No wonder it was hard to control...!

[dbdartman]

Digging 6 holes today for trees being delivered tomorrow. As the digging progressed, control of the far end of the back hoe & bucket became more difficult. I finally looked at the lever controls & found this (first pic), supposed to look like this (second pic). After removal (3rd pic).

Being that scrap steel is pretty slim pickings here, I ended up cutting up a short piece of 2.25" square tube from an engine hoist leg I replaced a couple years ago. Used more of the same to reinforce the plate the grab handle & controls mount to.

After cutting & drilling the control plate & installing the stiffener plate behind the grab handle (4th & 5th pic), all was well again! I LOVE digging in the dirt!

So, am I the first here to have to replace one of these plates, or is this a common problem?

 

[BTDT]

Maybe a little spray lube (other than the bird ** ), and put the covers back on. Glad you got it fixed.

 

[dbdartman]

Maybe a little spray lube (other than the bird ** ), and put the covers back on. Glad you got it fixed.

Covers...? There's supposed to be covers somewhere on there?!? Seriously, what you see is what I got. I did lube all the rod ends with anti-seize compound. By next week, the tractor & all it's implements will be living indoors, so the birds will have to find another place to sit & ****!