I learned a valuable lesson over the weekend that I'm sure all of the veterans of this site already know (probably anyone that owns a tractor with any attachments knows!)....but since I'm a brand new tractor owner I had to find out the hard way.
When removing the backhoe to use the 3-point I thought I had followed the directions correctly. I lowered the bucket and stabilizers to remove pressure from the two mounting pins, pulled those and inserted them into the deck of the BH, then using the bucket rolled the boom to release the BH from the hooks on the frame. I pulled the tractor forward, shut it off and then (wait for it....) unhooked the hydraulics. I then installed a York rake, worked a few hours then reinstalled the BH following the directions in reverse.
The couplings would not attach, no matter how hard I tried. I kept thinking maybe I was doing something wrong, had them in the wrong places, etc. I waited a couple of hours and tried it again. Still could not get them to work. Then I compared the male and female ends and noticed that little nub/nipple in the bottom of the couplers and noticed that those were "soft" on the tractor side but would not budge on the BH side.
This was Mistake 1: I realized that I had not followed the part of the shutdown sequence where you rock the control levers around on the BH BEFORE uncoupling it to release pressure in the line.
The only thing I felt I could do at this point was to somehow release that pressure so that those nipples inside the couplings would compress enough for the collars to slide over and lock.
Mistake 2: I was exhausted and not thinking clearly--so I used a flat screwdriver to press on those fittings. I caught a very healthy spritz of hydro fluid in both eyes and all over my face/head. I wear contacts, so I was immediately about 90% blind. Could see nothing but a haze. Had to make it about 100' to the house where I removed contacts and thoroughly rinsed my eyes out. I returned to the tractor, engaged my brain and covered the fittings with a rag before continuing. This worked. Each fitting was "soft" enough to fully engage and allow the collars to lock.
This was a pretty important lesson for me--I had read the manual and really thought I understood this. It's amazing how that one little step with the levers can make such a difference--and how dangerous it can be to miss it.
I hope my post helps other newbies avoid making this mistake!
When removing the backhoe to use the 3-point I thought I had followed the directions correctly. I lowered the bucket and stabilizers to remove pressure from the two mounting pins, pulled those and inserted them into the deck of the BH, then using the bucket rolled the boom to release the BH from the hooks on the frame. I pulled the tractor forward, shut it off and then (wait for it....) unhooked the hydraulics. I then installed a York rake, worked a few hours then reinstalled the BH following the directions in reverse.
The couplings would not attach, no matter how hard I tried. I kept thinking maybe I was doing something wrong, had them in the wrong places, etc. I waited a couple of hours and tried it again. Still could not get them to work. Then I compared the male and female ends and noticed that little nub/nipple in the bottom of the couplers and noticed that those were "soft" on the tractor side but would not budge on the BH side.
This was Mistake 1: I realized that I had not followed the part of the shutdown sequence where you rock the control levers around on the BH BEFORE uncoupling it to release pressure in the line.
The only thing I felt I could do at this point was to somehow release that pressure so that those nipples inside the couplings would compress enough for the collars to slide over and lock.
Mistake 2: I was exhausted and not thinking clearly--so I used a flat screwdriver to press on those fittings. I caught a very healthy spritz of hydro fluid in both eyes and all over my face/head. I wear contacts, so I was immediately about 90% blind. Could see nothing but a haze. Had to make it about 100' to the house where I removed contacts and thoroughly rinsed my eyes out. I returned to the tractor, engaged my brain and covered the fittings with a rag before continuing. This worked. Each fitting was "soft" enough to fully engage and allow the collars to lock.
This was a pretty important lesson for me--I had read the manual and really thought I understood this. It's amazing how that one little step with the levers can make such a difference--and how dangerous it can be to miss it.
I hope my post helps other newbies avoid making this mistake!
