Loader noise on kubota BX (clicking/knocking/popping)

[NoBiffBetter]

Hey guys so I have a kubota bx with a la344 quick-tach loader, these style loaders always have some play where the loader sits on the loader frame (I’m not a huge fan of this) the play has always been there and hasn’t seemed to get any worse but now I’m starting to here popping and clicking noises from time to time come from the loader when the play occurs. This usually only happens when I’m putting down force onto an object with the loader or when pushing something with the loader at half it’s height or when I’m working the loader hard on un-even terrain.

Why would I suddenly be hearing these noises? Does anybody else hear them? Are we suppose to be keeping plenty of grease on the loader mounts where the loader rests on the mounts or am I missing something here.. I always grease my loader every 10-15 hours but have never greased the tops of the mounts as I would need to remove the loader to do that and I don’t do that very often.

PS. I checked the bolts to the loader mounts and they are tight, the loader has about 50 hours on it. Working hours that is.


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[OhHeyMike]

I have the same tractor and was getting the same popping on the right side. I greased the crap out of the lower pivot point and it seemed to go away. I also thought of greasing the same points you were talking about but haven’t done that yet either.... could it hurt?...

 

[NoBiffBetter]

I have the same tractor and was getting the same popping on the right side. I greased the crap out of the lower pivot point and it seemed to go away. I also thought of greasing the same points you were talking about but haven’t done that yet either.... could it hurt?...

Good to know; I’ll try and give the loader another good greasing and see if it quiets it up.. maybe the last time i greased it I didn’t grease it good enough.. I try not to grease the crap out of it cuz I like to keep grease From getting all over everything but maybe I was a little light.

Greasing the top points of the loader brackets won’t hurt a thing, it would just make a mess if it didn’t work lol. I may put a little grease on mine as well to see what it does.. I believe they did have some grease on the loader brackets when they installed my loader but Iv never heard that you have to continue to grease it.. nore did they tell me that when they installed it.. they just said to grease the loader every 10 hours like the manual says.

I work my loader pretty hard removing and bulldozing brush, small+decent size trees so I try to keep up on keeping things greased.


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[jkcolo22]

I don’t have the same loader/tractor, but couldn’t you use a grease needle to get some grease on those mounts? Or apply slight down pressure, pull the pins and get to the mounts with a needle, then reattach? Pretty easy to get the loader on/off if everything is in the same position, no?


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[NoBiffBetter]

I don’t have the same loader/tractor, but couldn’t you use a grease needle to get some grease on those mounts? Or apply slight down pressure, pull the pins and get to the mounts with a needle, then reattach? Pretty easy to get the loader on/off if everything is in the same position, no?


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If I were to grease the mounts which I guess I will I’m just gonna remove the loader so I can apply the grease with my finger instead of guessing at it with a needle and making a mess. I get what your saying tho. I was more or less curious if greasing the loader mounts was a thing and if the reason for my noises were because the mounts haven’t been greased or not.

I was never told by anybody that you should grease them.. tho I know it wouldn’t hurt.. just don’t know if that’s the reason for the popping/knocking noise or not


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[NoBiffBetter]

I don’t have the same loader/tractor, but couldn’t you use a grease needle to get some grease on those mounts? Or apply slight down pressure, pull the pins and get to the mounts with a needle, then reattach? Pretty easy to get the loader on/off if everything is in the same position, no?


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I suppose your right tho.. instead of removing the loader I could just put down pressure on the loader as if I’m going to remove it and flip the leavers up and then use a needle fitting to grease the mounts.. that technically would work if I was in a hurry or whatever


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[jkcolo22]

I suppose your right tho.. instead of removing the loader I could just put down pressure on the loader as if I’m going to remove it and flip the leavers up and then use a needle fitting to grease the mounts.. that technically would work if I was in a hurry or whatever


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Yea. I only suggested it as I sensed a hesitation with removing the loader. I can relate. But might as well eliminate lack of grease before investigating further.


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[NoBiffBetter]

Yea. I only suggested it as I sensed a hesitation with removing the loader. I can relate. But might as well eliminate lack of grease before investigating further.


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Absolutely, totally agree and thanks for your comment man.


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[D2Cat]

If you don't want to remove the loader, but want some lube under the loader towers that set in the pods, why not just spray some silicone spray where ever you think you'd apply grease and see what that does? Quick, easy, safe and clean!

 

[SidecarFlip]

I put never seize on mine when I have them off which is rarely.

 

[NoBiffBetter]

If you don't want to remove the loader, but want some lube under the loader towers that set in the pods, why not just spray some silicone spray where ever you think you'd apply grease and see what that does? Quick, easy, safe and clean!

This would be messy IMO spraying spray grease on it would overspray onto the hood hydro lines and frame fairly easily..

Also the idea of just lifting up on the loader and unlocking the tabs to grease with a needle fitting wouldn’t work either as the main part that needs to be greased is in the lower frame which Cradles the loader..

I just bought some brand new grease that I’m going to stick with today I got Lucas oil “construction” Loader/pin grease.. it says this grease is designed for the pure intention of pins in loaders and backhoes abs is formulated to stay stuck to the pins under high pressure and load and continues to work instead of just getting squeezed out.

So needless to say my loader was due for its 10 hour greasing so I greased the entire loader with the Lucas construction Molly lithium grease and the grease seemed to work great so far, it actually seemed to pump into the fittings a lot better and pushed all of my old grease out super easily which was something my old grease never really seemed to do.

I also decided to grease the loader mounts and once I gave it a closer look I saw that to grease it properly I actually had to take the pressure off the mounts, unlock the locks and allow the loader to be removed from the mounts.. I didn’t have to take the loader off tho I just had to move the loader in such a way so that it was completely off the frame and then I stopped.. from there I was able to get by grease head in there and lay a bead of grease and then I smeared it around with my finger.

Both the upper locks and Lower Cradle was bone dry and was clearly creating lots of friction as there was obvious signs of fresh wear marks and no more paint.. I greased every spot on both the locks and the cradles that I could see there was worn paint or friction happening and set the loader back onto the frame and locked the locks.

So far my loader is totally quite I haven’t heard any popping or clicking.

This weekend I have another job to go to with it so I will be working it hard all day long on Saturday so that will be the real test.

I Will report back to you guys with my findings but I’m assuming this was the issue.. metal to metal in both the mount cradles and loader locks.. I sure wish the dealer woulda told me that I needed to keep these greased cuz I sure woulda. Oh well, I know I caught it very quickly cuz it just started making the noises on the last job i worked with it.

Thanks for all your help and I hope this helps whoever else is having a noisy quick-tach loader.


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[jkcolo22]

Awesome! Love a good success story!


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[NoBiffBetter]

Awesome! Love a good success story!


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Thanks! Ok guys I took my kubota to the job yesterday (Saturday) and worked it HARD for 9 hours straight.. man I love this tractor it is SUCH a work horse.

Needless to say the noise is GONE! Greasing the loader mounts where the mount cradles the loader fixed the issue, the loader hasn’t been this quite since It was new! Really makes me mad nobody specified that this should be done regularly but I can guarantee you that I will be greasing the mounts every single time I grease my loader now. The loader was perfectly quite and in fact I noticed a LOT less movement and play with the loader rocking on the mounts.. this made me very happy cuz it use to annoy me to see the loader rock in the mounts.

The grease I used was Lucas oil construction/mining grease specifically made for loader pins under high pressure and is a moly/lithium high quality blend.. at 6-7$ a tube it isn’t cheap but i don’t care cuz it makes me feel good to know I’m using the best of the best for my loader specially cuz I work it so hard.

The reason I say I work it hard is because I push big trees down, uproot trees and dog trees out daily with it, and that is a ton of stress and pressure for the loader to withstand. So far it’s held up like a champ and is working better than ever now with this new grease. I will never change to another grease again because this Lucas grease is night and day from my old grease in performance, ability to push the old grease out of the pins, ability to easily cover the pins, and ability to stick to the pins like glue!

Thanks for all your help guys! Hope this helps somebody else too.

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[Myfirstorange]

I know this thread is about 3+ years old, however it is still very useful. My first Kubota, delivered yesterday, tried using it this morning and when I would move the loader (LA344) up and down it would make a clicking / popping snapping sound (thats the best description I can come up with). So I came across this thread, slightly removed the quick attach loader, and grease where the loader rests on the tractor frame and also grease the heck out of all the nipples that are on the pivot areas of the pivot and loader.

This was on a brand new 2022 Kubota BX2380 with the LA344 quick disconnect loader.

I noticed about 5 nipples looked as if they never seen a grease gun - I figured all this would have been done by the dealer — apparently not.

So grease the heck out of all I could find — and happy to report the noise is GONE!!!

Thank you all