Newest project

[Lavoy]

Here are a few pics of the current project in the shop. Nice to have a green one in there again.
Lavoy



A side view of the winch. When done it will have new bearings and seal, relined clutch bands, new brake band, new brake slave cylinder, rebuilt clutch cylinder, new hose, and a few other parts.

[Steven Walters]

That is the same winch on the 420 i just got! Looking good. Steven

[JD430C]

that 430 is looking good lavoy. seeing that one makes me want to restore mine . if u have trouble finding parts for the 8a pm me, there is a company in southern NH that can still get new parts for them.


andrew

[Lavoy]

Andrew,
I might do that, finding the rubber parts here is a real pain, not many winches in this country. I have a couple full sets of replacement parts on hand, unfortunately they have gone missing, and I don't hold out much hope of them returning.
Another thing I would like to find is a fairlead. Even if I could find a damaged one to get dimensions off of, then I could make one.
Lavoy

[mini kahuna]

Lavoy,you guys amaze me with the care and effort you put into these machines,awesome job,going look better than when it came off the line at the deere plant!!

[mailtrain@usadatanet.net]

Looks good Lavoy, Below the insturment panel under the choke button there is a cut out, is there a reason for this.My 430c has the same cut out.I thought someone had broken a piece out. Dean

[Lavoy]

That is where the suction line and pressure line for the hyd runs on a wheel tractor. It has not function other than the taillight harness on a crawler.
Lavoy

[gus]

Lavoy, about that frame holding the tractor. How about some details?? I have at least 2 I'm going to work on and if I can get the 3rd one past the wife ??

The 420 has had pieces welded on the end of the bars, no holes now, so I think I would want to go with saddles instead. Also the 40 doesn't have any taped holes on the front bar.

I've already looked at some casters rated at 1000 ea. I noticed from the photos that one bracket is gusseted and the other can be moved. Is the cross frame adj??

What would you change?? There is usually something that you notice AFTER you build that you would do differently.

Gus

[Lavoy]

Gus,
The frame underneath is I-beam, the uprights box tubing. The front one is adjustable so it is easier to mount the frame and crossbars in, plus, for an MC or 40, I would make a different front mount that is more of a saddle.
Part of the reason I did not go all saddle, is I hoped that by bolting the uprights rigidly to the crossbars, I would get a little more rigidity in case some idiot bumped it with the forklift. If you make it with saddles, make sure you can clamp the crossbar rigid, otherwise you could up end the unit if you hang both finals without an engine on the front, or vice-versa.
Not a lot I would change I guess so far, maybe brakes on a couple of the casters. I plan on putting some square tubing under each end to put the forks in when moving it around.
Lavoy

[gus]

Last night I was thinking of an H frame so I could get my engine lift in to remove heavy parts. That or make the frame high enough to let the lift go under it. The outside frame, as you have, would allow easier track work.

The engine lift is the only thing I have to work with so it needs to be able to reach all parts.
Gus

[FarmLife]

When you paint parts, do you paint everything when it is broken down assemble it and then over coat everything or do you just paint the major assemblies and touch up the bolts when you assemble?

[Lavoy]

Gus,
Most engine hoists will fit underneath my frame on all sides, so you would still have access. If not, go to larger casters to get the frame off the floor more.


FarmLife,
I blast, prime and paint each piece individually prior to assembly. I personally don't mind the look of the unpainted hardware, but to be correct, it should be painted. This crawler will leave basically this way, the owner will overcoat and do the finish assembly.
Lavoy

I should have added that there are still the winch brake and clutch components to install, they are just not here yet. The muffler is on, and it runs, just need a few more parts and my end of it is done.
Lavoy

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

I wouldn't mind the naked hardware, either. Heck, my 420c has pretty much naked everything. Well, what isn't covered in an oil film and then coated with dirt. Come to think of it, that works about as well as paint does, anyway!

One of these days, when I get an extra $10k or so, I'm going to load her up and take he to Lavoy for one of these overhauls. When I go back to get it, I won't recognize it!

Stan

[Lavoy]

Here is a pic of the winch with the relined clutch bands, new brake band, and hose installed.
Lavoy