Look what I found when trying to remove my 3pt hitch arm

[DepositGuy]

Hi guys. The saga continues. I got a decent price on a Kubota / Bradco 509 backhoe attachment which I hope to pick up tomorrow. As you know, the 3 point hitch arms must be removed to use the backhoe. My left arm detached easy enough but the right side looks like it got a hillbilly repair. The arm cannot be removed unless I cut both sides.
I'm looking for possible repair options so I can remove the arm and re-install it anytime I want. I've got my own thoughts on repair but maybe someone has a better solution.
The 1st pic is the left side for getting an idea what it should look like.
The next 2 pics show the welded repair and after I cut around the bolt head and removed it. The bolt wasn't screwed in, just slid into place.
The last pic shows a threaded-something used instead of a solid pin. It must be hollow as the bolt I cut out slides inside it.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Soopitup]

You can't weld a new ear on the broken one?

 

[Hkb82]

sure don’t look good. Ouch.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I don't think I would trust that for a second!
If you can't weld cast (which on the tractor is near to Impossible) take it to someone and have a new mount made up for it.
That's a $700 part to replace it.

 

[Vlach7]

Cast is possible to weld with special arc rods, I have a Metallurgist who lives by me and assisted in some of my cast welding, difficult and not as strong as original, contact the welders in your area and see if anybody is up to the task with no guarantee. Cast is welded slow to not overheat the area or it can crack or just melt, any welding is easiest horizontal/flat. The way it is now is just waiting to fail.
Keep us up-dated.

 

[GrizBota]

About three options occur to me:

1) Richie Rich - Buy a new casting and spend a couple days swapping it out, done forever.

2) Farmer Joe/Fabber Fred - Grind off the old stuff and fab your own ears (use mild steel, flesh won’t work) and bolt them on, might or might not work for a while.

3) Welder Wes - Grind off all the old stuff. Consult with someone with skill and equipment to weld cast iron and fab some ears out of what they suggest and get it all welded up, could work, probably for a while.

I suspect the BH hooks up to these ears as well? If so, I’d probably go with option 1. But if you have more time than money, options 2 and 3 might work, but I doubt option 3 is significantly less expensive than option 1 if you outsource.

If it was the ‘70s, Dad would have (did) employed option 3 on the 8N, but he’d weld it himself. Called it brazing and he’d heat the casting first. Had some sort of powdered flux to dump on it too IIRC.

Good luck with it. It looks like a decent enough challenge.

 

[Hkb82]

I agree with these three options. Personally I’d be leaning towards a new part. I think cost is really gonna be the deciding factor. Hard to say or give what I’d do without knowing what it’s gonna cost to fix vs replace. Plus how confident I was on the person doing the brazing/welding.

 

[Jasonized]

Considering where it is, what it has to do, I would bite the bullet and get a new one. Really.
unless you just like repairing things, over and over…. As a hobby, it will give you lots of fun!
when I look at a hill billy repair, I consider my time, too. Is it worth the effort vs the cost? If not, I buy new. If yes, I rebuild! You could also look at this as a chance to learn to weld cast…. I played with a cast iron stove once…. special sticks..

 

[GreensvilleJay]

you 'might' win, if a pro welder does it right AND adds a U-shaped band of steel welded to the vertical edge of the casting. Get a price for doing both operations, then compare that to cost of new piece( 700 ?) and time to swap out. If pro welded is cheaper and money talks.... go that route.
A lot depends on what that tabs for ( 3PH arms or BH ), your use of it, is this a forever tractor, wallet contents,....
'minor' consideration.. how much of a PITA is it for a welder to get TO the tab and make a repair tab ? 4-5 hours ?

 

[Yooper]

I will recommend taking the welding repair off the list.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

About three options occur to me:

1) Richie Rich - Buy a new casting and spend a couple days swapping it out, done forever.

2) Farmer Joe/Fabber Fred - Grind off the old stuff and fab your own ears (use mild steel, flesh won’t work) and bolt them on, might or might not work for a while.

3) Welder Wes - Grind off all the old stuff. Consult with someone with skill and equipment to weld cast iron and fab some ears out of what they suggest and get it all welded up, could work, probably for a while.

I suspect the BH hooks up to these ears as well? If so, I’d probably go with option 1. But if you have more time than money, options 2 and 3 might work, but I doubt option 3 is significantly less expensive than option 1 if you outsource.

If it was the ‘70s, Dad would have (did) employed option 3 on the 8N, but he’d weld it himself. Called it brazing and he’d heat the casting first. Had some sort of powdered flux to dump on it too IIRC.

Good luck with it. It looks like a decent enough challenge.

I tend to agree with Griz.

I would pick Ritchie Ritch option 1.

One time (at the customers request) I sent a trans bell housing out to get an "ear" welded on. I can only tell you that it worked out while it was in my shop, long term I have no idea.

Your situation is a lot different though, I don't think I would trust a welded cast piece. But I am also not a welder.

I did try to weld a cracked cast iron pan one time.....Hahaha, that was a "lesson in futility" for sure. I just kept chasing that crack (and the 5 others that developed)....

What a sh!t show that turned into.

 

[ve9aa]

I had a silver dollar sized hole in an engine block of a 1978 honda civic welded up once, back in the early 1980's but what pressure would be on that---a few psi?

For this, under load/pressure, I'd want some reassurance. (It will always fail at the worst time, right?)

If I knew a top notch local welder, I might do that but most likely I'd bite the bullet and shell out the $700 samolians and just do it right.

 

[Yotekiller]

That sucks! Someone definitely did a jerry rig and dump it ASAP repair on that.. I would replace that piece and never worry about it again - especially since it's gonna have a hoe on it...

 

[DepositGuy]

Thanks for the input guys. The backhoe I was looking at did NOT use the 3pt arms. It had QA plates that bolted into the area where the sway links are. The $785 replacement piece is not cheap, plus it's a lot of work to replace it. I have a seperate backhoe on my Ditch Witch trencher so I'm going to stick with that and abandon the idea of buying an attachment. I do know some grade A welders who are real craftsmen. Maybe I can get an opinion and an estimate and decide from there. Certainly replacing the casting is the proper way to go (followed by a number of buts). I'll let you know what I decide but deer hunting & snow plowing seasons are coming up, so I'll shelve the idea for now.

 

[woodman55]

Thanks for the input guys. The backhoe I was looking at did NOT use the 3pt arms. It had QA plates that bolted into the area where the sway links are. Unfortunately, the $700 piece is actually $1250 so that's why I was avoiding it, plus it's a lot of work to replace it. I have a seperate backhoe on my Ditch Witch trencher so I'm going to stick with that and abandon the idea of buying an attachment. I do know some grade A welders who are real craftsmen. Maybe I can get an opinion and an estimate and decide from there. Certainly replacing the casting is the proper way to go (followed by a number of buts). I'll let you know what I decide but deer hunting & snow plowing seasons are coming up, so I'll shelve the idea for now.

Sounds like a wise decision to me.

 

[Vlach7]

I would have to guess that happened because it lost the bolt on the other side causing all the stress on that point, same thing happened on my old full size back hoe with the pivot bracket (200lb piece of cast metal that holds the front steering/suspension together) bolts came loose and overloaded it and it shattered, looked for a used one ($900) for a couple months, ended up having to spend $2000 for a new one on a $5000 tractor, but was happy in the end because it was fixed right.
Moral of the story, check your nuts and bolts or pay the price.

 

[chim]

Is the other side cracking or is there a hair in the picture?

 

[DepositGuy]

Is the other side cracking or is there a hair in the picture?

It DID look like a crack in the pic, but it wasn't. Just a piece of thread and a little ball of mud.

 

[DepositGuy]

So final answer. I called Weavers Parts Salvage in Shippensburg PA and they had one for $450 plus another $15 for the pin. I'll get it in a week or two but this is a Spring PITA project. Thanks again to all for steering me towards the right decision.

 

[Vlach7]

Hit that zerk and all the others while your at it.