The Cat 305 I just recently bought had some wobble in the bottom hole on the stick(pin that holds the bucket on). No big deal I thought, bought new pin, bushings. Went to install them, removed old pin moved bucket out of the way and seen that it has actually been the bushings wearing on the stick, so the old bushings pulled out with my fingers and new ones pushed in by hand. I put it back together with all the old parts because figured running all new stuff isn't going to tighten it up any and probably ruine new parts. Whats the method for fixing this? boring it out round and running a little larger outter diameter bushing?
Not a big problem to cut out the old bushing bore and weld a new one back in place. Most any machine shop can make you a bushing sleeve to weld back in and you will be good as new.
bushing I have done it the quick way and the proper way quick way Redneck way (Im a Redneck, so I can say this) remove the bushings and weld the worn areas and use a grinding stone to grind the weld, so the bushing will fit tight, keep checking the bushing and pin so they fit proper. Its best to use just a under size grinding wheel to keep it round. Example, if the OD of the bushing is 2 1/4", use a 2 " grinding wheel on a large die grinder or fast turning drill. When you get it to fit tight all the way in, take it out and clean it good and put Loctite on the bushing and drive them in. They must be tight or they will just wear out quicker. Proper way Get a machine shop to remove the old end, make you a new one and weld it back on. VERY IMPORTANT!!!! make sure they weld the new end, properly aligned with the stick. A friend of mine had this done and they didnt get it welded true to the stick and the bucket was always at a slight angle and trying to dig a flat bottom ditch with a angled bucket, isnt easy. It should have made them cut it off and do it right. A lot of times, you can buy bushing stock from machine shops, cheaper than the dealer, it may not be to specs (hardness) but if youre digging in mud it really doesnt matter, they both are going to wear out, so to me the cheaper is better Bucket ear replacement If your bucket ears are worn into the bucket, I have had a bushing (donut) made and cut the hole out in the bucket ears (with a torch) and put a temporary pin in both bushing to align the bushings (donuts) together. You need to taper the hole in the ears so you can get a welding pass inside also. Just weld a little at the time on each bushing, turning the pin to make sure the weld doesnt pull the bushing #2 example weld the bushings (donuts) on the outside of the bucket, you might need a longer pins and this works OK on the smaller machines Good Luck
Need to have it Line-Bored ... By what you have said its a few hours worth of Labour ..
Willis Bushogin, on the quick way the welding is done inside the stick right? It must end up being alot of pressing the bushing all the way in and back out for test fitting before your done? I'm considering that route since this machine was just bought for around the house use, and won't get used much, plus if down the road I wanted it done the correct way I'm not ruining anything by doing it the quick way now because all the work is done in the piece that would get thrown away.
a friend of mine in Mass. does line welding and boreing on machine pins and bushing just like your asking about. I would ask around to the locals that have equipment if they know of anyone like this.
bushing I dont see how you can mess up anything, its already messed up. I forgot about the line boring, this can been done on the machine, if someone has the special tooling. You can have it line bored oversize and get a oversize bushing installed. If the item is worn real bad, this may not be the way to go. I did weld a unit up like this once and had someone line bore it, but he broke several bits and charged me high $$$ for them, I guess it might have been the welding rod I used, or the way I did it. If you are a good welder, you can do this yourself and save a bunch of money. This is not a large machine and it doesnt have to be perfect for home use If you have the extra cash, pay someone to do it, but get a price in advance. To replace the end of the stick bushing, it might cost up to $1000 Keep us posted
weld it up and bore it out......:usa:drinkup
I just went through this with a TBO 25, took it to a machine shop, they bored it oversize, custom made oversized bushings, and hardened them for 625.00. Bushing ID still factory spec so I can run stock pins, only downside is that bushing OD is non-stock, so all repairs will have to be custom made from here on out.
There's also now an adjustable bushing for worn bores that is reasonably priced.I saw them over at my Cat dealer.The parts mgr. said the feedback on them has been good.I can't remember their exact name.
Found a local guy that has all the tooling to weld it, and line bore it. He has done it before for a local contractor. Should be able to run the stock OD bushing after he's done. The adjustable bushing sounds interesting. Remember how they worked?