PT-425 dented lifting arm

[johara1]

Seems like you have enough room to remove the plate and cut the ears off and shorten them and weld them back on to miss the cross tube.... Jim

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks for the feedback. Geometry seems to be in the lead.

I added another pic of the arm position when contact is made but Moss, yes, you understood the position exactly! Based on coolconnection's experience, this is not a unique problem so I've sent off some pics to Terry for comment. Funny, these days you tend not to think in terms of hand made equipment and the possibility for human errors in the build process. We'll see if that's the case or not.View attachment 587373

OK that picture is perfect. I was thinking of the other end of the top link hitting it in full dump. It's the far end hitting in full curl back.

It happens when the dump/curl cylinder is fully extended, correct?

 

[johara1]

The easy fix would be to weld some stops on either side so it doesn't contact the rod ..... Jim

 

[ernemats]

The ends of mine look nothing like that, they are round, will post picture if I remember tomorrow. My 422 is a 1999 model year.

 

[toy]

In the first picture it looks like the ears where the lift arm attaches on the left side of the quick attach are pretty wide. Looking at the pin that goes through that side it looks like the head of the bolt doesn't line up with the bolt like the bolt might be broke.

 

[Incline]

Talked to Terry this morning - apparently not a "reversed control link" like cool connection experienced (though he did acknowledge that they had a batch like that in the past). Shouldn't be possible to make that dent. I'll tell the dent that and maybe it will go away - problem solved. I'll just have to keep playing with different attachments and angles to see if I can see the dirty deed happening real time.

Welding/filling the dent and or a protective plate to the tube is option 1. welding a stop to prevent the contact is option 2.

Peter, you wrote "I would shorten that tube before that dent gets any deeper. (Might cut it out and weld a patch onto the other tube while I was in there.)" Can you clarify what you mean by shorten the tube? And yes, I suppose a plasma cutter would be useful but I'd hoped not to use it to cut up my new machine!!!

 

[ponytug]

What I meant was that I thought that your upper arm was hitting the tube and denting it. I meant to suggest that you take the upper arm off. Sever it, and shorten it by whatever amount is needed, and reweld it. The cut out thought was that a dented tube is significantly weaker than an intact tube and that it might be useful to cut the dent out, or fill it before a sideways impact causes it to crumple. It is the old crush an aluminum can trick. A small dent or two on the aluminum can and it crumples like tissue paper. Sealed, you can break a window with it.

I was just kidding about the plasma cutter. I suspect you will need a chop saw with an abrasive blade to get through the upper arm.

Does that make better sense? Sorry for the confusion.

You might try curling the QA plate all the way forward, and then cycle all the way up/down. That should be the combination that gets it to hit.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ernemats]

Here are the pictures of mine, I was looking at your pictures and I misread the looks.

 

[Incline]

Moss: It happens when the dump/curl cylinder is fully extended, correct? - Yes
Pony: Got it, thanks
ernemats: It could just be the photo but there's a white-ish mark on your tube, about the same location, that looks suspiciously like a junior version of my dent

 

[ernemats]

More or less just the paint scratched off and a very slight indentation. Also the rod is slightly bent from something, don't know when or how.