This the third boom in 2 months
I hope those "patches" were just put on to hold it together to get to the repair shop! Hard to tell from pictures but some of that break does not look fresh?
They are,we had to walk it about 1 mile out of a pit.The only thing holding was 3" on the bottom
One or more of your guys is beating the boom on rock would be my guess.
I'm just a contractor, but your rite they are beating rocks. I looked at it about 6 mo. ago it was a small crack on side but they didn't have time to fix.
Sounds like a company I know all too well and they have branches in Texas! Last March I was told to buy pins and bearings so they could line bore the lower hoist cylinder pins on a 769D. Had them on the shelf a day or two latter, guess where they sit today. Truck is sitting in a warm dry shop having other things worked on and when I asked about the line bore work was told not right now but latter this year! Also at the same time was told they were going to line bore the center pin on the bellcrank for tilt cylinder or a WA-600. Told me to get the new pin and bearings coming. Over $2,000 in parts! Do I have to tell you where they are today? Machine has been parked since at least Dec. 15th. Can't spend money while production is down for winter! But when production starts we will need the machine in case the 988H needs service or repairs so can't disable it then, so why did I have to spend $2,000 of their money for parts that could get lost before they get used??? I'll stop here as this could go on for many paragraphs........ One bright spot is I only have 15 weeks till I retire, they might start thinking about replacing the only mechanic at the quarry a few weeks after that, no sense in anyone learning from the old guy:beatsme
TWR, what machine model is it? Have all 3 been the same model?
Yea, I have a sand plant that we looked at a dredge in May and quoted ladder pins and bushings. pipe down the ladder and hull pipe they have put it off ever since they called and said they were going to do it after the first of the year. had to tell them to throw bid in the trash I'm sure it didn't get ant better than in May,
Cat 320B with way to long stick for what they are doing.
Yair . . . just a couple of random comments (from a rough old bush mechanic) I could be talking tripe. I haven't been around excavators much but, is it normal practice to weld mounting blocks of that size and height directly to the stick? In my ignorance I would be hesitant to do that. They would be welded to circular or rectangular doublers with well radiused corners with a nice smooth weld all round. I hate discontinuous welds on components subject to flex and stress and there is a chance that crack was propagated from the weld that holds that block. I have built and repaired a lot of booms for prawn (shrimp) trawlers . . . mostly out of eight and ten inch schedule 80 pipe. Strange things can happen when short cuts are taken when extra lugs/steps and so on are added with a bit of frog **** welding out at sea. Also, in my eyes, that gorilla snot left on the stick where someone has removed other mounting blocks is completely unacceptable and that area should be ground and polished smooth. Cheers.
Pretty sure those plates are temporary until it gets back to the shop, SP
My speculation. Three weeks after you retire they will want you to come back and help them on a contract basis. If you decide to do so, double your current rate and benefits and have them furnish tools and equipment. And work on your schedule. Not a bad gig if your retirement plan allows it, and you can draw your pension at the same time. Seems these companies have no issues paying non employees whatever they ask for.
If you want a factory repair procedure drop me a PM with your email address and the S/N prefix of the excavator. You don't necessarily have to follow it 100% but it might give you a few pointers as to what the structure looks like inside, which in turn will give you a bead on what else might be cracked above & beyond what you can see on the outside. We did some fairly major repairs on 336 sticks not long ago and we found that the root cause of the cracking in every case was with welds that were inside the stick not outside.
One problem with that is to do contract work I would need to supply proof of insurance, this it has to be in the 1 to 2 million range. I know they would rather pay a contractor than an hourly worker. Seems someone high up in management is spending way too much time thinking about tons of production per manhours. If I work a forty hour week in shop that goes against the tons per hour formula. If a contractor does a job that cost does not go in as hours, different column in the spreadsheet so it does not set off the bells and whistles at the home office!
The liability costs are not always to bad if you remain a one man show. Of course it has to be built in to the rate.
I agree with old iron habit. You will probably end up doing a bit from time to time for them.5 of my staff are all retired.
Y,ea it was after market wet kit it was on it when they bought it.
Thanks Nige but we have the program, your rite some of it is good. Thanks
I have a guy that I was his tire man in the early 80's he as since retired and he works for me when he is tired of being retired.
I did not get pics with straightening beam and cyls. here we are fin,e tuning a little, all good no one got hurt.