Retro fit some form of soft ride system to a front linkage?

[Steve.]

I don't have any suspension on the tractor and predictably so, find it gets pretty bouncy. We do very little road work and what we do is pretty short (a very occasional trip up to an hour), its more traveling across the ground etc. Its not a major issue, but if I could find a reasonably simple way to get an improvement, It would be good.

Has anyone retro fitted an accumulator to the lift pipes on a front linkage (similar to a smooth ride loader setup) and did it help? If so, what accumulator did you use? Was the pressure range adjustable to tune it to suit the weight you carry? and what sort of volume and pressure range is suitable? Would a retro fit kit from a loader be suitable?

I'm not sure if this is something that is normally done, but if I could T it in with an isolation valve, it would be a pretty simple job. Anyone have any thoughts/experience?

Cheers.

 

[Speedstar]

Yes it can be done , with a couple of accumulater bottles we did it years ago on a MF 6290

 

[Steve.]

Yes it can be done , with a couple of accumulater bottles we did it years ago on a MF 6290

Thanks for reply. Did it help much? Do you know what accumulator bottles you used?

 

[nonemouse]

We had an MX front linkage and loader on a tractor, the linkage worked off the same joystick and accumulator as the loader. It did make for a smoother ride when you had a weight or an implement on the front links. Can’t see why it couldn’t be done with any front linkage.

 

[Steve.]

We had an MX front linkage and loader on a tractor, the linkage worked off the same joystick and accumulator as the loader. It did make for a smoother ride when you had a weight or an implement on the front links. Can’t see why it couldn’t be done with any front linkage.

OK, brilliant. So its worth doing and likely an add on loader kit would work OK on the linkage as both shared the same on yours. Cheers.

 

[Brisel]

You need a couple of accumulators with different pressure settings to allow for different weights. Don't forget to lower the linkage a bit or you will be hitting the ends of the ram stops regularly as it bounces upwards.

 

[ed574]

My 3120 front linkage has this system fitted. It has 2 accumulators piped in however I couldn't tell you what the pressures are. Piped onto a 3 way tap so you can work the linkage with the accumulators, without the accumulators or lock the linkage off to free up a spool. I have a weight block on the front of about 450kg and the ride quality on the road and in the field is as good as any modern tractor with suspension. Definitely a worthwhile investment.

 

[Nearly]

@Mr Happy

@masseybreaker

 

[Richard Smyth]

I did it years ago on a 7720 jd. Pretty sure I got info from the old forum.
From memory I used 1 accumulator which was 1 litre in size filled to 50 bar with nitrogen.
Memory might be a bit fuzzy as it was 15 year ago but it worked a treat

 

[Colliedog]

I did this to a Ford 8730 about 20 years ago and was probably my first attempt at improving the ride in a tractor. It did help a bit particularly for chassis pitching on road work.
If you want to get it right start by measuring the hydraulic pressure in the lift side of the ram with the links lowered to the point you are going to carry the weight. The pre-charge pressure of the accumulator should be half of the hydraulic pressure you measured. This will sit the diaphragm in the middle of the accumulator allowing equal up and down movement. If you’re linkage is double acting it will help a lot if you can find some way of making the other side of the ram float to avoid resistance on the rebound stroke.

 

[Nearly]

Almost any hyd accumulator you can find will make it better.

I bought a couple online and courier delivered them the next day. I bet he didn't know what he was carrying.

 

[Flat 10]

I did a 6810 with just one accumulator, a kit I think direct from la forge? Well worth it.