How to Remove 4-Pin LA681 Loader from L3710?

[Mr Haney]

My L3710 has an LA681 loader. I need to remove it to replace steering hoses.

I looked at Youtube videos, and they made it look easy. Set the loader up on its supports, jiggle the hydraulics to release the pins, and pull the pins out. PROBLEM: the videos showed tractors with two pins. The LA681 has 4, and it sure looks too heavy to be held up on those skinny built-in kickstands.

Can someone tell me how to do this?

 

[Dieseldonato]

The bottom pins stay in if I remember correctly. Put the kick stands down. Use the hydraulics to get the top pins loose pull them out then "pick" the arms out of the pocket. Disconnect hydro lines and back tractor out. At worse you have to pull all 4 pins, but I'm pretty sure it's just the top ones that have to come out. The lower ones should have a saddle that sits on them. Tried to blow up the picture and draw an arrow to what I'm talking about.

 

[Mr Haney]

Thanks for the reply. There are two removable pins at the front and two at the back. The loader is welded to a frame that connects to the front of the tractor via two additional pins. They are under the grill.

At the rear, there are fixed shafts the arms rest on (see part 130), so once I get all four pins out, I still have to get the rear of the arms off the fixed shafts.

I'm afraid the weight of this thing will rock it back on the kickstands and put the arms on the ground, and with no tractor, I don't have a way to pick them up.

 

[Dieseldonato]

Edit. Yes I see what your talking about now. If your worried about weight, unbolt the forward brace from the uprights.

 

[Mr Haney]

Let me take another look at this thing. I hope my brain is working well enough to tell what the pins do, but I can't promise anything.

 

[Dieseldonato]

After looking at the drawing a but more I think I'd just remove the 4 pins. 2 at the rear and 2 at the front. If your worried about the weight I circled where you can remove remove the front bolts for the front brace.

 

[Mr Haney]

It turns out I was right. To get the loader off, you either have to remove two additional pins (which I can't find on any photos of other Kubota loaders) or remove six bolts per side.

I have three photos. One shows the pins under the grill. Another shows the member that connects the part the front pins go in to the part where the rear pins go. The third shows the rear pins. As you can see, it's one continuous piece except for the six bolts.

I looked at a bunch of Kubota FEL videos before trying to do this, and not a single one of the loaders had four pins.

If I just remove the pins, those little struts will have to hold up the arms and also the heavy part that protects the front of the tractor. I don't think they're built to take that kind of load, so I wonder what Kubota was thinking.

If I want this thing to come off, I'll have to remove 12 bolts every time. The removable pins are useless.

I want to replace the steering hoses myself, but it looks like you need a professional just to get the FEL off.

 

[Dieseldonato]

It turns out I was right. To get the loader off, you either have to remove two additional pins (which I can't find on any photos of other Kubota loaders) or remove six bolts per side.

I have three photos. One shows the pins under the grill. Another shows the member that connects the part the front pins go in to the part where the rear pins go. The third shows the rear pins. As you can see, it's one continuous piece except for the six bolts.

I looked at a bunch of Kubota FEL videos before trying to do this, and not a single one of the loaders had four pins.

If I just remove the pins, those little struts will have to hold up the arms and also the heavy part that protects the front of the tractor. I don't think they're built to take that kind of load, so I wonder what Kubota was thinking.

If I want this thing to come off, I'll have to remove 12 bolts every time. The removable pins are useless.

I want to replace the steering hoses myself, but it looks like you need a professional just to get the FEL off.

View attachment 81550

View attachment 81551

View attachment 81552

I agree it's a poor set up, not at all what you would normally see.

 

[NCL4701]

[QUOTE="Mr Haney, post: 555915, member: 52900"
If I just remove the pins, those little struts will have to hold up the arms and also the heavy part that protects the front of the tractor. I don't think they're built to take that kind of load, so I wonder what Kubota was thinking.
[/QUOTE]

I’m aware I’m speaking in generalities here but if that’s the only thing keeping you from pulling four pins to get it off isn’t there some way to add support to it whether that’s with a high lift jack stand, custom cribbing that could be reused next time, etc.?

For example, the trip bucket loader on my father’s Farmall (my Kubota’s stall buddy) comes off with slightly less effort than changing the head gasket. Part of the procedure involves using a pair of hickory tree trunk sections notched and angled a bit on top to cradle the C channel lower support near the rear of the loader. They’re a wee bit on the heavy side but not terribly so and they were pretty easy to carve out with the chainsaw.

Maybe something to consider…

 

[Mr Haney]

Today I tried to get the loader off again. I removed the 4 pins. I also took off the guard over the bumper. I loosened the bolts on the bumper so I could try to take it off.

It's really something. The upright parts of the FEL at the rear have two pins each. The upper pin is removable. The lower pin is welded in place. Inside the upright member, there is a horizontal semicylindrical piece of tube the welded pin sits in.

When you remove the upper pin, you still have to lift the rear of the FEL up so the welded pin comes out of the semicylindrical rest. It has to come up half an inch or so.

The FEL is so heavy, a human being can't lift the welded pin above the rest. In fact, if you put a two-foot pry bar inside the tube where the removable pin goes, you can't move it at all by prying. Also, inside the member, there are two welded obstructions that make it impossible to lift the upright member far enough to clear the rest.

Here is what I learned about this thing. It is not possible to get it off unless the hydraulics are working. I found instructions someone else posted online, and I will repost them here in case anyone else needs help.

When I started working on this, I was able to run the engine and move the loader, but I can't do that now because I have to replace the front gear case first. It looks like I am stuck repairing the gear case with the loader right where it is.

DISMOUNTING FRONT LOADER FROM TRACTOR
.IMPORTANT
. When dismounting the loader, park the tractor on flat and hard ground, apply the parking brake. . When starting the engine or using the hydraulic control valve, always sit in the operator's seat.


Stand
1. Start the engine and run at an idle.
2. Raise the boom until the stands (1) can be rotated. 3. Stop the engine.
4. Remove the snap pins (2) holding the stands (1) to the boom and rotate the stands (1).
5. Slide the stands (1) to outside, then set the stands (1) with snap pins (2).
6. Start the engine and run at an idle.
7. Dump the bucket approximately 20 degrees.
8. Lower the boom and raise the front wheels slightly. 9. Stop the engine.
(1) Stand (2) Snap Pin
Side Frame
1. Remove the mounting pins from the loader side frames and
brace. .
2. Start the engine and run at an idle.
3. Slowly move the hydraulic control lever (3) to the "UP" position to lower the brace tubing (1) down about 2 inches.
4. Slowly move the hydraulic control lever (3) to "ROLL-BACK" position to raise the loader side frames up and out of the main frame sockets.
5. Stop the engine.
(1) Brace Tubing (3) Hydraulic Control Lever (2) Brace Support


Hoses
1. Slowly release the hydraulic pressure in bucket circuit by moving the hydraulic control lever in left and right directions.
[Standard Valve Type]
2. Disconnect the three hoses (3), (4), (5) with quick couplers. And reconnect the hose (1) remaining on the tractor to the hydraulic line with quick coupler.
[Remote Valve Type]
2. Disconnect the four hoses (2) with quick couplers from the control valve.
3. Place the protective caps and plugs on the quick coupler ends.
4. Start the engine and slowly back the tractor away from the loader.
(1) Hose 4 (4) Hose 6 (2) Hose 1 (5) Hose 7 (3) Hose 5

 

[Mr Haney]

Here is a wonderful design feature others need to know about: Kubota uses a mixture of M14 and 9/16 fasteners on the loader. They are nearly the same diameter and look alike, and the bolts will try to go into the same threads. Kubota also uses several different lengths of 9/16 bolts. If you work on an LA681, you have to bag and label the fasteners.

The fasteners are way overtorqued at the factory, so an impact wrench and breaker bar are required. I will be reinstalling them much less tightly.

 

[fried1765]

Here is a wonderful design feature others need to know about: Kubota uses a mixture of M14 and 9/16 fasteners on the loader. They are nearly the same diameter and look alike, and the bolts will try to go into the same threads. Kubota also uses several different lengths of 9/16 bolts. If you work on an LA681, you have to bag and label the fasteners.

The fasteners are way overtorqued at the factory, so an impact wrench and breaker bar are required. I will be reinstalling them much less tightly.

Perhaps the Kubota assembly good 'ol boys in Georgia have mixed bag of bolts?

 

[Grandad4]

I looked at a bunch of Kubota FEL videos before trying to do this, and not a single one of the loaders had four pins.

If I just remove the pins, those little struts will have to hold up the arms and also the heavy part that protects the front of the tractor. I don't think they're built to take that kind of load, so I wonder what Kubota was thinking.

If I want this thing to come off, I'll have to remove 12 bolts every time. The removable pins are useless.

I want to replace the steering hoses myself, but it looks like you need a professional just to get the FEL off.

I knew a guy who had one of those older design loaders, like yours, on his Kubota. He never took it off because he thought it was too much hassle. Kubota stopped using that design on later models as you are seeing on YouTube. My tractor was slightly newer, and had the 2 pin design that was easy on and off.

Looks like your loader was supposed to be removed by removing the 4 pins and using the hydraulics to curl the bucket and shift the arms so the loader would slide out of the mounts on the tractor.

You are in a hard situation without being able to use the hydraulics to get the loader off. You say the front axle needs work. Can you still push or tow it? Will the engine/hydraulics work? Wondering if you can get the tractor to a place where you can start it so the loader can come off.

I will tell you those two parking stands are plenty strong to support the arms of the loader but make sure to pin them!

Your comment about having both metric and SAE threaded bolts suggests someone did some homebrew wrenching on yours at some point. Every single bolt, nut and screw on my tractor was metric. I would be concerned that the fella that decided to use SAE hardware might have also had an inspiration to make other "improvements" that could make your job even more complex.

Good luck and please be safe. Those are good, reliable tractors if they are care for.

 

[Mr Haney]

Thanks for the input.

The mix of metric and standard bolts comes straight from Kubota. I learned about it by looking at the Messick's site.

If fasteners weren't as precious as gold under the current administration, I would replace all of them with M14, which is what Kubota should have done. Virtually the same diameter.

 

[johndeerebones]

It is like mine. There should be stands in the back. If you can fill the bucket with dirt, put in concrete blocks etc, the idea is just added weight. The pins under the grill and lower pins near the back that goes through the frames. The loader frames stay. Shut it off and hit the loader lever to relieve pressure. then the four quick couplers come apart. Then just back out. It isn't an easy task. As said went away with design. Why are you wanting it off? The front axle is accessible with it on.

 

[Mr Haney]

I have to replace the front gear case, and I don't want to work around the loader.

 

[johndeerebones]

I have to replace the front gear case, and I don't want to work around the loader.

Ya saw that. Have any angle iron etc? Raise the loader and strap it to a lift cylinder rod. Raises it.

 

[Mr Haney]

Can't raise the loader because I can't run the engine, and this loader has to go down in front and up at the back in order to come out.

 

[johndeerebones]

Any luck? To extend cylinders etc, take the couplers off the hydraulic lines. Get a bu8cket, drain pan etc, it will let oil out. Use another loader, barn rafters, something of that nature to remove it with the couplers off. Put them back on once it's off.

 

[Mr Haney]

I gave up on taking the loader off, and I drew up a plan for replacing the gear case.

It took me several hours to sort out the screws I had removed from the loader and brace. Kubota mixes M14 screws with 9/16 for no reason, and they look nearly identical. Amazing.

The parts manual I have is incorrect, and the diagrams are impossible to understand. The scale is too big, and the lines blend into each other, so there is no way to tell which part goes where. You have to start with a couple of knowns and figure the rest out.

When you take screws out of this thing, you need to mark each screw and put them in separate bags, and you need to take notes.

All the 9/16 stuff should really be thrown out and replaced with M14.