BT900 Refurbishment and fun

[Nicksacco]

Hello All.

After finishing my L35 and wanting to actually use it, the time has come to refurb the backhoe.
Come join me on this journey through rust, grease, leaking seals, and bad hoses to a land not so far away.
Warning: If you decide to do this work, have lots of sacrificial clothes, Advil and a good sense of humour!

Both swing cylinders had leaks around the dust seals, and I knew the hoses were all the wrong length and old. Pins and/or bushings are worn from lack of grease - but throw some elbow grease and a few parts at it, and heck...
This post deals with the swing cylinders and related, because I haven't yet completed the Dipper and bucket cylinders.

I also discovered a few things I thought I'd pass on to y'all that you may or may not know about.

Here are some pics of the BEFORE and AFTER with some notes.

I had to heat up the Pin areas for the swing cylinders/body to remove their pins which were rusted in place. After using a lot of PB Blaster and heat, I cut off the mounting bracket on the pins (you can see the bolt holes in the top for them) and then I used a 1" steel rod about a foot long and my trusty mallet to beat the pins from the top and out the bottom.

Dipper

Top support for the swing cylinders

Right Swing Cylinder (Left is basically same cylinder)

Right Swing Cylinder

To remove the paint, I used the new (and expensive Kleen Strip Premium). No more Methyl Chloride folks. That is unless you're in a business. This actually works but still not as good as the old stuff.

Then it got interesting. I actually found part numbers and dates on the cylinders so I took their respective pictures.

Note that there are ORINGS under the caps shown here.

Powdercoating primer and final color. Same for the hard lines.

Completed with new bushings pressed in the rods after powdercoating.

CONTINUED

 

[Nicksacco]

I don't know why the color looks weird here, but the correct Orange II as above is really the correct color.

Hard lines need an ORING as well.

Swing Body got a nice cleaning and fresh paint as well.
I use the Kubota paint thinned about 15% with Xylene and then add Majic Hardener.
I use a TCP Global 33 gun with their MPS paint system.

As you can see I've still got more painting to do!

I had to thank Neil over at Messicks for their Parts department. The L35, being an old tractor, the OEM hoses were hard to find. Why OEM you ask? Only because I had no idea how long the hoses should be.
Anyway, their Parts guy had one hose in stock and gave me 3 different vendors around the USA showing they had a different hose!

The black in the photo is Herculiner rolled and brushed onto the operator's station and the floor of the tractor - good stuff.

I'm currently awaiting bushings for the swing cylinder mounting spots. They move slightly as the backhoe moves from side to side.

Anyway I thought you all would enjoy the journey... Remember to always grease your pins!

 

[hagrid]

Remember to always grease your pins!

This cannot be overstated.

I've done jobs where I had to gouge out worn bushings on CATs and JD equipment and weld in replacements. That part is relatively easy... reaming the new bushing with a magnetic base drill because the weld shrunk it is a miserable task.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Thanks for posting this. The swing in my backhoe has lots of play. Another job when I get around to it. You did all the work with it on the tractor? My biggest concern is wear on the cylinder trunnions. Did you find much. How'd you get the bushings out?

 

[fried1765]

I don't know why the color looks weird here, but the correct Orange II as above is really the correct color.



View attachment 100700

Hard lines need an ORING as well.

View attachment 100701

Swing Body got a nice cleaning and fresh paint as well.
I use the Kubota paint thinned about 15% with Xylene and then add Majic Hardener.
I use a TCP Global 33 gun with their MPS paint system.

As you can see I've still got more painting to do!

View attachment 100703

View attachment 100704

View attachment 100705

I had to thank Neil over at Messicks for their Parts department. The L35, being an old tractor, the OEM hoses were hard to find. Why OEM you ask? Only because I had no idea how long the hoses should be.
Anyway, their Parts guy had one hose in stock and gave me 3 different vendors around the USA showing they had a different hose!

The black in the photo is Herculiner rolled and brushed onto the operator's station and the floor of the tractor - good stuff.

I'm currently awaiting bushings for the swing cylinder mounting spots. They move slightly as the backhoe moves from side to side.

Anyway I thought you all would enjoy the journey... Remember to always grease your pins!

I brushed/rolled Herculiner with great success, on my Ford 1920.
Looks excellent..... 5 years later.
My 2006 Kubota L48TLB did not come to me with a BH station floor mat.
I have original OEM Kubota orange paint on that part of the deck.
Do you know if these small commercial Kubota machines originally had a rubber mat at the BH operator station?

I would never buy replacement mats, as all mats trap dirt beneath, and are a perfect place for rust to form/grow.
Herculiner is the obvious mat replacement answer!

Your L35 is looking great!

 

[Nicksacco]

Thanks for your nice comments.
I've still got some work as you can see.

@PoTreeBoy you're gonna love this - the latch handles are rusted and I'm not in the mood to fight them at the moment. Therefore I can't remove the backhoe. The plan is to get the majority of the work done, then come back and with the tractor's rear wheels removed to make more work room, work on those latch handles so I can get them loose. If I can't get them to work, I'll cut them to remove and make new ones!
What a pain eh? I think this poor old machine was left to die.

As for the cylinder mountings. they are pitted, but not bad. The top bushings are better than the lower bushings since the lower ones catch all the crud. The top bushes, I will press out and replace.
The bottoms aren't terrible, but I will likely have to cut them from the inside and then bang them out.
Then once I get everything nice, I can bang the new ones in from the bottom. At least that's the current plan. We shall see.

I've got an idea to make a steel plate to cover those bottoms because they will always collect dirt and junk. Filled with grease, they will last forever.

If your cylinder mounting points are substantially worn, I'm thinking possible 2 options:
1) Spray welding or similar and then machining back to the correct size for the new bushings.
2) Machining to a smaller diameter, then welding on a permanent bushing that would be smaller than the actual bushing so it would fit.
Don't know if you know a machine shop or how much you want to spend, but I would guess that this would be cheaper than new cylinders (If still available).

There is a very cool Youtuber called Abom79. You could possibly contact him for advice. He has a fantastic machine shop. Another one is ToppermachineLLC. I've seen these guys do some amazing stuff.

@fried1765 thank you again, no the parts manual doesn't list any floor mat for the backhoe's operator's station. I totally agree with you on the Herculiner. It works well and after recreating the tractor's floor, I used it there as well. Best decision to use this product.

 

[Nicksacco]

I meant to also show a cylinder tool I made. I don't like many of the commercial ones, so I made this one and it works quite well.
It fits almost all of the L35's cylinders except for the FEL.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Thanks Nick
I've been using mine to dig stumps clearing a spot to build a shed/shop to work on it. Maybe I'll get to it someday. Trying to keep it well greased in the meantime.
My latches aren't very rusty, but I suspect it has never been removed in ~20 years so it probably won't be easy.
I like your tool. I bought an adjustable one that has worked, but doesn't seem real sturdy.

 

[Nicksacco]

Thanks Nick
I've been using mine to dig stumps clearing a spot to build a shed/shop to work on it. Maybe I'll get to it someday. Trying to keep it well greased in the meantime.
My latches aren't very rusty, but I suspect it has never been removed in ~20 years so it probably won't be easy.
I like your tool. I bought an adjustable one that has worked, but doesn't seem real sturdy.

I'm sure you've done a better job of maintenance than mine had received.
Many of the fittings on mine were clogged and the grease was like concrete.

The swing cylinders have two 45 deg fittings on the bottom and likely two regular straight fittings on the
top that screw to the top cylinder support - what a chunk of steel this is! if these are clear you should be ok until you get your place built. Your tractor will thank you!

As you know the latch handles are basically tubes that rotate on studs - Well, mine don't rotate and of course they've been painted over! What a pain. I think I'll install grease fittings on them when I get to that portion of the job.

 

[12251hd]

Great work on your BH. I have a 2000 L35 LTB. They are great machines. Unfortunately many were used in the renatal business and were abused and left to sit outside. I use a local hose shop for all my hoses--measure and fit. Even though my machine has always been stored inside the shed, believe I have replace every hose on it. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[fried1765]

Thanks Nick
I've been using mine to dig stumps clearing a spot to build a shed/shop to work on it. Maybe I'll get to it someday. Trying to keep it well greased in the meantime.
My latches aren't very rusty, but I suspect it has never been removed in ~20 years so it probably won't be easy.
I like your tool. I bought an adjustable one that has worked, but doesn't seem real sturdy.

"Dig stumps"??

I find digging stumps best defined as ......digging an open pit mine,..... with the accompanying mess.
In an effort to minimize the mess, I am about to buy a root ripper for my BT 1100 hoe. (I need shipment to NE, and am not yet there to receive).
The root ripper should rip out roots/stumps with less mess, and do the job much more rapidly, since no purposeful hole is necessary.

There seem to be few makers of root rippers to fit my L48 Q/A.
There is a seller on E-Bay with a 15" ripper, but that is not deep enough for my wants.
There is another E-Bay seller with a 24-1/2" ripper but that is $1133 plus $71 tax, plus shipping ($100?) = $1300 plus!
By internet accident though, I found a third seller,.... and with a 28" ripper.
Made by a small manufacturer in Carrollton, GA......Oxthumbs.com.

The Ox thumbs ripper ain't cheap either,( no tax, shipping included - $XXX less) but at 28", rips deeper than others.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

"Dig stumps"??

I find digging stumps best defined as ......digging an open pit mine, with the accompanying mess.
In an effort to minimize the mess, I am about to buy a root ripper for my BT 1100 hoe.
The root ripper should rip out roots/stumps with less mess, and do the job much more rapidly, since no purposeful hole is necessary.

For some reason, there seem to be only about 3 makers of root rippers to fit my L48 Q/A.
There is a seller on E-Bay with a 15" ripper, but that is not deep enough for my wants.
There is another internet seller with a 24-1/2" ripper but that is $1133 plus tax, plus shipping ($100).
I found a third seller though, with a 28" ripper (also on E-Bay, and that is the one I am going to buy.
Made by a small manufacturer in Carrollton, GA......Oxthumbs.com.

It ain't cheap either, but rips deeper than the others, and I like the way it looks.

I don't think a ripper would have gotten those pine stumps out. I had to dig 6'+ to get a couple out. It took Katy grunting to get them out of the hole and to the dump. Back filling and tamping the fill took almost as long as digging the holes.

 

[fried1765]

I don't think a ripper would have gotten those pine stumps out. I had to dig 6'+ to get a couple out. It took Katy grunting to get them out of the hole and to the dump. Back filling and tamping the fill took almost as long as digging the holes.

I do understand the pine stump issue.
I have some 40'+ pines, and they do have a miserably long tap root.

I want a ripper for locust stumps, and Ailanthus.
The locust have very shallow root systems, the Ailanthus...not so much, but their roots break easily.
If I do need to remove any pine trees, I am hopeful that a 28" deep ripper would do enough damage, that I might be able to push the entire pine over, including stump.
Pine removal is not an expected primary use for my ripper.