Bucket Pins and Bushings Worn Out

[rshackleford]

i just got a quote on replacing all the pins an bushings for the bucket. the parts quote was somewhere around $5k. we have bit the bullet in the past and done this under the theory of replace them all or the old ones will take out the new ones.

is this true?

can i just replace the bucket pins and bushings that are in the stick?

is there a way to get larger bushings or build up a pin?

is there a cheaper way to go about this?

btw a grease pump on a five gallon bucket of grease lives on the job site so these pins are well greased if anyone cares.

 

[willie59]

I'm thinking a worn pin will produce some uneven wear on new bushings. Also a worn pin that is not a tight fit will push the seal to one side opening up a gap to let dirt get in.

BTW, what type of grease are you using on boom/bucket pins?

 

[rshackleford]

BTW, what type of grease are you using on boom/bucket pins?

i will have to check it out tomorrow to give you the exact name, but the smart a** answer is LOTS!

I'm thinking a worn pin will produce some uneven wear on new bushings. Also a worn pin that is not a tight fit will push the seal to one side opening up a gap to let dirt get in.

how about new bushings and new pin only where the bucket attaches to the stick but not in the "dog bone" or the cylinder?

 

[DGODGR]

The size of the machine makes a difference. What size, and brand machine are you talking about?

 

[rshackleford]

i have talked a lot about his machine lately. it is a volvo ec 330. while i was troubleshooting my hydraulic problem i noticed how sloppy the bucket was in the stick.

 

[DGODGR]

I don't have any machines that big, but it still seems expensive to me. Actually, if your pins are $1,000, and bushings are $100 than you could get over $5K. If the main pin has not been loose for too long, you may be able to save $ by not replacing the guide link bushings and pins, or the bushings in the curl rod eye. It sounds as though Volvo has caught up to Cat in the parts price department. How many hours are on this machine? My 315 has over 4,000 hours and I am not even thinking about replacement of any bushings or pins. That being said, I'm sure that a macine that is 2x as heavy will wear things out much faster.

 

[rshackleford]

5000 hours

 

[pinesd3400]

I went through that with my 215 cat. Basically being broke I couldnt imagine
the price from Cat. Ill do it myself which was easy. I made a jig so I can
suspend the pin on centers and built up the worn (low spots) with so called
jet rod which makes nice flat beeds. I know not everybody has a lathe, which
I have two. Then I turned from the good surface into the built up welds until
I have a perfect surface. Then I came up with thick wall exaust pipe which
I tweeted a little bit until I got a good fit. Then I made a sleeve to fit the
bucket then pressed this sleeve over the bushing. At this time I have no clue
If this will work nothing to loose but a little time. Pressed these bushings in the
bucket with nut & bolt method. A project now getting all this alinement to slam
the pin in all alone I think the pin is heaver than I am. Like 4"X2feet heavy.
Now the good part = with many cans of think juice I took a 5gal hyd oil bucket
and made big spacer washers with a hole saw (for side shims) I dont know what
that stuff is but its bullit proof my friends clam im nuts, but I did it with nothing
to loose. All for $-0- junk stuff and it works (done during snow season)
and it is still tight.. Im sure you know someone with a lathe no lathe it cant be
done correctly

 

[sultan]

It sounds as though Volvo has caught up to Cat in the parts price department. How many hours are on this machine? My 315 has over 4,000 hours and I am not even thinking about replacement of any bushings or pins.

John Deere and Hitachi are no cheaper in the parts dept. either. I just looked at the prices for the pins and bushings in my 20 tonne deere and the parts were $3000. The parts would be around $5000 for a 330 deere.

For my (200 size) Deere, the bushings were around $200 each x 8, and the pins were around $350 each x 4.*

*I'm using round averages because different pins and bushings cost slightly different amounts.

Usually, the bucket pins should last 8k+ hours, so it does seem like premature wear. How bad is the slop in the pins (difference between max internal diameter of bushing and min diameter of pin)? If the slop is ~1mm, don't worry, but if it is over 3mm, then replace the pins that need replacing.

On my deere (that I recently bought used from a company that probably never heard of grease), I discovered that they had just changed the 4 pins, and replaced 7 of the 8 bushings. The one old bushing was so worn that only a shredded ring with a thickness of 0.15mm was left. The old bushing caused the pin to sit at an angle and slop around 9.7mm, damaging the other bushing. Anyways, I got lucky because there was just enough bushing left to prevent damage to the stick. So, I just changed the one bad bushing, and the damaged bushing was refusing to come out easily, so I just left it in (it was good enough for the limited hours the machine will be doing). The other really stupid thing the previous owner did was putting in a pin without grease fittings as the stick end pin. I got lucky that it was just that and I got away with a parts bill of 'just' $600.

As for changing just the stick pins and bushings and not the others, you can do that if the others aren't 'too bad' (i.e. they have under 2mm of slop). If the others are worn out, you may as well change them, as not doing so will prematurely wear the new pins and bushings.

 

[rshackleford]

is it usually pins and bushings that need replaced or could i get away with just bushings?

 

[joispoi]

If you replace just the bushings, the new ones will wear out faster if you reinstall the worn pins.

If the parts alone are $5k, I'd be shopping around for a lathe. You could also find a machine shop and find out what it would cost to have them build up and then turn the old pins.

 

[rshackleford]

i did the math again it is more like $5500.

i think i will be finding a machine shop.

 

[zxa]

to give you an idea....i"ve found a nice little video from dirtman2007 who is member here about changing the bushing on his volvo...

http://www.youtube.com/user/letsdig18#p/u/52/txAy8fy3F9w

seem to me $$5000.00 is very expensive....do you have to rebuilt the inside of your stick???

 

[rshackleford]

seem to me $$5000.00 is very expensive....do you have to rebuilt the inside of your stick???

no. price includes three pins, eight bushings, and some nuts, bolts, and shims.

 

[Cat Wrench]

If you replace just the bushings, the new ones will wear out faster if you reinstall the worn pins.

If the parts alone are $5k, I'd be shopping around for a lathe. You could also find a machine shop and find out what it would cost to have them build up and then turn the old pins.

I would not try to weld up your pins unless you want to find out what a broken pin looks like and experience a major failure that could result in serious injury. I have a customer that had a mechanic that suggested this so they tried it on a boom pin on a Komatsu 300-6. After repairing the pin boss on the house and line boring both the boom and house and major structural welding and replacing both of the boom cylinders (and a bill of about $30,000) he was back up and running three weeks later.

 

[cummins05]

Im with Catwrench on this Don't weld the pins. But then im used to high pin and bushing maint cost's

We dug alot of HOT lines and pretty much as soon as it showed wear the operator or myself wanted it fixed On a 230 size machine we would get 2500 hours or so it would then get flipped to earth works and a new machine replaced it or it would be refurbed.

 

[DGODGR]

I agree with the last (2) posts. The bucket pins on my 315 are $700 per pair (new from Cat). Obvioulsly the steel and lathe time alone are not worth that. There is a lot of metalurgy processes, in each of these components, to get them to perform the way they need to. You don't know how you will change the metalurgy when you weld it. Nor do you know how well the weld will bond to the pin. Especially when you turn it down to size. The new metal will be very thin.

 

[rshackleford]

i am waiting for a quote from these guys. anyone ever heard of them?

http://excavatorpins.com/

 

[EarthwurmJurm]

hi

here in NZ line boring, pins/bushes costs an arm and a leg.. yet there are lot's of slack operators who think regular greasing is not necessary ??

good luck.. it shouldn't be a chore to keep you're machine running tight

 

[Ian Marshall]

imengineering.org.uk

just happened to be looking at the site which someone told me about, cannot believe the prices people are being asked to pay for pins and bushes at main dealers. All we require is a sketch and the diameters to give you a quote