Bent FEL Bucket

[LarryS]

I have a GC2300 that has a bent FEL bucket. The 17 year old was using it for snow removal last winter and had the bucket bottom vertical like a plow. Long story short, it's bent about a quarter inch. Just enough to make cleaning out the pens annoying.

Any thoughts on how to straighten this? Do you think a tooth bar would straighten it? I was considering using heat as just pounding on it with a sledge produced lots of noise.

 

[RobS]

Sledge will just bounce. I assume the bottom edge is bowed up or down? You need body shop/frame straightening methods. Some way to hold the ends steady and apply a steady load to the center. Many ways to do it, but if you can't think of any quickly, run it over to a body shop. They'll take care of it in five minutes.

 

[tawilson]

There was a thread a couple of months ago on this subject. I suck at searching, maybe you can find it. I'll try again.
Found it: cupped fel

 

[LarryS]

I finally read the reply. Sorry for the time to get back to this.

Unfortunately jacks that expand won't work. I need to draw the bottom edge up. The backhoe stabilizer idea might work out though but I need to pull the bucket off the FEL and turn it upside down.

Sounds like how any new redneck sport begins: "Hey buddy! Watch this!" I visualize FEL buckets squirting out from under backhoes from sea to shining sea.

 

[mikim]

I used a farm jack - hooked it on the top of the bucket and pulled up the bottom --

 

[Wayne165]

We work with this kind of thing in our machine shop quite regularly.If you have access to a rosebud on a cutting torch outfit you heat along the cutting edge working from the center outwards & I mean pretty warm. Heat the top side in stages & let it cool & it will shrink back to straight.Try a 6" section at a time & let it cool & you will be amased at how gradually it will pull back. Another method is to weld beads on top side of cutting edge & when it cools it shrinks & will pull back straight. Please let us know how you make out.

 

[Surgeon]

Find a large wooden fence post and put some down pressure with the bent section of the bucket and it will straighten right up. Make sure nobody is standing close and very gingerly apply the down pressure and it is fixed. Just recognize that the metal is damaged and it will not be as strong as before you bent it. (i.e. it is more likely to bend again.) Let us know how things go!

 

[JerryG]

Find a large wooden fence post and put some down pressure with the bent section of the bucket and it will straighten right up. Make sure nobody is standing close and very gingerly apply the down pressure and it is fixed. Just recognize that the metal is damaged and it will not be as strong as before you bent it. (i.e. it is more likely to bend again.) Let us know how things go!

Can't say that I have ever seen one straightened like that. Normally the only thing that will happen is that the front wheels will come off the ground.

 

[LarryS]

Well I tried that almost right off. The wheels did just come up evidently not enough weight on the front of a GC2300.

Looking at this bucket further, I note the front sacrificial edge is what is really bent/worn down. How hard is it to replace these things? It's continuously welded across the bucket. I think if I had that off, the bucket would straighten up much easier as the sacrificial edge is more than half the metal thickness.

LarryS

 

[JerryG]

If you have a good welding or fabrication shop in the area, take your bucket off and take it to them. It won't take them long to fix and it shouldn't be very expensive either. They may even have replacement edges in stock if want it replaced.