Had a Boo-Boo

L

L.C. Gray

New member

Equipment
L3400, RTV500
May 14, 2016
105
0
0
Stephenville, Texas
Had a lil boo-boo today... Was trying to put a bunch of hay out for the cows before leaving for 10 days in the Caribbean. I was using the forks on the loader flipping the hay rings up before moving bales and I had one get away from me. The hay ring managed to get over the backstop of the forks And the more I tried to get control of it the worse it got until the hay ring was all the way over the loader arms and fell on me resting across both legs and pinning me in the seat. Unfortunately it also had the tractor immobilized as it had the steering wheel wedged and was laying on the loader joystick. I managed to get the tractor shutdown and little by little lift on the ring and wiggle out of the seat. I’m fine, not a scratch, but the loader is inoperable now.

The end of the valve plunger for up/down where the bolt connecting it to the joystick passes through it broke off through the center of the hole. I can’t do anything with it until we get back first of the month but I’m wondering if I can get the part to fix it and how complicated is it to go through the valve or am I better off to just change the whole shebang....

Maybe an expensive mistake I learned cheap because I’d be a lot more expensive to fix than the tractor. Learn and live...
 
North Idaho Wolfman

North Idaho Wolfman

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When you get back take some pictures of what you need to fix and post it. ;)
 
Dunbar

Dunbar

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Dang! An old hand at tractor driving, by looking at his arsenal of tractors, having a freak incident that no one could for-see. Its going to be alright if I do something like put 2 gallons instead of 1 in my tractor on an oil change. Stuff happens.

So being a new tractor owner, despite driving forklifts and tilt bed trucks and flying airplanes as a 14 year old kid, its going to be alright when I screw the pooch and do something that lands me in a ridiculous pickle. I salute you L.C. Gray for informing us that it can happen to anyone as it happened to you.
 
mdhughes

mdhughes

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What model of loader do you have? I was think you were talking about the loader on your L3400, but I can match anything in your picture to the parts list for the Kubota loader.
 
J

Jim L.

Active member
Jun 18, 2014
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Is the control marked Besko?

Ansung has a warehouse in Carrollton, west of Dallas, and close to DFW airport.
 
L

L.C. Gray

New member

Equipment
L3400, RTV500
May 14, 2016
105
0
0
Stephenville, Texas
Jim L. said:
Is the control marked Besko?

Ansung has a warehouse in Carrollton, west of Dallas, and close to DFW airport.
Click to expand...
Have not found Besko on it, but I believe it is. I did find a parts manual online and in the parts list its noted the valve is supplied by Besko.

I have located Ansung in Dallas and have emailed them them seeking parts availability.

Depending on price of part and what Labor is entailed in disassembly/reassembly vs total valve replacement I will figure out whether to:

A) replace the valve (most expensive, less laborious, most reliable)
B) replace the plunger (cheaper, more laborious, reliable)
C) solder the plunger (cheapest, most laborious, least reliable)
 
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North Idaho Wolfman

North Idaho Wolfman

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L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
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Sandpoint, ID
L.C. Gray said:
I***8217;m actually thinking silver solder... maybe brass.

If I can find the plunger on its own I***8217;ll just swap it out.
Click to expand...
You can't do that as the spools (valve stems) are machines to match the body, you can not buy or swap out just the single spool.

Any welding on a spool valve is likely to not yield you very good results as any distortion what so ever will make the valve worthless. ;)
 
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T

Titan17

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L3901 TLB, Caroni RFM, Scag Wildcat ZTR, Piranha TB,York RE 96", MTL HD 48" grap
Jan 13, 2019
92
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8
Uncasville, CT
I'm a new member so I hate to sound like a know it all but this type of repair was right up my alley.
New is ALWAYS best but when not available or $$$$ try the repair. Nothing to loose. If it fails it's not life threatening like say welding a tie rod on wife's minivan.
Don't silver solder - that's best when something is sleeved or has more surface area for a bond. It's a weld that will be at the end so no warpage and it's probably not hard chrome plated.

Remove the spool, wrap it with sheet copper or brass and ground clamp tight to that, this protects the spool front arc transfer. Don't try to bend the broken collar back just do a full solid weld with mild steel wire like er70 (most common mig wire) this is so you can drill it out to size later. Grind slightly oversize to shape and finish with a file to fit.

Polish with 400# or fine Emery and test for full operation in the valve. Make sure there is no damage or weld spatter at the seal area (that's what the copper wrap is for).

Don't try to weld just the broken side of collar, that isn't strong, do a full penitration weld on the entire inner bore so it becomes one solid piece again.

It's not as good as new oem but it's worth a shot. Sloppy joystick/single lever controls with worn bores are repaired like that.

This is a great forum with good people and I'd like to contribute but If I'm out of line for suggesting something so unconventional someone please let me know; I'll forever keep my mouth shut. I have been called a hack on occasion.
 
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L

lc12

Member
Dec 23, 2017
68
8
8
US
Hey Titan17, nothing wrong with a good "Hack"!
Glad to have someone with your experience sharing the information with the rest of us!
 
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