Two Wrongs to Make a Right?

[Spiffy]

I finally got around to drilling a new tilt bar. Looks great, butttttt, the tabs don't line up. I turned it around, thinking I may have drilled at an angle; I did very slightly, but my original direction helped it if anything.

Which explains why it went in quite tight before I drilled - I thought it was just mill slag which I ground off later. This also explains the uneven wear on the pins.

A little playing with a tape measure and the pivot lever was welded to the pivot shaft 1/4 inch off and exagerated another 1/8" by a slight angle when they welded. 3/8"!

That pivot lever is welded all the way around (maybe a 3" diameter!) on both side of both sections. Grinding & rewelding doesn't sound pleasant for that!

Could grind off some of the lower swivels and push it over, but 1/4" (I don't mind it cheating an 1/8 if necessary)?! I want those to have all the contact they can get anyway.

Could bend the pivot lever, but that is some thick and wide steel and is reinforced between the two. Yikes! Besides bending doesn't seem right.

Could bend my tilt bar, but that doesn't seem right either. Maybe I could cut it and reweld it offset, seems like a "shoddy" way to do it too, but maybe a good idea.

The best I can come up with is cutting off the tabs (could just do one and use washers to shim it) on the attachment plate and rewelding 3/8 (maybe 1/4 inch off). That means that plate would now be wrong, but I'm at loss for better ideas. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

What do you guys think?

I won't be able post pictures now, maybe later, but I think everyone knows what/where I'm talking about.

 

[Spiffy]

I'll upload a couple pictures quick; I didn't do the best resizing job, but I think they get the point across.

 

[Spiffy]

The first shows how in a relaxed (I can force it to about 1/2" or about an 1/8" gap the other way) position, the bar is about 3/8" too far left - notice how it sits on top of one tab while leaving a gap between itself and the other tab.

 

[Spiffy]

This one shows the pivot; I don't think grinding those welds is considered an option! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

The tape measure says the left bar of the tilt pivot is at 6" from the left lift arm, and the right one is 6 1/4".

 

[J_J]

If it were mine, I would cut off the tab on the QA that doesn't line up, and weld on a new tab with the pin installed. Tack weld, check for fit, and complete the welding.

 

[J_J]

You could use some hydraulic spreaders to open the tilt arm enough to allow the bar at the QA to fit. Put some washers in the space opened up.

 

[Spiffy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If it were mine, I would cut off the tab on the QA that doesn't line up, and weld on a new tab with the pin installed. Tack weld, check for fit, and complete the welding. )</font>

That does seem the best option; less grinding (even spreading the pivot, I think I'd need to cut out one reinforcing tube) than any other options and it will look right when finished.

 

[J_J]

Do you remember that I had to cut the pivot tube and pin out of my 1445. Some how they locked up and would not separate.. I cut it out and welded in a new tube and pin. I tried to push out the old pin from the tube, but it was to stuck to move, even a little.

One more option just flashed through my mind. I had to do this one time when I was welding up come cylinder brackets. Ream out that hole a little bit, and the tilt bar might move over enough to fit between the tabs. If you can get a reamer in your drill press, and clamp that tilt bar down, when you run that reamer through the hole, it should be straight. A little slop will not hurt, but if it does, install a bushing/sleeve.

 

[Spiffy]

JJ, you are full of.....great information! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Even w/o the pins in, I didn't have slop on this bar (yeah, a little grinding would have maybe done it; I don't have a mill /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif ), so I went with your first suggestion (similar my tab cutting idea).

Actually, thought I'd get lucky with a tape measure, so my first tack weld was on the bench. After needing to grind that off, I did the tack weld inplace; about step by step as you wrote.

Looks and works great; pictures later (still need to drill my "short position" position hole" but I did check for binding)! I'm starting to think (aside from wanting a new bar anyway), the real problem isn't the need for multiple holes as the 2:1 reduction in range of motion; if it lacked power, it sure looks like a larger diameter cylinder could have fit (asuming the shorter length of pivot arm anyway). Another day though.......

Also, anyone know why are they using CAT1 balls instead of a greasable bushing on the lower arms; I'm guessing it's remniscent from the original design; but I'd sure like to grease all 3 pins on the QA plate.

 

[Spiffy]

Need to take better pictures of the results yet, but got a couple great ones of the new tool this project forced to me buy:

9" (Yes, 9: twice the size of "hardward store" angle grinders).

I couldn't get between the tabs with my 4" and didn't trust myself taking it off with a cutting torch: forced me to buy this tool (actually since the rental stores wanted about 20% of cost for a day, it really made sense). I put one of the wife's pop bottles (just the morning coffee for me) by it for reference.