Broken Lift Arm - Fix or Replace?

stray · Apr 17, 2006

There was an earlier tread on this and as I recall someone said that PT is now making that piece out of a thicker pipe. I had this same problem and as you I caught it while greasing. A good thing because others have broke and bent this as to where it would be much more trouble to fix.

All I had to do when mine done the very same thing that yours did was to weld it in place. I welded several beads around all four places in the middle while being careful not to penetrate the weld so deep that it would fuse the inside rod to the pipe. I was concerned about this but had no trouble.
I think that the easiest thing for you to do would be take the whole tractor to a Welder and have them weld several beads around these places. While he welds these places be sure to operate the tilt to be sure the rod doesn't stick to the pipe.

Of course you could remove the arm assembly and this would give the Welder an easer time in welding it. In the future if mine gives more trouble I will add few pieces to reinforce it. Maybe a strap 10" long or so bending back to the pipe across the bottom and top of these places. You might for insurance have the Welder do this. He should know what you're talking about and what to do. Also, while you have it at the Welders look the arm assembly over and have him go over any places that might need it.
Please let us know how your repair turns out.

pajoube · Apr 17, 2006

I had the same problem and shipped the arm to Tazewell. They repaired and returned, it was still under warrenty.
They did beef up the new pin and weld.
Those that have had this problem do you own a mini hoe?
PJ

J_J · Apr 18, 2006

My comment on the welding.is that it doesn't look like factory welding. It looks like that they did not get good penetration . I had to replace my tilt arm assembly last year. The roll over tube froze to the 2 in pin some how and would not move . Even after cutting it out, I could not press the pin out of the tube. The tilt arm and pin were about $215.00 for my 1445 I cut through the tube and pin with a cement saw with metal cutting blade. I then ground out the weld on the end pieces, and installed the new parts. There are some pictures on the site if you do a search for tilt arm. You might also wire brush those weld joints where the other tubes are welded to the lift arms and use a magnifier glass to see if there are any other cracks. You might even reweld those joints. There appears to be a twisting action on the lifting arms, maybe caused by lifting unequal loads,

tlb · Apr 18, 2006

jj,
$215 seems reasonable to me. Was shipping expensive? I think you are correct about unequal loads causing twisting action. I have pushed out several hundred stumps over the past year and was sometimes pretty rough on the green beast. I've also moved alot of large rocks that were heavy enough to cause pucker when not steering straight. With the LMB on the lift arms there is a noticable tilt to the left.
-Tim

J_J · Apr 18, 2006

You can check the arms on a level driveway. Check same air pressure in front tires, and measure the tip of the arms to the driveway. They can be reset when welding.

tlb · Apr 18, 2006

Called PT and got the following price quotes: Pivot Arm $146 + $18 Shipping. Rod inside pivot arm $37 +$18 shipping. They suggested I try to get it welded locally first.
-Tim

J_J · Apr 18, 2006

That's not to bad a price, cheaper than mine, but yours is a smaller unit. If you get the new parts, find yourself a good welder that does it for a living., and has some good equipment. If you decide to just weld it again, have them grind it back a good bit . I believe someone makes a fluid that will find hairline cracks that the eye can not see. In the Navy, I remember they used some stuff called magna-flux. They used it on all aircraft, and it would probably work on any thing metal.

toy · Apr 19, 2006

When I asked them at Tazwell how much it would cost to repair this seems like the price for them making the repair was about the same as the total cost of parts plus shipping maybe a little more. Hope you get it fixed soon and without too much trouble. Maybe the one that posted that they were going to reinforce theirs can chime in and describ what they did to reinforce it. I wouldn't have shipping charges since I live close enough to take mine back in to them.

catsco · Apr 19, 2006

A few days ago I replaced the rollover assembly (that is what PT called it) as mine had cracked (and been welded) numerous times.

My PT is a 425.

The assembly and shipping was about $210 total (to Colorado), and I paid our local high priced welder $65 to reweld after after grinding the ends where the pin is welded into the lift arm and removing it. Also had to cut completely through the bent 'tube' and pin to get the old pin out as the pin was bent.

The new part is a much thicker wall 'tube'; I believe the pin is the same. Hope this works.

My PT has 350 hrs., and this has been a problem since 275 hrs., but PT offered no repair, discount, etc. I thought they should give some concession on price, since this appears to be a design flaw, but that is not the case.

Still watching the new welds and parts about 15 seconds of every operating minute. Paranoia seems to creep in after things break that shouldn't!

Mark H.