More Pics. 230 Project

larry1 · August 04, 2015, 10:07:32 PM

Hope I'm hot boring you guys . You can see where my finger is pointing how the steel walking beam bracket is broke -- never seen anything like it in my life . I lifted the front of the machine with my loader and the front axle rocks , so the pins are not seized . Still don't know how that break could of happened . Going to scarf and weld tomorrow if it's not raining .

Larry --ont.

kiko · August 04, 2015, 10:58:11 PM

Me personally, I never tire of seeing skidder pictures especially a repair/rebuild documentary. Only v ing all the way through and low slag including weld might hold that. It appears at least part of that cradle support has been homemade previously .

bushmechanic · August 05, 2015, 04:50:59 AM

I love to see these pic's also, just keep in mind that somewhere down the road someone else will find these useful when their frame breaks. I haven't seen one break there before but on the 230D forwarder's just about every one will crack on the two side plates ahead of that piece of heavy plate. I have repaired a few of the forwarders and I added a 3/8 plate on the top to beef it up. I'm not sure you can plate that due to the close proximity of the bell housing and reverser box. There's nothing in the way behind the plate so you could run a piece of round stock as a fishplate. You would have to use the same thickness round bar as the plate that's there now one inch I suspect. Good luck Larry and you keep those pic's comming. 8)

grassfed · August 05, 2015, 06:16:39 AM

That looks like metal fatigue from too much stress focused in a small spot. Probably every time the axle rocks to one side and hits its limit that spot gets a big load. Overtime the metal crystallises. It is a great example of bad engineering. If you can cut out and replace the whole piece and then put a couple of fish plates on top that spread the load wider, Kind of leaf spring shaped and have a long one on the bottom and shorter one on the top so all of the force is not dumped in one spot, you could make it last longer the next time. If there is not enough room to do that just replacing that piece should make it last as long as it did the first time.

larry1 · August 05, 2015, 09:08:23 AM

Yes , my first thoughts were to order a new bracket , but I think between welding and fish plating it will probably last me a long time . My 40 acres that I just bought this winter is fairly flat ( lucky ) and I know what these 230's are capable of because I operated them before -- never overload or hot rod them. I certainly appreciate all of your advice on this forum .

More pics to follow --Larry -ont.

deerguy · August 05, 2015, 12:10:04 PM

Hey Larry we never get bored looking at the pic's and guys like me always learn something. The fact that we're both from Ontario and you're gaining frame repair experience might come in handy some day on my ol' 330 !! Good luck with the weld and please let us see the repaired product.

Deerguy

Pine Ridge · August 05, 2015, 04:15:50 PM

I'm like the rest of the guys on here, always interested in whats going on in the logging and chainsaw world, i don't post much but i usually have to get on here at least once a day to see whats going on. Good luck with the repairs.

lopet · August 09, 2015, 10:29:03 AM

Quote from: larry1 on August 04, 2015, 10:07:32 PM
Still don't know how that break could of happened .

Making a wheelie and let the machine come pounding down when putting the clutch in ????
I ' ve seen several operators doing that, especially when they do not own the machine.

coxy · August 09, 2015, 12:55:11 PM

Quote from: lopet on August 09, 2015, 10:29:03 AM
Quote from: larry1 on August 04, 2015, 10:07:32 PM
Still don't know how that break could of happened .

Making a wheelie and let the machine come pounding down when putting the clutch in ????
I ' ve seen several operators doing that, especially when they do not own the machine.

that is how its done by doing wheelies my buddys son broke theres a half dozen times the last time it broke it was big bucks to fix it broke the cradle cracked the axle housing and frame

and broke the same thing in the pic above it took the guy a week to weld it (think he milked it a little )to teach him a lesson its been about 2 years with out braking it think his dad told him he was going to brake him next time :D and like every one else said we never get sick of looking at pics

larry1 · August 09, 2015, 09:45:15 PM

Yes I agree that a wheelie would break it , I always have one hand on the winch lever ready to drop the hitch and never do wheelies . I also collect and pull antique tractors , most of the time we ride the rear wheels and come down pretty hard on them front axels , but so far no breaks .

coxy · August 10, 2015, 06:55:07 AM

I think with a tractor there is no over hang of weight on the front wheels to help brake things

Maine logger88 · August 10, 2015, 06:14:46 PM

I did see a JD40 tractor broke in two once from trying to twitch a big spruce lol but those didn't have very big centers. Whenever the front tires come off the ground in a skidder you can pus the clutch and brakes at the same time the ride it down easy with the brakes. Still probably not good for the center pins tho ;D

Mopar70 · August 10, 2015, 09:48:22 PM

When I Built my first struggle buggy I had a problem with wheelies breaking my front leaf springs.
I poured a concrete counter weight onto the front end to fix the wheelie problem.
Then I broke 2 front axles due to front wheel hop under a load.
I removed one of the two front tire chains to allow a wheel to free spin under a load.
No front end outages since.
I know you guys are talking oranges to my apples but I'm enjoying the posts!

larry1 · August 10, 2015, 10:15:16 PM

Well guys , today I put the Detroit back in without any issues .Didn't really get a chance to steam it off or paint it . I need to adjust the clutch tomorrow , install fresh oil , fuel , and fire her up . Too bad that I know nothing about ytube or you could hear her scream.

larry1 · August 10, 2015, 10:27:41 PM

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Quote from: larry1 on August 04, 2015, 10:07:32 PM

Not real good with adding pics. on this forum ( sorry guys ) I installed the Detroit today without any issues except adjusting the clutch . Tomorrow it's time to add fresh fuel, oil , and fire her up . It's to bad I can't use ytube to let you guys hear her running .

Hope I'm hot boring you guys . You can see where my finger is pointing how the steel walking beam bracket is broke -- never seen anything like it in my life . I lifted the front of the machine with my loader and the front axle rocks , so the pins are not seized . Still don't know how that break could of happened . Going to scarf and weld tomorrow if it's not raining .

Larry --ont.