Bro Tek skid plates

[RaydaKub]

I crawled under my BX2230 and really looked things over for the first time tonight. The rear plate appears that it would cover things pretty well, but I don't understand why the middle plate and front plate don't cover everything from side to side. It would seem to me to be a lot stronger that way and prevent sticks from coming up the sides. I have some old plywood (real thing, not this OSB stuff) and was thinking I'd cut a piece that covered the whole underside from just in front of the fan all the way up to the oil pan. Is there some reason this would be a bad idea? I would cover it all from side to side and end to end (and will probably get the rear plate from Richard).

I was curious though, if anyone has trouble with ripping off the hydraulic lines as they come down through the frame right behind the pan. That seems like a real weak point to me.

 

[Shutesbury]

I crawled under my BX2230 and really looked things over for the first time tonight. The rear plate appears that it would cover things pretty well, but I don't understand why the middle plate and front plate don't cover everything from side to side. It would seem to me to be a lot stronger that way and prevent sticks from coming up the sides. I have some old plywood (real thing, not this OSB stuff) and was thinking I'd cut a piece that covered the whole underside from just in front of the fan all the way up to the oil pan. Is there some reason this would be a bad idea? I would cover it all from side to side and end to end (and will probably get the rear plate from Richard).

Adequate air flow might be a consideration if you block the entire area?

 

[carrsw1]

Can you use these skid plates while using the mid mount PTO? I live in Ct and usually spend a lot of seat time on the tractor using a front mount snowblower

 

[RaydaKub]

Can you use these skid plates while using the mid mount PTO? I live in Ct and usually spend a lot of seat time on the tractor using a front mount snowblower

The Bro-Tek rear plate can stay on. If you went with the other 2 in front, they need to come off for a mower. I would assume the same for a snowblower, but I'm not sure.

 

[bird1968]

All the skid plates remains on with the PTO/snowblower, there's no interference

 

[DAT]

I don't know where it shows up on their site, but here is a snip of an email that Richard sent me before I ordered one:

"For serious wood work, we made a new radiator skid plate, which sell for $100 (see photo), customers has reported that stick will go in the engine compartment while backing up. If you look under the BX, you can see how this can happen."

Here's the pic he sent me, and one of my modified install and front shaft protector.

Z

Z,
I'm curious to hear more detail about how you made and what material did you use for the front shaft protector?
Thanks!

 

[DAT]

I don't know where it shows up on their site, but here is a snip of an email that Richard sent me before I ordered one:

"For serious wood work, we made a new radiator skid plate, which sell for $100 (see photo), customers has reported that stick will go in the engine compartment while backing up. If you look under the BX, you can see how this can happen."

Here's the pic he sent me, and one of my modified install and front shaft protector.

Z

Z,
I'm curious to know how you made the front shaft protector and out of what material?
Thanks!

 

[DAT]

Zoltanthegypsy,

I would really like to hear more details on the front Shaft protector you made and what material did you make it from?
Thanks!

 

[DAT]

Sorry for all the repeats, I did not think my first attempts went thru, operator error!

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

Z,
I'm curious to hear more detail about how you made and what material did you use for the front shaft protector?
Thanks!

Nothing fancy, just what was on hand.

That's a 3" ID hunk of black ABS about 7" long. It's just the right size to fit over the axle casting where the shaft comes out (or goes in...).

I cut a slot about an inch wide for the length of it to allow slipping over the front drive shaft. Then widened the slot at the back to allow the shaft to exit at its upward angle.

There's bolt that holds on the (cheesy) Kubota protector and it sticks out, so I drilled a hole large enough to slip over the bolt head. It actually helps locate the protector since that bolt head keeps it from moving out of position. (The bolt doesn't clamp down on my protector - the hole is big enough for the bolt head to fit through. The bolt isn't removed to install my pipe.)

Last thing is a hose clamp big enough to fit around the ABS and hold it on.

Just duct tape and bailing wire

It wouldn't protect against a good whack, but my need was to keep tall grass from wrapping the U-joint and the shaft, and damaging the seal. So far it's done the job.

Z.