Loose Shanks on Bucket

[rnexus]

My 955L has bolt on shanks. Every one has an inch or more movement. I'm guessing the bolt holes are worn pretty badly. Cutting edge is welded on and seems to be in good condition.

Should I weld the shanks to the cutting edge? Im under the assumption the shanks should not be loose at all. This is a farm 955L.

 

[CM1995]

Any pics?

We welded the end shanks on our 953C years ago due to the slop in them. The center shanks are still bolt on.

 

[rnexus]

Thanks for the reply.

 

[CM1995]

How many hours of use per year?

Since this is a farm machine I'd probably weld them up and keep going. How do the teeth fit on the shanks? Do you have issues loosing teeth?

 

[rnexus]

Teeth are rather loose, at least the ones I checked. I recently purchased the loader and just about finished doing repairs and tune ups so I can't comment on it losing teeth. Was a farm loader the past 20 years also but I think it got 400-700 hours on it during that time. I plan to use it about 150 hours this year and then probably 250+ each year after that for a few years. Mainly taking down trees, moving brush / branches, moving and smoothing ground, some driveways, and probably a basement or 2.

If the teeth are loose does that mean the hole through the shank could be worn? If thats the case, welding on the shank wouldn't be a good idea?

 

[rnexus]

Judging by the consistent look of all the teeth, I'd say it doesn't have a problem losing them, unless of course they are being lost, then found again. Previous 2 owners didn't really care for the machine, but they didn't beat it up either.

 

[CM1995]

The shanks themselves will wear even the part inside the tooth in addition to the pin holes.

We are having that issue on our 321DL's 42" bucket. We've lost a few here lately even with new pins. These are K series teeth with top pins and fortunately we can buy them aftermarket now.

However on a loader or a trackhoe there is some play in the teeth on the shank. Our 953 has the J series side pin teeth. They are loose but with new pins and retainers on a tooth swap we haven't lost one.

If you are going to weld the shanks up run it for 20-30 hrs and see how the teeth do. J series aftermarket teeth are not too expensive. $30 a piece?

 

[rnexus]

Sounds good. I will run it for a bit before I make a decision. I was considering attempting to insert shims inside the teeth, then weld to the shank. I have some high strength steel. Wondering if it would be a waste of time though and the steel would just get mashed up. The aftermarket teeth I'm seeing are $50 +, without pins.

 

[rnexus]

Actually, my mind must have been playing tricks on me. Teeth all seem tight to the shanks after I went to double check. It's only the shanks that are loose. I'll go ahead and weld the shanks to the cutting edge. Teeth look like they've got a fair amount of life left in them.

 

[CM1995]

We actually buy aftermarket Cat teeth at our Kommie dealer.. IIRC it was around $300 with tax for all 8 teeth, pins and retainers for our 953.

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[Tags]

I’ve had good luck welding the pin to the teeth stop the pin from walking out of the shank and tooth.

 

[Welder Dave]

If you built up enough weld on each side of the shank, even if the welds broke the weld metal would keep the teeth straight and from moving very much.