Got the track loader fixed so I could finally start on putting the wheel adapters and new wheels on a Champion 730A. I wedged wood from the frame or tandem case and then gave the wheels a couple whacks with a sledge hammer on the back side and they loosened. Then I used a skid steer to remove them. I had the adapters made with .005" clearance for the 5/8" studs but that was too tight so I drilled them out to 11/16" to have a fighting chance of getting them on. Of course on the 1st one I had to tweak a couple slightly bent studs straight. Ah success, I was able to pound them on. Once on they were looser. I was worried I might have to enlarge the inside edge of the holes a bit to fit over the non threaded part of the studs but thankfully they fit right over. The cut outs on the adapters are so the welded valve stem protectors will fit and let the wheels sit flat against the adapters. The wheels are being mounted backwards (inside out) so there won't be access to the valve stems but that's not a concern because the tires are foam filled and will never need air. I hope the other side goes on without too much trouble. I also hope the new wheels go on without too much trouble.
The doors on our 730 would break windows. We made a divider about half way up so it had upper and lower glass
I've noticed some of the later Champions had 2 windows in the doors. I've barely used the grader but always had the doors open. I priced a new window around $312.00 last year. Not a big priority. The nice thing is the door can be removed and I can take it to a glass shop. Would probably cost at least $200 more to have someone come out to my property to measure/remove and then make up the glass and bring it back out. What did you make the divider with, sheet metal like the door?
That's the same machine I got my start on, had a Cummins engine, 12ft blade, was a good machine, the crank style for turning the blade would bine sometimes on me, but once they had them timed they were strong, liked how they shifted to, your machine looks to be in good shape,
Good to see you feeling well enough to get some work done Dave.
Sheet metal, but they flex a bit, so they also braced it with square tubing.
Good thing I have a skid steer to carry the adapters and wrestle the wheels off. It was a little hard on me picking the adapters up several times. They weigh about 50lbs. Thankfully I could get 2 or 3 studs to hold them on so I could see how all the studs lined up and also allowed me to swing a sledge hammer to pound them on. I was worried I might damage the threads on the studs but it was a non issue. So glad I didn't have to tweak any studs when I put the 2nd one on. Hopefully the other 2 go on easily.
I managed to get the new wheels on one side but not without a few bumps along the way. It was a full day job in 31C heat. I grabbed a chair to do a lot of it. First I applied anti-seize on the studs then put the Nord-Lock washers on and torqued them to 160ft./lbs. Luckily a millwright showed up at my track with his son and he helped me get the wheels on. was able to use a couple blocks of wood and a long bar to turn the wheels into the right position. I picked them up with the skid steer and it was a little tippy but not too bad if I went slow. We leaned the wheels up against the grader somewhat close to how they had to fit. We got the wheels on the top hub pins and then were able to push the bottom of the wheels on. Then it was much easier to pry the wheels to line the bolt holes up. Had both wheels mounted with just plain bolts and then I individually took the bolts out, applied a graphite type lube they gave me with the Nord-Lock washers and tightened them with an electric impact wrench. First wheel went great. Second wheel wouldn't go tight to the adapter so it had to come off again. Darn! A few of the studs were too long and hitting the back of the wheel. There was just enough room for the nuts and maybe 2 1/2 threads showing at the most. No problem, I'll zip them off with a grinder. I smell something burning... my pants were on fire! I burned about a 2" hole near the bottom of the left pocket. Patted it out and then stood more to the side to finish cutting the studs. Later when I got home I realized I melted some money from the track I had in my pocket. Oops. Thankfully another guy showed up and helped me get the wheel off and back on. The valve stem was ruined but it might have been like that. I'm not sure but it doesn't matter since the tires are foam filled. Anyway the new rubber looks good on the Champion. I'll get the other side on, hopefully it goes good and then either borrow or rent a torque wrench that goes to 540ft./lbs. Not too bad to do but takes a long time for all the steps with the bolts. 25 bolts on each wheel.
Darn, just looked at an older pic. and we did manage to damage the valve stem. Must have leaned the wheel on the grader right on the valve stem. Broke some off the end including the cap and bent it slightly. Had to have been a bit of a fluke. That one corner has had all the problems so hopefully it's the problem child and is done with. Always seems to be one that puts up a fight. The adapter also got a ding right on the edge of the threads so the bolt wouldn't go in. Thankfully I was able to put a little chamfer on the 1st thread with a carbide burr on a die grinder and got the bolt started so it cleaned up the thread. The joys of working on equipment.
Ahh, the successes and failings of modernizing yellow iron.
At least my mis-steps are hidden so no one can see them. As long as they work, I'm OK.
Got the 2 other adapters on today and another wheel. Of course the last adapter was a real beatch to get on. I had about 4 studs that were putting up a real fight even after I put one of the old nuts on and whacked them to get them straighter. I ended up having to beat them on. Some had some thread damage but nothing too serious. Once on the adapter was loose on the studs. 1 stud came out the same as the other side but I ground a slot in the nut and opened it up with a chisel. Then I put the stud back in with red Loctite. I had a guy kind of helping me with the wheel but he was afraid of it falling and didn't really understand what I was doing. He'd help for a minute and then do a couple laps, then he'd come back and help a little then go and do something else. I'm wrestling with a 1000lb. wheel, yes I could use more help. Several times he said they must have slings and stuff for doing this. It doesn't matter what the professional tire guys have. This is what I have to work with. Sometimes it's almost better to do it yourself than have help that makes it harder than it should be. I think with good help I might have got both wheels on. At least there's only 1 left to do. The new tires look a lot beefier. They do squat a little but a couple of the rims had a sticker that said 62 Psi. They normally should be 35 to 40 Psi. Hopefully they won't be too bad. I'm not doing any super precision or high speed grading. I'll try to see how they do at higher speed just driving with the blade up.
So now if you built a step between the back wheel and frame. You could walk over the battery box, then a foot wide cat walk below the door
I've actually gained a little strength since last fall. I can actually pull myself up and into the cab. I still want to make some better steps but it's not as big a priority. Hopefully my next project though. I got the last wheel on by myself. It was a little strange but it was the easyist one to put on. I had an old tow rope with hooks that fit in the bolt holes I used to pick up the wheels. I picked the wheel up in the shop and got it over to the grader and then the old rope broke. It was a blessing in disguise. I had to figure out another way to pick the wheel up. I decided to see what I could do with the skid steer. First I turned the wheel so it would be close to being oriented in the right place when I stood it up. Then I put the bucket under the edge of the tire and drove forward while lifting up to lean the wheel on the grader. It was pretty close. I had to play with a hyd. jack under the tandem case to get the top hub pins inside the wheel. A little more tweaking and slightly turning the wheel and I was able to get a top bolt started. Even more fiddling around and I got a 2nd bolt started. This was good because I could now jack up the whole assembly a bit and push the bottom of the wheel in. I could see the hub pins from the skid steer which was a big help. I got the wheel on all the hub pins. Now it was just playing with the jack to get the bolt holes lined up. They had to be really close and every bolt needed a little help from a ratchet to get started. I snugged up all the bolts without washers just to seat the wheel to the adapter. Then I individually loosened the bolts to put the Nord-Lock washers and graphite lube on the adapter threads. Once the wheel was seated all the bolts turned back in really easily by hand. I snugged them up again with an electric impact. Just need to do a final torque and might be able to borrow a big torque wrench. I noticed that the valve stem proctectors on the wheels were tight against the grader hubs in the cut outs on the adapters. It looked like they dented a little bit but the wheels were tight against the adapters. Maybe 7/8" adapters would have been better but 7/8" isn't a real common plate thickness. A 1/8" spacer could have been used but I think they'll be OK. I wanted the wheel width as narrow as possible as they were already 2 1/2" wider than the stock wheels. Another thing I noticed is the adapters weren't all the same. One wheel barely fit in the cutout on the adapter, one was almost in the middle and the other two were somewhere in between. I would have been really pi$$ed if I had to try and cut the adapters once they mounted over the studs. It would have been pretty hard to get the adapters back off after I had to pound them on. Thankfully because of a bad initial measurement on my template I made the cut outs extra large. Thankfully they all fit on and I had some good luck. If I had to do it again, I'd probably cut the valve stems and protectors off so the adapters wouldn't need a cutout and the holes would line up in any orientation of the wheel.