Bushhog, Gearbox or spindle.

[Eric McCarthy]

I have a slight booboo with my bush hog and I'm not sure if I need to replace the entire gear box or just a spindle. It took a helluva hit a while back and the bush hog wobbles like crazy all over the place. I looked underneath there today and I could grab the stump jumper and shake the entire blade assembly side to side and see it wobble at the spindle. So I'm not sure if I can get away with just a spindle or do I need a whole new gear box?

I reckon I'll crawl under there in the am and take a better look at things.
Thanks kids!

 

[Sam427]

I hit a buried cable with my Woods and it sheared the input shaft off. They wouldn't sell just the shaft, I have to buy the whole gearbox. Lesson to all with a slip clutch and the shear bolt, used equipment may not have the correct parts in them, mine had a grade 8 bolt in it, and the clutch was froze up from sitting out in the weather, viola, broke shaft!

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Agri Supply has a gear box pretty cheap for about 100 bucks. I wasn't sure if the spindle could be replaced or if I had to replace the whole gearbox. So it looks like a new gearbox is in the future.

THANKS!

 

[thirtyacres]

Lesson to all with a slip clutch and the shear bolt, used equipment may not have the correct parts in them, mine had a grade 8 bolt in it, and the clutch was froze up from sitting out in the weather, viola, broke shaft!

So........what grade shear bolt should be used on brush hogs........and how do you tell the grade number?

Thanks.......bob

 

[Rust Addict]

Hold up on them new parts for just one second. Have you pulled the box off of there yet and tried to get you hand on just the broken part? If it is a clean snap on the shaft and you far enough from the seal diameter and spline you could look at a weld repair. If you not tooled to do it yourself, find a local fabricator, they may be able to get you going again for dirt cheap.

I've only ever know shear pins to be one grade, SOFT. These have the two little rings where you usually see all the bolt threads.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

I have not got that far yet. Just looking for some ideas on what needs to be done. The bush hog as a stump jumper on it and that has a pretty nasty blend on it which I assume would need to be straightened back out. I can grab ahold of the stump jumper assembly and shake the hole thing side to side pretty far. I had hopes of taking the gearbox off and seeing if I can get it welded back together perhaps.

 

[Sam427]

So........what grade shear bolt should be used on brush hogs........and how do you tell the grade number?

Thanks.......bob

Most of the shear bolts in any piece of equipment are Grade 2, at the very absolute most, a Grade 5. The equipment comes with the correct size bolt and grade, so as to shear the bolt instead of damaging the equipment. I bought a box of grade 2 bolts for my post hole digger, digging in rocks usually breaks quite a few, I have broke as many as three in one hole before. At least it just shears the bolt and not break something though.

 

[ipz2222]

Sam, grade #'s. SAE bolts "american' have hash marks on the socket head end. 3 hash marks is grade 5 and 5 hash marks are grade 8. Most grade 8 bolts are also yellow cadmium colored.
Metric bolts have a number in the end. 5.8 is low grade and 8.8 medium and 10.8 is high grade.

 

[Sam427]

Sam, grade #'s. SAE bolts "american' have hash marks on the socket head end. 3 hash marks is grade 5 and 5 hash marks are grade 8. Most grade 8 bolts are also yellow cadmium colored.
Metric bolts have a number in the end. 5.8 is low grade and 8.8 medium and 10.8 is high grade.

Most of the grade 8 we use are just black oxide. There is a 12.9 grade in metric as well.

 

[Will In Tx]

I had hopes of taking the gearbox off and seeing if I can get it welded back together perhaps.

Eric,
That is what I would do to make sure you really know what your dealing with.
Hope it works out less $$$$

 

[Will In Tx]

Wassss up with this?? any new news?

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Have not had a chance to take it appart yet. Been busier then hell dealing with other things. I dont use the bushhog much and I went to look at a job doing some bushhoggin on a commerical property. I put my bid in on the job. Heard threw the grape vine that my bid was the lowest but dont know when I'm going to start.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Here's a really dumb question but should there be a certain amout of play on the blades of a bush hog? I didnt know with there being a stump jumper on the bottom if there should be a little bit of slack on the spindle so when you strike an object it wont break all to hell.

 

[Will In Tx]

Blades can have play over time.
But the spindle should not have any play, leased on mine is tight.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

OOOOOK well then it looks like I'll be replacing the gear box on the old hog then. Its about that time anyways because it belongs to my father and most of that stuff is as old as I am if not older.

 

[Will In Tx]

Got any photos????

 

[Will In Tx]

Photos of gear box....come on....

 

[Eric McCarthy]

I kinda forgot all about it to be honest to ya. I had started to inspect it when I placed a bid on a huge bush hogging job. I had heard threw the grape vine that I had the winning bid but the customer still has no money and I never heard anything "offical"