Tires Took an electric glue gun to that lousy factory brush guard.

[MinnesotaEric]

My brush guard bends if you breath on it. I don’t know how many times I’ve pulled it out and away from the hood of my tractor. The brush guard is near useless and so finally I cut out the-frequently-bent-and-bent-back, 12mm plate that it uses to bolt into the frame of the my tractor, laminated two 1/2” plates and welded them into place. I recognize that the brush guard bolts into pretty flimsy frame material, but if that starts bending, I can cut that off as well and remake it with stronger, better material. I’d show some photos of the reinforced brush guard bolted on, but I had to order in 14-1.5x60mm bolts and I’m entertaining cutting out on my plasma table an Immortan Joe grill insert to match the “what a lovely day” Immortal Joe sticker that I have on my tractor’s rear window. Trouble is I'm just not that into skulls

 

[sea2summit]

That was on this list to get done this winter…guess it will happen next winter. I’d like to incorporate some expanded 3/4” or similar as well.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

That was on this list to get done this winter…guess it will happen next winter. I’d like to incorporate some expanded 3/4” or similar as well.

I videoed the process and this kind of thing is easy to edit together for a YouTube video, but I have a logjam, four-camera video I’m putting together with my Payloader stuck in front of this.

Anyway, when the bolts I ordered show up, I’m going to see it it make sense to weld on spring-loaded detents and pivot bolts in order to swing the entire brush guard down and forward and out of the way when the loader is held up by a loader lock (which I also make). Right now without the brush guard in the way, the engine is way more accessible, and I really like that.

Anyway, as I do more I’ll likely dump it onto this thread.

 

[BnRidge]

I'm looking at this and feel pessimistic. Where the guard angles up and away from your 2 1/2" plates is where bending occurs on mine. Not sure that beefing up the base plate would have any benefit. I can understand why they would design something weaker than the tractor framework, but just looking at it wrong and it gets all bent out of shape doesn't make sense. There has to be a better way.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I'm looking at this and feel pessimistic. Where the guard angles up and away from your 2 1/2" plates is where bending occurs on mine. Not sure that beefing up the base plate would have any benefit. I can understand why they would design something weaker than the tractor framework, but just looking at it wrong and it gets all bent out of shape doesn't make sense. There has to be a better way.

Here is the often bent and then bent back base plate that bolts onto the frame. It is a pretzel. At any rate, when the longer bolts arrive and I test fit this thing, I'll decide at that point if I'm going all-in on making a folding version that would necessarily require beefing by also laminating the sides in order to support the twiddly bits. As it sits, I'd kinda like to get at some other projects—especially swinging around to making some boat fix-it videos.

.

 

[jimglassford]

You know these a "Brush Guards" not dozer blades.

 

[seville009]

I've never bent my brush guard (MF 1540). Just curious what you are running into/over with it? I'd be worried about whatever it is bending under the tractor and ripping out lines, wires, etc from underneath. If I'm brush hogging tall growth, I keep my loader on at a lower level to bend saplings, etc first.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I've never bent my brush guard (MF 1540). Just curious what you are running into/over with it? I'd be worried about whatever it is bending under the tractor and ripping out lines, wires, etc from underneath. If I'm brush hogging tall growth, I keep my loader on at a lower level to bend saplings, etc first.

You cannot run an NX series tractor brush hogging without skid plates and guards protecting the hydraulic filter. The fuel line will get ripped out, and there is a bunch of wiring that is way to exposed on the underside, not the least of which is the throttle sending unit. The brush guard folds from stacking slash and getting bumped. Check it out.

My Buddies and I Burn the Place Down! (2020 October Slash Burn and Mensa Meeting)

 

[jimglassford]

Now that you posted the video, I stand by my previous statement. It's a brush guard, not a dozer blade. You are using the brush guard to push piles. That's a big difference from it bending by just breathing on it.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Now that you posted the video, I stand by my previous statement. It's a brush guard, not a dozer blade. You are using the brush guard to push piles. That's a big difference from it bending by just breathing on it.

No, the grapple is lifting and rolling material, not the brush guard that I could bend with arms. Go watch on a big screen tv so you can see what is going on.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

How this story concluded.

 

[sd455dan]

Eric, Definitely has to be much stronger on the new base plate, but thinking about anything with much mass hitting the top of the guard really just demonstrates how "lever effect of torque" multiplies force.
That is one thing on older /uglier tractors that utilize an "upper" FEL support do well as far as reinforcing strength by triangulation. and forming somewhat of a guard by nature.

Those upper supports also really make engine access a real pain as well, I know.

If the uprights bend next time, you could go up a thickness and maybe go to AR 400 but then if something immovable hits it, It may be the mounting plate of the front tractor frame that distorts or rips out the bolt threads.

Hopefully this base plate mod is "IT" and no more bending occurs.

If not, Is there a way to add some sort of easily removable rearward running brace on each side that is closer to the Top of the Brush guard if this bending happens again?

 

[mikester]

You know these a "Brush Guards" not dozer blades.

I think these are called "grill guards" not brush guards. If you are making contact with brush you are already too late.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Eric, Definitely has to be much stronger on the new base plate, but thinking about anything with much mass hitting the top of the guard really just demonstrates how "lever effect of torque" multiplies force.
That is one thing on older /uglier tractors that utilize an "upper" FEL support do well as far as reinforcing strength by triangulation. and forming somewhat of a guard by nature.

Those upper supports also really make engine access a real pain as well, I know.

If the uprights bend next time, you could go up a thickness and maybe go to AR 400 but then if something immovable hits it, It may be the mounting plate of the front tractor frame that distorts or rips out the bolt threads.

Hopefully this base plate mod is "IT" and no more bending occurs.

If not, Is there a way to add some sort of easily removable rearward running brace on each side that is closer to the Top of the Brush guard if this bending happens again?

Where this thing gets damaged is when I’m making slash piles and don’t see something or something shifts and bonks the guard and the front grill.

Guard wise if the frame where the guard bolts into bends, l’ve already decided that I’ll fab that up stronger as well. Meanwhile I’m still thinking about making some kind of brush guard insert and adding the pivot I was thinking about to swing the guard away as not having it there makes engine bay access much easier.

On the other hand, I’ve got other things to do as well.

 

[BnRidge]

Where this thing gets damaged is when I’m making slash piles and don’t see something or something shifts and bonks

This
Stacking brush is a little different. It's fine in concept, but twigs and branches are going to get away. And the **gard thing in this case, whatever it's called, is lightly made and weak. (Whatever it's design intent, it's not working well for stacking brush piles.) If we're going there, maybe this would be more in order:
It's a bit more, but would seem a better improvement. After all, what's going on is more like small scale forestry.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

This
Stacking brush is a little different. It's fine in concept, but twigs and branches are going to get away. And the **gard thing in this case, whatever it's called, is lightly made and weak. (Whatever it's design intent, it's not working well for stacking brush piles.) If we're going there, maybe this would be more in order:
It's a bit more, but would seem a better improvement. After all, what's going on is more like small scale forestry.

At this point, the real estate that I purchased this tractor to clear out has largely been cleared and nowadays this tractor mostly picks up fresh windfall trees and what I've knocked over with my payloader and is going over areas that I've already brushed out multiple times. Even so, the front end gets occasionally dinged from stacking log slash.

That said, I wanted to make a nice insert for the brush guard this go around but time constraints are pressuring me to get other stuff fixed. While I like your idea of building extensive guards, insofar as armoring up an NX series tractor that has a cab would really require some extensive fabrication as the six 12mm bolts that hold the cab top onto the cab's ROPS screw through thin metal tabs up and into nut plates that are inserted into fiberglass. As such, in my mind, a cage would require its own A and B pillars coming up from the base of the tractor (requiring a subframe to be built) and continuing up and over the cab resulting in some mad-hatter look unless one was willing to cut into the fiberglass top and risk mouse intrusion.

In my mind, the effort is better spent on buying a properly tracked forest mulcher.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I think these are called "grill guards" not brush guards. If you are making contact with brush you are already too late.

I cannot see what is going on in front of my tractor and my observation is every utility tractor with a loader has its front grill get beat up over time from incidental bumps from material that pokes through for whatever reason since the operator is unable to see what is happening below their sightline.

 

[mikester]

I cannot see what is going on in front of my tractor and my observation is every utility tractor with a loader has its front grill get beat up over time from incidental bumps from material that pokes through for whatever reason since the operator is unable to see what is happening below their sightline.

My tractor is 7 years old and the grill guard looks like new. I load trucks and trailers regularly with trees, rocks, mulch, soil,... she isn't a garage queen. My forks take a beating though.

I do have a hole in my plastic grill from using my grapple moving tree branches. Did it the first week of ownership Thankfully it didn't punch through all around, I popped it back in place and it isn't noticeable unless you look for it. Glad I didn't perforate my radiators. I've been wanting to weld some side extensions and cover the complete guard with expanded metal to give me some extra protection from errant branches.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

My tractor is 7 years old and the grill guard looks like new. I load trucks and trailers regularly with trees, rocks, mulch, soil,... she isn't a garage queen. My forks take a beating though.

I do have a hole in my plastic grill from using my grapple moving tree branches. Did it the first week of ownership Thankfully it didn't punch through all around, I popped it back in place and it isn't noticeable unless you look for it. Glad I didn't perforate my radiators. I've been wanting to weld some side extensions and cover the complete guard with expanded metal to give me some extra protection from errant branches.

I've yet to bonk into my dump truck or my dump trailer either because they are both taller than the top of the hood on my tractor and I can see how close I am. Stacking slash piles for eight years where I cannot see a shifting pile below the hood is where things have gotten bonked.