Welding rear end of jd 4300

   / Welding rear end of jd 4300
  • Thread Starter
#21  
repair.jpg

I'm a little late with the update but here's a pic of the fix. The local pro welder charged me $200 for the fix. He used the broken fragments within the repair and fabricated a couple plates (one on each side) to strengthen the joint. The side you can see has the support plate welded 360 degrees. The other side (inner plate) is welded about 270 degrees to avoid bridging the natural seem in the axle housing. My only regret after seeing the repair was not having him fabricate reinforcement plates for the other side the prevent the break before it happens. Oh well. At least I know it can be fixed. If it's as strong as it looks I think I've got it made:)
 
   / Welding rear end of jd 4300 #22  
I am surprised that he agreed to do it on the tractor. Looks good though. And not a bad price either:thumbsup:
 
   / Welding rear end of jd 4300
  • Thread Starter
#23  
I am surprised that he agreed to do it on the tractor. Looks good though. And not a bad price either:thumbsup:

Living in Arkansas there is still some degree of decency from man to man (I'm sure some other areas are the same). He looked at it and said "I've actually fixed one of these before on a tractor just like yours... Can't make any promises but I'll fix it the best I can". I said, "I understand the difficulty and pressure that will be on it and if it holds up great. If it fails then oh well, we gave it a shot before paying a ridiculous sum to buy replacement parts." We shook hands and that was it. It's a shame that the world has gotten so caught up in liability that they have to decline work because of risk of failure. I'm willing to accept the best he can do. If it doesn't hold up it's not his fault. __it happens.:thumbsup:

yeah I was very happy with the price.
 
   / Welding rear end of jd 4300 #24  
Looks like it was done with a spool gun or aluminum MIG setup. I don't know what all the weld on the outside edge is for. It wouldn't add any strength unless it was just used to build up the aluminum. Being aluminum is softer and very easy to finish, I'm surprised he didn't clean it up better. You can even file it pretty easy. Have to see if it holds.
 
   / Welding rear end of jd 4300
  • Thread Starter
#25  
Looks like it was done with a spool gun or aluminum MIG setup. I don't know what all the weld on the outside edge is for. It wouldn't add any strength unless it was just used to build up the aluminum. Being aluminum is softer and very easy to finish, I'm surprised he didn't clean it up better. You can even file it pretty easy. Have to see if it holds.

He said the weld on the outside curved edge was to simply build up the aluminum and create a better union between the plate he machined and the existing pieces. I'm sure it could have been cleaned up a bit but for $200 I just want it to hold. For $400 I would expect it to be cleaned up. For $600 I'd want it to be hard to notice. If I showed a picture of my whole tractor you'd see it isn't ready to enter any beauty pageants.;)

The plates did create the need for a different pin ($5 at TSC), as the OEM was too short after the repair.

If it holds up I'm (as Phil would say) "happy, happy, happy"
 
   / Welding rear end of jd 4300 #26  
You could clean it up easy with a single cut file. I broke the steering stop off on my dirt bike and had a friend who's a master TIG welder build it up with aluminum. I filed it and you couldn't tell it was ever broke. Aluminum is nice that way. It has good color match and is easy to smooth out and even polish.
 
   / Welding rear end of jd 4300 #27  
Living in Arkansas there is still some degree of decency from man to man (I'm sure some other areas are the same). He looked at it and said "I've actually fixed one of these before on a tractor just like yours... Can't make any promises but I'll fix it the best I can". I said, "I understand the difficulty and pressure that will be on it and if it holds up great. If it fails then oh well, we gave it a shot before paying a ridiculous sum to buy replacement parts." We shook hands and that was it. It's a shame that the world has gotten so caught up in liability that they have to decline work because of risk of failure. I'm willing to accept the best he can do. If it doesn't hold up it's not his fault. __it happens.:thumbsup:

yeah I was very happy with the price.

Yea, its too bad the rest of the world isnt that way. You would be the type of customer I would like. Problem is that there are FAR TOO may out there that dont have reasonable expectations like you do. When doing a job like that, you can explain it just the way you did. As in, I'll give it my best shot but I cant make any promises. Most people cannot grasp that and if it fails, you are just a no-good crook who does a crappy job.

Without looking at a IPL for deere, my concern would have been whats on the other side of the weld. And would it do any damage to a seal or something inside?? Thats what I meant by saying I was suprised he welded it on the machine.
 
   / Welding rear end of jd 4300 #28  
When people complain about something I fixed if it breaks. I reply, it broke when it was original.
I use to get a steady diet of fixing these things. Can you imagine the abuse they take? :eek:
 

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   / Welding rear end of jd 4300 #29  
Glad your welder guy was able to do the fix.

Moral of this story: carry a magnet in your pocket when you go tractor shopping and check for aluminum alloy in high stress areas. Walk away if the magnet won't stick. Can't believe JD sells a tractor with that kind of failure point.
 
   / Welding rear end of jd 4300 #30  
Yep, you're right. That's a good way to look at it, and it often points to a poor design... A lot of guys are better at "seat of the pants" repairs than the engineers are at figuring out how to remedy a problem. Sometimes a good welder can "redesign" the part and correct the design flaw...all without an engineering degree...but with plenty of common sense. :thumbsup:
For these guys that can do this, the term "weldor" does them injustice. Master artist is more appropriate.
 
 
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