My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

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almost every summer I rebuild something, I guess I am a glutton for punishment :bear_w00t:

This summer's project was a 15' AC backhoe that I picked up cheap because it looked like sh*t and had a tired engine.
This is what it looked like the day I picked it up last March at the farm where it was found,.... it was real hard to get it started in the cold weather

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

I spent a LOT of time grinding, sanding and degreasing everything before painting. This puppy now wears 4 gallons of fresh
paint!

See that small box of parts, that's about 1200 frn's



The hydraulics and drive train were good so I thought it would be a worthwhile "tangible asset" to sink frn's into. I plan to plant
an orchard, dig some wells and a root cellar, move wood, and use it to improve the land.

At first I thought I may get away with a new head gasket and a bit of injector work, but the deeper I dug the more I found that
it needed. The cylinder liners were worn beyond specs and the camshaft had worn lobes. I wound up pulling the diesel engine
and tore it down for a complete rebuilding.
The engine had to come out anyway because the clutch was shot.

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

What was done:
new pistons & cylinder liners
all new valves and valve job
the head was shaved
all new cam, main & rod bearings
(crank miced ok, polished journals with crocus cloth)
all new seals and gaskets
repaired the power steering pump
rod bearings machined
flywheel resurfaced
new clutch & pressure plate
all new engine hoses
injectors and injector pump rebuilt
camshaft sent out to be reground
new hydraulic pump drive shaft, hub & flex connections
replaced suspect & hard to get to hydraulic hoses

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

Because of the parts machining waiting time I thought I would never get it done before the weather turned ugly but we have
been blessed with a warm spell.
luckily I managed to button her up last week, and best of all before the cold and snow.
It's been a money pit, wore out about 5 pairs of jeans and listened my wife hollar about the grease I leave on everything,
but
now I have a "slave" that never complains and can pick up and move almost anything..............
I just used it to dig our plugged septic tank, took 10 minutes time, a job that used to take me several hours by hand. Also
moved a few chords or firewood and did some digging in the field.... I Am Finding this machine to be VERY handy already, a happy camper:biggrin:

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

Looks nice. $1200 ain't bad to do that much work on an AC. I thought their parts were that high 20 years ago. What do you mean by "rod bearings machined"? What did you do to them?
The bar tread back tire goes the other way doesn't it?
I'm looking for an old hoe. What do you think about the AC's? I'd prefer Case or JD. Isn't parts availability a nightmre with AC?

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

Good job fixing that beast up.

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

very cool.. must be nice to have the facilities to work on this beast

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

I should have said "rod bushings"... they have to be pressed into the rods and then honed to the piston pins. The $1200.00 box of parts was just the start but it included the main and rod bearings, pistons & liners, also gaskets and seals. on top of that there was the clutch, bearing and pressure plate, then machine work:, $75.00 for flywheel resurfacing,
$80.00 for the rod bushing pressing and honing, $300.00 to have the cam re-ground, 1k to rebuild the injectors and pump, 4 gallons of paint, new pump shaft and hub, hoses, fluids etc... I still have to add up all of the slips but including the machine purchase I am still into this machine for less than 5K.
It runs like a watch now and has fantastic power, she still will need some more hoses and next summer I will replace the brakes, but now hopefully it last me until I take the big "6' under dirt nap":rofl:

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

I actually had no problem at all tracking down the parts for this machine, contrary to what you hear about AC's parts are available. Our local farm supply store ordered all of the parts for me and they cost less than the big online sellers who seem to price gouge. The big online AC dealer wanted something like $225.00 for the hydro pump hub and $95.00 for the shaft, the local dealer set me up with Ford parts that work perfectly for about $65.00 but I had to cut the shaft to length and weld the couplers to the shaft. The fellow who owns our local farm center is very old but knows a great deal about all equipment, without him in the picture I probably would have spent a lot more.

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

good job , it will last you a life time

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That was a good investment and will last a hell of a lot longer than some Chinese knockoff backhoe.

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

It had enough surface area that it didn't wear out between overhauls. That's the way Allis Chalmers built things. When Fiat bought them out, everything changed. The Fiat cranks did not even last as long as the rest of the engine. There were Fiat-Allis dozers parked all over construction yards needing cranks. I remember those days. My neighbor has an old Allis Chalmbers angle dozer. It still runs, too.

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

+1 on the reverse mounted tire. Otherwise, :ok:

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Damn, you're amazing. I admire folks who can rebuilt large projects. :bear_thumb:

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

Impressive, to say the least. Kudo's!

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

Zilver- Guys like you that can do things like this and who can use machine tools to make parts ,who can weld and figure out how to make things are going to inherit the Earth.

Re: My summer project "mechanical moneypit"
 

put a removeable "thumb" on that hoe and you will be especially tickled with what you can do with it