40C show and tell and front bolster?

[hydrogeo]

So had a chance to tinker a bit. It was starting really hard and backfiring, so checked the points and they looked pretty bad. A trip to Napa and they had just about everything on the shelf:


Napa stuff was a little pricey but there is no comparison in quality to the stuff Tractor Supply has. Runs fantastic now.

Then a trip to a logging supply place for a new 1/2 cable, a couple slides, and some chain chokers:



After working it for a bit noticed a leak in the radiator. The previous owner did not have the radiator tin bolted down, so it must have worked at the filler neck causing the joint to leak. Figured I'd try some JB weld first before I went the hard route. So far so good:



Finally the question. Somewhere along the line someone broke all the mounting tabs for the radiator guard on the front bolster.



I'm not sure yet whether it is cast iron or cast steel. I was planning on just welding on some angle iron and drilling new bolt holes in the guard, but if it's iron I may drill through it and bolt on the angle iron. Any input on how best to attack this?

[JimAnderson]

Hello,
The front bumper is cast steel and you can arc weld it.You could weld
in an angle or build up the areas where the bolts were , drill and
retap the holes.That is a lot of work. If originalty isn't important then
the angle iron idea should do you.Luck,JimAnderson

[Paul Buhler]

Hi: Nice new chokers! I'd recommend carrying them some other way. If they get caught, they may rip off your control lever

I use either "J" hooks on my canopy, or a mounted box. The box works best in terms of not losing them or getting them snagged. Some guys use nominal 3/16" - 1/4" steel to build these boxes, and the hooks hang on the sides with the chain itself inside; a drain is handy too.
Good luck getting your machine working the way you want. Paul

[hydrogeo]

Jim, glad the bolster is steel, thanks! The SS Originality sailed for this machine decades ago, so I just want everything to be solid and functional.

Paul, I agree I need to do something better with the chokers
An old timer also warned me never to be tempted to store a chain in the footrest well. Do you have any close up photos of your canopy?

[Paul Buhler]

Here are some shots that may be useful:

The rear of the canopy bolts to the winch with nominal. 1.5x1.5x.25 angle iron which has two outboard 6" long round vertical sleeves into which the canopy uprights slide.

At the front, the risers have slots cut into them so that the flat stock will align with the inside of the grill guard and bolt to it.

The roof pitches to the rear slightly so that the rain drips off behind the seat and not onto your lap (usually).

I used hose clamps to mount the "j" hook for my chokers to the stretch mesh so that if something snagged, the clamps would be the weak link and let go. I still want to build a box that will hold my chokers and chainsaw just above the winch and out of the way.
Sorry I don't know how to get these pictures to post so that you can zoom in or enlarge them.
Paul

EDIT: If you use "CNTRL +" the whole page will zoom in showing more details, but they will be fuzzier.

[hydrogeo]

I like your cage design, thanks. I just need to find some time. My father has an almost identical oil tank pan he mounts on his tractor loader mount, holds a goodbit load ofslips wood.

Guess that wine bottle must have been missing the label warning about operating equitement

[caribcanuck]

Heres a few pics of the cage the previous owner built on my 420 , he used it to drag pine trees out of the bush to his sawmill which i also bought.



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I have to tear down the right side clearing clutch this spring cause its not releasing properly but runs fine other than that.

[hydrogeo]

That's another nice one. My biggest issue is I need to be able to reach the winch shifter from the seat, so I am going to have to be creative somehow. Your 420looks pretty
good, and that is a burly looking trailer.

[caribcanuck]

The trailer came with it, it was made for it to haul it to the area where he harvested the trees from. it tilits so its very easy to load / unload the dozer.Its got hydraulic brakes with a surge couple but they need a complete overhaul and i rarely haul the dozer my property is like a 10 min drive from where i bought the dozer.

[hydrogeo]

Just an FYI, front bolster appears to be cast iron, not cast steel. Used the spark test method and its iron for sure, no steel ive seen sparks that way. Just drilled it and will bolt a piece of angle iron to it.

[Lavoy]

Correct, front mount is cast iron, real pain to weld. Buddy of mine spent a lot of time with miachinable nickel, and was able to fix one up pretty good.
Lavoy

[JimAnderson]

I am no welder but I've welded up mine with 6013 mild steel on
my 225 Lincoln buzz box.Give it a shot.If yours is cast steel then
you should be able to use Nyrod.JimAnderson

[JimAnderson]

After reading this thread again, I must say that I agree with the
bolster being cast iron.I've tried to weld up one of mine and it isn't
cast steel.With that said the bumper I have is cast steel and is
weldable.I thought the original question was about repairing the
bumper and not the bolster which it was bolted to.Sorry for
the confusion.Luck,JimAnderson

[hydrogeo]

I considered welding or brazing it, but I decided to just drill it and bolt a mounting bracket. Call me lazy I guess. I have it pretty much ready to assemble. Drilled really fast and took only a few minutes to make the mounting bracket. Will post some pics tomorrow.

[hydrogeo]

So here's what I did:



I ground the risers that were broken off flat and drilled 4 holes through the bolster. Then I burned a piece of angle iron onto the back of the grill guard with some 6011 rod (I love my old Lincoln Tombstone). It was a bit of squeeze getting the bolts in with the grill in place, but other than that it should work just fine.

On another note, does anyone know where to get the twist-lock fasteners for the hood at a reasonable cost? I found some on Ebay but they were $7 each . I need around 9 of them. For now I just went with bolts.