BX vs. 42" x 30" x 510 foot utility ditch.

[Cap-n-Cray]

Rob,

What a story! Glad you did not get hurt and the tractor is OK. Since you scratched up the box scraper, you'll probably want a new one. I am in the market for just the type you have. I'll give you a good price since that one has been sideways.

Cary

 

[MOPAULY]

I'd still be a little concerned about long term bearing damage....but if you didn't know the oil psi before you won't have anything to check against.

I only mention it as I recall the last time I was doing oil pump work on one of my auto engines, and had a pump shaft that didn't match the body, the engine ran for minute or so without oil pressure. After that I noticed a drop in psi on the gauge....currently that engine is apart for rebuild.

 

[Singlecoil]

Ok, now that you got it fixed, to back fill the trench.

1) Fill the bucket with spoils.
2) Lower the bucket so it's just off the ground
3) Lower the box blade so it is just off the ground (and it HAS to be dead level). Set the 3pt lift lower limit to that point.
4) back into the spoils line so you are pushing 1/3 to 1/2 of the box blade's width.
5) raise the box up, go forward and repeat step 3&4 about 15,000 bazillion times untill done.


As you know (now), you had the loader up way way way too high. There is no need to have it any higher than about 1 foot above the ground when the tractor is moving. Also, your technique looks like you were filling the bucket then backing up, turning and going forward to dump? You should be on the far side of the spoils pile, filling the bucket and going straight forward to dump, steering around the spoils. Then backing straight back to repeat the process.

Anyhoo, you didn't get hurt, the tractor didn't get hurt and you have a sense of humor about the whole deal. Thanks for sharing the scary moment with us!

jb

I actually tried a similar technique yesterday pushing with box blade. I didn't have the loader bucket full, though. I'm definitely going to try that. One of the problems with this pile is that the terrain around it is really rough and wheel rutted with deep ruts from logging trucks about 15 years ago. That and the near constant rain we've had for the last several days has made the pile heavier and the ground slicker. My tires fill with mud and just don't take the same bite. I think I'm going to let things dry out for several days and go back at it. If I really procrastinate, the excavator will be back in a month or so to dig the foundation The important thing was to get the ditch filled so the well drilling equipment had access and that part is done.
There is no quick solution to this one I'm afraid, but I know your ideas will help. Thanks.
Doing the math, I figure there is about 160 yards of spoil to fill; not a small task.

 

[Singlecoil]

Rob,

What a story! Glad you did not get hurt and the tractor is OK. Since you scratched up the box scraper, you'll probably want a new one. I am in the market for just the type you have. I'll give you a good price since that one has been sideways.

Cary

But they look cooler when they are all scratched up!

 

[Singlecoil]

I'd still be a little concerned about long term bearing damage....but if you didn't know the oil psi before you won't have anything to check against.

I only mention it as I recall the last time I was doing oil pump work on one of my auto engines, and had a pump shaft that didn't match the body, the engine ran for minute or so without oil pressure. After that I noticed a drop in psi on the gauge....currently that engine is apart for rebuild.

The engine sounds just as good as it always did. I guess I'll have to see if it uses oil in future. I don't really think I did any damage as it only ran for about 10 seconds after it went over. I shut the engine off before I undid my seatbelt, which would probably be good advice to anyone else in this situation.

 

[DiezNutz]

...I then used the wrench to manually turn the crankshaft and indeed oil did fly out of number one. The other two were dry. Small drops kept flying out at certain points on the crankshaft revolution. This was getting time consuming but I had an idea. I reattached the injector lines, left the glowplugs off and turned the key. Now geysers of fuel and air came out of each cylinder and number one was quickly cleared of oil. I reinstalled the glowplugs and it fired right up...

I think you made all the right moves. You could've been waiting a long time for that oil to drain off by itself. It's a good thing the engine DIDN'T try to start before, as you could've done some serious piston, head, or rod damage to one or more cylinders. Congrats on getting 'er going again!

...I don't really think I did any damage as it only ran for about 10 seconds after it went over...

I don't think you did either. You've got a few seconds of "reserve" in the pickup tube and passageways to the pump anyway. Even a few seconds of running w/out pressure after that wouldn't have spun the bearings completely dry. Obviously the engine wasn't under any load at that point either

...so...maybe...the battery lost the electrolyte, and there isn't enough cranking amps to turn it over?? Just another off-the-wall thing to check on, battery fluid level and charge. Batteries do have gas vent holes, maybe it slowly dripped over the time it took to get it back on it's feet?

Sure, still wouldn't hurt to check, even knowing now what the problem was. I wouldn't expect that to happen though... my battery doesn't have an overflow port/tube, just the tiny vent holes in the caps. They're designed to allow gas to escape but not electrolyte (or at least, not very quickly at all).

 

[john_bud]

I was also meaning to ask, do you have the rear tires filled with fluid? If you had, it may not have flipped. They are much more stable that way. It sounds like you may want to fill the tires (may cause lawn damage though) or add maximum amount of wheel weights.

Ruts do make it much harder. Have you tried going forward and back with the FEL just nipping off a 1/2 bucket full? Or maybe putting a sheet of plywood across the bucket, adding some serious weight to the box blade (max load it) and then push the pile? You would want to set the bucket with the lip slightly up (so it won't dig in), have bucket full of dirt and strap plywood across the front. Then set the bucket height so the bottom of the teeth are just touching the ground. Nip off about 1 foot of dirt from the pile and push it directly into the trench, back up and repeat.

You should be able to add upwards of 500# on top of the box blade and have about 4-500# in the bucket. All that will add to your traction. It is CRITICAL that you have the angle of the bucket correct.

It may however, be a waste of time until the mud dries up as your R4's are snot for traction in mud. R1's are what you need for this task! If you can get ice chains that may help enough.

jb

 

[DiezNutz]

...your R4's are snot for traction in mud. R1's are what you need for this task!

oh no, not again...

 

[tcarter1]

Tire type had nothing to do with this incident. All of the traction in the world would not have kept him from tipping.

 

[Singlecoil]

I actually don't have the tires filled and have been hesitant to do so as this thing is eventually going to be used mainly for lawn mowing. I know this job is going to get much easier in drier conditions. It rained at least another half-inch yesterday The good news is the well drilling equipment didn't get stuck and found water at 70 feet instead of the 400 we were planning on. I can fill the ditch at my leisure now.