I have a 2005 pc220 lc-7 that i bought used and it has a esco bucket and hydraulic progessive thumb, but the thumb came off a older dash 6 komatsu. I have owned it for 3 years clearing trees and since i got it when you greased the thumb bushing, gease would come out between bushing and thumb, not between bushing and pin like it should. Roadbuilders told me the thumb is out dated and esco doesnt have parts wants to sell me a new pcm progressive thumb for seventeen thousand dollars that seems high to me. they said they could fix the thumb I have for 11,000 dollars. but they can sell me aim thumb for 9500 which is a stationary with a hydraulic cylinder. I have found a secondary machinist that everyone says can fix the old thumb for cheap back to new. What is your guys oppinion.
machinist is the way to go, it is just metal and 17 grand is a lot to pay out if you don't have to
yeah i believe i found one that can do it close to home
Take a look at this thread - I think a good machine shop is your best bet. Have you contacted Esco to see if they still have parts available?
Yes a machine shop should be able to repair to good as new standards at a huge cost savings. We do similar types of repairs to buckets in our rebuild shop in Billings, MT. Find a good local reputable machine shop and they will have you back up and running in no time. Something you may also want to consider during reassembly is using expander pins in place of what it had originally. Pin boss wear is eliminated and saves the cost of cutting, welding, machining, and lineboring associated with pin boss wear. My employer (MTI) has used Expander pins for several years in our mining heavy equipment with great success, and the fact that they have a 10 year, 10k warranty shows they stand behind their product.
Thanks for the info on expander pins I will check into those. We kind of abuse this thumb on this excavator removing trees.
beandrew, I have some info on the pins if you would. Feel free to PM me if interested.