Loader Bent loader arm at sleave for pin

[jsranman]

I have a 2006 B2630 with a LA403 loader that I put a plow on. The plow is attached to the loader arms and cylinders with a steel bracket that has tabs on it that you use to put the loader arm/cylinder pins in. I was moving a tremendous amount of snow with it this winter. I have a 1000 foot driveway plus I did a neighbors driveway and helped others out from time to time when they were completely snowed in.

Somewhere along the line while plowing all this snow we had this winter, a pin fell out of the loader arm and I did not notice it. The plow remained attached via 3 other pins (one through the other loader arm and two through the cylinders). In the process of plowing without the fourth pin the steel on the loader arm where the one pin remained and where the sleave for that pin is got bent. At this point I cant tell if anything else is bent. I just cant tell by looking at it. I have a bad feeling that other things are out of whack though. My bucket is inaccessible up in the woods under the snow so I cant check to see if everything lines up by seeing if I can connect it.

Any advice as to how to diagnose any remaining possible problems and fixing the bent arm at the sleave? I am thinking I need a welder to cut it out and reweld it in at the proper alignment?? I will put some pics up as soon as I figure that out.

 

[jsranman]

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[KennyV]

You can do some point to point cross measurements to check if the arms are wracked out of parallel...
The twist that an angled blade puts on the arms is sometimes quite high.
If everything will still pin up, I would leave will enough alone. If it is tweeked too much for alignment, then you might have to either heat and reshape or cut and reweld...
If it is off a little and is off being perfectly true, I would not worry too much as there are some new loaders that are not exactly true and plumb...
If you can not re-pin the bucket, then you may have to do something... In any case you should repaint the injury/repair to prevent rust from further degrading the strength... KennyV

 

[KWentling]

Kind of hard to tell how bad it is from the pictures. If it were mine, I would find a piece of cold rolled steel shaft as close to the pin size as possible , but still fit through the arm. Slide that through the bent side and see where it lands on the good side. You can probably straighten it using a rosebud on a torch and heating it bright red and using a long pry bar through the pin hole to pull it back straight. Use the cold rolled only to check your progress. You would want to do most of the heating on the side of the arm that is bulged. Flattening the bulge with a hammer may help too. You'll also need to verify that the distance between the arms is correct. It could also be done the way you suggested, cutting and welding. I would still use the cold rolled for an alignment tool.

Kim

 

[KBL3830]

I wouldn't use the cold rolled for alignment if you cut and weld unless it is a tight and perfect fit. Even a small amount of play gets multiplied substantially. I speak from experience, used this technique on an older case and the bucket has never fit quite right since. It's important enough to get it right to make the effort to dig out the bucket so you know the alignment is right. A carpenters square can also help you figure out if other things are out of whack.

 

[slowzuki]

Go talk to the local heavy equipment dealer. They have alignment bars and tools to align bore pins and internal welders to build to bore up. They also can bore and sleeve with bushing to bring the pins tight again.

 

[Jay4200]

Any advice as to how to diagnose any remaining possible problems and fixing the bent arm at the sleave?

I friend of mine just fixed a big loader arm for the same reason - pin fell out and they kept using it. He put a long bar through the bushing hole, then loaded the arm using the hydraulics - I think he used a snowplow to rest the other end of the bar. Anyway, the front end of the machine came up off the ground, with corrective pressure on the bar. He then hit the arm with a rosebud-equipped torch. Sloooooowly, the arm twisted back into position and it was fixed. Took an hour all together.

JayC

 

[KWentling]

Go talk to the local heavy equipment dealer. They have alignment bars and tools to align bore pins and internal welders to build to bore up. They also can bore and sleeve with bushing to bring the pins tight again.

I don't think many equipment dealers are going to have that capability. The shop I work at does that and anything less than about 1 1/2" diameter is about impossible to weld up and align bore. I agree that the cold rolled needs to have a close fit. You could use shim stock to tighten it up. I also wouldn't cut it clear loose if that is the plan. Just cut enough to be able to bend it back into alignment plus a little so when you weld it back it will draw it back.

Kim

 

[jsranman]

Thanks for all the advice. Although you cant tell from the pics, I bet if I put a bar through it that was long enough to reach the other arm, that the bar would be between 1' to 2' from going through the other hole. It aint gonna pin up without some adjustment.

I am thinking plan A will be to get a some sort of bar or some type of bar/lever combination and use the hydraulics, weight of the tractor and heat to move it. I think I am going to have to heat up both sides of the arm. Its a big area to heat. I have never done this before so I am wondering if it is just too much steel to try to get soft with heat.

I know this took a lot of force to bend in the first place. The other side of the arm (not in the picture) is buldged out. There was lots of torque on the angled plow and I hit some big piles hard. I hope I can apply the necessary force to get it back.

Plan B is call the shop to come pick it up as I dont have a welder.

 

[jsranman]

A couple more perhaps stupid questions: What is cold rolled? I am assumeing it is a 1" round bar that is not as straight and as a precise diameter as a pin?? What is shim stock and how would I use that?

 

[KWentling]

A couple more perhaps stupid questions: What is cold rolled? I am assumeing it is a 1" round bar that is not as straight and as a precise diameter as a pin?? What is shim stock and how would I use that?

Cold rolled is the finish the material gets at the steel mill. It is smooth and usually .002 or .005" under the nominal size. Lots of pins are just cold rolled cut to length. It can come in all grades of steel. Shim stock is just sheet metal of precision thickness. It can be had in thicknesses of .001 to at least .060" and in a variety of materials from plastic to stainless steel. I would look for brass shim because it is easy to cut and will hold a shape better than others. Get the closest size cold rolled that will still fit through the bore in the arm and than wrap shim stock around the cold rolled to get a tighter fit. If you have a buddy with a lathe, have him make bushings to take up the slop instead of the shim stock. That would be much easier to work with.
Your loader arms are made of thin metal tubing, probably about 1/8" thick, and it wont take a lot of heating to do this. You'll want to be careful that you don't melt a hole in it. Expect it to move around a little when it cools, so what you have when it's hot probably isn't what it will be when cooled off. Small movements can be had by heating a spot about the size of a dime or quarter and quenching it with water. It will take some trial and error.

Kim

 

[jsranman]

Thanks again for the help.

All I have is a little hand held propane torch and I assume I need something bigger. What sort of torch will work. Do I need the oxy/acet torch or just a bigger one that can run off a propane tank?

 

[jsranman]

I bought the 1" bar about 6 or 7' long. Havent figured out where I am going to get the torch yet. Bar fits nicely. maybe a little loose as one of you stated. Here is a better pic of my problem:

 

[KBL3830]

Even though I am the king of "I can do it myself" I have found it surprisingly hard to heat up any significant amount of steel enough to bend it even with a small oxy acet rig. You should probably bite the bullet and have a pro come out with a big a** rosebud to heat this up so you can straighten it. Otherwise you'll spend waste hours of time and lots of gas. A decent sized rosebud requires big tanks because of the way acetylene is concentrated. Alternatively you may be able to rent a rig but I'd still bet the a pro would be worth the money.

 

[devildog1]

Listen I don't want to discourage you but I do not believe you will be able to repair this because you will not have the correct torch and or other alignment tools needed to compleate this job.Do your self a favor and save time and effort have the pro's do this job, bit the bullet and have it repaired correctly.
DevilDog

 

[Don87]

It can be straightened with the regular tip on the oxy/acet torch, but you gotta have 2 people to do this. And zero wind conditions, on a hot day in full sun.

But I agree with KBL3830, the 'rosebud tip' will do a much better job(and faster), but I would still recommend 2 people for the task...........one operating the torch, the other bending and lining up the arms.

 

[jsranman]

I have this two burner propane cooker that I bought to boil sap for maple syrup that I though I might be able to heat this thing up with. The burners are huge and the flame would consume both sides of the arm and would heat from the bottom if I positioned the loader arm over it. It might take a while to get red hot but I might give it a shot. I was reading eslewhere about using a propane weed burner to heat and form steel so I thought these burners that I have would be similar. Other postings that I have read elsewhere have said the propane/atmospheric air flame wont get it hot enough and that I would need oxygen.

I have doubts that I can do it but I am not going to give up yet. I will keep you posted.

 

[KWentling]

Thats going to be a tough one. I think it's going to take a rosebud to get it hot enough, and in the right places. I have gotten steel red hot using a weed burner but I don't know if what you have will be enough. You'll want to get the metal below the pin boss where it's deformed extra hot so most of the bending will occur there. Good luck.

Kim

 

[KBL3830]

Chiming in again, propane without 02..... Just a waste of time and gas. A pro with big tanks and big rose will take minutes instead of hours, bite the bullet. Ps get the loader bucket out if the woods first so you can make sure its aligned before he leaves