Dig-It towable Backhoe partial restoration

[Wa11banger]

Hey felllow TBN fans I just bought a Dig-It towable backhoe that needs a little tlc before being considered serviceable again. I figured I'd post some pics, detail progress, and seek advice here in the project forum. It's deer season so progress may be a little slow but we'll get it done. So lets go through the breakdown

The good:
It actually does work, I tested it out and although rough it does work
It is all there and in decent shape, except for an original gas cap and a cracked hydraulic cap

The bad:
The previous owner filled tbe hydraulic reservoir with hydraulic fluid instead of 10w-40 as stated on the warning label right next to the filler

The carb needs rebuilt, the float valve is either stuck/broken/missing (lol) something.. It runs pretty good but if you forget to turn off the fuel, in three days it will completely fill the engine with gas. Currently drained.

The curl cylinder is the only cylinder the previous owner did not rebuild and it is leaking like a sieve. I cannot identify mfg or a part number so I am a little confused on how to order new packings for it.

And finally the tow bar assembly is bent fairly bad.. will have to detail out this repair because I will probably need some ideas here.

Well here it is sitting with gas tank, hydraulic reservoir, and oil drained ready for some tlc


A couple of pics of the damage that I need to correct to make it more easily towable

Bent tow bar assembly


Right side tow bar mount area looking down


Close up of right side tow bar area


That should cover it for starters.. If any of you have any ideas of how to best bend that back without breaking my back I sure would appreciate them.. Current thought is to cut it off and rebuild from new metal

 

[Illini22]

I loved the digits we had at the electric utility I worked at. Of course, we were hand digging cable faults before they purchased dig its. They were great for rear lots. We had our mechanics weld a piece of c channel perpendicular to a 42" snow blade. Punched a threaded hole thru it and drilled a hole thru the bucket. It was an amazing backfilling machine, plus we got another 2 feet of reach.

 

[Wa11banger]

Yah, I think its going to be a fun little machine and project.. I know it may not dig a pool but I am sure every aspect of it's use will be better than by hand and if the the capability it had while it was handicap was any indication.. These are not weak machines at all. Even with the engine not running top notch it tore through the ground without issue other than a little bog on the engine.

 

[BeezFun]

If you take that tow bar assembly off, heat it with a rosebud and it should bend. Probably need a template to get the correct shape, you can see in the second photo that they had a slight offset originally. You could also take it to a body shop that does frame straightening, they'd have the equipment to do it.

 

[Illini22]

Your dig it was one of the later, better models. You have larger caster wheels than what the originals had. We had kohler motors. One of the lower booms cracked where it pins to the lower boom. It was from hauling them behind the line trucks. Eventually we just pulled them with pickups as they only weighted about 600 pounds.

 

[Wa11banger]

This has a kohler magnum 18 for an engine. I have no idea how much it weghs but it has to be more than 600lbs.. My FEL has no problems picking up my 620lb box blade but cannot get the wheels of this thing off the ground. It was a real chore trying to get it off the trailer I transported it on to bring it home

 

[Illini22]

Kkk, I must be mistaken on the weight. It's been at least 15 years ago.

 

[Wa11banger]

It's all good Illini22, I appreciate the insight. I still haven't had time to tear into it but I believe all the gas vapor and oil are out of the engine so sometime this weekend I should be trying to fire it up again. If it runs even reasonably I will begin the tear down of the carb.. I don't want to work on that engine until I hear it go again after the block and cylinders being filled with gas. I will fog the cylinders so they get a good coat of oil and I plan to turn it over a couple of times without fuel or spark to get oil back through the system before attempting to start it again.

 

[Mendonsy]

Kkk, I must be mistaken on the weight. It's been at least 15 years ago.

You were mostly right. The spec I saw says it weighs 2600#.

 

[Illini22]

That has to be a typo.