WALT
Gold Member
TBN'ers
After many hours of work, I have finally reassembled an old TR-35 Harley rake, that I bought used 7-8 years ago. I used it on a job in April, and noticed it was vibrating alot. I was able to finish the job, got it back to my garage, and took a close look at it.
The bottom bar roller pillow block bearing casting had broke, and the end shaft was carving a oblong groove in the gear case. The main frame weld next to the gear case had also broken which was the reason for the vibration. Amazingly, the roller chain kept it's tension and did not jump off the shaft sprockets.
With all this damage, I decided to completely strip the rake apart, repair & replace the broken bearings, parts, fasteners and welds, and repaint it. I finished the project a few weeks ago, and hope to use it on a job in the near future. It now runs with a minimum of vibration & noise.
Another issue with the rake was moving it off the tractor. I was able to make a dolly that the main bar roller sits in, from 1 1/2" square tubing w/ casters, that allows me to move the rake around the garage with a push, instead of lifting it with the backhoe.
I share this with you, as you may appreciate the work to rebuild this, and might be inspired to fix up an old neglected attachment that you presently own. The cost for this was around $350.00 in parts, compared to $7000.00-9000.00 for a new unit. Also, by doing this project, I have been able to put off finishing a bathroom at home, much to my wife's displeasure.
I'll attempt to attach some before & after photo's.
WALT
After many hours of work, I have finally reassembled an old TR-35 Harley rake, that I bought used 7-8 years ago. I used it on a job in April, and noticed it was vibrating alot. I was able to finish the job, got it back to my garage, and took a close look at it.
The bottom bar roller pillow block bearing casting had broke, and the end shaft was carving a oblong groove in the gear case. The main frame weld next to the gear case had also broken which was the reason for the vibration. Amazingly, the roller chain kept it's tension and did not jump off the shaft sprockets.
With all this damage, I decided to completely strip the rake apart, repair & replace the broken bearings, parts, fasteners and welds, and repaint it. I finished the project a few weeks ago, and hope to use it on a job in the near future. It now runs with a minimum of vibration & noise.
Another issue with the rake was moving it off the tractor. I was able to make a dolly that the main bar roller sits in, from 1 1/2" square tubing w/ casters, that allows me to move the rake around the garage with a push, instead of lifting it with the backhoe.
I share this with you, as you may appreciate the work to rebuild this, and might be inspired to fix up an old neglected attachment that you presently own. The cost for this was around $350.00 in parts, compared to $7000.00-9000.00 for a new unit. Also, by doing this project, I have been able to put off finishing a bathroom at home, much to my wife's displeasure.
I'll attempt to attach some before & after photo's.
WALT
