Finished the install of the Summit 3FV and tried out the grapple. Just like anything I've gotten for the tractor so far, I wonder why I didn't do it a long time ago
Only one little problem and a couple 'issues" with the Summit kit.
1. The two 3/8" 90 JIC fittings on the bottom of the manifold wouldn't let me point the hoses the way I wanted to. This required replacing one of the 90's with two 45's so the P connection would go past the T connection without sticking out like dog's balls just waiting to snag on something.
2. It's pretty busy on the RH side of the LX2610SU under the floor board, especially with the FEL loader valve down there. The 4 rigid hydraulic lines turned out to be a boon for securing the hoses and the wiring harness, but once I got to the back, I really didn't like the way the hoses connected to the PB on the transmission housing and the P-port on the loader valve. They've got a pretty wicket curl in them that is always putting pressure on the fittings to loosen them up. I torqued the hell out of 'em, but there's still one 3/8" JIC 90 that I just don't trust.
3. I don't like the fact that either the loader can stall the grapple or vice versa. The loader valve will bypass if it's overloaded which robs pressure from the 3FV, but the 3FV does not bypass when stalled, which stops flow to the FEL valve. I would much rather an adapter made to parallel the PB line and T line on the loader valve. Until the cylinders fully stroke on the grapple, it can indeed move at the same time the FEL is moving. But once it strokes out or stalls, the FEL stops with it. That makes it hard to curl or lift while keeping pressure on the clamp of the grapple.
4. The Summit kit comes with all 1/2" body connectors. Not a problem for the boom hoses, as they have 1/2" crimped hose fittings. For some bizarre reason, though all of the fittings on the supply side of the valve are 3/8" fittings. This restricts flow to the valve and has made a noticeable difference in the FEL on my LX. My grapple came with 3/8" body male coupler. The Summit kit came with one male and one female coupler at the boom cross member, 1/2" body as well. I had to go to a local hydraulics supplier and get another 1/2" body coupler (male and female) as well as some reducer bushings to drop to 3/8" NPT which is what the grapple hoses had on them. No biggie, just another $100 that I didn't anticipate.
5. The LX isn't real friendly for accessing the wiring harness behind the cowl. BUT, it comes with a switched 12V circuit that's wired out near the RH taillight. As it were, that's actually closer than the main wiring harness under the cowl, and I couldn't think of anything I'd rather use it for. I'm assuming it was put there to power rear remotes. Since the loader valve is under the seat, and the wiring harness has to be run down the stick under the floor anyway, it was actually very convenient to just power the 3FV with that. That way, with ignition off, no one can push a button and let the grapple close and hurt something/someone. I close it anyway when I'm leaving it unattended, and put it on the ground, or turn it teeth down in the dirt and bleed the FEL hydraulics after I cut the engine.
Some photos for your perusal:
First bite with the new grapple.
I cut a hole in the side of the hose sleeve for the FEL hoses just above the clamp on the inside of the boom, and threaded the 3FV hoses through the sleeve to protect them when mounting/dismounting the FEL. The 1/2" JIC 45's came with the kit. These two hoses had 1/2" swaged hose fittings on both ends and are exactly the same length. I took the loader off to do all the plumbing on it, which made it super easy to do.
I wasn't real crazy about doing it this way, but the hose to the Power Beyond point (RH hose) would stick out and catch on everything if I didn't. It won't go behind the Tank hose because the solenoid is too close to the port.
This shows how I routed the hoses on the inside of the FEL boom, and the 1/2" body couplers. You can also see where I had to use a 3/8" - 1/2" bushing on the grapple hoses to install the couplers. All the couplers in the Summit kit are ORB style. The ones I put on the grapple have NPT threads.
A view underneat showing how I routed the P and T lines and the wiring harness. I put the wiring harness inside the cluster of 4 rigid lines for the FEL. That should protect it. Before anything gets those hoses, it's gonna get the suction filter. I REALLY need to put a belly pan on this thing.
![IMG_3086[1].JPG](https://orangetractortalks.com/forums/attachments/img_3086-1-jpg.89938/)
The Power Beyond connection is fun to get to. The instructions from Summit say to remove the right rear wheel. But this heifer has oversize loaded rear tires that weigh nearly 750 pounds. I wasn't interested in handling that by myself. The seat has a single hair-pin key that can be removed, and bingo, the seat's off. But the supports have to be removed. I took the seat slide off, and the safety switch was easily unplugged and moved out of the way. Then, I took one bolt out of the cross beam support at each fender, which was a bit difficult with the fat tires, but as I said, I wasn't interested in handling those tires by myself. I loosened the other two bolts and just rolled it up out of the way so I could get to the Banjo fitting and remove the factory rigid line from power beyond to the loader valve. After that, it my only concern is the bends I had to put in the hoses at this end.
![IMG_3091[1].JPG](https://orangetractortalks.com/forums/attachments/img_3091-1-jpg.89939/)
I just coiled up all the slack in the power wires in case I change my mind about adding a switch to the cowl and moving the connections up there. I attached the ground to the seat belt bracket, and the 12V supply in the harness is already fused. I do NOT like the electrical connector that comes with the kit because they damage the wire integrity. I prefer to make a better connection. Besides that, this circuit is already fused at 10A (120W), more than enough for the solenoids. You can also see the connection of the hose from the T connection of the 3FV, which is where the Power Beyond was originally connected to the FEL valve. I added the 3/8" JIC 90 so that the hose wouldn't be sticking out toward the wheel/tire and subject to being ripped off.
Improvements to this would be a JIC T connection at the PB banjo, OR, a longer banjo bolt so that a second banjo could be installed on top of the existing one, and move the fitting at the loader valve down to the T port. This would parallel the 3FV and FEL valves off the PB, and avoid stalling the FEL with the grapple or vice versa. I'm thinking about having a loop-back hose made for the 3FV so that it doesn't matter if it's inadvertently engaged with the grapple not on the machine in the meantime. The buttons on that control are extremely sensitive.
BTW, the grapple is manufactured by LS tractor, model number clearly visible in the first photo. It's well braced for a light duty grapple. I got pretty rough with it today and didn't bend anything. I did more work in an afternoon than I did in two weeks before with just the bucket. Most of the stuff that I moved today is nearly impossible to move with a bucket, not to mention, I moved the stuff, not the dirt under the stuff. Very pleased with this investment.
I'll give the Summit kit a B+. It was certainly easy to install. I didn't have to do any cutting or grinding, and took very minimal amount of hardware loose on the machine. One bolt on the FEL boom for the bracket. 6 nuts and 2 bolts, and loosening 2 more bolts let me get the seat mount out of the way so I could finish the plumbing in the back. Lots of big zip ties that I already had did not come in the kit. The harness for the solenoids is not marked for which valve is who. I accidentally got it the way I wanted it so that the top valve was open, and the bottom was close. I was ready to swap hoses, if need be, but didn't have to.
I know, I know, a grill guard is on my to-do list, as well as some ROPS lighting and a belly pan for the suction filter. I also need a guard for the fuel filter. I managed to knock it loose one time. Thought I broke it, but I took it off and put it back on, and it didn't leak any more. This thing was so much fun I stayed out till after dark with it today. Probably a lot closer to that 200 hour service now. That's probably the next thing I'll do. Bought the oil and filters yesterday.
