Any of you guys have experience with stabilizer guards on a TLB? How well do they protect the cylinders? Are there any downsides? I have both stabilizer cylinders at the hydraulic shop for a rebuild and I figured I'd make a set to protect my investment. I can buy Cat units for $750 from the dealer, but they don't appear all that complicated to fabricate.
I love having them on our 420. I know for a fact that I have saved some serious money on repairing scratched pistons. They occasionally let dirt get stuck in the ends, but not too often. They shouldn't be too hard to build except for near the end of the cylinder. I drew a picture to show what it is like. The yellow area represents the actual guard. The red near the end of the cylinder is a piece that lifts the guard up a little bit to keep it from rubbing the body of the cylinder or your hoses. It would be a little tricky to get this piece to be the right size, but not impossible. If it pushes the guard too high it will hit the cab. I can take pictures of our's some other time.
Thanks for the reply. Think I'll make a pair. The factory pieces for my rig shown in the parts book are bolted to the ends of two special cylinder pins and pivot there. I have the room a few inches away on the stabilizer to weld on some internally threaded stock for pivots. The same picture shows a block of steel maybe 2" high welded to a small saddle and hose-clamped to the cylinder body that keeps the guard from rubbing. What guage or thickness steel are the guards on your 420?
That's the piece I was talking about. I'm not sure what guage they are, but I can check the thickness tomorrow. I think every backhoe should have a set of these.
I have the guards on my backhoe and am glad that I do. Although it is possible for my bucket teeth to hit the cylinder, I have never done that. What happens is that occacionally when I am moving a big rock out of the way, it rolls into the guards. I have a few good scratches on them that tells me I have saved my cylinder rods from some damage. If you ever work in a rocky area, you definitely should have them. Although I bought my machine with them, they look like they would be easy to make.
I'd appreciate knowing the thickness of your guards Cat420, thanks. Bob, when I first got this thing a month or so ago I dug out a big (5'x4') rock just to get used to the controls - my little Ford has John Deere controls on the hoe, not the Case/Cat layout. The only thing here in the Granite State that I can count on is rocks! Frost action pushes them up to the surface every spring. I just met the couple who intends on building a big post and beam barn home on the hillside next door, and he asked if I had any big rocks he could buy (!?) to build a tiered wall. Boy, have I got a deal for him!
Mine are roughly 1/4" thick. Not sure what guage, but you want them to resist bending otherwise it will change how they slide up when the stabilizers are retracted.
Appreciate that - will post a picture when I get them done.
3rd post
There worth it. Never had them on the 580 but a friend had them on a 416. They squeeled like hell when raising the stabilizers but protected the piston well.