Replacing Bolts On ROPS With a Hitch Pin????

[AGTtactical]

I believe the ROPS are made in Kubota plants in Georgia, not Japan. The factory bolt is 5/8" X 16 threads per inch (fine thread). 5/8" bolts are easy to find but are usually 12 tpi, (coarse thread). If you find a 5/8" X 16 tpi thread bolt in your local hardware store it will almost certainly be Grade 8. 5/8" X 16 tpi bolts are always available on eBay.
I replaced the factory bolts with 9/16" X 4" clevis pins.
LINK: Clevis Pin Universal 9/16 x 4 Low Carbon Steel Zinc Clear (8 Pieces) | eBay
These are a perfect length. Hairpin clip goes in hole #2.
In diameter, 4/8 pieces fit perfectly after being lubed, 4/8 pieces needed a bit of filing to remove burrs over the pin holes and a little flap wheel polishing to even out the zinc coating before they would slip in with just hand pressure.
After you hit your garage header a couple times, plus a few tree branches, the ROPS will vary a few 1,000s, so the pin holes do not line up perfectly.
On the front of the ROPS there is another welded on nut on each side, which I am sure is there so one can insert a bolt as a stop, to line up the ROPS pin holes again. I have yet to figure out exactly what hex bolt should become the stop, but I am working on it. As stops will seldom be moved I will lube with anti-seize compound rather than anything else.

Thank Jeff!...you get it. Really appreciate the info. I take it you mean "5/8" where you are stating "4/8"???

 

[Diggin It]

Is it the threads that are tight or the fit in the holes?

If the threads, can you run a die over them to chase them a bit, maybe make them looser? If it's the fit, are the holes aligned properly? I have trouble with that sometimes even with the pin/slip fit. You might be able to run a drill though that a couple of thousandths oversized. Or run some emery cloth over the pins to take a hair off. I'm not sure anyone else would ever notice either of those methods.

As to the other matter, is the machine still under warranty?

 

[AGTtactical]

Yeah, still warranty Diggin It. I plan on using the bolts when I no longer need to fold it in a year or two, so don't want to drill out the threads...but maybe what you suggest would make the bolts easier to put in and take out. Thank you.

 

[jeff9366]

Thank Jeff!...you get it. Really appreciate the info. I take it you mean "5/8" where you are stating "4/8"???

I purchased a package of eight (8) clevis pins on eBay for $16.24.

Four of the eight (4/8) pins fit perfectly through the welded on nuts after being lubed.

Four of the eight pins needed a little fitting before they would pass through the welded on nuts only with hand pressure.

 

[AGTtactical]

Jeff, thanks very much! That sounds perfect. Wish I could find a Grade 8 or higher, but as you noted, this is likely good enough, and definitely better than not using the ROPS at all, as I've seen so many do. The factory ROPS bolts looks like a rather poor quality steel anyhow...its cast because of that funky head on it.

 

[RickB]

I just knew someone would have to pipe in with the whole manufacturer's liability thing...as if we all didn't know that. Same for the grade of steel, and smaller pin diameter, ruining the warranty...what else have I missed? Since I apparently need to be very specific, I'm trying to replace the factory bolt with a pin of similar length, diameter, strength, and grade so that I can actually fold and unfold my ROPS daily, instead of operating it without the ROPS at all.

I think that is perfectly acceptable. I will say that if it were mine I would drill out the nut or grind it off entirely so as to be able to use a full diameter 5/8 pin and not an undersized 9/16 pin. Half the stars in the Milky Way would have to align in order for you to have any real liability exposure.

 

[fried1765]

Absolutely true.

However, if you quit erecting the ROPS because inserting the two Kubota bolts at brow level is such a pain, you may get crushed in a tractor rollover.

I'll take pins and the ROPS up.

All the RK tractors by TYM I have browsed at Rural King have clevis pins, not bolts, as the ROPS pivot.

From your... browsing.... at RK, do you have an opinion on the overall RK tractor construction?
There is no RK store anywhere near me.

 

[newbury]

Along with "chasing" the threads and lubrication so the bolt turns easier I'd put a nail or something through the hole in head of the nut to give more leverage to turn it.

 

[jeff9366]

Jeff, thanks very much! That sounds perfect. Wish I could find a Grade 8 or higher, but as you noted, this is likely good enough, and definitely better than not using the ROPS at all, as I've seen so many do. The factory ROPS bolts looks like a rather poor quality steel anyhow...its cast because of that funky head on it.

I do not know if you have priced Kubota OEM replacements.

Kubota only sells the ROPS hinge bolt (fine thread) and the ROPS pinch bolt (coarse thread) as a two piece unit at about $45.00. No reason both could not be fine or coarse thread, making them interchangeable. Shame on Kubota.

I paid $45 once, thinking they were metric.
Then I went to my local Ace Hardware and discovered both bolts are inch standard.
Then I found the 9/16" clevis on eBay for $2.03 !

 

[AGTtactical]

I think that is perfectly acceptable. I will say that if it were mine I would drill out the nut or grind it off entirely so as to be able to use a full diameter 5/8 pin and not an undersized 9/16 pin. Half the stars in the Milky Way would have to align in order for you to have any real liability exposure.

Yeah, I thought of doing that, except that I wouldn't be able to use the bolts in the future...a better grade steel 9/16 would likely easily compensate for the 1/16th difference.