Dipper Stick snapped in half

[EddieWalker]

No pictures right now, but there will be plenty tomorrow.

The Dipper Stick on my 555E Ford/New Holland Loader Backhoe snapped in half this evening. There are also multpiple cracks. The cause is inproper use by my 80 year old father. He's a very hard worker, but he's also very hard on equipment and doesn't realize that hitting it harder doesn't accomplish anything. We just replaced one of the pins on the bucket because of his abuse, and I've been telling him that he's digging wrong, but he doesn't get it, and he's been doing this for a couple thousand hours. The metal just gave up.

I'm completey overwhelmed with how to get it off. I'm thinking about buildng a wooden cradle to support it in position and taking off the bucket, the cylinders and pins. Then cap the hoses and using the front loader to pick it up and get it into my truck.

I've been pricing used dipper sticks online for other brands because I haven't seen a price for mine yet, and they are in the $4,000 to $5,000 range plus shipping. I'm hoping that the welding shop that does all my repairs will be quite a bit cheaper.

Other then a bullet in my head, does anybody have any suggestions or thoughts?

Eddie

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Sounds like a tough situation - sorry to hear about the severe damage. Without seeing a picture I would suspect that the break and cracks can be welded, then some reinforcing plate welded on over the whole area.

 

[LD1]

Wow is about al I can say. Looking forward to some pics, but I am sure it can be welded for far less than 4k:confused2:

Did it do any damage to the bucked cylinder??

As for taking it appart, the bucket chould come off pretty easy. The Cylinder pins should also come off pretty easy. But the dipperstick-mainboom pin is usually the tough one.

I think the 555 is similar to dads 4500 we jsut rebuilt. And that pin was pretty tight. Itis a hardened pin and hardened thick bushing. What we did was use the logsplitter (with a plate instead of wedge) as a horizontal press to aid in repoving and re-installing.

 

[davygp38]

If the machine has been used as hard as that, I would be afraid the boom would go next, as soon as you have a newer dipper stick put on.

 

[EddieWalker]

Here are the pictures.

I'm nervous about the boom. I've looked for cracks, and haven't seen any, but realize that doesn't mean anything. Once I get the dipper stick off, I'll clean up the boom and look a lot closer.

My dad will dig all day long, day after day, and get a ton accomplished. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize that droping the bucket down onto the ground and then digging by curling the bucket and lifting the backhoe's rear tires off of the ground will eventually cause some damage. I knew that something was going to happen, but honestly thought it was going to be excessive wear of the pins.

This has shocked me and left me sick to my stomache. I'm physicaly ill over it, and not wanting to deal with it. Of course, that's just what I will do until I get it apart and loaded into the back of my truck.

Welding and adding plates to it seems like the best option. If I can find a used one, there's no telling what shape it's in, or what it will cost to get it here.

My plan is to get the bucket off, then build a cradle out of wood to hold it up while taking out the main pin off of the boom. It's going to be one of those days of doing one thing at a time, and then on to the next until it's done. I'll take some pictures and update as I can.

Eddie

 

[kennyd]

WoW, Eddie...I have not good advice, sorry

 

[blueriver]

Ouch ... I'm a novice in welding repairs, looks like to me its almost broke completely off. Is there anyway to jack both ends up into place and do the welding repairs on site?

 

[LD1]

It actually doesnt appear as bad as I thought. I was expecting more bent/twisted metal/

I am assuming since you are planning on taking it appart and taking it to a shop, that you do not have a welder there??

Because honestly, I would NOT dis-assemble to make that repair.

Actually, the hydraulics of the hoe can be used to help bend back into shape and close the gap. At that point, I wouldnt have any problems welding it back together solid, and then re-enforcing with some 1/4" plate on at least the sides and bottom. The plates should be as wide as the dipperstick, and about a foot long each (6" on each side of the weld).

Before you actually start dis-assembly, you may want to see if you can consult with a mobile welder in your area and see what he thinks. He will probabally charge a little more than a shop (due to the convience of being mobile) but it may be worth not having to disassemble and reassemble.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm not good enough of a welder to tackle this job. Too much riding on it and I want it done right this time so I never have to deal with it again. Whatever it costs is worth it to make sure that it's not worse the next time.

I didn't think of getting a welder to come here. My experience with welders has been very disapointing over the years. I've found one place that does what they say they will, does it very well, and stands behind their work. It's called Lew's here in Tyler. Unfortunately, they don't do mobile. Everything has to be brought to them, and they do it in their shop.

I really like the idea of getting an expert to come out here and weld it in place. I agree that it's a fairly clean break, and shouldn't be too hard to get back together, then made stronger with some gussets and or braces.

I'm sent out a request on facebook for leads on welders. I'm not in a rush on this, but would like to get it done as soon as possible.

I'm thinking that talking to some welders is going to be the best thing, and if that doesn't work out, I can always tackle taking it apart, bringing it down to Lew's and then putting it back together again.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

My Dad suggested that I tack it together, strap it together and drive the backhoe to Lew's and have them do it there. I like that better then taking it apart. I will go there Monday morning and see what they think of that idea, or if they have somebody that they can recommend to come out here and do it.

Eddie

 

[Amelia Farms]

While you've got it at the welding ship, couldn't hurt to put some new teeth on that bucket.

 

[blueriver]

My Dad suggested that I tack it together, strap it together and drive the backhoe to Lew's and have them do it there. I like that better then taking it apart. I will go there Monday morning and see what they think of that idea, or if they have somebody that they can recommend to come out here and do it.

Eddie

Eddie ... how about a good solid wooden fence post under it and some straps around the post and the beam to hold her together and then drive it to the shop.

 

[JB4310]

Yeah, I would try and get it back together where it is on the machine. you will have better leverage doing it that way than if it was off the machine. being on the machine you should be able to manipulate back in place with the hydraulics.

Plenty of space to fish plate it, once it's repaired he wont be able to break it again in that spot

Be thankful for that little bit that is still attached, good thing it didn't completely fall off, cause the cylinder damage would be more than the cost of welding the dipper.

As bad as it looks it could of been worse, still being attached gives you more options than if was in 2 pieces.

Good luck,
JB.

 

[LD1]

My Dad suggested that I tack it together, strap it together and drive the backhoe to Lew's and have them do it there. I like that better then taking it apart. I will go there Monday morning and see what they think of that idea, or if they have somebody that they can recommend to come out here and do it.

Eddie

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

How far of a drive is it for you?

Tacking and strapping should suffice for just transporting it.

But if you are going to attempt to straighten it back out and tack it, get it as CLOSE as possible, This way the shop wont have to grind out your tacks and try to get it close themselves.

There are two ways to straighted it, you can use the hoes own hydraulics, or for a more controlled method, wrap a come-a-long around the bucket and back to the main boom.:thumbsup:

If you lived closer to me, I'd tell you just to bring it over and we'd weld it up in no-time. Probabally even have some plate for reinforcement in the scrap pile.

 

[Short Game]

It's a broken arm that will heal up stronger than it was in the first place. If it were mine, I would not worry too much. I'd just throw some scrap steel and welding rod at it. The only thing I would miss is the time I need for a dozen other projects.

If you lived closer to me, I'd tell you just to bring it over and we'd weld it up in no-time. Probabally even have some plate for reinforcement in the scrap pile.

Yeah, like that.

Between the backhoe's hydraulics, some good clamps, and maybe a small grind here and there, we'd get that thing lined up fine. I wouldn't worry about pretty, but strong wouldn't be difficult.

 

[dynasim]

Eddie,

That is completely fixable. Note that the break initiated at the existing gusset, and extending that gusset will likely make it as good as new. Your plan of tacking it(and using some temporary gusseting) was what I would have suggested.

The hard part is going to be ensuring that you are aligned properly. The alignment is going to be more critical than the actual welding, as a small error in alignment will cause twisting, making a repeat failure more likely. In my opinion, the vertical alignment is most important.

Good luck

Chris

 

[dynasim]

Eddie,

Another thing, if you are worried, is to sand blast to check other places for initiated cracks. You will probably want to repaint anyway. I would look carefully at the borders of gusseted joints.

Chris

 

[Short Game]

After zooming in on the remaining hinge, it would probably be good to shield the cylinder and apply some heat to the bent part as you pull it back toward the original alignment. Part of what is bent looks like a reinforced area. That part won't want to bend back easily, especially cold. If it comes down to taking it apart, the welding and fitting become much easier. It's certainly doable, and there are more ways than one to skin this cat. If it winds up weighing thirty pounds more in the end, it shouldn't matter much. Alignment can be done by clamping it between the right structural splints, like channel, etc.

Looking at the break, you can see where it started by the color of the steel. I'll bet it was right on that curved weld at the tip of the gusset. This didn't happen overnight.

 

[brin]

About your 80 yr.old Dad...Eddie, I would trade all my tractors and much more to have my Dad back with me just for a day....Your repair will work fine...

 

[sandman2234]

I know this is "against the flow" of what everybody else is saying, but I would disasemble it by removing the bucket and the cylinder. (bucket is just for ease of handling). My reasons are because the cylinder might do the job but if you push the cylinder, it probably isn't going to close the gap. It might, but for some reason I have my doubts. Pulling with the cylinder only makes things worse. So, remove all excess weight, lay the durn thing on a bench and use straight edges to line it up. Get out the grinder and some spare wheels and start fitting it back into place. When you have it right, tack it and then throw it in the truck and haul it to the shop. If you take it in the condition it is in, it will cost you a lot more for repairs, and this isn't rocket science.
A comalong underneath might pull it back together, wouldn't hurt before disasembly. be carefull and work slow, but you already knew that....
I would imagine this didn't "just happen" but started showing cracks a while back. Probably doesn't hurt to look them over close every now and then at the stress points.
David from jax