b3030HSDC weld failure

[munchie]

I noticed this weld broken when my tractor was parked. Have any of you had this? I have a 60" MMM in the summer. Would this be due to vibration...hit something I didn't notice or just a bad weld defect? I will be getting my 50 hr service in a couple of weeks so I am hoping this is something that will be an easy fix and not related to some further damage.

 

[srs]

I also have a B3030 cabbed tractor with the 60" belly mower but never noticed this problem. When I get the chance I'll look underneath for any damage and let you know.

 

[bigdad]

I would definately bring that to their attention. I have the same mower on a 7510 and I never had that problem. No vibration on that tractor should cause a weld failure.

 

[leonz]

I noticed this weld broken when my tractor was parked. Have any of you had this? I have a 60" MMM in the summer. Would this be due to vibration...hit something I didn't notice or just a bad weld defect? I will be getting my 50 hr service in a couple of weeks so I am hoping this is something that will be an easy fix and not related to some further damage.

==================================================

That arm also raises and lowers any front mounted attachment so its doing a lot
of work period


Torque and more torque with all the pressure pulled and pushed
being (linear travel) against the weld hence the tearing away of the weldment.

That piece looks like it should have been machined rather than butt welded,
it would be interesting to see if there is bead of weld on the back side-I bet not.


The weldment has a long arc of travel and when it has pressure against it like
a mower deck while it is raised it is working so much harder.
Hoist parts for belly atttachments are always to the weakest link part that
raises and attachment.


That weldment is short in height and narrrow in width due to the rod above it
by the location of it in the picture as it has to be able arc fully to be free and
clear of the upper rod linkage to raise and lower the deck.


After everything is removed and the bracket is clear of the frame the weldment
should be easy to fix, as the welded piece has a long arc to travel anyway a
wider piece of steel welded to the lower portion of the same thickness with the
hole in the same position will give it more strength to avoid tearing at the
weldment with a wider bead of weld on both sides.

A machined piece would not have the issues of a broken weld as it is one continuos
piece of steel milled and bored to fit the diameter of the hole etc.


A triangular piece of steel sized exactly the distance from the
lower weldment to the end of the stub piece to replace the two
piece butt weldment that is broken would solve this issue quickly.

The broken weld is proof enough that the piece should be one piece,
hopefully they will fix it at no cost to you.


leon

 

[Toolguy]

It could just be a bad weld. Or it could be a couple of other things. I notice in your second picture that the arms that lift the MMM are hanging down where they could come into contact with something on the ground when you back up. That could put enough strain on the broken part to cause it to fail. You should pin the lift arms up out of the way when the mower is off. The other cause could be that the rods and clevis's that lift the arms when the 3PTH is raised are adjusted too short. There is a turnbuckle in the middle of those rods that is used to adjust their length. Mine were adjusted too short on my B3030 from the factory. How I noticed it was when the 3PTH control lever was fully up it caused the hydraulic pump to strain even without a load. When I backed it down a little the strain sound went away. The MMM lift pivot can only move a limited amount. If you do need to adjust the rod length I would advise you to take the turnbuckles completly off of the rods and the start them back on both ends of the rods evenly so that the there is plenty of thread contact. Mine were not put together evenly. One end had only a few threads screwed on whereas the other end had more than enough. You could possibly get the length adjusted correctly and then have one end pull out because too few threads were holding the assembly together. Good Luck.

 

[munchie]

Great thots guys thanks. I didn't remember the arms hanging down after the mower was removed so I think I will get under and have a look if I have snagged or bent something else too.

 

[rdsaustintx]

Good eye Toolguy!

You definitely don't have the mower link pinned-up.

The link is hanging down because of the damage though. Hard to believe you could break that pivot without tweaking something else.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

==================================================

That arm also raises and lowers any front mounted attachment so its doing a lot
of work period


Torque and more torque with all the pressure pulled and pushed
being (linear travel) against the weld hence the tearing away of the weldment.

That piece looks like it should have been machined rather than butt welded,
it would be interesting to see if there is bead of weld on the back side-I bet not.


The weldment has a long arc of travel and when it has pressure against it like
a mower deck while it is raised it is working so much harder.
Hoist parts for belly atttachments are always to the weakest link part that
raises and attachment.


That weldment is short in height and narrrow in width due to the rod above it
by the location of it in the picture as it has to be able arc fully to be free and
clear of the upper rod linkage to raise and lower the deck.


After everything is removed and the bracket is clear of the frame the weldment
should be easy to fix, as the welded piece has a long arc to travel anyway a
wider piece of steel welded to the lower portion of the same thickness with the
hole in the same position will give it more strength to avoid tearing at the
weldment with a wider bead of weld on both sides.

A machined piece would not have the issues of a broken weld as it is one continuos
piece of steel milled and bored to fit the diameter of the hole etc.


A triangular piece of steel sized exactly the distance from the
lower weldment to the end of the stub piece to replace the two
piece butt weldment that is broken would solve this issue quickly.

The broken weld is proof enough that the piece should be one piece,
hopefully they will fix it at no cost to you.


leon

Curious as I am, I have a question. What do you do for a living? My guess is professionally write instruction sheets for the assembly of "stuff" or write How to Books. Or engineer? Maybe engineering degree? Teach engineering or creative writing?