What should I do w/my Woods 3PH backhoe?

[erkme73]

When I bought my second-hand 2555CL, it came with about 10 implements, including a 1986 Woods BH7500-1.

It had a leaking hose - which I've replaced - and the boom cylinder is bent (but functional). The dipper cylinder has an internal leak that lets it drop about 1" per second. The power to dig seems less than I would expect. It stalls out pretty quickly with both boom and dipper, but not when curling the bucket. So I think the cylinders need to be repaired or replaced.

Aside from being old, and appearing to have been rode hard and put away wet, the lower 3PH pins are bent, loose, and appear to be galled up. It would require super-sized impact sockets to remove/replace/re-tighten them.

Finally, it has a separate PTO pump - which seems to work ok, but it's a bit of a hassle to (dis)connect when the BH is close to the back end of the tractor.

When I use it, there is a tremendous amount of slop - both in the lower pins, and the arms of the 3PH on the tractor seem to move quite a bit. This is even with the outriggers firmly planted (even when fully extended). It does not feel safe, and I'm concerned that it will eventually do damage to the 3PH.

That's the backstory. Here's what I'm considering:

1) Restore the Woods BH with new cylinders and other items that require care - and if available get a sub-frame mount for it, replacing the 3PH connection
2) Replace the BH with a suitable aftermarket (or Mahindra-branded BH) that utilizes a sub-frame.
3) Purchase a working junky dedicated excavator and not use the tractor


Since my 2555CL does NOT currently have a sub-frame on it, I have no clue what they look like, or how the installation of one would affect my ability to attach other 3PH implements. I.E, do the 3PH arms have to be removed (they have quick release pins).

And I would assume sub-frames are BH brand/model specific, so if I choose to replace the Woods with another brand, I would have to buy the SF with the BH?

Purchasing a dedicated excavator is intimidating, since I barely know anything about tractors - and nothing about excavators. I could easily be jumping out of the pan and into the fire. Further, having another large piece of equipment to store becomes problematic in my toy barn.

As to my uses, the primary would be trenching, pulling stumps, and digging up rocks. I have about 50 acres of heavily wooded area which I'd like to carve up with trails and pathways - so I'd always have a need to play with it.

What would you guys recommend? While I'm not on a strict budget, I obviously want to go the least-expensive, but least-problematic route.

 

[MatHaas]

Meh, in my opinion, you'd be happy with a mini excavator.

If you have 50 acres that you want to be doing work all over, you'll want something efficient.

The 2555 is a medium-ish duty tractor. The 65B is the backhoe that fits it, and in my opinion, for the work you want to do, you'd be a lot happier and work would be a much more efficient over a 65b or the one you have to restore (and no way i'd want to do real work with a 3ph mount, that just tears the machine up if you have real work to do)

Smaller tractor and hoe, you'll feel like you're beating it up more in my opinion. Mini Ex would tear through that stuff and would only be used for those purposes; that's it's specialty. Use the tractor for everything else.

Here's a link to the 75b/509 backhoe subframe i modified/fabricated for my 3550. they bolt under the axle and tie in to the loader frame under the engine/loader. I have pics so you'll get the idea. I wouldn't want a backhoe any smaller than a 75B, and i'm certain a mini ex would be way more efficient. I went with a larger tractor so i wouldn't feel like i'm beating things up. If i was on a 2555 and a 65b, i think I wouldn't be happy. but that's just me.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/393884-bradco-509-tractor-sub-frame.html

i hear you about being money conscious though, that's always my priority also.

good luck.
-Haas

 

[MatHaas]

here ya go: 1997 Bobcat 325 - general for sale - by owner :drink:

 

[erkme73]

Thanks Mat. You make a compelling point. If I thought I could get a working/functional mini-ex for $7k I'd toss this Woods over my cliff. But, I suspect that listing you provided is nothing more than a scammer. Most of these are going for double that price. Still, you've got me leaning more in this direction now.

 

[George2615]

IMO you should either buy and modify a sub-frame to fit your Woods BH and tractor or build a sub-frame.
I bought a used Woods BH750-3 with sub-frame and modified the sub-frame and made rear brackets to fit my tractor. For the handful of times I use my BH each year mine is solid it works great. My PTO pump has long enough hoses on it that lets me connect the pump first then back up to connect the sub-frame to the tractor by using the BH controls.

 

[ovrszd]

I bought a hoe last Fall. Gave $6500. Did $2000 in repairs. Now have a $8500 very dependable machine. Has a "reach" of 19ft. An excavator big enough to compete would cost 3 or 4 times what I spent.

My neighbor had a Woods 3pt hoe on a JD4240. I used it quite a few times. Handy. Patience required.

I considered buying it. Didn't want to put that stress on my tractor's 3pt. So added another machine.

 

[erkme73]

I need to research if a subframe is available for the BH7500-1. I don't see that model number anywhere on line - so I'm thinking I may have a prototype. If I could get this unit to lock firmly to the tractor, I'm sure I'd be much more inclined to continue to use it. But not with the 3PH.

 

[MatHaas]

Thanks Mat. You make a compelling point. If I thought I could get a working/functional mini-ex for $7k I'd toss this Woods over my cliff. But, I suspect that listing you provided is nothing more than a scammer. Most of these are going for double that price. Still, you've got me leaning more in this direction now.

Well just see what you can find. I got lucky and found my hoe for $3k, put about $200 fabricating the mounts, upgrading all gr8 hardware, and rebuilding all of the the hydraulic spool valves seals.

So the question is how much are you going to use it.
George2615 thinks different, but he just said he uses it only a few times a year.
That's all i plan to use it for too. Random little jobs on 13 acres.

If you were looking at multiple projects a year with extensive work, I think you'd be spending a lot of time on the tractor hoe getting things accomplished. but hey, maybe you're ok with that, and like to chip away at projects and your time is expendable.
heck i do that stuff all of the time! I like to accomplish something, and don't have a giant bank roll to buy 3 different machines, nor do i want to store them.

guess you need to try out on or the other.
when I youtubed videos of people using different hoes, that's when i decided i wouldn't settle for any less than a 75b. I watched too many videos of smaller tractors and smaller hoes struggling with simple stuff. maybe it was the operator. but i'd didnt want to spend the money twice.

see what's out there.
there's no wrong answer.

 

[MatHaas]

I bought a hoe last Fall. Gave $6500. Did $2000 in repairs. Now have a $8500 very dependable machine. Has a "reach" of 19ft. An excavator big enough to compete would cost 3 or 4 times what I spent.

My neighbor had a Woods 3pt hoe on a JD4240. I used it quite a few times. Handy. Patience required.

I considered buying it. Didn't want to put that stress on my tractor's 3pt. So added another machine.



View attachment 547781

This is exactly what I had in mind for him finding. Like you said, you need patience, it won't be a work horse. nor would i want to tear my tractor up.
Heck, i have loaded tires, a 750lb severe front bucket, and i'm tipping the scales at close to 10k lbs with the hoe on, and i feel like i'd be happier with more weight or stability. haha.

 

[MatHaas]

of note, a BH7500 has 3380 lbs of dig force. My 75b/509 has 5676 lbs.

50 acres of heavily wooded land digging stumps, pulling rocks, and digging trenches..... i dont think i'd even be happy with my 509, but again that's me.

youtube some bh7500 digging videos. you know what your land looks like and what you'll be working with.
if you think it'll hold up or be worth your time, then go for it.

my vision, is it wouldn't.
I'd wait for a good buy to come up like Ovrszd showed. They're out there, ya just gotta find them. and be selective, don't buy junk. hopefully you're handy haha.

live and learn man.
mull it over and good luck.