Adapting a FEL to fit my tractor?

[njc110381]

Hey guys. As I've bought such an old machine (B4200) I'm having real trouble finding a used FEL to fit. There have been a few for sale not too far away that fit similar sized machines so I'm wondering how easy it would be to adapt one to fit mine?

If I was to buy one that was fitted to a tractor of say under 20hp then surely it would be about the right size? I could then make some mounts to line it up with the tractor and all would be well. Or are there too many places where this could go wrong and not fit?

I've seen them sell for under £500 - it would probably cost me nearly that to get the parts to build my own.

 

[kubotasam]

It depends somewhat on your metal fabrication skills. You will need to build the mounts to attach it to the tractor. Can you find a picture of where the correct loader bolts on to your model tractor? If you can then build brackets to fasten the new loader to those same points on your tractor. I would certainly say it is a project that someone with basic welding and machining skills could do.

 

[njc110381]

My welding skills are pretty basic if I'm honest! I do have the backup of a friend who is quite a highly qualified pro fabricator though, so I may well call him in to do the structural welds for me.

What I'm worried about is finding a loader of the correct size. I don't want to overload the tractor and I'm pretty sure my hydraulic pump is quite small? Unfortunately even the people at Kubota couldn't find out the flow rate!

 

[gpreuss]

I had a Kubota loader on my old L185DT. It had a 48" bucket, and that was about all the tractor could handle. Using the tractor hydraulics, it was SLOW. I think they put out about 3 gpm. I put a front pump and external reservoir on the tractor/loader, and the speed was fine. I believe about 5-6 gpm does it. If you go for too much of a load, either the back end comes up, or the front tires go flat or roll off; you CAN also break the axle. Kubota said my loader was good for aout 700 lbs payload. I think the loader/bucket combo was about 700-800 lbs. Check the rating of your tires, and remember that the weight on the front axle can be a lot higher than the load - if you pick up the back end, you have the full weight of the tractor and the load on the front axle/tires - like a teeter tauter.
My tractor had 17 gross hp, about 13 PTO hp. It weighed about 1800lbs. I had dualies on the back for more weight/traction. I really abused it, but it held up fine.
I would go down to the Kubota dealer and look at what they are putting on a new small B or BX tractor, and try for something like that. No matter what you do, you are not going to make a Cat dozer out of it.