Center pin repair pricing

[logman81]

So my skidder needs some center section repair, replacing bushings and pins and there is a small amount of frame wear so that will need to be brought back to factory specs. So a guy I contacted me saying he can help me fix the problem and get it back to new again. He wants 100 bucks to help get the machine apart the rest of the way do what he needs to do to fix the pin holes and pull the machine back together to put new pins in. Does that sound like a fair price or am I going to have to shop around a bit?

[GRANITEstateMP]

Do you mean $1,000 or $100?  Most mobile guy's I know might show up for $100, but they haven't put a wrench on anything yet!

[bushmechanic]

Must be a 100 an hour I figures! Is he going to line bore the holes? Seems awful cheap to do the complete repair. I'd be wary of the quality of the work.

[logman81]

Sorry guys I meant 1000 bucks. He's not line boring he's using some other method what I dont know?

[mike_belben]

Find out what exactly hes gonna do.  

[WWright]

Find out what exactly hes gonna do.  

I agree 

[logman81]

I will hes coming by Friday after work to take a look at it. But any parts are on order  and should be here in a couple days.

[mike_belben]

I think i'd be leery of a thin bushing holding up over time. Oil impregnated 660 bronze is pretty tough and wear resistent but id want an 1/8" wall or thicker to drive in a long piece of it so it doesnt balloon on the way in.  

[logman81]

I wouldn't even consider doing anything like that.  For me its make the repair once and correctly so I will never have to do it again.

[mike_belben]

Well.. My personal opinion on pivots is that they probably should all have steel on bronze or brass.. But if ya think about it.. Its a ton of extra work for machine manufacturers, none do it so there is no expectation by the consumer to have bronzed bushed pivots and thus starting the process today would put that mfr at a disadvantage on build expense. And finally.. Worn out joints sell a lot of new iron.   I dont care how much you grease, steel on steel with dirt cant live forever. 

 A new pin, an oversize cut on the bore and a hearty bronze insert wouldnt be a hack repair at all IMO. I think it'd be an improvement.  But i look forward to hearing how this fellow intends to rebuild the joint. 

[logman81]

I think the whole reason it wore out was because it wasn't shimmed and allowed it to do so.

[logman81]

Parts are in now to make plans to get this project done.

[logman81]

I have a question for anyone that has done center pins and bushings on the b series tree farmers , once I'm ready to put it back together where do the shims go? I bought six of them not sure how many I will need?

[barbender]

Since spending the last 7 years in Ponsse forwarders, I've become a big fan of bronze bushings and self aligning spherical bushings. My machine gets greased once every 40 hours. No squeaks, squawks or noticeable wear. They really hold grease well. I started off greasing every day (coming from the construction world), then every other day. The problem is you end up with grease from the crane all over your windshield. Over time, I finally reduced it to the manufacturer specified 40 hour interval. Any construction equipment I was ever in was creaking and groaning if not greased daily.

[logman81]

This machine uses self aligning ball bushings on every pivot point.  I think my play is mostly coming from the lack of any shims and a little bit from the bushings. There is a very minimal amount of play from what I can currently tell in the pin holes in the frame less than 1/8 inch.

[barbender]

Those must've been updated already? I've never seen the spherical bushings on the older skidders.

[logman81]

Tree farmers have always used them as far as I know.

[Fether Hardwoods]

Clark skidders use spherical bearings also.

[logman81]

Yes they do.

[thecfarm]

Now I know what a spherical bearing is.

[barbender]

Hmm. I learned something new👍

[logman81]

Anyway I'll be splitting it tomorrow morning and ill.get to see what's up with it.

[Flyingpig]

It has spherical bearings in the frame? The wear is outside the bearing between it and the frame or between the bearing and the pin? Any clearance outside the bearing means the bore is toast and needs line boring. Those bearings are a slight crush fit. 1/8 of an in is a LOT of clearance. That's 0.125", pin to bearing clearance when new is only like 2-3 though per inch of bore diameter.

[logman81]

Yes and wear is in the pins and bushings. The bushing bores are fine I believe I will know exactly what is what later this morning.

[logman81]

Well everyone its apart! I am actually surprised how good the bores are. The bores are actually a tad small for the new pins so I need a guy to come machine them a thou or two and then all the new parts can go in and back together it goes! I think I got very lucky!

[logman81]

[img]http://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/23822/20181111_103241.jpg?

[logman81]

[Flyingpig]

Good call on doing it now, line boring is expensive. We're the bearings missing any pieces or broken? Usually with spherical bearings they break up at the end of their life cycle.

[mike_belben]

Nice

[mike_belben]

Btw, i recently stopped at a tractor shop about something and they had a simple angle iron frame in 2 of the bays on the concrete that looked like a basic sawmill bed.  One had screw thread jackstands with roller feet that travelled on the track and the other had a roller carriage with jackstands on it.  There was hold down tabs for strapping anything you wanted in place and an eye for a comalong to winch whichever end you wanted apart.  Absolutely brilliant.  Guy said it made splitting and rejoining a tractor a one hand job.  Just flip the comealong and pall the carriage back.  

Ill build one when i have a shop. 

[logman81]

No broken bearings and the bores were still very good so I caught it in time. But I have to get the holes to line up everything is tight now and tough to move.

[Flyingpig]

That's a good sign! It'll be just like brand new again.

[logman81]

Yes basically the whole machine has been rebuilt.

[logman81]

Any tricks for lining up the holes so I can put the pins in?

[mike_belben]

Ratchet straps or chain and binder, chisels or wedges to get things pushed up or down as needed.   Spud wrench or whatever home brewing it takes for drift pinning final alignment.  I grind a generous taper on every pin i can so it becomes a drift of its own.  

Wood makes a decent dowel.  Belt sand a stick to a decent fit by hitting the dark spots wherever it binds.  Knock in wood drift pin then knock it through with the real one.  Cut the wood one off with sawzall every few inches if needed for clearance to remove.

[logman81]

Thanks for all your help everyone it's back together and no more play in the center pins! Now waiting for the new fuel tank to be made and then I can paint and install that. Then replace a couple planetary brass pins and put the winch back on with new cable.

[logman81]

So skidder has been working out well since the rebuild recently pulls wood great but I think it's time to up grade!

[nativewolf]

Btw, i recently stopped at a tractor shop about something and they had a simple angle iron frame in 2 of the bays on the concrete that looked like a basic sawmill bed.  One had screw thread jackstands with roller feet that travelled on the track and the other had a roller carriage with jackstands on it.  There was hold down tabs for strapping anything you wanted in place and an eye for a comalong to winch whichever end you wanted apart.  Absolutely brilliant.  Guy said it made splitting and rejoining a tractor a one hand job.  Just flip the comealong and pall the carriage back.  

Ill build one when i have a shop.

Picture?

[logman81]

PM me

[Jeff]

PM sent.

[logman81]

Do what you have to do lol!

[Jeff]

Is that really what you want to say to me?

[mike_belben]

Btw, i recently stopped at a tractor shop about something and they had a simple angle iron frame in 2 of the bays on the concrete that looked like a basic sawmill bed.  One had screw thread jackstands with roller feet that travelled on the track and the other had a roller carriage with jackstands on it.  There was hold down tabs for strapping anything you wanted in place and an eye for a comalong to winch whichever end you wanted apart.  Absolutely brilliant.  Guy said it made splitting and rejoining a tractor a one hand job.  Just flip the comealong and pall the carriage back.  

Ill build one when i have a shop.

Picture?

Didnt take one but google "tractor splitting stands" image tab


Heres one

Master Splitting Kit for Tractor Clutch | REPXPERT Site GB

[logman81]

That's a very nice setup be easy to make.

[nativewolf]

@mike_belben Always amazed at what people do and take pictures of and then put on these interwebs.  Silly rabbit should have looked on google himself.

Maybe one day if the company grows up some more and I can find another mechanic I trust (frankly losing Warren has really depressed me) then we'll have to have one of those  there thangs.