Damaged Loader... How best to repair?

[FarmtoLake]

I have an LX2610 with approx. 170 hours. The tractor is no longer under warranty. After moving some logs, which the loader handled no problem, I noticed the loader seems bent. I made sure all the support bolts are torqued to specifications, a couple were only slightly loose. No welds appear to be broken but from inside the cab you can clearly see the left side is slower to lift and faster to return to ground. Attached are a few pictures on level ground. The closer to the cab the more level the loader arms. What else should I check? How best to determine the exact problem and how to repair? Thank you.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Edit: Disregard this post of mine. I misread your pictures.... You should fix it.

Respectfully stated.: Don't sweat it. It's a tractor, not an airplane.

I have an LX2610. That being said, it's a tractor.

How level were the rear tires (the whole tractor) when you placed a level on the bucket?

If I was to get too particular, I would never stop repairing non-problems.

If I parked my LX2610 on what I presumed was level and flat ground, and got the level reading that you pictured, I'd be as happy as I am eating bacon. Which is very happy.

5lbs less pressure in one back tire would give you worse level results.

You might have bent it, but the next day you'll bend it back.

It's not a problem. Until it works badly or stops working altogether.

 

[FarmtoLake]

Respectfully stated.: Don't sweat it. It's a tractor, not an airplane.

I have an LX2610. That being said, it's a tractor.

How level were the rear tires (the whole tractor) when you placed a level on the bucket?

If I was to get too particular, I would never stop repairing non-problems.

If I parked my LX2610 on what I presumed was level and flat ground, and got the level reading that you pictured, I'd be as happy as I am eating bacon. Which is very happy. 5lbs less pressure in one back tire would give you worse level results.

Ok, good to see the "don't sweat it" statement. The back tires are level and equally inflated. It's different than it used to be before hauling a few logs. Was concerned if there may be a broken pivot pin or something else that would lead to bigger problems in the future.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Ouch, you torqed it really good.
So I would say the loader didn't handle it without any problem, as that's clearly a problem!
That is not an easy repair.
You could try lifting another log with the balance off to the high side and see if you can torque it back into plane.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Ouch, you torqed it really good.
So I would say the loader didn't handle it without any problem, as that's clearly a problem!
That is not an easy repair.
You could try lifting another log with the balance off to the high side and see if you can torque it back into plane.

With all due respect to @North Idaho Wolfman , I respectfully disagree. It's not serious. Just put more weight on the 'high side' for a while.

I'm done with this thread.

@FarmtoLake , best of luck. You're good.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

With all due respect to @North Idaho Wolfman , I respectfully disagree. It's not serious. Just put more weight on the 'high side' for a while.

I'm done with this thread.

@FarmtoLake , best of luck. You're good.

I guess if you like a bucket that several inches high on one side you could call that good.
Me on the other hand, I like to keep my bucket level.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

I guess if you like a bucket that several inches high on one side you could call that good.
Me on the other hand, I like to keep my bucket level.

Check the OP's level pictures, Sir. That is not several inches high. It's less than 1 inch.

 

[FarmtoLake]

I guess if you like a bucket that several inches high on one side you could call that good.
Me on the other hand, I like to keep my bucket level.

thanks guys. I prefer a level bucket as well. When lifting the load, the load was within the limit of the tractor (otherwise it wouldn't have lifted off the ground). When moving it must have swayed back and forth as I moved about 50' . I was considering loosing off the loader support arms, leveling the bucket than tighten and torque the bolts again. I measured the hydraulic cylinder travel and both sides are the same. Any comment on this technique?

 

[ferguson]

Know what you mean wolf man my bucket 1/2" bow in the cutting edge form previous owner. need rig chain & poster power & fix

 

[NCL4701]

The comparison of back on the boom arms (maybe not perfect but OK) to the bucket (not close) does make it look like it’s torqued bad as opposed to being a tire issue, etc. I sort of agree perfection isn’t a realistic goal and I wouldn’t care too much about the bubble level but if it’s off more than about 3/4” +/- from one end of the bucket to the other that wouldn’t be acceptable to me and I’m no where near a perfectionist.

If you can convince an auto body shop to put it on their frame machine, it would be pretty easy to straighten. Short of that, tying down the high side while jacking up the low side or blocking the low side while pulling down the high side can be quite challenging to rig.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Check the OP's level pictures, Sir. That is not several inches high. It's less than 1 inch.

I set grade all the time
And this:

Is this:

Which is this:

1/2 a bubble is ~1"

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

thanks guys. I prefer a level bucket as well. When lifting the load, the load was within the limit of the tractor (otherwise it wouldn't have lifted off the ground). When moving it must have swayed back and forth as I moved about 50' . I was considering loosing off the loader support arms, leveling the bucket than tighten and torque the bolts again. I measured the hydraulic cylinder travel and both sides are the same. Any comment on this technique?

Here is another trick to straighten it out.
Lift the loader to about 4 feet, roll the bucket forward
Put a chain on the front lip of the high side of the bucket.
run the chain back to the bottom of the loader tower, making 100% sure nothing else will get hit or pinched by the chain.
Now roll the bucket up this should twist it back into shape, may take several tries to get it right.

 

[FarmtoLake]

Here is another trick to straighten it out.
Lift the loader to about 4 feet, roll the bucket forward
Put a chain on the front lip of the high side of the bucket.
run the chain back to the bottom of the loader tower, making 100% sure nothing else will get hit or pinched by the chain.
Now roll the bucket up this should twist it back into shape, may take several tries to get it right.

Thank you, I may give this a try.

 

[D2Cat]

In the two pictures the bubble seems to be much further off on one picture than the other. Why the difference? One picture says leave it alone, the other says we are off too much.

If you decide to twist the frame it I'd loosen the mounting bolts prior. It could be the loader has been off a bit for a long time and the bolts were not tight enough and the loader moved and made the difference much more obvious to you.

If the steel is actually bent somewhere, bending it back will not do much good, you have a weak spot if that is the case.

 

[InTheWoods]

Is this unusual? 'lifting a few logs that seem to be no problem', and then a twisted FEL as a result?

Is this just a bent bucket, or actually bent loader arms?

Whatever the OP did to cause this is something I want to be able to avoid. So what, specifically is the likely root cause? Just off-center loading? I'm curious how the log (s) were rigged to the bucket...

Any chance someone tweaked the hydraulic pressure up, making it 'no problem' to lift a load beyomd the FEL rating?

 

[ctfjr]

I am not familiar with your bucket, I assume its a quick attach. If so my recent experience may help.
I tweaked the support tube that runs between the ssqa. It caused the exact same problem - one side over an inch higher than the other, a pia to mount anything on it.
It was very easy to see that the tube was bent. I took it to a nearby auto shop and an hour and $100 it was fixed. They straightened it.

 

[Russell King]

In the two pictures the bubble seems to be much further off on one picture than the other. Why the difference? One picture says leave it alone, the other says we are off too much.

If you decide to twist the frame it I'd loosen the mounting bolts prior. It could be the loader has been off a bit for a long time and the bolts were not tight enough and the loader moved and made the difference much more obvious to you.

If the steel is actually bent somewhere, bending it back will not do much good, you have a weak spot if that is the case.

It appears that the first picture is the level of the bucket. Have to zoom in to see the bubble is way off.

Second picture is back over the hood so I assume it is on the loader frame somewhere. There the bubble is zoomed into and level.

I originally thought that the second picture was just a closer picture of the level in the first picture but it is definitely not the same.

 

[Russell King]

Check the OP's level pictures, Sir. That is not several inches high. It's less than 1 inch.

Look back at the first picture and zoom in on the bubble of that picture.

I think your opinion will change

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Look back at the first picture and zoom in on the bubble of that picture.

I think your opinion will change

I see it now. Thank you.

 

[jiggseob]

I think you will find the twist in the loader frame tower that stays on the tractor after the loader quick-detaches. I saw that on my brothers L3540 with LA724 loader. One of the long, flat straight pieces was bent, we straightened it and welded on a "fish-plate" to make it stronger in that area. And new longer bolts to hold the thicker plate to the tractor. And a similar fish-plate on the other side so it looks more like factory. And a can of Kubota-orange paint to make it not look so ugly.

I doubt that the movable H-frame of the loader itself is twisted, but I guess it could be.

You could live with it a bit crooked going forward. You could overload the other side of the loader and bend the other side a similar amount, but that will accomplish both sides bent, and possibly compromised.

The most correct thing to do is dismount the loader, and take the various parts of the loader frame off. You should be able to remove the control valve setup and set it aside without disconnecting all the hoses. The loader frame components are thick steel, and heavy, but if you take the pieces off and lay left and right side by side, you will see whats twisted, bent, or deformed. Then proceed to straighten or replace or re-inforce as necessary. This is a good time to inspect, clean, re-torque those very heavily loaded bolts that hold the frame to the tractor. Any fudgy-looking threads, replace the bolt. Grade 8.8.