LA211 Loader from tractor that burned down. Safe to use? (Pics inside)

[drewkeen]

I have the option to buy a LA211 loader for very cheap because the BX2200 tractor burned to the ground and he replaced it with a larger tractor.

I know that fires can get hot enough to damage the metal - is this easy to test?

Here are some pictures. I know it will need new lines at a minimum. Any info is greatly appreciated!

 

[drewkeen]

Pics.

 

[Agvg]

Doesn't think that is a problem, it must be really hot before steel is destroyed.

 

[Redneck in training]

I would expect that some rubber parts in the cylinders might be damaged. Cylinders can be rebuilt for few bucks in parts.

 

[mikester]

Doesn't think that is a problem, it must be really hot before steel is destroyed.

Really? That isn't just blackened paint on the boom and brackets, that's some serious heat damage.

I wouldn't bet my life on them. Not worth more than scrap value. There is a reason why OSHA makes you scrap forklift forks if somebody flame cuts a hole at the end for lifting chains. You've got an unknown heat treatment at a high stress area.

It's one thing to use something like that yourself trying for a Darwin award. What do you say if some kid in the future hops on and gets injured or killed by it through some unkown event?

That loader boom and brackets should be flame cut into pieces. Right now it's as safe as the shyster who welds two totalled cars together and sells it as new.

 

[captronr]

Some folks drive rebuilt wrecked cars, some tractors................ For me, I wouldn't want to mess with this loader.

If you assume the metal has NOT been weakened (and remember, it only lifts 400-500 pounds, so it's not a huge amount). It's higher loads probably would come from slamming the bucket into a pile of rocks or such. I doubt that the steel in the loader is heat treated.

In addition to replacing all the lines and hoses, and maybe the valve, and all the cyclinder seals, you'd need to flush the loader lines very well to keep any **** out of your tractor. I don't know if the cylinder walls might have deformed some in the heat............

All of the pins in the loader would need to be removed, cleaned, and regreased.

If your time is worth anything, it might be better to buy a new loader and be able to use it an hour after it's arrival. Just my two cents.

Ron

 

[Agvg]

All that steel has been red and hot in some point of it's production, to burn of paint doesn't require much hear, is it warped or melted? Some loaders use tension in the steel to stiffen them up but this is a small one so it's probably just welded to gether with no such design.

 

[drewkeen]

I haven't tried to mount it up to the tractor yet. I know it damaged the hydraulic hoses, but even the thin steel inside of those didnt melt.

I don't want to have something dangerous on the tractor, but at the same time I hate to waste/scrap something that would be useful to me or someone else.

How hot does the steel have to get to permanently alter the strength of it?

 

[crashz]

Depends on the type of steel. And that I don't know.

Most likely, the loader frame is just a mild steel with no heat treatment. But I'm not testifying to that. the fluid is likely caramelized and the hoses, steel lines and seals will all need to be replaced. In fact, I would replace all fluid parts (hoses, cylinders, fittings, steel lines).

I'd always suspect that loader would be weakened.

Then the old rule applies: Never stand below a raised load!

 

[Agvg]

Suppose you get it very cheap?
Is it fluid oil left in the cylinders?

 

[valkyrie9901]

Not heated enough to melt the hoses then not hot enough to hurt the steel. I would feel safe using it. If it is cheap enough I would get it.....JB.

 

[drewkeen]

Great tip - I'd never stand under it either way. I'll probably only use it a couple of times a year or I wouldnt even be considering it.

I'll check and see if there is any oil in it.


Is there a cheaper source for the hoses than Kubota? Are cylinders hard to rebuild or fairly straightforward if you are mechanically inclined?

 

[drewkeen]

Not heated enough to melt the hoses then not hot enough to hurt the steel. I would feel safe using it. If it is cheap enough I would get it.....JB.

My fear was the the hoses were a bit brittle on the braided part - is this any worry or is this because the fluid in the probably got them hotter and then they sat and rusted for a bit making them brittle.

 

[/pine]

What about the sub frame?

 

[Gary Fowler]

Most likely the steel used in FELs is plain carbon steel. Heating might warp it but if it didn't get hot enough to burn the hoses, then the steel isn't damaged. Heating low carbon steel to cherry red does not weaken it nor damage it for structural strength. It is done all the time to straighten bowed structural members and pressure piping.
You would need to get a real bargain in order to allow for repairing all the cylinders and replacing the hoses and fittings (hoses and fittings are not cheap). I would not be concerned with the strength of the steel and as long as it is not bowed or warped it should be ok.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Really? That isn't just blackened paint on the boom and brackets, that's some serious heat damage.

I wouldn't bet my life on them. Not worth more than scrap value. There is a reason why OSHA makes you scrap forklift forks if somebody flame cuts a hole at the end for lifting chains. You've got an unknown heat treatment at a high stress area..

You are comparing two totally different types of steel. Forklift forks are tempered high strength steel that could be effected by heating like when cutting a hole for a shackle. I really couldn't see that weakening a forks lift capacity though because it is usually done right on the tip and no one uses just the tip of a fork for lifting a pallet. I have seen that hole made in lots of forklift forks and never has OSHA had any issue with them on any construction job I was on. Maybe if you are in Kalifornia, the land of fruits and nuts, it may happen. They have some strange laws there that none of the other 49 states have.

 

[dodge man]

I wouldn't want it but it might be OK. I'd say the back cylinders need rebuilt.

 

[drewkeen]

Most likely the steel used in FELs is plain carbon steel. Heating might warp it but if it didn't get hot enough to burn the hoses, then the steel isn't damaged. Heating low carbon steel to cherry red does not weaken it nor damage it for structural strength. It is done all the time to straighten bowed structural members and pressure piping.
You would need to get a real bargain in order to allow for repairing all the cylinders and replacing the hoses and fittings (hoses and fittings are not cheap). I would not be concerned with the strength of the steel and as long as it is not bowed or warped it should be ok.

Would it just completely melt the hoses if it burned them based on what youre saying?

I can get it for next to nothing otherwise I wouldn't want to waste my time with it.

 

[aczlan]

Great tip - I'd never stand under it either way. I'll probably only use it a couple of times a year or I wouldnt even be considering it.
I'll check and see if there is any oil in it.
Is there a cheaper source for the hoses than Kubota? Are cylinders hard to rebuild or fairly straightforward if you are mechanically inclined?

Surplus Center should have all of the hoses if you get the right adapters, I recently got all the hoses for the loader on our B7500 (all JIC6, 1/4" hoses to the cylinders, 3/8" hoses to/from the valve) for about $175.
Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com

Aaron Z

 

[sandyc]

You might want to pull all the pins at the various pivot points and clean the pins as well as replace the grease zerks