movement. I finally gave up and put the cover back on. I didn't want to keep banging and forcing things and end up bending something. I cant think of any scenario where id ever really use the lock anyways, so I sorta resigned myself to accepting the flaw for now. I'm curious if others have had a similar issue. Im also curious how this passed QA given the issue was immediately apparent the first time I tried to use the lock, and was clearly an issue from assembly from what I see. Any suggestions on an easy fix would be appreciated but I dont think anything will work short of being able to drill the holes out just a tad to allow the pin to easily pass through, and from my memory of it, it was welded in place
Once I got the cover off, I was able to see the locking mechanism is very basic - a Pin simply slides through 2 holes in the lever mechanism to prevent the lever from moving. I quickly realized what the problem was as well. The pin is hitting the rim of the 2nd hole it is supposed to go through, as it isnt drilled just right for smooth operation. I was able to take a hammer and tap it all the way through, but its super tight when you do this and you can not physically unlock it again without using a hammer and screw driver to tap the pin back out. No amount of jiggling or moving the stick around helps. I also got a pair of pliers and tried manipulating the 2 little lever plates to jiggle the pin in/out - it just wont work without being forced in and out with a hammer. Its just machined poorly and its visible to the eye. I also put greese in the pin hole to lube the area up good, and that didn't really help. You can not lock it with the lever, you have to beat the actual pin with a hammer to get it to move.
Im starting to ramble but you guys get the drift of the issue I hope. I tried to get a drill bit in there but its a tough little spot to drill, and you hit the pin which is soldered into the mechanism so its hard to really drill the hole out to allow free movement. I finally gave up and put the cover back on. I didn't want to keep banging and forcing things and end up bending something. I cant think of any scenario where id ever really use the lock anyways, so I sorta resigned myself to accepting the flaw for now. I'm curious if others have had a similar issue. Im also curious how this passed QA given the issue was immediately apparent the first time I tried to use the lock, and was clearly an issue from assembly from what I see. Any suggestions on an easy fix would be appreciated but I dont think anything will work short of being able to drill the holes out just a tad to allow the pin to easily pass through, and from my memory of it, it was welded in place
