Breaking things is not building them. In the conditions of the 21st century, when humanity already knows how to deal with one problem or another, breaking something sometimes turns out to be very tricky. Sometimes — even trickier than construction or repair. In particular, when it comes to agricultural machinery, modern machines already have a computer monitoring a person’s actions, evaluating them and warning against sabotage. So, to break something, you need real “talent”. In this piece we want to give advice on how to break equipment as complex and rather expensive as a telehandler. Let’s take the Manitou MLT 735-120 LSU as our example — a tough, reliable machine, so you’ll have to try hard. Specialists from ABA “Astra” helped us “break” it with their “harmful advice”.
1. Why carry a load twice when you can do it in one go?
A telehandler is sold by default with pallet forks. You can also hang big bags or other loads on them that can be hooked with slings. The loader can also be used to uproot stumps. Cracks will appear from cyclic loading on the boom (the loader “jumps” with a load), causing a metal-fatigue effect. In such cases, the direction of the applied load acts in the opposite direction, or a different direction from the calculated direction of load application.
2. Chase a truck with a full bucket of grain
This point could be filed under the first one, but we’ll mention it separately. A bucket has a somewhat different use than forks, so it works in different places and conditions. If you need to load a truck with grain, one that also has raised sides, and it’s parked far from the grain warehouse, we have a great piece of advice. Fill up a full bucket of grain, extend the boom, and go for it toward the grain truck. Imperfect roads and potholes guarantee boom oscillation, as well as cracks in it, or even a complete break in half.
3. The loader won’t let me take more load? I’ll disable the protection
Performing the two previous operations, you might have noticed the loader signaling something to you, a red light blinking on the panel. Along with that, the machine itself started moving somehow slower and you felt like the power had dropped. Relax, that’s just the system stopping you from working beyond capacity. But it can be disabled. See that button with a parachute? Press it and load your telehandler as much as you like. We guarantee you an expensive repair. You can also hang a homemade counterweight on the rear. And then, within a short time, cracks are guaranteed on the boom, the hydraulic cylinders, and even the frame.
4. A fully loaded truck stuck in the field can be lifted with a telehandler!
Hardly anyone still drives grain trucks into the field during corn harvest anymore. Because: a) they compact the soil; b) they can get stuck in a damp autumn field. But we want to break the telehandler, so this works in our favor. We take the grain from the combine with a truck and get fully loaded and stuck in the field. The loader comes to the rescue. You can push the truck with the boom, or pull it with the hook on the boom carriage. This way the hooks snap off, and there’s a risk that during normal operation the bucket or pallet forks will fall off the boom.
5. Clean the filter? What could happen to it?
Our loader has a cyclone filter as extra dust protection. Air passes through it, and all the dust stays inside. For our purposes, a thing like that is only in the way, but if it’s there, so be it. It’ll gradually clog up. Over time the filter will clog completely, and under no circumstances should you decide to clean it. Air will no longer be able to pass through it. Dust won’t stay inside it, but will keep moving on toward the engine. So soon expect a malfunction and a visit from service technicians, who’ll just shake their heads.
6. Grease should be everywhere
With long-term operation of a telehandler, it can show you on its own when it deserves some attention. To break the machine with this method, you need endurance. Because at 500 engine hours and up, you might see smoke coming from the exhaust pipe unlike usual. This could mean grease has gotten into the piston-assembly cylinder. Also, with increased wear, it can throw oil into the breather. If that happens, expect problems cleaning the radiator. Straw, hay, dust and dirt won’t get blown out. That’s exactly what we need.
7. Some liquid on the brake cylinder? That’s how it should be
Under the protective cover there’s a brake cylinder. We don’t need to go poking around there, the cover isn’t protective for nothing. But if you’re already there, you might notice the brake fluid leaking. There’s also a sensor on the reservoir that can signal a leak to you. That annoying red light can be taped over with insulating tape. In general, anything that irritates you on the panel, anything glowing red — can be taped over. We’re not interested in messages about various errors or overloads. Or, alternatively, you could not be lazy and buy brake fluid for foreign cars at the nearest roadside auto shop and top it up. A brake-system repair with disassembly of the front and rear axles is guaranteed.
8. Remember — hydraulic fluid is eternal
It’s recommended to replace the hydraulic fluid after every thousand engine hours worked. And that, mind you, is 110 liters, which need to be drained and then refilled. But we know that you can still work on that hydraulic fluid. Besides, this “drain and refill” thing doesn’t suit us. What if they drain our good original fluid and refill it with some low-quality one instead? So we work on one until the end. And the end, in our case, can come very quickly.
9. Grease the machine’s parts at the end of the workday? Not for you
Specialists advise operators to grease the fittings at the end of every workday. And in general, you need to grease everything that needs it, and take care of the equipment. But that’s not for us. If you don’t grease the parts, they’ll wear out faster. And then, watch out, under heavy load some parts might tear.
You need to grease the fittings on the boom, the main shaft along the boom, on every wheel, and on the Manitou 735 model there’s also a fitting on top of each side panel that needs greasing. That is, in the evening after work, the operator walks around with a grease gun, greases all the necessary parts, and goes home to rest.
Andriy Kovinia, head of used-equipment sales projects and programs at ABA “Astra”
10. A method for the most patient
If you still haven’t managed to break the telehandler, and you’ve already put in 5-6 thousand engine hours, this method is for you. With long-term operation of the loader, the hoses in the boom can wear through. If that’s happened to you, there’s absolutely no need to spend big money on original hoses. Companies that make brand-new hoses will come to your aid. It’s good that there are quite a few of them around now, in almost every district center. And what does it matter that the hoses aren’t original? Besides, it works out cheaper this way. But then the next problem appears — original hoses come in pairs, glued together. No big deal, with a pack of plastic clamps and your hands you get a result no worse than the original, and for much less money. We install our “handmade” hoses, and a week or two later, if you’re lucky, a month later, we get a “vinaigrette” of hose pieces, boom friction pads and metal elements from the inside of the boom. And all of this ends up between the moving and stationary parts of the boom.
If you took this piece seriously, you did the right thing. But if you’re seriously considering breaking your telehandler, think again. These aren’t tips for the future — this is what Andriy Kovinia has actually encountered in his work. He’s been selling used telehandlers for years now. After diagnostics, repairs are carried out, fluids replaced, and so on. All defects are fixed, broken or damaged parts are replaced, but that, in turn, costs a fair amount of money. And equipment with defects accordingly costs less. So, if you want to sell your telehandler for more, never do what we’ve described here. And you can find quality used equipment that’s been through repair and diagnostics, and carries a warranty from ABA “Astra”, on their website, as well as on the Traktorist.ua (opens in a new tab) agricultural-machinery marketplace.
And you can learn about the nuances of choosing and buying a used loader from our videos:
Part 1
Part 2
For all questions, contact:
Andriy Kovinia
Head of used-equipment sales projects and programs
e-mail: a.kovinia@astra-group.com.ua
Mob. +38 050 409 29 49
