FEL arm pushed in

[Guy Mandude]

Hey all, new member and new tractor owner here. I had removed the FEL from my BX2380 and had it stored in my garage. I had a contractor working in the garage and he backed his truck into one of the arms of the FEL and pushed it in about 12". No damage as far as i can tell, he pushed it straight in. Now one arm is in the normal "removed from the tractor" position (that one is OK) and the other is 12" pushed in straight toward the bucket.

I tried to manually pull the arm back out to match the position of the "un-pushed in arm" and that was not happening. I didn't think it would work, but had to try.

I cannot attach the FEL to the tractor since the arms are at different positions.

How can i get the pushed in arm back to the normal "removed from tractor" position?

Can i just attach the hydraulics and use them get the arms in the same location or since they are on one cylinder does that not work?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[haveissues]

You can attach the hydraulics and move the arms to either extreme and they will line up but I'm not sure you can put the loader back on in that position and when you then try to move them together they will probably move at different speeds if that makes sense. If you disconnect the hoses to that cylinder somewhere along the line you should be able t move it by hand.

 

[Dave_eng]

Hey all, new member and new tractor owner here. I had removed the FEL from my BX2380 and had it stored in my garage. I had a contractor working in the garage and he backed his truck into one of the arms of the FEL and pushed it in about 12". No damage as far as i can tell, he pushed it straight in. Now one arm is in the normal "removed from the tractor" position (that one is OK) and the other is 12" pushed in straight toward the bucket.

I tried to manually pull the arm back out to match the position of the "un-pushed in arm" and that was not happening. I didn't think it would work, but had to try.

I cannot attach the FEL to the tractor since the arms are at different positions.

How can i get the pushed in arm back to the normal "removed from tractor" position?

Can i just attach the hydraulics and use them get the arms in the same location or since they are on one cylinder does that not work?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Usually, when the FEL is disconnected, if one arm goes in the other comes out. The system is sealed when disconnected.

Did any hydraulic oil come out of the FEL when this happned?

Connect the hydraulic hoses and cycle the lift arms to see if they will both start to move together.

Hope that nothing is damaged internally.

Dave

 

[SidecarFlip]

More info needed. Is the arm retracted as in cylinder collapsed or is the arm pushed sideways as in bent?

 

[Tx Jim]

Welcome to OTT
If boom cylinder rod was just pushed into cyl barrel with no bending of parts then utilize a """come-along""" or tractor to pull mast back to correct position. Ditto what Dave stated about the boom cylinders be connected hydraulically so other mast should move proportionally in opposite direction if tractor hyd's are utilized in an attempt to relocate cyl rod. IMHO attempting to relocate hyd cyl rod/mast utilizing tractors hyd system may not be easy because the boom mast/cyl rod ""with least resistance"" will be the 1st FEL component to move,

 

[Guy Mandude]

Welcome to OTT
If boom cylinder rod was just pushed into cyl barrel with no bending of parts then utilize a """come-along""" or tractor to pull mast back to correct position. Ditto what Dave stated about the boom cylinders be connected hydraulically so other mast should move proportionally in opposite direction if tractor hyd's are utilized in an attempt to relocate cyl rod. IMHO attempting to relocate hyd cyl rod/mast utilizing tractors hyd system may not be easy because the boom mast/cyl rod ""with least resistance"" will be the 1st FEL component to move,

 

[skeets]

Call your dealer then your lawyer its call CYA

 

[Guy Mandude]

Thanks for all the replies and the welcome! It appears that he backed straight into the right arm and almost perfectly pushed they cylinder straight in. No leaks, no bends, just pushed it in. I think i got lucky with that.

Based on the replies, looks like my best (easiest) first thing to try is to hook the hydraulics up while the FEL is not connected (there appears to be enough play in the hoses) and cycle them and to see if i can get the arms back to the same "removed from tractor" position. It seems that if one goes in, and the other comes out (as noted by Dave above), that there may be a sweet spot where they are back aligned. If i can get it there, maybe they are aligned enough to get the FEL back onto the tractor.

Then if that does not work, start to manhandle the thing with come-alongs or by pulled it back out by chaining the arm to the tractor on one side and the bucket to a tree on the other. Maybe my 2nd new thread on here will be titled "i pulled a tree onto my FEL while trying to fix what my electrician did to the arms"!

I'll post up what works after i get a chance to test it.

 

[Henro]

Hey all, new member and new tractor owner here. I had removed the FEL from my BX2380 and had it stored in my garage. I had a contractor working in the garage and he backed his truck into one of the arms of the FEL and pushed it in about 12". No damage as far as i can tell, he pushed it straight in. Now one arm is in the normal "removed from the tractor" position (that one is OK) and the other is 12" pushed in straight toward the bucket.

I tried to manually pull the arm back out to match the position of the "un-pushed in arm" and that was not happening. I didn't think it would work, but had to try.

I cannot attach the FEL to the tractor since the arms are at different positions.

How can i get the pushed in arm back to the normal "removed from tractor" position?

Can i just attach the hydraulics and use them get the arms in the same location or since they are on one cylinder does that not work?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

You are saying the bucket was attached to the loader arms and after the impact, one cylinder is 12” shorter than the other?

I am having trouble visualizing how this could happen without something being bent or twisted.

 

[kevinj]

Thanks for all the replies and the welcome! It appears that he backed straight into the right arm and almost perfectly pushed they cylinder straight in. No leaks, no bends, just pushed it in. I think i got lucky with that.

Based on the replies, looks like my best (easiest) first thing to try is to hook the hydraulics up while the FEL is not connected (there appears to be enough play in the hoses) and cycle them and to see if i can get the arms back to the same "removed from tractor" position. It seems that if one goes in, and the other comes out (as noted by Dave above), that there may be a sweet spot where they are back aligned. If i can get it there, maybe they are aligned enough to get the FEL back onto the tractor.

Then if that does not work, start to manhandle the thing with come-alongs or by pulled it back out by chaining the arm to the tractor on one side and the bucket to a tree on the other. Maybe my 2nd new thread on here will be titled "i pulled a tree onto my FEL while trying to fix what my electrician did to the arms"!

I'll post up what works after i get a chance to test it.

Just drive up to it!!!!

As soon as ya bump the arm sticking out it will go in & the other will come back out??????

 

[RCW]

One picture would say 1,000 words here....

You mean the upright arms that connect to the mounts are out of sync??

If so, I'm a little stumped how they would have 12" of travel, unless as Dave said; one was pushed 6" in, and it pushed the other 6" out.....

If so, just hook the boom hydraulics and actuate the control as if to "lower" the loader. Will get both in phase. Just need to get close enough to hook the hoses...no alignment required.

I will attach a picture of mine. You can see it’s a couple inches out now, and will do the same. Mine has a generator parked between them right now.

 

[Tire Biter]

It’s simple. Just connect the hydraulics and run the boom cylinders in and out and they’ll be back even.

 

[Guy Mandude]

Guys/Gals, Update.

As many of you suggested, i drove up to the FEL, connected the hydraulics and used them to sync the arms by cycling the stick all the way in and them back out. Easy peasy and no drama. And it does look like the arm he drove into pushed the one arm toward the bucket while the other came out the other way at the same time.

Appears to be no other damage, leaks, etc. All in all, good lesson learned....electricians can't drive so clear the area when they arrive! Ha!

Appreciate all the help.

 

[RCW]

Very nice!! Thanks for posting the solution!