Hope I won't try this at home again....

pat32rf · Sep 21, 2008

My little hoe is the handiest attachment that I have for my 4300, at least until something goes wrong....
Today I finally got back to a trail job out behind my barn that I had started about three years ago. A rocky sidehill project. I suppose I don't really need to do it but it will mean I can go around the valley instead of down to the bottom and back up.The elevation change is about 80' so it will make it easier to walk out back and a lot simpler to haul my firewood out.
Just got about 100' of trail roughed in and I noticed that one of the top pins on the hoe subframe had gone AWOL, resulting in a bit of a twist in the hoe mount. Drove back to the house to find another pin (its 1 1/8") and found that the hoe was actually jammed on the mount, with the lower notch out of place as well.
Didn't matter if I tried the landing gear or the boom I couldn't get anything to move. Even a chain to the FEL didn't help get things twisted back into position or even remove enough tension to get the other pin loose to remove the hoe.
I finally lifted the tractor with the outriggers and blocked up the rear end so I could remove the tire and get at the subframe mounting bolts. Once the four bolts were out I could pry the plate clear enough to release pressure on the other side and pull that pin.
I now have the offending plate reinstalled, the hoe sitting just behind the tractor and the wheel ready to go back on tomorrow when its warmer. With luck I will be able to jockey the hoe into place with the boom, install it, then lift the tractor with the landing gear to remove the wooden blocks, allowing me to lower it enough to roll the (loaded) tire back into place. At least its too cold for mosquitoes.....;-)

Sunrise-Acres · Sep 21, 2008

Wow

Is there a way to safety wire them pins in?
You've got me checking every nut bolt and pin on my machine and I don't even have a backhoe attachment.
Good luck, And be safe with that repair.

pat32rf · Sep 22, 2008

Just got it back on the wheels then did a quick grease job. Everything seems good to go once more but the trail job will go on the back burner once more.....
The two pins are held in place with 3/16 latch pins, like skinny 3pth pins. Everything is kinda tucked away under the hoe seat so you don't notice them unless you look. Both the main pins and the latch pins started out on lanyards but over the past 4 yrs various sticks have intruded (this is bush country, except for the rock) and "released" things. All the pins now have lanyards again.....
You can't really hardwire the pins in place as one of the nice things about the hoe is the ability to remove it in about a minute from the tractor seat, (It takes a bit longer to re-install the 3pth arms) although once I install it there always seems to be a little job waiting to be done tomorrow so it stays on longer than planned.....

KevPH1 · Sep 22, 2008

pat32rf said:
Just got it back on the wheels then did a quick grease job. Everything seems good to go once more but the trail job will go on the back burner once more.....
The two pins are held in place with 3/16 latch pins, like skinny 3pth pins. Everything is kinda tucked away under the hoe seat so you don't notice them unless you look. Both the main pins and the latch pins started out on lanyards but over the past 4 yrs various sticks have intruded (this is bush country, except for the rock) and "released" things. All the pins now have lanyards again.....
You can't really hardwire the pins in place as one of the nice things about the hoe is the ability to remove it in about a minute from the tractor seat, (It takes a bit longer to re-install the 3pth arms) although once I install it there always seems to be a little job waiting to be done tomorrow so it stays on longer than planned.....

It happen once, it can happen again! The time to remove a cotter pin is too much?!?

)
I would not think twice replacing the 3/16" latch pins with 3/16" cotter pins.

I sure hope no one gets hurt the next time your pins fall out!

pat32rf · Sep 22, 2008

If I used cotter pins then I would have to spread them with a screw driver or pliers to keep them from falling out when the pins turn. Then I would have to use pliers to straighten them to remove the pins. Due to the place they are in, I can't get the tools in to get at them to do this. The lynch pins are what JD picked to do the job and I have only had the one problem like this in four years. I will keep a better watch on them in future however...and its not like the hoe would fall off if one pin came out.