My B2601 broke in half!

bearbait

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L3560, 64" snowblower, 72" back blade
Dec 9, 2011
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Wow, nice job! To be honest I thought you were up the creek with bringing her back but you proved me wrong. Keep up the good work and good luck.
 

skeets

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Equipment
BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,094
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SW Pa
Dude I am impressed, very impressed,, Me I would still be MFing everything between the tears. I dont think I could get that much done in 6 months, looks really good
 

Egressman

Member

Equipment
B2601
Sep 7, 2016
140
7
18
Richmond, IN, United States
Wow, nice job! To be honest I thought you were up the creek with bringing her back but you proved me wrong. Keep up the good work and good luck.
Thanks for the positive vibes!


The rebuild is not without challenges for sure. At a young age I was taught that hard work is the answer. After 23 years in the Air Force during a time of war it was reinforced. I was able to watch extraordinary people do extraordinary things under extraordinary conditions. And for that I am thankful.

I still have some issues to solve, I can’t service the HST yet, some parts were lost in the rollover that I didn’t catch. There is a spring, ball and bolt used to hold the position of the 4-wheel drive lever that goes through the case wall. Also, a flange bolt behind the Mid PTO I didn’t catch. Both on order!

I will be extremely excited when she rolls under her own power.
 

anthonyv

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BX24 BX2200
Jan 24, 2017
122
19
18
SC
I can't tell how it is attached at bottom, but would a come-along work? Or would it break it even more?
 

Charlie5320

Member

Equipment
BX2670
Jan 8, 2018
113
3
18
Springfield, IL.
Well, the ROPS is bent just a little. :D:D:D

Not sure what I'm going to do about it. It has to be installed since the Lower links are mounted on it.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

View attachment 36080
If it were mine I'd replace them. I know they are not cheap, but I sure wouldn't put any pressure on the housings trying to straighten them up. They will never be up to the task again after you modify them anyways. They are both bent at different locations looks to me.
 

D2Cat

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If you're going to straighten them, I'd remove them from the tractor and bolt them to something like a backhoe bucket, then use some leverage to get them back into position.
 

whitetiger

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Kubota tech..BX2370, RCK60, B7100HST, RTV900 w plow, Ford 1100 FWA
Nov 20, 2011
2,542
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Kansas City, KS
Once ROPS are bent, they become nothing more than a crooked light bar at best. Nothing to bet your life on. I would replace them.
 

skeets

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Equipment
BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,094
2,755
113
SW Pa
Sorry my friend but they are telling you right,, I have investigated to many rollovers where the ROPS have failed. Sometime with nothing more than a couple of bruises and changing your shorts, to things I would rather forget.
You have gone this far dont get cheap with your safety,, a few buck saved aint worth it
 

sdk1968

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B2601HSD & CK4010HST 4WD/FEL
Oct 19, 2016
929
35
28
Ohio
you are really making good progress on this...

but id toss that ROP into the scrap pile & get a new one... you want this to be perfectly square, as you know your other stuff mounts to it.
 

Egressman

Member

Equipment
B2601
Sep 7, 2016
140
7
18
Richmond, IN, United States
20180521_180351.jpg


Sorry my friend but they are telling you right,, I have investigated to many rollovers where the ROPS have failed. Sometime with nothing more than a couple of bruises and changing your shorts, to things I would rather forget.
You have gone this far dont get cheap with your safety,, a few buck saved aint worth it
Great advice from all of you. Sometimes we get stuck inside the box and fail to think outside of the box! I believe you all are right and to replace is the only smart long term option.

The ROPS were put on the tractor for one primary reason! If I were to mess with the integrity of the structure I would be putting myself at risk for sure.

I would never try to bend them while connected to the case! Aluminum verses Tube steel, The case would be at a serious disadvantage!

The other issues are, the fenders mount on the ROPS as do the lights. If the fenders are not right then the control levers will not be correct.

I think the only smart thing to is to suck it up and buy a new ROPS. I dont think I can buy just the left and right arms. That would be an option since I'm pretty sure the top piece did not change shape. It is broke down by each piece in the parts catalog but not priced that way.

Thanks again for helping me see it from the outside! :)
 

G.rid

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Equipment
L48 tlb, ssqa forks, manual thumb for hoe
Aug 19, 2016
205
15
18
Oxford, NS, Canada
What's the chances of a scrap yard in the area? They might have a B2601 with a blown engine or a fire up front?
Just throwing it out there.
 

Egressman

Member

Equipment
B2601
Sep 7, 2016
140
7
18
Richmond, IN, United States
What's the chances of a scrap yard in the area? They might have a B2601 with a blown engine or a fire up front?
Just throwing it out there.
Tractor is to new for there to be any scraped machines out there. I'm sure there are some but finding one is the problem. I used EBay to see if someone was parting one out. No luck there!
 

Egressman

Member

Equipment
B2601
Sep 7, 2016
140
7
18
Richmond, IN, United States
I think I can save the ROPS!

If welded properly it can be as strong as it was. Granted the steel has been stressed I understand, One thing to note is, I have 99.9% flat ground here. If the bucket is full and I'm turning I risk a rollover.

Let me here your thoughts, don't hold back! I can't think of everything so help me out. I know we can put a price on our safety also!

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bearbait

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L3560, 64" snowblower, 72" back blade
Dec 9, 2011
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New Glasgow Canada
I think you already know the answer. If it were one of us what would you tell us? I realize it will be a fare chunk of money but what is your life worth or a chance of being disabled if something happens. I think you better think long and hard on this one.
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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I'll tell you the 2 bad things.
1: If anything were to happen (IE personal injury wise) a insurance company could deny the claim.
2: Every dealer will reject it for a trade in or require you to buy a new one ROPS at their cost not yours.
 

TRA

New member

Equipment
B2601, LA434, BH70, LP BB1260
Dec 17, 2017
88
0
0
Rock Hill
I would get it running well enough to get it insured and parked in a spot where it is likley to get struck by lightning. :p

Amazing that you can repair that. I would figure that as a total loss.
 

Egressman

Member

Equipment
B2601
Sep 7, 2016
140
7
18
Richmond, IN, United States
I think you already know the answer. If it were one of us what would you tell us? I realize it will be a fare chunk of money but what is your life worth or a chance of being disabled if something happens. I think you better think long and hard on this one.
Yes, you are right! I start a new job after the weekend holiday so I will order the new ROPS!
 

Egressman

Member

Equipment
B2601
Sep 7, 2016
140
7
18
Richmond, IN, United States
I'll tell you the 2 bad things.
1: If anything were to happen (IE personal injury wise) a insurance company could deny the claim.
2: Every dealer will reject it for a trade in or require you to buy a new one ROPS at their cost not yours.
Yes, 100% truth here. Big risk all the way around not replacing it. You pointed out two aspects I hadn't considered! I will get one on order in the near future. When I'm done I will publish a dollar figure on the fix.

I was able to drive it out of the garage tonight, what a feeling.