Replacing hoe pins and bushings

MarkV · May 2, 2007

Hi guys, I know some of you work equipment for a living and thought you could offer me some insight on backhoe pins and bushings. I have a Kubota B21 TLB with 1300 hrs that has had a rough life working the backhoe in rocky conditions. It has taken a toll on the pins and bushing and I am thinking of replacing them to tighten the hoe up. This is new territory to me and I am trying to get an idea if I can handle the job myself or take it in for an expensive redo.

I’d appreciate any opinions on how tough of job it is, what the general procedure is and what type of special tools are needed.

Thanks,
MarkV

DmansPadge · May 2, 2007

It's not always a horrible job... but it can be. Sometimes a large vice (setup to work similar to a press) and a little heat and the bushings will pop out. If you take it somewhere for the repairs.. you might just try to find a local machine shop... they are normally faster and cheaper than the dealer.

john_bud · May 2, 2007

Have you checked out the cost of the pins and bushings yet? Hint: bring a soft mat to fall onto.

But seriously, they can be real spendy. If you have someone do it for you, plan on them spending an hour per bushing to get out the old one, put in the new one and ream it to the correct size. That will add about $75 to the cost of each bushing - not counting the costs of taking the hoe apart and putting it together. That can be 8-12 hours on a small hoe.

You may want to do it yourself. Do you have a mig welder? Ox/Ac torch? Good (Snap-on or matco) bushing driver? Let us know what tools you have and more details on the procedures can be posted.

MarkV · May 3, 2007

Thanks guys for the replies. At best I am a shade tree mechanic and there are not many leaves on the tree. It already sounds like it is too much for me to do.

John Bud, I understand what you are saying. I bought one pin several years ago and I think it was around $30 dollars. Pins, plus bushing, plus labor, times nine starts looking like an expensive repair.

MarkV

Kays Supply · May 5, 2007

I have replaced several on my equipment. I made a bushing puller out of a large diameter all thread rod and some thick plate steel cut to just fit the bushing. A thrust bearing would make it a lot easier. The pins are no sweat. A hone from NAPA finished off the task. Just start on the bucket and one set of bushings at a time so you can use it if you need to. They are usually the easiest to get to and the most worn. A recip saw can be of use if a bushing is really stuck. Be very careful on the lower boom pin.

MarkV · May 5, 2007

Kays Supply said:
I have replaced several on my equipment. I made a bushing puller out of a large diameter all thread rod and some thick plate steel cut to just fit the bushing. A thrust bearing would make it a lot easier. The pins are no sweat. A hone from NAPA finished off the task. Just start on the bucket and one set of bushings at a time so you can use it if you need to. They are usually the easiest to get to and the most worn. A recip saw can be of use if a bushing is really stuck. Be very careful on the lower boom pin.

Thanks for the description of how you have done it. Just so happens that one of the other good people here sent me a PM describing a very similar puller he made up. There may be hope for me on this yet.

MarkV