New Holland Hydraulic Mount Plate

[dean3]

I have a New Holland L180 with a hydraulic mount plate. Ever since the mount plate was installed I have had problems with the bucket coming off. I have had the dealer out to fix it several time with no success. The have welded thin plates to the top of my bucket to adjust the fit which seemed to help but not fix the problem. I have a 78" Vernig bucket but I don't think that's the problem because it happens with other attachments as well. It seems to be the vibration that is making the pins back out. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas or solutions would be appreciated. I am just about ready to remove the plate and go back to the levers!

 

[skidsteer.ca]

The hydraulic cylinder that moves the levers must have its pressure returned to the reservoir or be leaking internally. I would try capping the lines for the cylinder and seeing if the handles stay locked down then. It seems to me Bobcat keeps a nominal amount of hyd pressure on the cylinder to hold the handles in the lock position.
Ken

 

[dean3]

The hydraulic cylinder that moves the levers must have its pressure returned to the reservoir or be leaking internally. I would try capping the lines for the cylinder and seeing if the handles stay locked down then. It seems to me Bobcat keeps a nominal amount of hyd pressure on the cylinder to hold the handles in the lock position.
Ken

According to the mechanics, the cylinder does not and is not supposed to hold pressure. When the mount kit is installed the "handles" are removed. They have told me that it is just the cam / spring tension that is supposed to hold the pins down. It would seem to me that the cylinder holding pressure would be a much better design, however I don't think it's possible with this setup. The cylinder is activated by dead heading the bucket curl cylinder and hitting the electric switch. I assume that would mean that if you are not curling the bucket there would be no hydraulic pressure available to hold?

 

[Earthwerks Unlimited]

According to the mechanics, the cylinder does not and is not supposed to hold pressure. When the mount kit is installed the "handles" are removed. They have told me that it is just the cam / spring tension that is supposed to hold the pins down. It would seem to me that the cylinder holding pressure would be a much better design, however I don't think it's possible with this setup. The cylinder is activated by dead heading the bucket curl cylinder and hitting the electric switch. I assume that would mean that if you are not curling the bucket there would be no hydraulic pressure available to hold?

The manual system is very similar to the power one in that they both are over-center as was. The cylinder likely has residual pressure behind it coming from the valve block but is not actively under pressure. As far as the bad performance I'd look for a broken over-center spring at each locking pin, poor adjustment of the pins themselves, or rust/dirt at the bottom of each pin hole---this may be keeping the pins from going all the way down, but jjst enough to go over-center. Also, check the roll pins in the locking pins that ride up and doiwn in a slot on the front of the locking plate (visible without the bucket and seen from the front) If they are bent or rusted on the slots or are filled with debris that will wreak havoc. Also look inside the pin/cam/spring cavities inside the locking plate for debris such as little stons, roots, mulch, leaves, dirt, etc. which will prevent locking pin movement. A good powerwashing to blow out that stuff will do it good.