Best way to remove 580K counterweight in the field?

[newdesertfox]

Im trying to figure out what is the best/safest way to remove the counterweight on a 580k. I was working in the field digging when the main hydraulic hose directly off the pump blew and dumped the entire reserve in about 2 mins. I can't move the machine due to unable to keep reserve with any fluid so I got another machine to it and lifted/locked the FEL and removed hood and radiator cover and other things to find the hose. I have it isolated and loosened but due to the counter weight Im afraid I'm unable to fully remove the hose off the pump with it on. So curious how might be the safest/most effective way to remove CW and get it back on later to service the pump. Dumps 5 gallons of hydro fluid in about 30 seconds so filling and driving it to a better place is out of the question

 

[mitch504]

What I do is jerk the radiator/oil cooler package out. If I remember right, pulling the weight won't get you there.

 

[newdesertfox]

That's an interesting idea, according to case removing the CW was how I would access the pump and hoses for service but if the radiator was off I could get the wrench to fully turn much easier on the field. How much of a hassle is it to get the package off? I already have the metal rack removed trying to find the culprit

 

[hosspuller]

Just a suggestion. I removed the counter weight on a Deere 310C for the same reason (pump access) It weighs 400 pounds. I blocked it up with wood 2x4's laid log cabin style. Removed the bolts and let it down on the blocks. Using a pry bar lowered the weight by stepping the blocks away. Installation was the reverse with the pry bar.

It's a slow process, but no body parts were in any danger.

 

[Tinkerer]

Last week I removed and replaced mine with a 2000 lb capacity low profile transmission jack.
Pittsburgh brand from Harbor Freight. After all the years I have been dropping (no pun intended !) counterweights on T/L/B's this the easiest and safest.

 

[Canadian_digger]

Does the counderweight have two rectangle holes in the front? If it does you can pick it up with a set of forks. You would need the loader raised though.

 

[alrman]

Loosen the mounting bolts, this will allow the weight to move away from chassis, & wrap a lifting chain or strap around it.
You might need to swap two top bolts with longer ones to allow your lifting chain to fit, depending on it's size.
With the loader frame in the raised position, attach a block & tackle to the cross member on the loader frame & lower the weight.

 

[hosspuller]

Just a thought. You're working under the loader. Make sure it's blocked up. You really don't want it to fall on you. Makes for a bad day all around.

 

[redneckracin]

Pretty sure the answer is get it out of the way however you can. If your machine is down, you need to get it back up and running. Putting the weight back on can be figured out later with some hydraulic jack set up or some other means.

 

[newdesertfox]

yeah the loader is up and locked in place, due to dumping the entire reservoir the loader and the bucket have zero control so if it wasn't locked it would have collapsed right away... putting a lot of trust in that loader lock lol. The CW only has one large hole in the center so forks would struggle on it, and due to me clearing land its hard to access and in mud so a hydraulic jack is out of the question. I think my current plan is to use a 1 ton hoist block on the loader cross section and get it off. Once I get the hose repaired I can drive it the short distance to a covered barn and hopefully be more set to actually be able to use more common tooling for working on it. I bought the service manual but all its advice on the matter is expecting service like that to be preformed on a garage not on the field go figure

 

[newdesertfox]

I got it off this afternoon finally. Used tow straps to get a good grip on the cross member and not crushing any cross-member lines. Attached a 1 ton hoist that connected to a short chain and then worked on getting the bolts loose for the first time in their lives. But worked quite well and now the CW is off and the lines are off and at a shop thankfully

 

[hosspuller]

Whoa ... That's a bit of a load for the loader safety bar. You must have been in the safety factor zone of the design engineer.

Or I'm just a safety nut. And being under something heavy makes me nervous.

 

[newdesertfox]

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of being under anything heavy, whenever I see guys prop their backhoes up with the boom and loader and work under it without any blocking or jacks I cringe but I was kind of stuck trying to get it off, you can't see it too well but its been raining all the time and the whole area is 6+ inches of mud, thats why I grabbed all the hay I could find plus mat to work around it lol. Its a really heavy CW, lowered it right to the ground afterwards and don't plan on putting it back on till the machine is running and under her own power

 

[redneckracin]

Atta boy. So was that the easiest way to get to the pump? Never worked on a K before.

 

[thepumpguysc]

Good thinkin'.. glad you got to it..
Post # 12 took the words right out of my mouth tho..

 

[newdesertfox]

I thought about using a jack vs hoist but 2 things made me decide against jack, 1 all the mud the jack would be unstable no matter what I did, and 2 I'm actually parked on a decline, which would make the CW want to roll right over the jack and off it. The hoist chain allowed me to take in that slack and once it was off just let gravity swing it and then lower it to the ground without getting hurt. I did joke that the way the bucket was if the lock snapped I'd be dead before I heard it lol

 

[cuttin edge]

Best to err on the side of caution, but most of that stuff is under rated so people don't take it to the max every time anyway.

 

[Willie B]

You are lucky! mine is the big counter weight they use when you have extend a hoe, an extra 500 LBS.

 

[newdesertfox]

4x4, extenda, and 4-1, manual estimated the CW at 900+ pounds

 

[kevin37b]

Never breaks in the driveway !