Can you change your own pins?

[emmett518]

Sorry for all the questions, but as a new owner, I'm amazed at the learning curve, and how much I don't know.

The inspection on my new backhoe says there is a bit of wear on the front bucket pins, and on the knuckle pin on the backhoe.

Can a backyard mechanic change these, or do you need special tools, a crane, and special expertise? And if I have to pay someone, do they come to you, or do you have to take the hoe to them?

Thanks

 

[Dave Neubert]

bushings need to be pressed in and out but I have done it with a big hammer. If you have access to a welder you can weld some beads on the inside of the bushings and it will shrink them and the will come right out

 

[Swetz]

emmett518,
I think what Dave is referring to above is the fact that if the pin is worn, there is a very good chance that the associated bushing could also be worn. Replacing just the pin would get rid of some of the play, but prolly would not bring it back to factory condition.

As far as your ability to replace the pins, that id a definite yes, but you must be very careful because the components on a TLB are very heavy, and could hurt you if you not take precautions.

I do not know your mechanical ability, but the bushings are doable as well, if you have the skill. A welder really aids in the removal as a bead of weld on the inner diameter of the bushing will cause it to shrink making it really easy to extract.

I recommend that you search YouTube and check out some videos of this task being performed, and decide for your self if you feel comfortable doing this.

Finally, there are mobile repair companies that will come to you and make repairs. You need to know that they charge you for this perk, however, you would also have to pay to have the machine moved as well.

Hope this helps, and enjoy the new machine...cant wait for photos...tractor porn is always good

 

[92U 3406]

Some weld inside the bushing usually shrinks them. Myself I prefer to slot them in half with an oxy-acetylene torch. Much faster but wouldn't recommend unless you're skilled with a torch. Easy to nick the bore if you're not carefull.

A round flap wheel on a die grinder inside the bore to clean up any rust or ridges helps greatly with installation. Usually in the field they get pressed in. Freezing the bushings in liquid nitrogen and heating up the bore is another common practice. Usually they fall right in.

 

[Bote]

I don't think my 580M has bushings on the front loader joints. I have some slop in them and have wondered how it's addressed.

 

[hosspuller]

A hollow ram hydraulic cylinder does a great job of pulling bushings into place.

 

[Bote]

What size hollow ram do you have Hosspuller? We used these in a shop I managed years ago and had an assortment of sizes, with some of them quote heavy.

 

[hosspuller]

What size hollow ram do you have Hosspuller? We used these in a shop I managed years ago and had an assortment of sizes, with some of them quote heavy.

Not wanting to struggle with a hammer and drift to replace bushings. Got a 30 ton cylinder with a 2 inch stroke through e-bay. It's massive and heavy, 7 inches tall, 4 inches diameter. 1 inch hollow center but relatively inexpensive. First time I used it with common 3/4 all thread from the big box store. I was pumping and not getting any bushing movement. Didn't know what was happening until I tried to move the nuts. The stuff didn't have the strength so it stretched. Now have 3 foot of B7 acme 3/4 all thread. I chose 3/4 so I could use my set of 3/4 sockets to pull bushings. I find putting the new bushing in the freezer helps to start it. Once it warms, the puller easily gets it into place.

 

[JL Sargent]

Don't get into all that. Take delivery on your new machine and get to know it. There is probably nothing to do on the bushing/pins. It's subjective anyway. Spend some time working with it and then later decide if you need to do any work on stuff. I wouldn't know how to operate one that didn't have a little play here and there. Doesn't hurt a thing.

 

[Jonas302]

Don't get into all that. Take delivery on your new machine and get to know it. There is probably nothing to do on the bushing/pins. It's subjective anyway. Spend some time working with it and then later decide if you need to do any work on stuff. I wouldn't know how to operate one that didn't have a little play here and there. Doesn't hurt a thing.

Very good advise
If later you do decide to work on them have someone experienced estimate the job to much wear and it gets into lineboring

 

[Bote]

My 580M is in pretty good shape overall but the bushings for the swing cylinders have slop. I won't do anything until they approach wearing through.

 

[JD955SC]

If you don’t have removable bushings then you have two options...linebore (welding up and cutting back to spec) or bore out and install bushings.
Like posted above, I’d see what you are dealing with and then decide if it’s worth the hassle of fixing or not. I always mention wear on inspection reports because there always is some and I try to put how much slop there is roughly if I can.

 

[Tinkerer]

My 580M is in pretty good shape overall but the bushings for the swing cylinders have slop. I won't do anything until they approach wearing through.

Rod eye bushings or cylinder barrel bushings ?
If they have "slop" in them they should be re-bushed soon.
It is quite common for bushings to get pounded loose in their bores.
If it is the barrel bushings and those bushings get pounded loose it will be very expensive to repair.

 

[Bote]

The loader bucket linkage has slop overall. If you grab the end of one of the bucket cylinders and give it a shake it will move nearly two inches side to side. I know there are some unlubricated joints in the linkage, but that is more movement than other 580s I've checked recently. (I admit, every time I see an idle and unattended 580M I stop and give it a shake) I wasn't planning on any more repairs until next winter but I'll check out the cylinder bushings. It appears that the bucket linkage can be serviced with the bucket resting on the ground.

 

[Bote]

The cylinder barrel bushings are tight. The bushings/spacers in the ends of the 4 bucket linkage bars are really worn. This is the source of most of the slop. It appears that the bucket linkage can be disassembled with the loader linkage in place. Anyone have a time estimate for disassembling the front bucket linkage? I don't plan on replacing the lower linkage bar bushings in the loader arms. I generally take the time estimate for a pro and multiply it by 3-4 for myself.

 

[SlatcoAu]

It always amazes me how a healthy dose of grease corrects a lot of pin slop issues. On my 580SM that feeds my trommel washplant (too many swings in a day to count) I can always tell when it needs to regreased as the swing goes from being nice/tight and stopping where I want to flopping around especially when fully out on the extendahoe. Hit the swing cylinders with a healthy shot from the Milwaukee electric grease gun and voila precise swing action returns.