1998 580SL series 2: Both sides of my backhoe have the gas and oil tank "step ups" considerably bent in. Its bad enough that I have to realy watch when I step off the machine to make sure I hit what remains of the step area. After a lot of thought, I think the best way to fix these is to actually cut them off the machine (probably using my saws-all) and then do my heating and bending off the machine. I'll probably have to cut off both bars on each side but maybe not. I have a torch to soften up bent areas but dont want to heat up things too much. Even after I get the individual bars off that are bent so badly, these are still giant hunks of steel. Usually I bend things back by heating and then using my vise to force things back straight but these are so big I dont know if my vise will suffice!! haha I suppose I could take the bent bars, after removal, to a metal shop and have them bend them back straight? Anyone whose done this before maybe can save me some grief? Thanks for any help!!
It is kind of hard for anyone to advise you without knowing the extent of the damage. Could you post a picture of each side ? Hopefully you can get it to look like this when you are done. Case sure put those attachments in harms way.
Here are the two sides..both about equally as bad. Both into the second step rib pretty good. Hoping to only have to cut out the first and just bend on the second one with some heat. https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/m2LDEWz43snSB7R3NxcpEdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/obGEKlo4knOQCYAhlKChC9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
Back a pickup truck up to it about 5 feet away , get a come a long and pull it back out. Or put something solid in the rib closer to the tractor and take a spodge bar and pry it out. You could use the truck and a strap to pull on it but that could get nasty if there is miscommunication.
That's a pretty good idea to just yank it out but I'm worried that it will its just going to look more goobered up after I'm done. I would like to really fix it so that it not so obvious that it was ever bent up. Have you actually done it that way before?
I've got 13 years experience in auto body repair and just straightened the left step on my Deere. This is what I would try. Use wood to build a rough stand that is just a few inches below your step. Place a large piece of lumber like a 6 x 6 (better yet, a steel sq. tubing) on top of your stand about 3 or 4 feet from the step parallel with the tractor. Place a wood post between the 6 x 6 and the frame of the tractor on each side of the step. Wood screw everthing together along with a braces and chains to keep everthing in place. Wrap a chain around the 6 x 6. Now you need to find or make a steel hook that will fit behind your step rails. Use a screw type chain tensioner to pull out your parts as you work with a torch, hammer, prybar, pipe wrench or what ever you need. You can slide the chain along the 6 x 6 to change your pulling position as you work out the bends. This setup will give you power and control. Go slow and you'll get it right.
You can accomplish the same thing Deon suggested by using something solid and a come along. I recommend a large tree with a 2" strap around it so you don't damage the tree. Hook a chain to that and use bars and wedges between the rails hooking the chain to them and pulling with the come along. If you take your time and adjust things accordingly you can get them straight in a relatively short time. The come along can be controlled enough to do a nice job. I have straightened many things this way and have been able to get most things to look pretty good. Good luck, and take your time.
Thanks, I like that Idea...I just have to see if I can get a direct shot back to the solid frame so it's sturdy enough to pull it out. The steel parts are so massive I'm wondering if my normal sized acetylene torch will give me enough heat to get everything hot that needs hot. Thanks for the idea...
As a boilermaker welder, I would give the advice, you bent them cold, so straighten them cold. The steel sections are not that massive really and a come along or the like will easily supply enough force. Be sure to use good chains or better still, webbing slings to attach your come along, work slowly and move the chains/ slings as you need to along with judicious use of a heavy hammer, (4Lbs+) and a dolly of some sort. A heavy hammer will push steel into shape, a light hammer has a tendency to dent and stretch the metal, leading to a section that looks and is all wobbly. Most auto body repair and chassis work is done cold and for a very good reason. Only heat when all else fails. Cold working will be much quicker in the long run and produce a superior result into the bargain.
As said above I would not use any heat.
Carl Robbers is right about working the bends out while cold but you may need to use heat in some tight spots close to welded corners where you can't fit a hammer to straighten out a short kink. Good luck kb9nvh.
What I tell guys , Is try to be smarter than the Metal... I'll only do what you make it do... . Gotta Fly...
Personally, I would cut the first bar off at the ends. Straighten the second one as suggested. Try and straighten the one you cut off and re-weld it back. If it's too far gone, install a new "first" section. IMO
Thanks everyone...My first inclination was to bend it back cold but I was at a loss as to what to hook it to that would be sturdy enough and allow me to pull from different angles. Also, my (very light) experience with bending metal is that the bending causes it to get strain hardened and eventually cracks would show up where the bends had been. I thought it was always better to heat metal so that it didn't get "hardened"? In any case, I think I've got more to think about...I have a line of trees so I can probably do three pulls at a time. The problem I saw was that the outer most rib was bent in and also arched upward and this pulled in the sides. I figured there was not way to pull it out. maybe with three pulling points it could be done. So the NO HEAT method....is that just so it will be more even after its straightened? The heat will soften some parts Im sure a lot but unless the entire thing is the same level of softness it will probably move at different rates and nothing like when it got bent the first time. I honestly didn't think I could pull hard enough cold to move it back but since so many of you said so I'll probably give that a shot. Thanks everyone.
This was my first thought. That first member is arched pretty good as well as bent back in. All attachment points have been pulled inward and upward as a result. I thought it might be easiest to cut out that first one and bend back the attachment points with heat. Then straighten the first member by itself. Even that piece is too big for my normal straightening method of "heat it up" then use my vise to bend it straight. I would have to heat sections at a time and then bend back each small part. Maybe I could heat enough of it up to then hold it with visegrips against the cement floor and hammer it back into flatness? In any case, I have a lot to think about and will probably try the cold 3 way pull first and see if I can get it to move. I'm still wondering why most have expressed to me not to use heat but I guess its because then, as a whole, the bent parts wont move like they did when it was damaged in the first place.
If you do remove the first section,... use it as a "pry bar" lodge it into something and straighten it that way. You know, lodge it into some sorta crack, then have a block under the middle and pull down, "straitening" it as you go.
Yair . . . I wouldn't even consider stuffing around trying to "straighten" such a section, its scrap . . . what is it, about a bit of stamped two by quarter at best? It's going to be stretched and out of shape and take an inordinate amount of time . . . why not cut it off and weld on something decent? Cheers.
If you beat it on the concrete.... Your gonna chip your concrete... plus , you might get some of them in the face... Steel table or maybe some wood.... or even just Dirt... I hate chipping good concrete... . Gotta Fly... Mike & "Jaz" the Flying Dogz PS The heat your talking about... Not really much effect on Temper.... It's just mild steel... You might get some shrinkage and warping... But I wouldn't worry about hard or not hard.... . . Just "my" .02
Well, I would go about it a little different. I would just cut the remaining bars/steps off. Then I would make a new stem and bolt it on. If you ever damage a side again just bolt on a new step. Good luck; Paul
I straightened one pretty much like this and made it useable again in 15 minutes. No heat. It was on a John Deere 310E. All it took was a 5 foot pry bar and couple of pieces of wood to optimise the pry point and minimize the mule tracks. I can not remember if I used my port-a-power spreader attachment, but if you have one, that would work too.
When I bend metal back, if I can I always use heat since I worry about "strain hardening" the material. I'm no blacksmith so my knowledge is limited to my hands on experience's and my old high school metal shop "screwdriver making" days. (heat my just built "flat head screwdriver" to cherry red then quech in oil to achieve proper temper)..LOL, that's all I know..oh..also, never heat up a spring or it wont be a spring any more.
wow its very hard to repair an electronic device for me ,,, but you do it very well.:notworthy