Dwellonroof
Gold Member
Maybe you could JB Weld the holes while you have it dismantled.
3pt not working, not sure what I broke
- Thread starter BeezFun
- Start date
I thought about that, I'm more worried if it doesn't hold it will fall into the gears. The oil is free to flow between the two cases through the bearing race anyway, I think I'll just leave it.
hube2
Veteran Member
To me it looks like those holes were made from the other side. I'd want to know what's going on in the other side of that wall.
Look at the earlier photos I posted, you can see the other side. The damage came from the 3pt compartment in the transmission and pushed out into the gear case.
hube2
Veteran Member
ahh, I saw the other photos but missed that they showed the reverse side.
After battle analysis:
I'm pretty sure I know how this damage took place. I added the leverage bar to the post hole digger shown in this photo so a helper can pull on the end of the bar and exert down force. The guy helping me was really big, when we got to the bottom of the hole I think the combination of his force and the auger trying to thread it's way into the ground put all the loading on the rockshaft arm that broke. It broke because the only thing preventing too much down travel of the lift arms is the 3pt cylinder bottoming out and the rockshaft arm pushing on it. There was too much down force so it broke. The pressure relief valve doesn't enter into the picture because there is no hydraulic force on the piston, it's in the bottom most position. The reason I didn't realize the auger was as far down as it could go is because I changed the configuration of the post hole digger. It has 3 holes to choose from to connect the top arm to the bottom piece. I had to move it to the highest position to make room for that lever bar. That means the top of the auger doesn't go as far into the ground as I'm used to seeing, so I didn't know it was bottomed out.
The other thing I learned from this is if I ever suspect this kind of internal damage I'm going to go and rent one of those car dollies they use to tow cars across country. I'd put it under the rear wheels and tow it into the shop. The problem with this kind of failure is there's no way to move the rear wheels: if you try to drag it or pull it up on a tow truck you do damage because of all the shrapnel stuck in the ring gear/pinion. If you drive it slow, everything flops around until it finds a spot where it likely does damage. The damage would have been limited to the rockshaft arm and cylinder bracket if I'd gotten the wheels off the ground right away.
I'm pretty sure I know how this damage took place. I added the leverage bar to the post hole digger shown in this photo so a helper can pull on the end of the bar and exert down force. The guy helping me was really big, when we got to the bottom of the hole I think the combination of his force and the auger trying to thread it's way into the ground put all the loading on the rockshaft arm that broke. It broke because the only thing preventing too much down travel of the lift arms is the 3pt cylinder bottoming out and the rockshaft arm pushing on it. There was too much down force so it broke. The pressure relief valve doesn't enter into the picture because there is no hydraulic force on the piston, it's in the bottom most position. The reason I didn't realize the auger was as far down as it could go is because I changed the configuration of the post hole digger. It has 3 holes to choose from to connect the top arm to the bottom piece. I had to move it to the highest position to make room for that lever bar. That means the top of the auger doesn't go as far into the ground as I'm used to seeing, so I didn't know it was bottomed out.
The other thing I learned from this is if I ever suspect this kind of internal damage I'm going to go and rent one of those car dollies they use to tow cars across country. I'd put it under the rear wheels and tow it into the shop. The problem with this kind of failure is there's no way to move the rear wheels: if you try to drag it or pull it up on a tow truck you do damage because of all the shrapnel stuck in the ring gear/pinion. If you drive it slow, everything flops around until it finds a spot where it likely does damage. The damage would have been limited to the rockshaft arm and cylinder bracket if I'd gotten the wheels off the ground right away.
CH4Ohio
Platinum Member
I've been following this with a great deal of curiosity. Help me understand. Are you saying that you drop the 3-point all the way DOWN while using a post hole digger? And then, might even have someone on a long lever cheater-bar exert even more down pressure to be sure you're bottomed-out?
The challenge when I use a post hole digger is to keep the ground loose, go slow, and keep from just screwing it into the ground. You have to constantly, and aggressively, raise the auger often to keep the hole loose and the auger free. Even though there's no down pressure, when the auger does start engaging, it will tend to bury itself and no tractor 3-point can pull it out if you let if screw in a foot or more into solid ground.
Do you think that you just screwed your auger into the ground and then exerted so much force upward trying to pull it out that you defeated the mechanical limits of the 3-point hitch and drive mechanism? Even if you didn't try to pull it out, I can see where burying the auger would pull down so hard on the 3-point arms that something would have to eventually fail.
Just trying to understand. Thanks.
PS ..... I should also add that I never try to use this equipment at idle as has been mentioned in a couple posts. I'm always at about half throttle. This helps to get the bit started, and also helps to throw the dirt out and around the hole if you continuously pull the auger up to clear the hole as you dig. I don't think my tractor or post hole digger would be effective at all at idle speed.
The challenge when I use a post hole digger is to keep the ground loose, go slow, and keep from just screwing it into the ground. You have to constantly, and aggressively, raise the auger often to keep the hole loose and the auger free. Even though there's no down pressure, when the auger does start engaging, it will tend to bury itself and no tractor 3-point can pull it out if you let if screw in a foot or more into solid ground.
Do you think that you just screwed your auger into the ground and then exerted so much force upward trying to pull it out that you defeated the mechanical limits of the 3-point hitch and drive mechanism? Even if you didn't try to pull it out, I can see where burying the auger would pull down so hard on the 3-point arms that something would have to eventually fail.
Just trying to understand. Thanks.
PS ..... I should also add that I never try to use this equipment at idle as has been mentioned in a couple posts. I'm always at about half throttle. This helps to get the bit started, and also helps to throw the dirt out and around the hole if you continuously pull the auger up to clear the hole as you dig. I don't think my tractor or post hole digger would be effective at all at idle speed.
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rbargeron
Elite Member
I, of course, would NEVER abuse my auger by forcing it down. In some very hard digging I once put a 4x4 post between the ROPS and the top of the auger, then used the bucket to raise the front of the tractor - worked perfectly !! 