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gearmatic 8 rebuild cost?

Started by logman81, February 07, 2015, 12:53:43 PM

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logman81

Friend has a gearmatic 8 winch on his skidder and would like to know how much it would roughly cost to rebuild it. This would include new bearings clutch and brake cylinders and new bands.
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mad murdock

That is a tough one to pin down until uou get into it. A lot of times the cast piece that the actuator (slave cyl) mount on and is supposed to rotate whenever you pull the winch in lever, is broken or in need of repair/replacement. Then of course there is always something else you find as your open it up. It may be worth looking for a suitable replacement in a Ramsey, Hercules, or newer Gearmatic or some other make that is serviceable and can be retrofitted. That said, if you were to take it to a shop to have them do it, I would be surprised if you would get it done for under 1k.
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

jocco

Logman  9's were more common on skidders, 8 on dozers, also 8a. Some parts interchange but as Murdock said you need a better idea what is wrong. Call a supplier and get some idea on bands, hydraulics and bearings. Also don't be to shook up at the fact some of this may be hard to find :o
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logman81

Thanks for the insight this is a Garrett model 10 skidder.  It needs a brake band and a push rod for the cylinder and bearing from what he knows but will know more once it is apart.
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jocco

Band: worst case it can be sent out and relined. Push rods and dog bones are obsolete you will have to remake or find used. Get number on bearings and that should be an easy one (should) ::) I will pm you with a supplier.
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logman81

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logman81

Parts availability is not looking so good for this winch any other suggestions?
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mad murdock

There were a lot of 8A's installed factory new on JD 1010  and other 10 series JD crawlers.  There is a forum JDcrawlers.com  that a little study may turn up more sources for winchdrum parts for them. The only other option IMO would be to fit a different winch of the same type or another type that was in operational condition.  What kind of budget does he have to work with?  Igland makes some nice new winches, that maybe could be adapted to work with his machine.  I am going to look into that myself on my model 15A when the money permits.  LM81, I actually did some digging into this question for my own edification as it is a bridge I will likely have to cross with my skidder in the near future.  I contacted Hud-Son, the Uniforest dealer here i the states, and tehy have a model of winch that would be able to be bolted on to any number of the older cable machines, it was quite expensive a proposition, a little shy of 20K.  If a guy did all the work himself, could probably do the whole thing for just under that amount.  Bad thing is it is a winch rated for 18,000 lbs, which isn't necessarily a "bad" thing, just a little overkill, IMO.  There are not a lot of options for the older smaller skidders anymore.  If a guy converted the PTO drive to run a substantial hydraulic pump, then there would be a few more options with a hydraulic winch, but they are slower in line speed than the PTO direct driven winches.  FWIW. Maybe it is an opportunity for someone to come up with either a redesign of an existing old winch, and use all the good parts, just retool an old winch with a "kit" to make it more serviceable and easier to run in todays world.  Things to think about.
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

logman81

 He found enough parts to make it work and order them up so should be working on it soon.
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mad murdock

I should also add the info to this thread that the US importer for Igland, said that they would not be inclined to import a winch head for installation or retrofit in a skidder, even though they do offer such a model on their website.  Maybe it is something they would be willing to do through their Canadian distributor?  I am willing to bet though that the cost would be equally as high, though both winches look to be very well built, and they offer options like remote/radio controls for the winch and a dual spool option on either one. The Uniforest one (with dual spools) is the same winchdrum that was installed on the Awassos mini skidder.  I am guessing that when those cable machines were new, probably almost 1/2 the cost of the machine was wrapped up in the expense of the winch installation. I am too used to buying used equipment, and not ready for the sticker shock of new stuff.
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

logman81

I like those little awassos skidders but to pricey for me.
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logman81

Ok guys he has decided to sell the skidder rather then fix it. He does have the parts for winch and it does need a little welding to the push blade. If anyone would like more info pm me.
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beenthere

Are you trying to sell the winch parts? or the skidder?
south central Wisconsin
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logman81

The whole skidder,  he has decided that he no longer wants to cut wood.
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lynde37avery

Had a gearmatic rebuild on my uncles 518 CAT about 10 years ago. It was $5,000. Scared me away from gearmatic winches I guess.
Detroit WHAT?

brendonv

Thats a nice little skider. Last we talked he wanted crazy money.
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logman81

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jocco

Log man what kind of skidder was this???
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maine tree farmer

I just did a minor rebuild on my 8a--new brake band, resurfaced clutch bands, clutch cylinder hyd. hose etc. Davco in Farmington, Maine was able to get what I needed. My old brake band was not worth resurfacing so they had a new one made up. It works as good as new and pays out cable perfectly. I did worry it would be too tight, but that was not the case. I should have done it years ago.

tantoy

Quote from: maine tree farmer on February 22, 2015, 10:57:22 AM
I just did a minor rebuild on my 8a--new brake band, resurfaced clutch bands, clutch cylinder hyd. hose etc. Davco in Farmington, Maine was able to get what I needed. My old brake band was not worth resurfacing so they had a new one made up. It works as good as new and pays out cable perfectly. I did worry it would be too tight, but that was not the case. I should have done it years ago.
Maine T F, Did they have this hose inside the winch?


 
1968 Garrett 20 Skidder
1991 Ford 1920 Tractor/Loader
2000 Takeuchi tb135 Excavator
Stihl 020, 041 Super, 084
Husqvarna 61, 181SE, 357XP

logman81

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maine tree farmer

Very similar hose except instead of the one piece goose-neck mine has a coupling and nipple.

logman81

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