Branson 4520 rescue project!

[K5lwq]

After much research it has been determined that no other option is available for the radiator but OEM. So after $940 it is on the way. I am still waiting on the water pump to arrive as well.

Today I removed the steering cylinder and all the hoses for replacement. The pressure hose from the pump to the steering valve came completely apart when I removed it.

The pressure hose from valve to left side of cylinder was so damaged on the valve I could not remove with a wrench. I had to cut it off of the fitting and use a big chisel and hammer to drive it out. That was a pain! I thought we were going to have another thread on how to remove a damaged plug(fitting).

I will have the hoses made this week and see if we get the pump and radiator to get that going next weekend. I was too worn out to tackle the freeze plug behind the starter so that will wait as well.

It looks bare up front now!

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I admire your patience with this thing.

Well done not giving up.

Sorry to hear you had to go OEM for the radiator, that certainly drives up your restoration costs.

 

[old and tired]

Anyone knows how to set up a GoFund Me page?!?!? I'm guessing he's going to need one...

 

[K5lwq]

Lol, I sure hope that will be the last big expense!

Thanks Slim for the kind words.

 

[LouNY]

Making good progress, the radiator was pretty steep how bad was the water pump.
I know they bent me over for mine this winter $435 plus shipping.

 

[K5lwq]

Making good progress, the radiator was pretty steep how bad was the water pump.
I know they bent me over for mine this winter $435 plus shipping.

Lou, I was able to find a Yanmar water pump for $115. The saving grace for the engine is they use it in a lot of different equipment. Boats seem to be a popular use. Parts for the engine is not terrible.

Branson wanted about $250 for the pump. Still better than what they did to you!

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

This may not apply, but are you sure all the water pumps use the same casting and pulley shaft length (pulley offset)? That would be really handy if they did.

From my old Mopar days, they (Mother Mopar) used about a dozen different water pump housings for their B and R/B big block engines over the decades. They would all "bolt up", but the spacings would be off. It was always a pain assembling the right combination of parts to get the pulleys to line up correctly, IF you were starting with a bare block build up and didn't have all the original "stuff" off the front of the donor engine.

 

[K5lwq]

Boy I hope everything will match Slim. The thing that I am relying on is it is the same part number. Branson at least used Yanmar part numbers so it should work. We will see.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm always nervous about needing parts on mine. Dealers are hit or miss, and then it takes months for it to arrive. Coker on 271 sold me my tractor, and they try to get parts, but the last couple times that I've been in there, they had alternative parts instead of factory ones. Mr Gasket aftermarket fuel pump instead of the factory one. Now I just search Amazon, Ebay, and the internet to see if I can find what I need, or what will work whenever I need something.

I'm hoping your water pump fits. That would be a huge savings.

 

[K5lwq]

The adventure continues.

Good news is new water pump is the correct pump so no issues there. I removed the old one to find it has been replaced before by someone that did not understand how to do it. They made gaskets for places that did not need gaskets. They used several tubes of red silicone on everything including bolt holes. Took quite a while to clean all that up and get ready to install new pump but it is ready.

I removed the starter to fix the freeze plug and the bolts were loose. Naturally the starter housing came off in two pieces. New starter is the solution. OEM from DPD is $462.92 plus freight. Amazon has a aftermarket for $80 with free shipping. I believe I will take my chances with aftermarket. My experience with aftermarket starters is the gear mesh is normally not correct. They tend to engage to deep so some shims may be necessary. We will see.

I dressed the freeze plug hole up with the Dremel and went to a 1 1/4” expansion plug. I believe that will seal and hold.

I managed to get it out of 4WD and freed that lever. Worked on PTO lever but it has not freed yet. I have it covered with penetrating oil to soak a while before attempting again.

Still waiting on the fan and if the steering cylinder was part of the recall or not. Either way the tie rods need to be replaced. Branson has a updated assembly that fixes premature tie rod failure. But it was not a recall and is about $500 for the kit. Debating on what to do there.

That is about it for this week.