Angle Broom Bristles Will Not Turn

Gadgetnut · Dec 18, 2008

Help, please. We've had uncharacteristically heavy snow here and I was using the Bobcat 84" Angle Broom to brush the snow. It kept snowing and I brushed the road three times during the day. I had never used it more than once a day before. Anyway snow had built up, caked in the bristles, and I didn't notice it... anyway something has sheered off because the tool's rotor (spindle) engages and the bristle roll bounces a little but does not turn.

(I bought this tool used because of what I anticipated to be very light occasional use. It had already had a lot of use, and from the day I received it, I noticed the bristle roll seemed kind of "loose and sloppy" on the spindle, but I thought this might be intentional for protection against sudden stops with all that momentum...

Has anyone had any experience with this? Is there a shear pin to replace? Is there a sacrificial spline? Ideally I would like to get the tool operating again immediately because my driveway needs clearing today... but I might be open to an entire new brush kit (it probably needs it) but I think that's just the bristles not the entire "hair roller" assembly.

I'll start by pulling the motor off the end and see what I can find. Thanks for any input.

Gadgetnut · Dec 18, 2008

I'll followup with what I found out. If you loosen the four bolts that fasten the motor to the end of the Angle Broom, the whole motor just slides off the end. It's heavy, I set it on the floor. The motor rotor comes out about five inches or so in a hexagonal shape. This holds up the driver's side of the brush roller and is intended to mate into a like shaped receptacle on the end of the roller.

My roller collar is no longer hexagonal, it is sheered out to round, thus the hex spindle just turns loose in the large hole and the brushes don't move.

I called Bobcat and the price of the new roller is about $1600 and weighs 128 pounds. I was quoted $700 for new bristles.

I don't know if there's another way to mechanically wedge or mate these two parts up.

By the way, for those contemplating a used Angle Broom purchase, I noticed quite a bit of slop in the movement of the brush when it arrived. I imagine the dealer who sold this knew the inevitable pattern of wearing it out and sold at just the right time. I've probably put no more than 20 hours on it.

I won't have saved very much having bought this used tool! Live and learn.

3Bladz · Dec 18, 2008

Have a machine shop weld on a new piece maybe

some zilch · Dec 18, 2008

i work at a bobcat dealer, and this happens more often than you might think.

Here's what i do to fix them....Take the hex drive off the end of the hydraulic motor, or find a big nut the same size. I think they are 2.25", but i could be wrong, its been a while. Get 12" or so of 1/4" x 1" flat steel bar. weld one end of said steel bar to the nut, and using a torch, heat the flat bar up and hammer it around the outside of the nut, so in the end, you formed a hex shape, then cut off any extra flat bar, and weld the hex closed. Now you should be left with a hex shape that fits snuggly over the hex drive on the hyd motor.

Now using a torch, or whatever you may have, go and cut out a hex "hole" in the end of the broom's "roller" so that the hex shaped shape you made earlier can be put into the roller, and welded in. Basically what you end up doing is "rebuilding" the hex shaped "hole" in the end of the roller. I've done it several times w/ good results

Gadgetnut · Dec 18, 2008

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I have a good welding shop in town. I'll run this "rebuild the hex socket idea" past them before I order the whole new roller & freight from Bobcat. I'll let you know how it works out!

DEWFPO · Dec 19, 2008

Take pics if you can. Thanks. DEWFPO

tommu56 · Dec 19, 2008

Gadgetnut
Try looking for a 4 wheel axel nut wrench the same size or one from a semi trailer axel they might be the same size and save you fabracting one and just weld it to the shaft

link to what I was thinking
http://www.otctools.com/products/category.php?cat=6

tom

Gadgetnut · Dec 19, 2008

Tom, thanks for suggestion; I was trying to think of some existing hex nut piece that I could buy and weld on rather than fabricate. DEWFPO, here are two photos I snapped with my cell phone. Not sure if you can tell what's going on, I may need to take better quality photos. Anyway the first photo shows the end of the hydraulic motor rotor, as it terminates in a hex shank. The second photo is looking into the end of the bristle roller assembly-- what used to be a female hex receptacle has been sheared away to round, thus the motor turns but the bristles don't rotate any more. When I bought this tool I noticed an enormous amount of play in the brush, I think this was just waiting to happen.

Hydraulic Motor End

Bristle Roller End

DEWFPO · Dec 19, 2008

Thanks Gadgetnut, I think Tom's solution might just be a viable option. You'll have to ream out that center section on the brush to accept the socket tool and then have it welded in, but it looks like it would work just fine. The tighter the fit, the better. Good luck. DEWFPO