Three years ago the gravel company I work for bought a 980G series 2 wheel loader. Overall the machine is in good condition exept for the bucket. Who ever owned the machine before us rebuilt the bucket wrong, And by that I mean the base plate (this is the part the cutting edge bolts to.) was welded in the bucket too high. The bucket wont work on its cutting edge without the heels scraping the ground. We have taken the heels off the bucket to see if it would dig correctly, It worked better but not like it should. Some people I talked to said the heels should be the same level as the base plate without the cutting edge bolted on. This difference between the cutting edge height and heel plates allows the bucket to work on its cutting edge. I should be able to roll the bucket back enough so it doesnt dig a hole and the heels dont drag. The bucket is a 7 1\2 yard general purpose bucket. Any comments would be great. Thanks.
I'm guessing what you are calling the heels are what some of us call the paddle plates on the bottom of the bucket that line up in from the boom to bucket joints. Taking those off is a real bad thing to do and it allows wear on the bottom of the bucket which weakens the lugging and allows cracking to run across the center of the curve inside the bucket. In all the buckets I've rebuilt I've put those plates just a little lower than the where the cutting edge would sit. This leaves the cutting edge tipped slightly down leading into the bank. Tipping the bucket back slightly or lifting the boom as you go into the bank loads the front tires and allows the edge to penetrate deeper. The plates being slightly lower also make the cutting edge contact the ground first so the base edge of the bucket isn't worn off. The key to all this is getting the bucket kick-out set properly so you don't have to think about where to set the bucket angle after you dump the load.
I guess you are referring to the lip of the bucket and I assume you have replaceable cutting edges bolted to it. The lip will cover the full width of the bucket and is probably about 9-12" deep front to back and about 1-1/2" thick, correct..? It's not usual to replace the lip unless the bucket suffers a major structural failure - by that I mean it's not considered normal maintenance. Does adjusting the tilt kickout have any effect..? You should be able to adjust it so that the heel plates are say 1" off the ground when the cutting edge at the front is just scraping the ground. A couple of photos might help if you can post them.
Ill try to post some pictures Monday. The base plate was replaced because it was warped. Adjusting the bucket kick out does not help.
The photos may show something but it honestly amazes me that adjusting the kickout does not change the angle of the bucket enough to get the heel off the floor. Are you saying that adjusting the tilt kickout does nothing at all, or just that it simply does not adjust the bucket angle far enough to get it where you want it to be..?
Something ain't right here, you can adjust the kickouts to have the bucket pointing almost anywhere so why isn't it possible on this machine to get the edge to sit on the ground and have the heels a tad bit above? Is the baseplate installed at an angle compared to the floor of the bucket?
The bucket will dig a hole with the heels scraping into the ground. I cant roll the bucket back so it does not dig with out the heels scraping the ground. If you look at the bottom of the bucket the heels are lower than the cutting edge. Like I said whoever rebuilt this bucket did not know what they were doing.
There's the rub - "The bucket will dig a hole with the heels scraping into the ground." So on this machine adjusting the kickout to lift the heel plates off the ground is only going to make it dig a hole even worse. Ooooooooops. As I said before, only a photo will show up the problem. I am getting the feeling that the height and/or angle relationship between the lip and the rest of the bucket is screwed .......... this one could get to be a messy welding job. Maybe the only way to fix it would be to cut out the lip and replace it in the correct location. However I'd like to see a photo first. I can problably help you with some dimensions if that's the conclusion that we come to. The original lip on your bucket was 1-3/4" thick - what does it measure now as regards thickness.?
If the top of the lip is even with the floor of the bucket then the problem you have is with the operator not understanding how to load the bucket and keep the floor level and clean. This isn't rocket science.
I took a few pictures today, I'm having trouble resizing them so I can post them. We just got a new computer at home with Windows 7 operating system. Might need a little help. Thanks.
If you continue to have trouble PM me for a e-mail address. Send them to me on e-mail and I'll re-size them and post them for you.