BGB woes

[thedaddycat 40]

Well, if you started a pool to see how long it would take to find the weak point in my tractor after getting the JBJr., it was about two hard days. I blew out the bottom rear bolt hole castings on the BGB. Now I'm looking at pulling a BGB from one of the 725's to slap in there. How well would a stiffening plate work if it went from the electric lift mounting points(bolts on frame forward of parking brake lever) back to the side bolts on the BGB? In any event, I'm putting the Serf on e-Bay. It's got the original Serial No. sticker (001793) if anyone's interested in a project.

[Kent 434]

Wow! Certainly makes me understand why they used such an extensive subframe on the oldies with the factory loaders... The foot-draggin' Clubhouse Custodian...

[Drigon 0]

Wow... the tires however yet in order or? Gerhard Amerhauser

[thedaddycat 40]

I did a rough template yesterday to make a support plate. It measures out at about 6" X 14". The question still remains, would that give enough additional support between the frame and the BGB? I can make it out of as thick a steel plate as needed, but there may be interference problems over 3/8" or 1/2". I also thought of putting a strut between the front axle hitch mounting points and the center PTO mounting holes. Both options would distribute stress directly to the side plates between the BGB and transaxle. Is either one better than the other(or any good at all, for that matter)? Dutch, Smilin' Sam, Kent, anyone???

[SmilinSam 2,849]

If you think it would help I would run a brace from the lift holes back to the transmission side frame plates. Should do the same thing without trying to fit it to the bottom hole on the BGB. I had to run similar braces on my DA 916 with the loader on it, only I went from the loader frame to the tranny plates. I can't think though that the JBJR was the sole cause of this damage. My first thought was whether the bolts on the case were a little loose or not. The second thing on my mind was if you were ramming the bucket into packed material trying to "dig Both of these would do the damage you have shown in conjunction with the bucket. ". Its too easy to get carried away and ask more of these tractors than they are capable of with some of the equipment available.Not saying "this" was the case here. I think there was a discussion on this back when the JBJR's were being developed for our machines. You may also have trouble using the older gear box as the shafts are different from old to new. I had the same damage to the box in my DA and I just got a used case off the shelf and carefully pressed out the bearings(which were in good shape) and reused them all along with new seals.

[JordB110 0]

It might be possible to fill in the bolt holes with weld, then weld up around the holes for extra strength. The BGB could the be drilled and tapped to accept the origional bolts. Just an idea. JordB110

[Kent 434]

With NO firsthand experience, I'll offer my opinions, having given this quite a bit of thought in relation to a building/buying a loader. I have a JBjr also... though the only RBT tractor I've had was salvaged for parts to convert by B-210 to a Sunstrand hydro. 1. Wouldn't a strut underneath possibly get in the way of a mower deck? 2. I think you're on the right track with your plates. I'd try bridging the entire BGB (and its connections to the front frame and rear frame arms) with a plate -- I'd think 3/8" would be thick enough, especially if it is good quality steel. The rear frame arms are no thicker than that, are they? My 2 cents... The foot-draggin' Clubhouse Custodian...

[PatRarick 0]

The front axle should be taking the weight of the Johnny Bucket, so that shouldn't put any stress on the bolts of the gearbox. Ramming into the dirt to get a scoop would put stress on those bolts, but wouldn't that stress make the bolt holes blow out the rear, rather than the front? Somebody correct me if my assumptions are wrong. Though I have seen it do some amazing things, I seriously doubt that this is a job for JB weld. If you wind up going that route, let us know how it holds up. Pat

[thedaddycat 40]

My project is two-fold, raise and level the front yard along with replacing the too sandy soil in the flower bed. I was working in a continuous loop to scoop and dump witout having to stop. I kept it in second gear, low for scooping and high for transit. I ran the tiller through the bed first to loosen it. The upper layers went rather easily except around an old stump. I used the mouldboard plow to rip the roots up so I could cut them off. While I was at it I plowed the bed again, loosening the rocky layer of soil. Below that was the sand with no rocks. I was scraping a little off the top on each pass I made, "pushing the pile" as the excess was carried forward to form a ramp as the bed got lower and lower. I rarely had to stop and back up, though I did try to get as much as I could with each scoop. When the ramp got too big of a hump I would make a set of passes from the other side to cut it down to grass level again. It wound up getting pretty steep once most of the bed had been lowered. Here is a 6' fence post on the ramp, it's about the same length as my tractor without JBJr. or weight "tail". I did wind up having quite full buckets scooping into that pile as I went up it. I did wind up having only three wheels on the ground at times due to steepness of ramp and angle of travel. That's how I knew to cut the hump down.... I imagine that was quite a strain, with the loaded tires, front and rear wheel weights, full bucket, and weight tail with 2 collar weights. I also managed to wear out the trip rope on the JBJr., eventually breaking it. I will probably make an extension for the trip lever to lower effort and mount a pulley for the rope to ride in. Maybe I was pushing the envelope a little too hard? As I went across the yard, I dumped successive loads closer to the low end, gradually raising it up by about 18" or so here. As to the fix, I'm going to try JB Weld to repair the bolt holes, then re-tap the threads. I'm thinking I'll use the plates bolted with all three BGB side bolts and the lift mount bolts. There are also two other bolts on the left side for a belt guard bracket and one on the right for the variable drive bracket that I will use. I'm considering adding two more bolts on the right and one on the left to make six bolts on each side to the rear. On the frame side there are also a few other bolts I can use, like the Running Board mounting bolts(see Dutch, a new use for them!!!). By using these existing bolts I also will need longer plates which will improve stress distribution. I see the struts as an additional means of stress distribution. I would make them attach to the front with the same pins to the same points at the same time as the JBJr. or plow. The center PTO mounts on the rear side plates directly and the 1/2" holes are readily accessible. I'm sure a fast attachment method could be worked out so you could mount it as needed for heavy work or remove it for clearance for the mower deck. Those are my thoughts, any suggestions for modifications or improvement are welcome. Sam, I had the tractor down to bare frame in March. When I put it back together I cleaned all the parts and painted most everything. I replaced any questionable hardware, putting new Grade 8 bolts into the front of the BGB(but not the sides). Everything was assembled using removable strength LocTite, and I don't think anything got loose before the bolt holes broke. When I had it apart I noticed the right side of the transaxle had a sizable part of the axle support tube and case brazed back in place. I don't know what happened or the force involved to break that casting, but if it had that kind of damage before there may have been pre-existing cracks in the BGB that the added stress pushed to failure.