Wallenstein Thumb for BX25 HELP

[homeputter]

I just received my Wallenstein thumb for my bx25. I am struggling to get it to fit.


Later: I found the distance between the cheeks is to narrow to fit on the dipstick. The dipstick is about 1/16" wider than the thumb. It is too narrow on the most forward part of the thumb where the cheeks are the shortest and most rigid. Therefore, I would be afraid to try to slightly bend them to open them up. I will see what Wallenstein will do about this.

 

[ryan08]

Do a search on here as there are quite a few pictures of the mounted thumb. I put one on mine and I don't remember having any problems. Put the hoe through its full motion before you tighten the thumb down to check for interference.

You will love the thumb.

 

[BXinNH]

Homeputter,

I have a BX24 with the Wallenstein thumb. Mine is mounted almost exactly where yours is pictured. The 90* fitting on my bucket cylinder goes into the cylinder at a different angle than yours though. Can you bolt the thumb on and curl/uncurl the bucket carefully and see what happens?

Matt.

 

[BXinNH]

Looking at it again, your 90* fitting goes into the cylinder 180* around from where mine goes in. Looking from the bucket end of the cylinder, your fitting is at around 7-8 o'clock, mine is up at around 2 o'clock. Not sure how that happened or how much of a problem it will cause you.

Matt.

 

[Scooby074]

Been there.

This is the hardest part about installing the Wallenstein thumb.

It WILL fit, trust me. I was in that EXACT position. I thought it was a screwup or design change.

What I did was to put the lower bolt (the one closest to the bucket) barely in the bore first. Slide the thumb as close as possible to the bucket. Then support the weight of the unit and install the second bolt. The piece of plate that sits on the face of the stick (the one that connects the two "cheeks") must be up tight to the stick and in the EXACT final position to fit correctly. There is next to no wiggle room

Both bolts have to go in at the same time. If its a bit cockeyed it wont go. Its a VERY tight fit.

I can take a picture of mine if you need it. It will go eventually, but you will be cursing till it does!!

 

[homeputter]

Jason,
I measured my dipstick (at the bottom) and the thumb. My dipstick measures 2.968" while the distance between the cheeks of the thumb measures 2.923. The cheeks are about 1/16" too close together to slip over the dipstick. The biggest part of the problem is that the cheeks are too close together at the bucket end of the thumb where the cheeks are the shortest and most rigid. I called Wallenstein technical support and they said it was a "manufacturer defect" and they will replace it with a new one.

The WIDTH of the dipstick does not change (at least for several feet near the bucket). Only the the height of the dipstick is tapered from the bucket back.

My BH is a BT601. Does the bx24 use the same BH? The Wallenstein was only "listed" for the bx21(?) to bx24, but when I called they said it would fit the bx25.

I was pleased with the appearance and finish of the unit, but very disappointed that it didn't fit.
I am exchanging it for another one.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[Scooby074]

Looking at your picture, it looks EXACTLY the same as when i had problems in my install... Exactly the same.

Mine is a BX25 with at 601 so yes it should fit yours just fine.

A little tap from a hammer might be required to get it on there. I dont have a caliper handy to measure, but i know its a VERY tight fit. With proper persuasion, yours would likely go on. Your extremely close to getting it now.

Its great that Wallenstein is sending another, but i bet your going to find the same end result. I thought the same thing with mine, that it was defective, but persistence eventually paid off.

Do post your results when you get your new one.

 

[Scooby074]

I just ran out to check mine. The measurement is 3 1/16" between the cheeks at the base. There is probably 1/32" clearance between the cheek and the stick. This measurement was taken with a well worn tape measure, so it is subject to error.

Looks like yours very well could be defective.

 

[homeputter]

Jason - thanks for checking.
BTW, how do you like the thumb?

 

[Scooby074]

NP.

The Thumb is great!! The fact that it self stores compared to its competition is a real selling point.

Only negative is the thumb mount sometimes causes mud to cake into the bucket when curled. This only happens when the bucket is heaping and the material has a lot of clay. 99% of the time its a non issue.