Broke my Backhoe - JD 48

[MMH]

I bend the bucket cylinder rod on my John Deere 48 backhoe. I was pulling a stump out and and was driving the tractor & dragging it. The cheapest rod I could find is on 'Green Farm Part" for $224. How difficult is it to rebuild the bucket cylinder? Are there any special tools needed. I'm hoping that the only broken part is the rod, but I guess I won't know until I take it apart. If someone can get me some repair instructions, I would very much appreciate it. Also, the part numbers found are M138577 for the rod only & MP19268 for the cylinder - can some one verify these.

OK, so I was an idiot & do know better. I guess I was lazy & did not want to do it the hard way (knock clay off of stump, cut apart in pieces w/ chainsaw (and burning up a couple of chains in the process). Now that I got that out of the way, I know that you are not supposed to tow w/ the backhoe. However, towing w/ the FEL is not any better. So, how do you tow with the backhoe & FEL attached? Would it be OK to weld some chain grab hooks or D-rings to the base of the boom arm (down low close to where it attaches to the subframe)?

Man, I am pissed at myself for being so stupid. Anyway time to get fixin'. At least I don't have to worry about getting a ticket from the safety police.

 

[ORCM]

Take the cylinder to a local hydraulic shop, they can probably rebuild it for cheaper than you can buy the direct replacement dear parts.

You can look through the forum and find pictures of rods bent just like yours, and they were just digging with the hoe. I think the old Backhoes cylinders were sized a little small.

 

[rmk700]

I bent my arm links on the FEL. Wrapped a chain around them, curled the bucket which caused major binding. Binds are powerful. Beat myself up too.

Bet we don't do that again. :thumbsup:

 

[MMH]

... Bet we don't do that again. :thumbsup:

yep...here's your sign!:mur:

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Guys thanks:thumbsup: for the postings. I have dragged stuff and was concerned about this. Now I know the answer as to what can happen.

 

[Egon]

As stated, have a shop straighten the rod.:thumbsup:

 

[MMH]

As stated, have a shop straighten the rod.:thumbsup:

I don't think that straitening will work. The rod bent hard enough that the chrome plating cracked & chipped off.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I would look up the part number and look for it on line. Bet it was not sourced from JD.

Other wise measure pin size, etc and search hydraulic houses for matching size.

 

[Oldmopar]

Find a hydraulic shop in your area, they can replace the rod and rebuild the cylinder much cheeper than buying new.

 

[familyman]

I did the EXACT same thing once, with my old hoe.
To say I was angry with myself is a gross understatement.
I fixed the cylinder myself, but unless you really want to learn how (and suffer the attending learning curve) do as the guys suggest and have the cylinder done elsewhere.

 

[Egon]

I don't think that straitening will work. The rod bent hard enough that the chrome plating cracked & chipped off.

That changes things.

As suggested try and source the rod or entire cylinder from another sorce.

 

[Storm56]

I had to have a rod replaced in a 3 point forklift I had bought. The rod had rusted and took out the seals. It did not look that bad and I felt it could have been polished but the party that I took it to informed me that it would simply take out the new seals again.

Bottom line was he had no problem finding a new rod to replace the old one. If I recall it was around $175 for the rod, it was for a 4 foot cylinder. The whole job cost about $340, that was with me removing and replacing the cylinder on the implement. So considering the shorter length of your cylinder you are probably looking at a $300 or so rebuild bill.

 

[Dutch445]

I think that any time you leave a cylinder extended
like that and put it under forces you take a risk of
damaging it.
I wonder if you had retracted the cylinder, and got your
chain so it was pulling from the boom instead of
the bucket if you would have had better luck

either way, expensive lesson learned.
good luck with the repair
:thumbsup:

 

[MMH]

I had to have a rod replaced in a 3 point forklift I had bought. The rod had rusted and took out the seals. It did not look that bad and I felt it could have been polished but the party that I took it to informed me that it would simply take out the new seals again.

Bottom line was he had no problem finding a new rod to replace the old one. If I recall it was around $175 for the rod, it was for a 4 foot cylinder. The whole job cost about $340, that was with me removing and replacing the cylinder on the implement. So considering the shorter length of your cylinder you are probably looking at a $300 or so rebuild bill.

Your pretty close. After calling around all hydraulic shops, the best deal was from John Deere. The rod is $244, seal kit is $50 & he's estimating 1 hr. of labor. Surprised that what he is charging me for the rod is about as cheap as anything I could find on the internet.

 

[boggen]

i have never torn apart a cylinder for repair work, but from other threads here on TBN, have seen members have problems with the "nut" at end of rod. and having hard time getting the nut loose, and then properly torque the nut back on. and reading those threads, for most part have noted to myself, i would most likely be better off just paying some shop to rebuild / fix a cylinder for me. vs trying to tackling the job myself.

granted i always prefer todo things myself vs pay someone else. but cylinder fix is not one of them. i figure by the time i buy extra tool or tools i would need to fix a cylinder. i would be ahead long run to pay someone else. it is not like a cylinder breaks / needs repair all that often, and can be many many years between cylinder repairs. exception of those bozo moments. *been there done that* many times too embarrassed to admit amount of bozo moments.

==============
as far as hooks on rear of backhoe. make sure you have a sub frame for the backhoe. have seen many industrial TLB have hooks on rear. not so much for 3pt hitch backhoes. due to ability to fairly easily remove the backhoes. and switch over to a draw bar / pulling setup fairly easily. but i have seen rear hooks coming off rear end of a 3pt backhoe before. more so for folks pulling a "rock sled" behind the tractor. were FEL or backhoe is not able to lift the rock. and trying to keep making deeper ruts in a yard.

most of the time the FEL has more power vs a backhoe as far as lifting / pulling power. and FEL cylinders are less likely to bend, granted you may end up bending the FEL arms, but that is a different matter / story.

most 3pt backhoes can come off fairly easy, it just takes some practice tries. and hopefully working on some concrete were it is easier to adjust things vs on grass or in dirt.

 

[MMH]

I think that any time you leave a cylinder extended
like that and put it under forces you take a risk of
damaging it.
I wonder if you had retracted the cylinder, and got your
chain so it was pulling from the boom instead of
the bucket if you would have had better luck

either way, expensive lesson learned.
good luck with the repair
:thumbsup:

Good observation. Do not believe that I will be bold enough to try pulling anything - retracted cylinder or not.

 

[MMH]

as far as hooks on rear of backhoe. make sure you have a sub frame for the backhoe...

This is a John Deere 48 backhoe. Not really a subframe but does have a big frame that attaches to the axle & back of the tractor. Definitely not 3 pt. mounted.

My question still stands, where should I attach hooks so that I can 'tow' w/ the backhoe attached? Would it be OK to weld some chain grab hooks or D-rings to the base of the boom arm (down low close to where it attaches to the subframe)?

 

[blueriver]

My local machine shop was doing that just the other day ... I mean putting in a new shaft, he machined it and put the seals in ... I'd check around ... it can be fixed.

I don't think I'd pull with the hoe ... maybe the front bucket or the drawbar. But maybe there's a way!!

 

[MMH]

Got it fixed at JD. $244 for rod, $51 for seal kit, $18 for freight (overnight part delivery) & $46 for labor. Grand total $367. The cylinder was a little beat up from the rebuild, but as bent as the rod was, I have to believe that the cylinder was a bear to get apart. The rod has two bends - one hard (30 degree) bend outside the cylinder where it was extended, and another smaller bend (10 degree) inside the cylinder (or probably where the rod entered the cylinder). Either way, I'm sure the rod did not just slide out.

Overall very pleased with the JD dealership.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Sounds like you got back to running and using JD worked out great.

Thanks for your posting. It was very helpful to me in understanding what can go wrong.