Loose ROPS Bolts

[Harv]

Whilst crawling under my L2500 to change the hydraulic fluid, I noticed that one of the large bolts holding the ROPS on was hanging quite loose on both sides of the tractor (see attachment).

I managed, with some effort, to tighten one of them up, but I couldn't budge the nut on the other. After quite a struggle I was able to remove the nut and slip the bolt out altogether. The threads were so buggered up on both that I'm just going to buy new ones.

After reading those posts about cracked axle housings due to ROPS attachments, I'm wondering if perhaps these bolts were deliberately left loose, since it was the same on both sides. But then, what good does a loose bolt do?

BTW - yes, I can see for myself that my pressure-washing didn't catch the underside of the tractor. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

 

[Thomas]

Harv,
How about the next longer bolt and double nut it,that should keep it tight also protect the threads.

You and your family have a safe and pleasant New Years.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[DFB]

Harv, hard for me to believe that they were intentionally left loose. I would have to think they weren't properly tightened down.

 

[Bird]

Harv, there's no doubt the nuts and bolts should be "tight"; the question is just how tight?. Personally, I'd just tighten then so they're very snug with no slack at all, and since something (vibration?) caused them to loosen, even with lockwashers, I'd either use new self-locking nuts or the double nuts that's already been suggested.

Bird

 

[DFB]

Bird, do your Kubota manuals have torque value charts?

 

[Bird]

DFB, my manual has the torque value chart for "general use screws, nuts, and bolts" if you know the size and grade of the bolt (and of course I'd have to see it or have someone describe the head of the bolt and tell me the diameter), but in only a few places have I found torque values for specific bolts. And then, of course, a lot of folks don't own a torque wrench so it's hard to tell them how tight to tighten something.

Bird

 

[DFB]

Yea, those are the ones. My manual says to refer to them unless some other value is specifically called out like on wheel bolts/nuts. Loctite works good too for keeping things tight. Your right about torque wrenches not being in everyones toolbox. I remember the thread on that a while back. I like to use one when possible.

 

[dullpain]

Harv

The threads were so buggered up on both that I'm just going to buy new ones.

It's " Booggered "

Hey I ain't got nothing to do today!!

 

[gordon]

Re: Loose ROPS Bolts cracked weld

Harv, it looks to me like you've got a cracked weld at the inside corner of the bend of the rops mount. Next time your up at your tractor take a good close look at it. Those bolts are a fine thread and easy to cross thread. The guy putting the tractor probably crossed them with an impact gun and just left them.

Do you see what I'm talking about with the crack?
Gordon

 

[Harv]

McCallum -

Hmmmm. According to my American Heritage Dictionary -

buggered -- "To practice sodomy with"

booger -- "Dried nasal mucus" or "A worthless, despicable person"

Perhaps I should have gone with -

bunged -- "To close with or as if with a cork or stopper" or <font color=blue>"To injure or damage"</font color=blue>

Happy New Year! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Harv]

Re: Loose ROPS Bolts cracked weld

Gordon -

I'm not sure I see what you're talking about.

Does the attached closeup show it better, or did I pick the wrong part of the photo?

 

[Bird]

Re: Loose ROPS Bolts cracked weld

Harv, I think what Gordon was talking about is just to the right of the close-up, so it isn't shown there. It appears that a square "bracket" was spot welded to a round axle housing to mount the ROPS on and one of the spot welds appears to be cracked.

Hmm, I shouldn't have posted any response, since I don't know how to do neat things to pictures, like you and DaveNH.

Bird<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Bird on 12/31/00 01:21 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[DaveNH]

Re: Loose ROPS Bolts cracked weld

Attached

See picture or I'll write a 1000 words!
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by DaveNH on 12/31/00 01:30 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[DFB]

Re: Loose ROPS Bolts cracked weld

Harv, in the first photo, on the right, just above the hole. Its not in the closeup

 

[Harv]

Re: Loose ROPS Bolts cracked weld

Bird -

You identified the problem without the fancy photo work -- don't ever hold back. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Having said that -- nice work with your digital crayon, DaveNH. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Attached is a closeup of the real problem, but the question now is, how concerned should I be?

I could:

a - just keep an eye on it and see if it gets worse.

b - have it hauled to a dealer for repair.

c - try to find a local welder who makes house calls.

d - use this as an excuse to buy a welder, learn to use it and then fix it myself. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Any words of wisdom?

 

[DaveNH]

Re: Loose ROPS Bolts cracked weld

If the remaining welds are good, (slight tap of a hammer)
then I'd let it go but check on it every once in a while.
Then next time it's serviced, see about a touch up.
Doesn't look all that bad to me.

DaveNH

 

[Bird]

Re: Loose ROPS Bolts cracked weld

Tough call, Harv. Gordon may know more about that than I. I'm inclined to agree with DaveNH, but if the tractor is still in warranty, I think I'd at least talk to a dealer about it. If it were NOT in warranty, then I'd probably do just a little light welding myself./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird

 

[Jag]

Re: Loose ROPS Bolts cracked weld

Dave, good call.

 

[gordon]

Re: Loose ROPS Bolts cracked weld

Harv, I know that you already knew that the crack was there and were just testing us if we looked at the pictures that you post. So we passed the test. Now to your questions.

If this were a multiple choice question test I would go with D. Buy a ac/dc arc welder. Or a small mig.

I would keep a close eye on it for now. The only thing that worries me is that a weld should be stronger than the steel around it. So we know that it's a crappy weld. Just keep an eye on the upper part it looks like it's got some pretty good penatration into the steel. The loose bolts from the rops probably helped show the cracked weld. Also if the tractor is under warranty show this picture to the dealer and have him note it on your file. Keep a copy of the paper for yourself then when you do take your tractor in for service you can get it covered under warranty.
Gordon

 

[RJohnson]

Harv,
I am not a tractor owner (yet) but I would like to point out the bracket welded to the axle is a poor design. I have welded brackets to axles before and adding a box around a circular cross section does not allow for good welding. The welder is trying to fill in the large gaps created by the bent plate bracket and the crack is the result of the welder trying to fill up a poor joint design. I have attached a poorly drawn sketch showing a possible design change and the problem with the existing design.
Does Kubota add this bracket or is it a dealer added bracket? The plate thickness for the bracket appears to be too thin compared to the size of the bolts and the connector plate used on the top and bottom. All of the loads from the ROP and whatever is attached to it (canopy?) have to be transferred through the welds to the axle housing. The one cracked weld may be okay as is but if you have it repaired be sure and remove the defective weld and have it replaced. Do not just weld over the cracked weld as it will just crack again later on. Post is getting a little long, hope this helps.

Randy