ARRGGH! My MD 128 fell over!!

LKasdorf · May 12, 2003, 08:59:24 AM

While in the process of restoring my mobile dimension 128 this weekend, I had a mishap.

I had removed the front and rear cross beams (which are rotten), the crossbeam iron rails with rack gear, and the sliding shoe assemblies. I moved the motor to the center of the track and jacked up each end of the track and supported it. I sandblasted and primed all the parts, and each end of the track, about 4' in. The next step was to spray the orange top coat.

I had to move the whole rig a bit in order for my air hose to reach in order to do the topcoat of paint. Even though I strapped the track down quite well and was being very careful, I hit a bump and the whole rail and engine fell over!

The points of impact were the air cleaner, the big blade, and the top edger. I was horrified to see that the big blade was being deflected about 1- 2", and the edger was deflected at least 1". The blades were hitting parts of the trailer.

In a junkyard wars type frenzy, I raided my steel scrap pile, found a 12' section of angle iron, and weled a loop at one end. I tied a rope to this, and slipped it under the engine mounting plate and clamped it in place. With such a long arm, I was able to pull the engine and track back upright.

Immediate damage report is: air cleaner sheet metal bent, internal plastic insert broken. Carb looks ok!

Some bent sheet metal - mostly the edger guard, and the main blade guard (which was kinda bent up anyway).

Remarkably, both of the bent blades showed no visible signs of bending once I got the thing back upright, even though they were severely bent from the weight of the engine. However, I'm sure they are not straight anymore and will need hammering. I was planning to have that done anyway.

Somewhat disturbing is the fact that I cannot get the carriage to disengage from the rack gear- I release the clutch lock lever, and it should allow me to roll the carriage, but it doesn't. I can see the little clutch yoke moving, but it is staying locked for some reason.

I was planning to tear the thing down anyway to clean and re-belt, so I guess I'll see what other damage was done by my bonehead maneuver.

Oh well, at least nobody was hurt.

Kevin · May 12, 2003, 09:24:01 AM

That still has to hurt!
I have to make sure my LT-15 is pinned to the track every time I move the bed or there's a good chance it could run down to the low end and jump off.
I think that would be enough to put me over the edge. ;D

DanG · May 12, 2003, 09:40:00 AM

OUCHHH!

I'll bet that gave you some dispeptic moments. Glad there was no big damage done, but all those little things can add up on you. I think I'd just go ahead and pull the engine to make the head less top-heavy. This will give you better access to all the other plunder that lives below and around the engine.

I've got a new problem with mine, as well. I'm hearing some unseemly noises from within the engine, and getting a lot of pressure in the crankcase. Gotta pull the heads, and maybe the jugs to see what's going on. :-/

biziedizie · May 12, 2003, 09:41:14 AM

Kevin my mill has bumpers at the end of the track doesn't yours? My mill goes downhill and it will roll to the end if I take my time re-stacking the boards.

Steve

Paul_H · May 12, 2003, 11:04:47 AM

Lynn,
Did you try to roll the engine over to unlock the pinion?

I hope the damage is minimal.

DanG
We just had our engine rebuilt this Spring.There was some colour showing on the bearings,so it was time.The cost was reasonable.

Good Luck on the engine.

Kevin · May 12, 2003, 11:16:18 AM

There is a stop but I think if it was a good jolt the head might jump off.
I'm thinking if the weight of the head tipped the entire mill and the head ran free down to the low end it might jump the track.
I hope I never find out.

sawmill_john · May 15, 2003, 01:29:51 AM

LKasdorf, sorry to hear of your mis-hap it happens more than you know, the mds is a little top heavy and I always double and triple check things when moving or working on one, I can't even guess how many times I've heard the same story from guys.

DanG, check out your head torque and valve adjustment, also check the crank end play, there shouldn't be any. Try pulling the plugs out and rotate it over by hand, it should roll over smooth, if you've got any tight spots you may have spun a bearing, the other thing that can happen is small pieces of muffler (rusty pieces) can get sucked back into the engine and beat the piston and head up. Sorry to sugest all these bad things I just hope its not serious.

If any of you guys are going to Bangor stop in and say Hi to Don and Steve we're compeating in the shoot out this year.

John