Grille Guard, hinged, loader frame mounted

[OkieG]

Hello my friends on TBN,

Here, for your viewing pleasure(?), is another variation on the venerable Grille Guard. There is no reasonable accomodation for mounting a grille guard on my tractor itself, but the loader frame has holes strategically drilled, as if meant for one.

I must tell you that, originally, this thread was going to be posted in October. The very day I was going to post, Northcreek posted his masterpiece /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif DIY grille guard</font color=blue> /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif. (The tongues are hanging out, drooling with envy.) I was so awestruck that I decided not to subject my DIY project to comparative scrutiny with his excellent piece. Well, I've mostly gotten over it /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif, mostly /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif, so here goes. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[OkieG]

Here is another view that better illustrates the problems with a grille guard mounted on the loader frame (at least my loader frame).

You can see that the guard is close to the grille (that's good), but when unmounting the loader, the bottom of the guard hits the top of the front bumper (not so good). Also, the hood moves forward as it's lifted (to refuel, etc.) and hits the guard before it's high enough to access anything underneath. I hope that makes sense.

Anyway, to keep from completely removing the guard every time the loader comes off or every time the tractor needs fuel, I hinged it in the middle. I used old gate hinges. You can see 'em there in the picture if you look close.

 

[OkieG]

The lower half of the guard is up, for unmounting the loader. Now there is plenty of clearance to miss the front bumper.

 

[OkieG]

Here, the top is lowered to allow access under the hood.

 

[OkieG]

The previous picture shows the two halves held together with a couple "hairpins" and a short piece of light chain. When not in use, the pins and chain are kept behind the top half of the guard. No stray branch has grabbed 'em yet.

 

[OkieG]

The bottom half of the guard swings on the hinges when not held firmly in place. A couple of "T" bolts fasten the halves together, so the bottom doesn't just swing all the time. With the "T" bolts in place, the two halves are a pretty solid unit. The "T" bolts fit through holes in the top half and thread into nuts welded to the bottom half.

 

[Bird]

By Golly, ain't nuthin' to be ashamed of there./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif Nice job.

 

[OkieG]

The top half is held upright by two bolts (actually one bolt and one pin) on each side which slip through the factory holes in the loader frame. The bottom bolt on each side has a lock nut that allows the guard to pivot forward when the pins above them are removed. The pins are held in place by another set of "hairpins".

All in all, manuevering the grille guard around is not too difficult. Hope you enjoy!

OkieG

 

[beenthere]

Looks great, and I really like the "nut" idea on the top center of the bucket. Nothing to be ashamed of with this guard design. It should be a lot more effective than the 4000 series because it is much more enclosed for protection.

My work buddy just told me he punched a stub through his radiator yesterday, and now has to repair the radiator in zero weather because someday this winter we might get snow. Yep, hardly know what that is with essentially none yet this winter.

 

[beenthere]

Appears the bolt with the locknut is a little short, and doesn't reach the locking part of the nut. Picture may be decieving.

Great job. The one picture with the bottom half lifted sure shows how exposed that grill work is when doing loader work.

 

[OkieG]

You're right. The bolt doesn't quite go to the end of the nut, but it is also a bit deceiving. Despite not threading all the way to the end of the nut, the bolt is a couple turns into the locking material (teflon?). The brush guard pivots fine on the bolt, but it still takes a wrench to loosen the nut. Good observation!

Speaking of observation...I didn't realize the nut on the loader bucket was in these pictures. That was my first tractor welding job. It was placed long before I knew about TSC or TBN. Nice weldable hooks would be more mainstream, but I didn't even know that stuff was available at the time.

OkieG

 

[ronjhall]

OkieG
Your grille guard looks great. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Changing the color of paint to <font color=green>JD Green </font color=green>would improve it looks, but not its performance. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

Looks great...I am still trying to figure out what the stock grille guard on my 4110 guards.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[accordionman]

OkieG,
nice looking project.
can you tell us what thickness the outside frame is made of?
it looks like it is 1/2inch. i have a grill guard in progress for my
L3000DT, but i made the frame out of 1/4 X 2. still have not
found the time to finish it.
accordionman
william l. brown

 

[jmattox1]

Looks good to me.

 

[OkieG]

accordionman,

The outside frame is 1/4 x 2' flat bar...same as you are using. How do you like your new tractor so far? Good luck on your grill guard project!

OkieG

 

[accordionman]

SIR,
i like my L3000DT just fine. looking at the pics that you have posted
it sure fooled me, i thought the metal was much heavier than 1/4inch.
you had to make the guard so it would fold, because the hood on your
tractor tilts forward. my design will not need this, because my hood
does not tilt, and the fuel cap is toward the back.
good luck with your projects
accordionman
william l. brown

 

[soarkrebel]

accordionman i have a L3000DT also. i didnt think i needed a heavy grill guard until today. put a good dent in that soft deco grill while pushing some sticks and limbs. (really trees). easy fix after taking everything off the front end and doing a little bending and straightening and a little paint(touch up). you can't tell it happened this time.
hey if you have a camera and can post a picture i would love some ideas . i don't think i need a hinged one just expanded metal to keep those sticks away.
i did notice how venerable the radiator is from below. may have to work on that.

 

[accordionman]

SOARKREBEL,
did you get an fel with your L3000DT? i did, they are sure handy.
i have made a set of wheel weights for mine, using the HACKERS
plan. i have a few metal working machines, so it is easy to do.
i have not done anything to the grill, other than bend the frame.
if i can ever get a digital camera i will be able to post some pics.
only camera i have now is a 35mm. i was on a welding site, and
tried to post pics of an old hacksaw i have. found the reason i
could not post pics was i had them in the wrong file. after i transfered
them, i was able to post a pic of the hacksaw.
good luck with your projects, and take care everybody.
accordionman
william l. brown

 

[soarkrebel]

Accordionman yeah i got a FEL, couldnt imagine one without it. thats what got my dent. i was pushing a small pile of small trees and brush . a ceder tree came over the bucket and pushed my grill leaving me with a nice dent. i also was using a box blade to move stuff. (still cleaning after a ice storm two year ago. )
The grill guard that came with the FEL is kind of a joke. so i am going to build something that won't let the stuff through. the expanded metal like on okie g's is what i need. and next a skid plate.
i like to use my tractor but not tear it up.

Fixed it so you can't even tell it there. but it could have been worse.
enjoy your work!