Backhoe Manual thumb attachment

[Rdr202]

I just installed a thumb on my backhoe. I went with the Mahindra factory manual thumb for my eMax22.
I had considered an after market bolt on thumb on Amazon cost was under $200 but thought the factory one was a better fit and worth the extra cost.

 

[BIKER BOB]

I have a manual thumb on the BH on my 3215. Great tool for keeping stones/stumps from grinding against boom. Not to compare with a hydraulic thumb, but as much as it gets used it works great! Hope your experience is good with your new "toy", I mean tool!

 

[kneedeep]

I have Factory thumb on my 509 as well. Its heavy and I use a 4x4 block on the teeth to maneuver it in place to pin down and up. Makes it easy to do.

 

[Navasot]

No thumb but gets it done

 

[4570Man]

I have a thumb on mine. It works great for cutting firewood. I haven't found it to be very useful for much else.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I've had hoes with thumbs and without mechanical thumbs.

With thumb is better.

 

[Rdr202]

No thumb but gets it done <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=454444"/>

Thumb helps the dipper from getting banged up.

 

[JoeyDude]

I just installed a thumb on my backhoe. I went with the Mahindra factory manual thumb for my eMax22.
I had considered an after market bolt on thumb on Amazon cost was under $200 but thought the factory one was a better fit and worth the extra cost.

I had the Mahindra thumb installed when I purchased the tractor. Unfortunately, it bent on the first day with the very first rock I picked up. In all fairness, it was a big rock and right at the limit of the dipper. Since then, I've straightened the thumb several times and it continues to get re-bent with use.



I haven't used any heat to straighten it for fear of weakening the metal any further. Instead, I lash a five or six foot pry bar / rock bar onto the thumb and push it back into roughly the correct position. As you can see in the photos, it doesn't always bend exactly in the right spot but it's been close enough.

One day I might get around to heating and hammering it into better shape. If I do, I'm likely to weld a support bar close to the tip or perhaps a plate connecting the two tines.

 

[Rdr202]

I think after you heat it dip it in oil or water to cool it and harden the steel.

 

[oldpilgrim]

JoeyDude,

I can't imagine how something could be built so flimsily.

Here's a pic of the dirty thumb on my 3016, which is only slightly larger than your tractor. It doesn't seem like they would put something as badly designed as yours and as ruggedly designed as mine on tractors that are nearly the same size.

I'd complain to the dealer about it, if it were mine. There's no reasonable expectation that that design would ever hold up under normal use.

Maybe DavesTractor knows if the BH and parts on your's and mine are made from different mfgrs.