Ever lose the 3ph stabilizer pin?

Highbeam · Feb 8, 2006

I did. The cheezy little chains they provide only hook onto a wire loop. The chains quickly get snagged and become a decoration but the pins seem to stay put pretty well by gravity.

Now what? Well I could buy a new one but then I started looking around the garage. I can weld, I can cut, I can grind. What is this pin anyway? A silly little piece of round stock.

I didn't have any round bar of the right size and a hitch pin is too big. Then I remembered that I had kept the old u-bolts from when I added little lift blocks to my half ton pickup. I have a hard time throwing away nuts, bolts, and hunks of metal that may have a use for someday. Today was the day for the u-bolts. I can make six more. Now I need some gold paint.

cag · Feb 8, 2006

I never lost one of those yet, but I did loose on two occasions the little spring on the lock pin for the ROPS...cag

Dodgeram · Feb 8, 2006

Haven't lost the pin...yet.
Like cag, I've chased the ROPs spring across the driveway more than once /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
Tom

HODAK · Feb 8, 2006

Nice job HIGHBEAM. Looks like you added a little length. A little more finger room. I haven't lost any...........yet.

tractorhill · Feb 8, 2006

Take out the spring pin and put cotter keys pins in hole
works better, grass and weed do not pull them out

WeldonEquip · Feb 9, 2006

CAG, I have lost the small springs (not the clip, but the spring) from the CK25/30 ROPS pins and found that if I put a little grease on the spring it will stay on the pin, or at least slide off slowly and give me a chance to catch it.

cag · Feb 9, 2006

Thank's for the tip /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif...cag

Highbeam · Feb 9, 2006

Is the whole point of that spring just to prevent a rattle or is it to hold the cotter away from the ROPS. I once used a standard hitch pin from the receiver hitch on my truck to replace the factory ROPS pin setup. It worked just fine until the replacement shipped. No spring though.

I always keep a backup hitch pin in the truck just in case I break one or something.

WeldonEquip · Feb 9, 2006

My thought is the sping is there just to keep the rattle away. I install it on the head end of the pin, not the clip end. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I just looked in the part manual, and for once I was right, the spring does go on the head end. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Highbeam · Feb 9, 2006

I use the spring between the head and the ROPS too now, seemed better to protect the cotter. It ends up holding the cotter against the ROPS with a very light force. The hitch pins you can buy are powder coated to not rattle.