LA1055 on L4760 not quite level

fishpick

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BX24 & L4760HSTC
Dec 16, 2017
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The High Taxes part of lovely NY, USA
Let me start this by saying the loader itself is not tweaked unless it has been from day 1 brand new. It’s been this way for over 150 hours not getting any better or worse.

The FEL on my L4760 has never been completely level with the bucket to the ground. The left side is usually 2”-ish higher. This isn’t usually a big issue but when you take off the loader - the pin on the right side is very hard to get out and even harder to get in. I’d love to get this leveled out - it’s kind of annoying.

I was looking at the assembly manual and didn’t see any sort of leveling instructions.

Anyone have thoughts?
 

Henro

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Check your rear tire pressure and make sure they are the same.

Check your rear tires and make sure they are the same diameter. They can be different and will affect the angle of the loader bucket if all else is good.

Just a couple thoughts…
 
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jyoutz

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MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
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If your dealer delivered a new tractor to you in that condition, make them fix it.
 

Sammy3700

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L3800HST,524Loader,BH77,Landplane,Disk,Mowers and more
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I think the factory has their jig off every so often. No a expert fabricator by any means but i have the same issue with a L3800 left side is about 1” higher. What I have found is the mounts that are on the tractor are not exactly the same. The way I can confirm this is I have 2 tractors one is a 2011 other 2014 both L3800 with LA524 loaders I have swapped loaders with same results then swapped the only the left mounts between the tractors and bingo the problem is the 2014 mounts are not exactly correct. Problem on my part when this was discovered the warranty was up.
 
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fishpick

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BX24 & L4760HSTC
Dec 16, 2017
112
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The High Taxes part of lovely NY, USA
Well. I checked tire pressure in the fronts. They were the same.
Rears are full of beat juice. So I got the valve stems up to 12 o’clock and checked pressure. They seem the same I guess. Couldn’t get a consistent reading as it seemed to still burp some fluid out.
Been this way since delivery like I said - so I can ask the dealer but it’s one of things I never took care of and now they probably won’t care to assist too much.
thanks for the ideas.
 

Henro

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B2910, BX2200, KX41-2V mini Ex.
May 24, 2019
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Well. I checked tire pressure in the fronts. They were the same.
Rears are full of beat juice. So I got the valve stems up to 12 o’clock and checked pressure. They seem the same I guess. Couldn’t get a consistent reading as it seemed to still burp some fluid out.
Been this way since delivery like I said - so I can ask the dealer but it’s one of things I never took care of and now they probably won’t care to assist too much.
thanks for the ideas.
Fronts make no difference as far as level goes, since the front axle is on a center pivot.

Somehow measure the height of the center of the rear axle on both sides. If it is different from side to side, it will affect the level of the loader. The difference would be from differences in tire diameter.

Do not write this off as speculation. Others have had the same question and found the reason to be different tire diameters for the same tire manufacturer.

Not saying this is your issue, but without making a measurement how can you be sure?
 

fishpick

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BX24 & L4760HSTC
Dec 16, 2017
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The High Taxes part of lovely NY, USA
@Henro - Will do this today...

It dawned on me in the middle of the night - it's 100% NOT my loader... how do I know 100%...

Well - the sub-frame mounted Kubota snowblower is off EXACTLY the same amount when that's installed - left side is higher than right side about an inch - inch and a half. The loader, being farther out, obviously off a little more.
 

fishpick

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BX24 & L4760HSTC
Dec 16, 2017
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The High Taxes part of lovely NY, USA
Well - that's it!!!

And to validate - if I toss a 1/2" thick piece of OSB on the floor and drive the left rear on it - the loader lowers to the floor perfectly even! Even bigger bonus the one pin for removing attaching - that thing slides in and out no probelm now! I can't even imagine how easy installing the snow blower will be now... I'm giddy!

Years I have just assumed "that's how it is"! Guess my farmboy background was just used to "bent" and "wracked" equipment.

Now - the next question is - what do I do about it? I ordered a liquid friendly tire gauge and I'll see what the pressure is in each... I suppose the simple fix is the shorter tire is lower pressure... as I mentioned earlier in the thread I tired to check them by mt gauge didn't enjoy the rimguard... and I wasn't going to use my expensive gauge :)

If the pressure is correct and equal in both, then what's next? Let some out of the taller tire? Take a grinder to the lugs (these are R1's) on the taller one and take 1/4" off each lug in the middle? Sell the tractor for parts?
 

fishpick

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BX24 & L4760HSTC
Dec 16, 2017
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The High Taxes part of lovely NY, USA
Well - It’s not the tire pressure. I inflated up the right rear to 18psi and left the left at 15psi and things are still not level.
That suggests now I guess the loader brackets are uneven.
The side that’s too high is “easier” to screw with and see if it can be lowered.
Which side would folks recommend I start with. The side that’s too high or the side that’s lower?
 

Henro

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B2910, BX2200, KX41-2V mini Ex.
May 24, 2019
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Well - It’s not the tire pressure. I inflated up the right rear to 18psi and left the left at 15psi and things are still not level.
That suggests now I guess the loader brackets are uneven.
The side that’s too high is “easier” to screw with and see if it can be lowered.
Which side would folks recommend I start with. The side that’s too high or the side that’s lower?
Did you measure the distance from the floor to the center of the rear axle on both sides? If not, it is important that you make a measurement to verify your issue is not different tire diameters.

You have verified 1/2” added under one tire corrects the problem. That would equal a 1” difference in tire diameter. You should easily see a 1” difference using a carpenters’ level off the top of the tires and measuring the distance to the floor for both tires and comparing.
 

Grandad4

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1949 Farmall M, previously owned: L 4610, BX 2230
Apr 5, 2016
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Take left/right height measurements at 3 places:

1. Some place on the rear of the tractor itself, like the rear axle as Henro mentioned.
2. The loader mounting brackets that are attached to the frame of the tractor between the front and rear wheels.
3. At the end of the loader arms where the bucket is attached.
That would pretty much tell you where the misalignment might begin. It's either the tractor, the mounting brackets, the loader arms or the bucket (or some combination). A 1/2 inch out of level on the tractor could produce 2 inches at the bucket.

Good luck finding the issue. Hope it's a simple fix.
 

Henro

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B2910, BX2200, KX41-2V mini Ex.
May 24, 2019
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Take left/right height measurements at 3 places:

1. Some place on the rear of the tractor itself, like the rear axle as Henro mentioned.
2. The loader mounting brackets that are attached to the frame of the tractor between the front and rear wheels.
3. At the end of the loader arms where the bucket is attached.
That would pretty much tell you where the misalignment might begin. It's either the tractor, the mounting brackets, the loader arms or the bucket (or some combination). A 1/2 inch out of level on the tractor could produce 2 inches at the bucket.

Good luck finding the issue. Hope it's a simple fix.
Just keep in mind that you need to be certain that the tractor frame is level BEFORE making changes that you may regret later.

Like Grandad4 said(paraphrasing), measure first and react second.
 

fishpick

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BX24 & L4760HSTC
Dec 16, 2017
112
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The High Taxes part of lovely NY, USA
Ok. I measured. And I’m more confused.

the left side of the bucket or snow blower is high by 1-2”

the right rear axle center is about 1/2” higher off the ground than the left. Would that not be the opposite of what you expect. Especially since putting a 1/2” board under the right wheel (which would make that side 1” higher in the middle of the axle) makes the loader level.

I also measured from the ground to the loader mounts. The bar stock part that runs from the Mount back to the rear frame. Both sides are the same height off the ground.

I don’t get it. The geometry doesn’t make sense to me.
 

lugbolt

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ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
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there was a bulletin about this a number of years ago

I'll paraphrase

assuming your parking area is perfectly level of course.

step one adjust the tire pressures to recommended by the book. Depends on what tires you have too, some are 20 rear/35 front, others 15 rear, 25 front, etc.

if this takes care of it good if not keep readin

two, check all the hardware for tightness. That's actually a service item.

Thirdly if all of that has failed to correct the issue the next step is more involved.

Stop engine,set the park brake remove the key and hang a do not operate tag on the steering wheel. Lower the loader to the floor with the bucket level front/rear (so it's flat on the ground). Now loosen each of the loader main frame attaching bolts but DO NOT remove them. Just loosen em a turn or two. Now carefully get back in the seat, start the engine and apply down pressure to the loader, not enough to actually lift the tires off the ground but enough to take some weight off of them. Leave the down pressure on the loader, turn the engine off and remove the key again. Make sure you lock the loader control in the "locked" position before leaving the seat. Then go torque all of the loader main frame bolts to spec while maintaining down pressure. Now, get back in the seat, unlock the loader and allow the loader to settle with no pressure by moving the control stick in all directions. Start the engine and then work the loader up/down a few times. Once you do that, let the loader settle to ground again but with NO pressure on it, just let it's weight settle in the float position. Turn engine off, then go re-torque your loader mainframe bolts.

If it's still not level, you can put a block under the low side to help tweak it the other way while the bolts are a little bit loose.

If all that fails you will have to consider that the loader is not a skid-steer, nor is it a bulldozer--both of those tools are specifically designed to be flat side to side, and are adjustable to achieve that. A tractor/loader is kind of a "do most jobs well but not one job great" type tool thus if you can't get that last 1/4" adjusted out of it, you probably aren't gonna be able to unless you play with tire pressures on the tractor where one side is higher than the other.

As a drag racer, I've learned that not all tires are created equal; often I have to send one tire back and get another because I try to keep the circumference of both tires within 1/2". I'd like them to be zero but I've not been able to achieve this without staggering the tire pressures. Doing that has a consequence of causing the car to drive left or right which is not good when the front tires are not really doing anything until about 400 feet downtrack and most times are not even on the pavement until 250-300 foot if everything goes well. Similarly tractor tires, it is not uncommon for them to be "off" a little from one tire to another and the only way to know is to actually measure the circumference of each and if they're way off, the only thing you can do is to either replace one of them with one that is closer, or stagger the tire pressures. You're not going 200+ mph like I am and you don't have a locked rear axle, so staggering them is not a big issue.
 
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Henro

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B2910, BX2200, KX41-2V mini Ex.
May 24, 2019
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Ok. I measured. And I’m more confused.

the left side of the bucket or snow blower is high by 1-2”

the right rear axle center is about 1/2” higher off the ground than the left. Would that not be the opposite of what you expect. Especially since putting a 1/2” board under the right wheel (which would make that side 1” higher in the middle of the axle) makes the loader level.

I also measured from the ground to the loader mounts. The bar stock part that runs from the Mount back to the rear frame. Both sides are the same height off the ground.

I don’t get it. The geometry doesn’t make sense to me.
Lugbolt is a champion so follow his advice...always spot on.

I think taking measurements has resulted in the conclusion that you have TWO issue, not simply one.

First, you have a difference in rear tire diameter. This is undesirable but could be corrected with air pressure change, less pressure in the side that is higher.

Second is that adding a shim under the tire that measures larger (based on the shim effect) tells you that your loader is out of wack with respect to the frame. Doing what Lugbolt suggested is wise.

I would first though, and he may have suggested this, adjust tire pressure to make the tractor rear axle/frame even with the floor.

I don't think the floor needs to be level, but the frame needs to be parallel with the floor before setting the position of the loader on the frame. Just my way of looking at it...
 
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fishpick

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BX24 & L4760HSTC
Dec 16, 2017
112
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The High Taxes part of lovely NY, USA
After a bunch of farting around with this. And let me be clear. Some of the bolts to loosen on the loader mounts are NOT simple to get at.
Anyhow - I think I have things more acceptable- kinda in the sometimes it appears level. Sometimes it seems still off 1/2”.
I mean I lived with JT off by 2” for 4 years - so it’s not like this was life or death - but it’s definitely “better”.
Thanks for the approach ideas!
 
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lugbolt

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ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
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sometimes you can put a block under the low side and put down pressure on it, and leave it like that for a while and it'll help. Not always the case but I've had to do it in the past on smaller tractors to keep picky owners happy.
 
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Pau7220

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Mine was ugly when I got it….