# Bucket level indicator



## Captn Jim

Can someone recommend a level indicator kit for a Kubota LA525?


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## Hoodoo Valley

Didn't it come with one already installed? I wound up removing mine because it caught on branches all the time and eventually bent.


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## Captn Jim

Thanks for the reply,
Did not come with one... unless you count the label that was attached to the top surface of the bucket that read "Level Indicator". Since I am a newbe at tractor skills I'm thinking until I gain some time in the seat a level indicator might be a smart accessory.


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## bbirder

If you purchased it recently, I would go to the dealer and tell them it was left off during assy. They should provide one.


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## pogobill

In the mean time, if you put your bucket on the ground, then roll the bucket down, you will notice that when the bucket lip starts tilting down and goes past level, the heel of the bucket will tend to lift off of the ground. If you roll the bucket back up slowly and carefully, you'll see when the bucket settles back on the ground and it should be level at that point.... if you are sitting on a level bit of ground.
Practice and play a little. Hop down and check to see if you were successful!


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## Captn Jim

pogobill said:


> In the mean time, if you put your bucket on the ground, then roll the bucket down, you will notice that when the bucket lip starts tilting down and goes past level, the heel of the bucket will tend to lift off of the ground. If you roll the bucket back up slowly and carefully, you'll see when the bucket settles back on the ground and it should be level at that point.


Thanks for the tip, I will play around with that technique and see how it goes. If I can get out of spending another $65.00 I'm all in.


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## FredM

you haven't got a piece of flat bar bent to 90° and welded to the top of the bucket like you can see on my bucket, no trouble to make and tack weld to the bucket, the top has to be parallel to the floor of the bucket.


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## Hoodoo Valley

Sometimes you'll have to account for looseness in the bucket linkage and need to palm the controls to roll the bucket down to put tension on the front lip of the bucket. On my John Deere loader, the top of the bucket is exactly parallel to the bottom so it becomes a simple matter of looking at the top of the bucket off to the sides of the nose of the tractor. However, not all buckets are arranged like that, and as Bill states, you just need to get used to it, get a feel for it. 



pogobill said:


> In the mean time, if you put your bucket on the ground, then roll the bucket down, you will notice that when the bucket lip starts tilting down and goes past level, the heel of the bucket will tend to lift off of the ground. If you roll the bucket back up slowly and carefully, you'll see when the bucket settles back on the ground and it should be level at that point.... if you are sitting on a level bit of ground.
> Practice and play a little. Hop down and check to see if you were successful!


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## Hoodoo Valley

Fred, posted as I was typing the above, but that's actually a good idea instead of the level indicator. Like I said, mine just got in the way all the time and wound up getting bent, removed and sold for scrap back when scrap prices were higher. That there though would be fairly immune from snagging.


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## Captn Jim

Thanks guys for the advice, the top of the bucket does have a 2-3" flat that is parallel with the bottom of the bucket... not sure it is wide enough to give a comfortable read but is plenty to weld a plate or bent flat bar for a good sight gauge.


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## Hoodoo Valley

Not to complicate things, but most of the time, I run my bucket slightly downward, say 5 degrees, so that the leading edge (which is replaceable in my case) is making the most contact, and not the bottom of the bucket, to hedge off the wear thing to the underside of the bucket, but I do live in an old glacier river bed of rock!


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## THOMAS R BOONE

FredM said:


> View attachment 50845
> 
> 
> you haven't got a piece of flat bar bent to 90° and welded to the top of the bucket like you can see on my bucket, no trouble to make and tack weld to the bucket, the top has to be parallel to the floor of the bucket.


How long is the flat piece of metal


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## FredM

THOMAS R BOONE said:


> How long is the flat piece of metal


I'll get back to you in the morning with the measurements.


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