Twisted Loader

[WFM]

I had a customer stop yesterday who has a L2900 with a 480 loader on it.
He got it stuck down in the woods , down hill. Finally worked his way out. But bent the loader arm. When you put the bucket down. One side is up 2" off the pavement. So he took it to a welder who put the loader arm in a press and bent it back. But a few weeks later. Its back to being up 2" again. He went to the local kubota dealership they said it's to old, no new loaders are available for it. I saw a photo of it. Not a huge deal but bugs him. Anyone know of any place that would have a replacement loader ?

 

[PHPaul]

Depending on where it's tweaked, might it be possible to cut and re-weld the existing arm?

 

[mikester]

Sounds to me like an operator issue if he's done it twice now. Didn't learn from the first experience.

Some guys operate equipment for decades without problems, other guys manage to break everything they touch. That's a reason why I don't like buying used equipment...abuse.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

2 cents from the nut gallery:

Find a good welding shop and have them duplicate the arms. You have an original, a good shop can copy it. It won't be cheap. But may be cheaper than any other alternative.

Check the loader to frame brackets to make sure they are not loose, and are true.

Then tell the customer to park it with the bucket flat. And stop trying to push out and lift tree stumps with one side of the loader. Lol

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Sometimes you can heat straighten stuff, but box weldments are tricky. It could be the residual stress is causing it to go back to the bent position after use.

The fix might be to cut a V in the stretched section and bend it back straight, butt weld, and add a support gusset. Remove any weld spatter, sand blast or wire wheel, and prime/paint.

 

[WFM]

Here's a photo i got from online.
But the guy wanted me to cut one side of the round tube cross brace. Flush with the arm. Thinking the left side of the bucket would sit flat. The reweld the tube to the side of the arm. No. I said you need a better fabricator then I am. What if I weaken it and make it worse.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

The problem with bent metal is metal tends to stretch instead of compress, so a bend results in more length and thinner metal. The stretched section somehow needs to be compensated for, heating is one method as heat causes expansion and when cooled even more contraction (to a point). Peening is another method, mainly for flat plates.

Box-weldments (a rectangular box, like the loader arms) experience stresses in multiple directions so eliminating the twist is difficult, though not impossible.

If you want it to look pretty a section can be cut out, reinforcement can be placed inside, then the arm can be plug-welded, however all that material manipulation also creates stress so success isn't a guarantee.

 

[bucktail]

The application chart for Koyker shows 2 options. I assumed it was a DT since you didn't say.