Need help....is this fixable???

[chevy292]

First off I am not a professional welder by any means. I can weld pretty well, I'm self taught. I have done some structural welds before and they are still holding up very well. I have a stick welder to work with.

Here is the problem I need help with. Looking at the damage, if i get this back into shape and welded is it going to be safe? I don't have the experience to know if the metal is going to be strong or if it is weakened beyond use.

 

[Lostalot]

I too am not an expert, but if it was my machine I would reposition it and weld it up then plate over the outside to strengthen it allowing pin access etc,but prior to this I would first ask an engineer mate definately showing him the photos as you have, alternatively you can fabricate a complete new end piece for that side so there are a few options..regards

 

[yomax4]

I would Heat it, Beat it and Weld the Snot out of it. You have nothing to lose if you try. ( maybe bevel before you weld.)

 

[chevy292]

I'm definitely going to try....a new boom is $1600...........YIKES!!!!!!!

What size plate should I weld on the outside to strengthen it? Should I try to get a piece of plate the same thickness? I have a piece of 1/4" plate but I'm not sure if it is thick enough.

Oh man, I just noticed the other side is split. Would I have to drill the ends of the crack to stop it from spreading?

 

[jake98]

Is that piston rod broken off in the third pic?

 

[chevy292]

Yup. When the side let go it tore the piston right off....

 

[Shield Arc]

I didn't wait until my pin holes failed, soon as they got sloppy I reinforced the pin hole on my FEL, and backhoe. I took some 2 1/2 inch cold rolled, and drilled a 1-inch hole in it, cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick washers and welded them in place. Cut all new longer pins.

 

[RobertBrown]

I guess it depends on how bad you need it. If your making the rent with that machine you better just cough up the 16 and get new pieces.
On the other hand...looks to me like the engineering was a liittle quick on that piece, somebody skipped a calc somewhere cause it was certainly the weak link.
You could re build it stronger than original if you had the time and the means/ methods.

 

[hodge]

That area has a tremendous amount of leverage imposed on it- testified by the breaks. I don't think that you can bend it back into shape and weld the snot out of it. It is already very weakened and compromised. I would disassemble the boom, straighten things up, and study it from that point- if it were mine, I would remove the bushings, look at the length of the pin, and rebuild and plate the sides with at least 3/8" steel, then build new collars and use a lengthened pin. A good welder/fabricator can do this. You might as well fix the weakness that caused the issue in the first place, instead of hobbling it back into the same shape that it was to begin with.

 

[crash325]

Push or pull it back in place.
Hammer bent / broken piece back - Watch for cracking or breaking - heat may help.
Clean all around.
Grind a shallow "V" then tack back in place.
Fabricate a sheet of 1/2" steel that fits around the pin.
Run you best bead around all sides.

It will be safe, but if you don't do a good job it will make a proper repair more costly.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

I think you'll get the best result if you disassemble the unit first, then heat and beat back into alignment. Grind a good V so you can get a good bead where you are welding. Plating to reinforce the broken spots would likely be a good investment in both time and material. I'd use 1/4" or up to the thickness of the steel in the boom.

 

[MasseyWV]

I think you'll get the best result if you disassemble the unit first, then heat and beat back into alignment. Grind a good V so you can get a good bead where you are welding. Plating to reinforce the broken spots would likely be a good investment in both time and material. I'd use 1/4" or up to the thickness of the steel in the boom.

:thumbsup:

 

[Cat_Driver]

Cut it out and make a new on STRONGER that what that garbage that's on there.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Same here, I would cut out the pulled out section and fab a whole new piece complete with new pin bushings. Then but a scab plate on that covers the welded area by at least 2-3 inches and weld around it. I would put the scab plate on both sides. You are going to have to straighten the back side, grind off the old weld and reweld it first making sure the pin is in perfectly square to the boom. THere is a thread here where Eddie Walker did a boom repair that might be of interest on how to make the scab plates.

 

[jake98]

It's a valuable lesson on why not to whack stuff sideways..

 

[ericher69]

Fixable!

How did the damage happen?

 

[chevy292]

I didn't hit anything sideways. I was digging out a brook, very easy digging. Just normal yearly clean out. Made a horrible sound and boom. I was just starring at it saying to myself, "oh crap......"

The parts you guys mentioned, longer pins and bushings. Where is a good online place to order them? Where I live there are no places to buy such things.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Sounds like it had been stretching and wearing for a while. Sounds like a good place to start looking for abuse on my upcoming used TLB purchase. Also looks like you backhoe owners probably ought to check your machines for wear and early signs of stress cracks that can be repaired easily before the open wide. If I were the OP on this one, I would look at the rest of my boom closely, remove any flaking paint and look for any other stressed points: Fix them all now.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I went back and looked at your photos again and it looks like the weld around the bushing has been broken for a long time and all the pressure has been gradually stretching that thin piece of wrap around steel to the final breaking point. If you can get everything squared back up, and the pins aligned, I think it will be a pretty easy fix. It would be much easier if the boom was separated and on a fab table. You need to grind out all the old weld around the bushing and v bevel it with a carbide bit rotary file so you can get at least 75% penetration around the bushing. I think that is the culprit that caused the whole problem, that little fillet weld around the bushing is taking all the load. You should be able to heat and beat that strap back into place and work the other cracked side back straight, then as said above get a good 7018 weld all around it. You can then put a doubler plate on the outside of the bushing leaving enough space to put the safety bolt and nut in by notching that area and welding all around the notch. Your double needs to be as thick as the boom section minimum. I would extend it up the boom at least 8" and taper it down toward the end but leave about a 2" radius on the end of the doubler plate. Put one on each side and if will never break again, at least not there.
That bottom strap should not be the load carrier for this. The load should be on the weld around the bushing which is what you are beefing up

 

[Gary Fowler]

One other thing, if you can remove the boom so you can get to the back side of that bushing and weld it from the back side without causing any metal binding, it will be a much stronger joint. IF the bushing is flush on the inside edge, you wont be able to do this and should then try for a full penetration weld from the other side being carefull to not have weld metal lumped up inside that may bind on the hinge of the pinned connection.