BH77 Backhoe and Subframe Alignment

I just got my new L3301HST with BH77 backhoe a few days ago. On delivery day, the dealer and I took off the backhoe to mount up one of my 3-point implements for training purposes, and yesterday I put the backhoe back on. Mounting the backhoe is trickier than the Youtube videos I've seen suggest, since those folks just uncouple, drive straight forward and straight back, then recouple! I also didn't realize that it's necessary to grab a couple of wrenches to remove the 3 point links. I think I'll get some spare bolts and nuts for that, because the lower link pin bolts and telescoping stabilizer nuts/bolts look easy to lose.

I have a question about the proper alignment of the backhoe, subframe, and pins. I had a hard time getting everything lined up to remount the backhoe, since this was my first time doing it. I needed to tap the left pin into place, while the right pin easily slid in by hand. I'm not sure what the alignment is supposed to look like between the backhoe and the subframe. Here's what mine looks like after I put the backhoe on:



Should the bosses around the subframe pin holes bump into the pads on the inner sides of the backhoe brackets? The way it's all lined up looks funny to me. I'd expect the subframe spacing to either have both bosses solidly contact the pads (i.e., subframe brackets closer to each other), or have both bosses clear the pads (i.e., subframe brackets farther apart from each other). As mine currently sits, the left side boss just barely clears the pad, and the right side boss just barely contacts it.

A cart for the backhoe sounds like it would be a lot easier. It will be a long time before I might have the luxury of mounting and dismounting my backhoe on a concrete pad. Is there any successful precedent for making a big-wheel backhoe cart that's usable on dirt?

I wonder if my subframe brackets need to be shimmed or something to allow both bosses to hit the pads better? The bottom hooks seem to line up snugly:



But at the top, it kind of looks to me like the brackets should be closer together.

Fro65 said:

Just went and put the hoe back on my tractor. Mine definitely engages considerably more at the pins than yours. The bottom hooks look about the same though.

I would be leery of using it without some adjustment. Those bosses' have to take a lot of stress.

Click to expand...

Thanks for checking and sharing your pictures! I'll talk to my dealer about the alignment.

Thanks for the help, folks. I emailed my dealer about it just now, and I'll see what they have to say. Hopefully the brackets can be adjusted a bit for better alignment. I put together this diagram to illustrate what the connection points look like on my tractor:

You know, I don't think the pins and their holes are in much danger of damage from this issue. I think that the pins are capable of dealing with all of the normal stresses by themselves, and the bosses and pads are just there to allow the pins to be removed, by lining up the holes properly to unload the pins when you force the bosses against the pads with pressure from the boom.

So I think this is something that isn't right and needs to be fixed, but I don't think anything is likely to break.

Anyway, the dealer's sales guy has passed my email along to the service manager, and I'm waiting to see what they say.

I'm a little late updating this thread, but I have good news. The dealer was able to fix the alignment problem on my tractor. They moved the washers on the top bolts from the outside to the inside, and it looks like they added some more as well. This appears to have shimmed the top of the subframe right to where it needs to be.