Cat 446b extendahoe ram rebuild nightmare.

[gary808]

This simple ram rebuild bit us in the ass.
We're repacking all the rams on our 446b and left the extendahoe ram rill last. One pin came out fairly easy but the second pin on the top gave us hell all day.
Heat, oil, cool, hammer repeat.
Then we broke out the 100 ton ram and welded on a press frame.
Got it to 80 tons and got the heat on it and still not a budge. Bent our puller blocks and blew our welds off.

We gave in and just torched the pin and got the ram out and figured press one side at a time.
With the ram on a single side and 80 tons and heat not a budge!
So I split the bushings with the torch and gave it a go again and still nothing.
Broke down and cut the whole bushings out.
Gonna have to machine up a new pin and new weld in bushings.
Anyone else experience this? It's only around a inch in diameter to.

 

[gary808]

 

[Spangles]

oh boy...that's a messy one. Perhaps lack of lubrication got the pin stuck?

Spangles

 

[gary808]

oh boy...that's a messy one. Perhaps lack of lubrication got the pin stuck?

Spangles

It just kept going down hill. Cat didn't put a grease fitting on those pins.
We were contemplating just running the machine without doing the seals but it's a pretty big drip.

 

[Cmark]

I know it's a bit late, but you could have saved a lot of work by blowing out the middle of the pins instead of cutting the bosses.

 

[gary808]

I thought about it but they are almost 6 inche's long so I figured that would be a messy job.
Kinda wish I tried that before splitting the bosses.

 

[gary808]

Got one side turned just one more and the pin.

 

[gary808]

Just have to fit it all now ans weld it back together.
Pays to keep all your old rams, the shafting makes good pins and bushings.
We drilled these a few thousandths under then bored them to spec.
This round were drilling grease fittings in it.

 

[hammertime]

You are doing great work. I have never heard anyone brag that fixing an extendahoe ram was easy. Every time it seems to be a big pain with quite the story. You will be happy when you are finished !

 

[gary808]

Here is the pin and bushings, going to pick up some rods this morning.
But yeah I have heard some stories but haven't experienced it lol.

 

[oilslick]

Nice work, looks like one hell of a lot of work and engineering on the fly.

 

[gary808]

Thanks, it's been one of those projects that escalated lol. It's finally back together today, it gave us hell till the end. We got the stinking ram installed but couldn't get the darn rod end to fit between the bushings in the extendahoe stick. Took us up till dark to finally get the keeps back in.
I see why people steer clear of extendahoes lol.

 

[Honcho]

Could it happen that you been pushin it wrong way. May be you shoulda tried from the other side

 

[Kona Jake]

This simple ram rebuild bit us in the ass.
We're repacking all the rams on our 446b and left the extendahoe ram rill last. One pin came out fairly easy but the second pin on the top gave us hell all day.
Heat, oil, cool, hammer repeat.
Then we broke out the 100 ton ram and welded on a press frame.
Got it to 80 tons and got the heat on it and still not a budge. Bent our puller blocks and blew our welds off.

We gave in and just torched the pin and got the ram out and figured press one side at a time.
With the ram on a single side and 80 tons and heat not a budge!
So I split the bushings with the torch and gave it a go again and still nothing.
Broke down and cut the whole bushings out.
Gonna have to machine up a new pin and new weld in bushings.
Anyone else experience this? It's only around an inch in diameter to.

Hi, you did right.This is not unexpected when it comes pins that have been welded into place from how many years since it was ever removed, so what you had to do is not unexpected, how you completed the job is what it took to get the job done, that's all that is important.. Now is what you do is account for your time total it and think how you could have minimised your time, knowing now that a "pin" may not come out, but still, all in all, it is what it is so chalk it up to how you can best use this experience in the future,

 

[gary808]

Could it happen that you been pushin it wrong way. May be you shoulda tried from the other side

We double checked the pin before we started pressing. It was a simple straight pin with a inner circlclip on each end.
Problem was the bosses were 5 inches wide and the circlips held water in them, probably since the machine was new.