3 pt housing broke, can it be welded or should be replaced?
- Thread starter srx700pilot
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thomastractorsvc
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- JD 990, JD 60, JD B's
Soundguy,
The part is under $500 and it would have to be removed to be welded has o-rings and seals any ways, if he is taking it off why not replace it? It is an available part and would be strong designed for the application and it would be a worry free repair. Cant say the same for the JB weld, brazing and welding.
I recently replaced some transmission bearings in a JD 60 spent a month looking for someone to tig weld a gear, (cast steel heat treated) that had three chipped teeth, could not get any reputable welder to touch it. At the same time I also was looking for a replacement gear, did the gear need replaced? If I had not pulled the transmission apart I would say no since I was into the transmission anyways, but why not make it right? Why put the broken part back in and chance tearing up more teeth/gears while bush hogging or whatever. The welder that I did find who did it on the side wanted $350 and would not guarantee it. I eventually located a transmission and bought it and the same gear was bad ($40) found another for ($85) that was good and I am $125 into the gear.
I would have accepted a welded gear from a reputable machine shop had any that I visited in ( 5 total) wanted to do the work. One shop said they would make me a new gear for $900.
Bottom line was I wanted a reliable transmission for worry free operation, could I have gotten it with a welded gear sure, with putting the old chipped gear back in probably, was the most reliable long term fix the replacement gear, I think so. Ultimately it depends on what you are comfortable with and how much you want to jack around with fixing it.
The part is under $500 and it would have to be removed to be welded has o-rings and seals any ways, if he is taking it off why not replace it? It is an available part and would be strong designed for the application and it would be a worry free repair. Cant say the same for the JB weld, brazing and welding.
I recently replaced some transmission bearings in a JD 60 spent a month looking for someone to tig weld a gear, (cast steel heat treated) that had three chipped teeth, could not get any reputable welder to touch it. At the same time I also was looking for a replacement gear, did the gear need replaced? If I had not pulled the transmission apart I would say no since I was into the transmission anyways, but why not make it right? Why put the broken part back in and chance tearing up more teeth/gears while bush hogging or whatever. The welder that I did find who did it on the side wanted $350 and would not guarantee it. I eventually located a transmission and bought it and the same gear was bad ($40) found another for ($85) that was good and I am $125 into the gear.
I would have accepted a welded gear from a reputable machine shop had any that I visited in ( 5 total) wanted to do the work. One shop said they would make me a new gear for $900.
Bottom line was I wanted a reliable transmission for worry free operation, could I have gotten it with a welded gear sure, with putting the old chipped gear back in probably, was the most reliable long term fix the replacement gear, I think so. Ultimately it depends on what you are comfortable with and how much you want to jack around with fixing it.
Soundguy
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i'm -QUITE- familiar with the part coming off. I've removed many tractor 3pt top covers, and I'm aware of the oring issue. that's what they make oring kits for. 
I've seen plenty of ford lift covers that were welded, and at least 1 that was apparrently weld repaired to correct a defect at the factory at time of assembly!
weld it right at it will be fine.
it's cast iron we are talking about not admantium
the welded area will be stronger than the parent metal around it any way. prep it, weld correctly with pre-heat and slow cool and peening using a suitable rod and the repair CAN BE as good as new. I've welded many cast iron loader brackets that are holding fine even lifting over rated laod. I've taken many tractors apart and found welded cast iron parts, structural parts that are still going strong today.
the oil pan on an 8n is cast and is aprt of it's front frame, my 1946 ford 2n has at least an 8" crack that runs from flange down the side and into the bottom.
it was obviously removed and welded from both sides long before I got it judging by the 4-5 layers of paint on it.. it's holding fine.
no magic.. just practice , experience, and science...
500$ buys lots of goodies.. welding on the other hand could be done pretty cheap if you get all the prep work out of the way for the guy making the sparks...
if you havn't seen good welded cast iron, you may not have been around enough antique tractors yet. You name it and I've seen it welded up and working on an old tractor... brake drums, flywheel, steering boxes, steering shafts, rims, spindle knees, steering arms, axles blocks housings and trumpets. kick over to brazing and the list tripples.
I've seen farmall letter series that look like they had brass blocks instead of cast iron. seen one where near the entire side was blown out and a thin plate scabbed over it and tacked on. have seen fergy block's bolted together side to side using allthread and backing plates. probably everone here has seen plugs tapped and welded into block decks, then planed true, and redrilled and tapped to corect a busted out head bolt.. etc. list goes on.
heck... i'd weld it if the part was half that price...
soundguy
I've seen plenty of ford lift covers that were welded, and at least 1 that was apparrently weld repaired to correct a defect at the factory at time of assembly!
weld it right at it will be fine.
it's cast iron we are talking about not admantium
the welded area will be stronger than the parent metal around it any way. prep it, weld correctly with pre-heat and slow cool and peening using a suitable rod and the repair CAN BE as good as new. I've welded many cast iron loader brackets that are holding fine even lifting over rated laod. I've taken many tractors apart and found welded cast iron parts, structural parts that are still going strong today.
the oil pan on an 8n is cast and is aprt of it's front frame, my 1946 ford 2n has at least an 8" crack that runs from flange down the side and into the bottom.
it was obviously removed and welded from both sides long before I got it judging by the 4-5 layers of paint on it.. it's holding fine.
no magic.. just practice , experience, and science...
500$ buys lots of goodies.. welding on the other hand could be done pretty cheap if you get all the prep work out of the way for the guy making the sparks...
if you havn't seen good welded cast iron, you may not have been around enough antique tractors yet. You name it and I've seen it welded up and working on an old tractor... brake drums, flywheel, steering boxes, steering shafts, rims, spindle knees, steering arms, axles blocks housings and trumpets. kick over to brazing and the list tripples.
I've seen farmall letter series that look like they had brass blocks instead of cast iron. seen one where near the entire side was blown out and a thin plate scabbed over it and tacked on. have seen fergy block's bolted together side to side using allthread and backing plates
. probably everone here has seen plugs tapped and welded into block decks, then planed true, and redrilled and tapped to corect a busted out head bolt.. etc. list goes on.heck... i'd weld it if the part was half that price...
soundguy
OP
srx700pilot
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So I have been looking for a used rockshaft housing for the year and using the tractor minimally adding fluid as needed. I finally found a used rockshaft housing on line and am going to replace it. Trying to figure out if this is a job I can do myself over a few beers or should I refer it to the Deere Dealer and pay the roughly $800 labor fee? Can someone with experience give feedback on the process and "gotchas" I should look for, or not let the dealer do. Thanks. I'll be gone for the weekend but will look for replies on Sunday night.
dfkrug
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I have now done 2 of these.
I would say that it is a straight forward repair, but you should use some kind
of overhead lift to remove/install it. It weighs maybe 80#, so manually
lifting it off, clearing all obstacles is not easy.
You need to remove the AUX valve (SCV) bolts and pull it aside to get at one
of the 3-pt cyl housing case bolts.
Look closely for the index marks on the 3-pt lift arms and the spline shaft
to get it back together right. If the teflon bushing is worn, replace it.
Clean up everything very well before opening this up!
Soundguy
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800$ they must be on drugs!
you can buy the entire rear half of the tractor for that from a salvage yard!!!
the arms are removed with a puller.. shaft comes out of the rocker..
cover eighs about 80# as said.
I've dona a half dozen of these... with basic shop tools like hyd bottle jacks and homade splitter plates or regular 2-3-4 jaw pullers..
a bottle jack puller with some 1/2" plate or a BIG bearing spliter lets you push / puill LOTS of things.. heck.. you can even break the cast iron front pulley off the nose of a crankshaft on a farmall C with only a 4 ton bottle jack and a large bearing splitter..
you can buy the entire rear half of the tractor for that from a salvage yard!!!
the arms are removed with a puller.. shaft comes out of the rocker..
cover eighs about 80# as said.
I've dona a half dozen of these... with basic shop tools like hyd bottle jacks and homade splitter plates or regular 2-3-4 jaw pullers..
a bottle jack puller with some 1/2" plate or a BIG bearing spliter lets you push / puill LOTS of things.. heck.. you can even break the cast iron front pulley off the nose of a crankshaft on a farmall C with only a 4 ton bottle jack and a large bearing splitter..
