Removing pinned-on buckets

[ning]

I have a need to remove a pinned-on bucket (on my backhoe) and I've never done this before.
The pins are 1" diameter.
What do I use for this?
Hand sledge seems like a likely part of the solution, but is a specialized punch needed or can I use some 1/2" steel rod I've got lying around?

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Pinned on buckets can be fun to remove! Just used a steel pin with a diameter just a little smaller than the one I was trying to remove. Edit: Wear safety glasses.
Also, used a fair amount of lubricant.

 

[ning]

Pinned on buckets can be fun to remove! Just used a steel pin with a diameter just a little smaller than the one I was trying to remove. Edit: Wear safety glasses.
Also, used a fair amount of lubricant.

I don't know that I have a metal pin bigger than the 1/2"... I'll definitely lube the pins and flex them before going for it, though.

 

[ning]

Those came out much more easily than I'd expected (I had no basis for this expectation mind you).
One almost came flying out when tapped; the other had not only the bucket hanging on it but also the thumb so I suppose that's why it took more inducement but it wasn't difficult.
Thanks all!

 

[rScotty]

Those came out much more easily than I'd expected (I had no basis for this expectation mind you).
One almost came flying out when tapped; the other had not only the bucket hanging on it but also the thumb so I suppose that's why it took more inducement but it wasn't difficult.
Thanks all!

I've seen the same thing. Backhoe bucket pins & shafts come out pretty easily.

Say, that reminds me of something that happened to my backhoe a few years back.
My backhoe bucket pins were retainted with unprotected Linch Pins to keep them from sliding out.
Linch Pins aren't the problem - they are also used in commercial machinery - but there they are recessed to prevent accidently disengagement.
An unrecessed Linch Pin won't last long when digging, and having a bucket pivot shaft slide out under load can ruin the whole backhoe attachment mechanism. Big buck repair. I just happened to be watching when it happened to me and saw the shaft sticking half way out.

So if you have a Linch Pin retaining uour bucket shaft using this type of attachment .... best to inspect it. Or replace with a heavy standard bendable cotterpin or a bolt and lock nut.

rScotty

 

[WM75Guy]

I removed my FEL bucket to switch over to SSQA. Pumped grease in them first. I removed one on each side first. The only one I had problems with was the last one as the bucket twisted ever so slightly on the ground when the 2nd to last pin came out, just enough to bind up the last pin on the other side. I sacrificed a cheap impact wrench socket to drive mine out. The only reason it distorted was hitting it with a small sledge when that last pin bound up. Once I lined the bucket back up straight the pin popped right out.

 

[5030]

If it was greased regularly they should come out easily by tapping them with a drift punch. If not, you will need to drive them out using an air chisel with a punch attachment in the retainer barrel.

Never seen a commercial backhoe bucket with cotter pinned pins. All the ones I've seen and worked on were cross drilled in the boss and through bolted with Nylock nuts. Lynch pins would certainly be a huge no. Interestingly, both the lower ends of the loader arms where the SSQA adapter(s) are, are cross drilled and through bolted as well. Only the upper part of the loaders have lynch pins where there is no ground contact.

So long as the cross pins were / are greased, they should come out with little to no effort. In fact I just installed a Kubota SSQA attachment and cut the pin on ears off the bucket and welded on the SSQA plate on a customer tractor and he kept those pins well greased and I pushed them through with my fingers until I could grab them with gloved hands and they came right out. Easy peasy.

 

[M59]

Some people are lucky and others have to do it the hard way. When I upgraded the M59 backhoe with custom quick attach to use the KX excavator attachments, I ended up with the hard way. Always lubricated every grease nipple on machine every 8 work hours with molly grease but the pin attaching the linkage to the bucket, see pic, was more or less "welded" together thanks to time and the pin is fixed in the bucket ear bosses so it won't rotate. Multiple heatings with acetylene torch and beating with 20 lb sledge hammer finally overcame years of corrosion. I was pretty close to cutting the ears off with plasma torch so I could get it to a hydraulic press when pin finally gave in.

Glad to see your pins were happy to depart their bores.

 

[loggin]

I believe using a bolt slightly undersized with a nylon lock nut for a retaining pin is the best way to go for retaining the cross pins. With it being slightly undersized it will allow the cross pin to rotate at the anchored end to allow some grease to work its way through the end. Without that slight rotation the grease has a harder time making its way through and you wind up developing rust at the stationary ends.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I had a very stubborn pin on a 40 year old Case 580. That it had very low hours on it probably didn't help.

Days of soaking with 50/50 acetone and atf, sledge hammers, etc. only lead to mushrooming the end of it.

Eventually got it out after welding a Peterbilt lug nut to it and hitting that with the 3/4" hydraulic impact. Afterwards I made a sleeve with a Zerk fitting on it to prevent it from freezing in place again.