The guy I bought the bobcat from said it needed new pins and bushings. Didn't realize at the time that there are a lot of pins and bushings on a skid steer especially the vertical lift ones. Can't seem to get hold of the guy now to ask him which ones were bad. How do you tell if your pins and bushings are bad and which ones need to be changed? The pallet forks are on there now and when they are sitting on flat on the cement and I step on the ends of the forks I can kind of see play in the joints. How much play is too much?
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The arms i don't believe have replaceable bushings, only pins. You need to look at them while moving them to see how bad the play is.
Hard to say how much is too much. You don't want masses of slop as it allows dirt in and will cause more wear. The worst place to wear is the lower pins on the bobtach. These have bushings in them and need to be replaced before they wear through and into the boss.
Hard to say how much is too much. You don't want masses of slop as it allows dirt in and will cause more wear. The worst place to wear is the lower pins on the bobtach. These have bushings in them and need to be replaced before they wear through and into the boss.
Not sure if u have a 185 or a 250.. On a 185, grease the rod end of the tilt cyl. also, check the nuts that go though the lift arms that attacht the plate to the lift arms. They should be torqued to 190Flbs....If u have a 250. There should be grease nipples on the inside of the pivot. Grease those and torque the bolts on the lift arms. Again, to 190 ft/lbs. You should be able to see if the bobtach/plate moves side to side. It shouldn't. If u still have up and down play, the bushings in the rod end of the tilt cyl's are probeble worn.
Thank you for the kind responses. It's a S185. The lower bushings on the Bob-tach definitely look sloppy when using it. I started trying to change the bushings by removing the Power Bob-Tach and got the upper pins out, which had wear on them but still seemed to fit good with not much play. Any idea where in the manual they describe changing the bushings? I found the section for removal of the Power Bob-Tach and assumed that I first had to remove it in order to change the bushings, is that right? In trying to remove the lower pins I followed the manual and set the Bob-Tach on blocks, loosened the bolt for the lower pin and tried whacking with a sludge hammer many times and then many more times with a bigger sludge hammer. However, it never seemed to "push the pivot pin into the Bob-Tach frame" as the manual states it's supposed to, it didn't seem to budge at all. Am I doing something wrong here?
7LBSSMALLIE
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sounds like they are tight to loader arms thats good. take out the grease zerk and place rag over hole so you doont paint ceiling. and the grease is what is locking you up, (hyd lock) than smack the snot out of itt with the biggest hammer you got a 20lb should do it.Thank you for the kind responses. It's a S185. The lower bushings on the Bob-tach definitely look sloppy when using it. I started trying to change the bushings by removing the Power Bob-Tach and got the upper pins out, which had wear on them but still seemed to fit good with not much play. Any idea where in the manual they describe changing the bushings? I found the section for removal of the Power Bob-Tach and assumed that I first had to remove it in order to change the bushings, is that right? In trying to remove the lower pins I followed the manual and set the Bob-Tach on blocks, loosened the bolt for the lower pin and tried whacking with a sludge hammer many times and then many more times with a bigger sludge hammer. However, it never seemed to "push the pivot pin into the Bob-Tach frame" as the manual states it's supposed to, it didn't seem to budge at all. Am I doing something wrong here?
Only had a 8lb-er, but knocked it loose easy this morning not sure wh,y think maybe the arms settled and took some pressure off it. However the other side pushed in, but not far enough to clear the arms. Had to twist the Bob-tach to get it out. One side showed a little wear, however the side that didn't push in all the way looked like it had a lot of wear and haven't cleaned it up yet, but can't even see the bushing.sounds like they are tight to loader arms thats good. take out the grease zerk and place rag over hole so you doont paint ceiling. and the grease is what is locking you up, (hyd lock) than smack the snot out of itt with the biggest hammer you got a 20lb should do it.
I'm not sure if I can post pictures here, but on the left side (from the driver's perspective) the bushing was completely worn out and in pieces. The pieces were what was blocking the pin from pushing in. The boss under the bushing was also worn. Strangely the right side still has a good deal of bushing left. Is that normal for one side to wear out that much faster than the other? What should I do now? Is fixing or replacing the boss something I could do myself or should I get a professional to do it? How do I remove the bushing from the right side which is still intact? Thank You.Only had a 8lb-er, but knocked it loose easy this morning not sure wh,y think maybe the arms settled and took some pressure off it. However the other side pushed in, but not far enough to clear the arms. Had to twist the Bob-tach to get it out. One side showed a little wear, however the side that didn't push in all the way looked like it had a lot of wear and haven't cleaned it up yet, but can't even see the bushing.
Looks like my bushings where the tilt cylinder meets the bobtach are also somewhat bad, so I decided to change them. How the heck do you get those things out? I've drowned them in penetrating oil and whacked the hell out of them with a socket and sludge hammer, but they don't seem to budge.I'm not sure if I can post pictures here, but on the left side (from the driver's perspective) the bushing was completely worn out and in pieces. The pieces were what was blocking the pin from pushing in. The boss under the bushing was also worn. Strangely the right side still has a good deal of bushing left. Is that normal for one side to wear out that much faster than the other? What should I do now? Is fixing or replacing the boss something I could do myself or should I get a professional to do it? How do I remove the bushing from the right side which is still intact? Thank You.
the easiest way to get the bushing out the tilt cylinder chrome rod end is to slice the bushing with a cutting torch , sometimes you can cut it on one side and then knock it out with a punch sometimes I have to cut it on two sides and take it out in pieces ------------- the bobtack pin bushing is held in by a replaceable weldment , if you look at it you will see that it is a tube of metal , it can be cut out and the tube ( bushing holder) can be rewelded in ------------------ when ever using heat on a part that has a grease fitting in it , such as the chrome rod end bushing , take the grease fitting out before applying any heat as I have seen the check ball come out like a bullet , what happens on that rod is the bushing has journals for grease , and they never line up the hole in the bushing with the grease fitting hole , this leaves a pocket of grease , if the journal was clogged up , the grease can cook up and blow the ball out the tip of the fittingLooks like my bushings where the tilt cylinder meets the bobtach are also somewhat bad, so I decided to change them. How the heck do you get those things out? I've drowned them in penetrating oil and whacked the hell out of them with a socket and sludge hammer, but they don't seem to budge.
Thank you for the warning. Is there any way to get the bushing out the tilt cylinder chrome rod end without a cutting torch, as I don't have one of those?the easiest way to get the bushing out the tilt cylinder chrome rod end is to slice the bushing with a cutting torch , sometimes you can cut it on one side and then knock it out with a punch sometimes I have to cut it on two sides and take it out in pieces ------------- the bobtack pin bushing is held in by a replaceable weldment , if you look at it you will see that it is a tube of metal , it can be cut out and the tube ( bushing holder) can be rewelded in ------------------ when ever using heat on a part that has a grease fitting in it , such as the chrome rod end bushing , take the grease fitting out before applying any heat as I have seen the check ball come out like a bullet , what happens on that rod is the bushing has journals for grease , and they never line up the hole in the bushing with the grease fitting hole , this leaves a pocket of grease , if the journal was clogged up , the grease can cook up and blow the ball out the tip of the fitting
I've never used cutting torches before. Can it be cut with MAPP gas? How do you cut the bushing and not damage the metal behind the bushing?Thank you for the warning. Is there any way to get the bushing out the tilt cylinder chrome rod end without a cutting torch, as I don't have one of those?
Can it be cut with a reciprocating saw?I've never used cutting torches before. Can it be cut with MAPP gas? How do you cut the bushing and not damage the metal behind the bushing?
7LBSSMALLIE
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the short answer is no they are really hard metal, to the point of being brittle.Can it be cut with a reciprocating saw?
if you never used a torch before, then cutting the bushing out is not a good thing to learn on , what you do is heat up the bushing and blow a slice thru it but not into the rod end metal , it takes a lot of practice to be good at it , it is really easy and quick once you get the hang of it ----------- a recipricating saw ain't going to do it , I have seen recip blades that instead of having teeth they have diamonds impreginated onto the blade have never tried it but would think that would cut itthe short answer is no they are really hard metal, to the point of being brittle.
What about a shop press, would that work? How many ton press would I need? Probably would have to disconnect the cylinder from the top, but that's not too hard.if you never used a torch before, then cutting the bushing out is not a good thing to learn on , what you do is heat up the bushing and blow a slice thru it but not into the rod end metal , it takes a lot of practice to be good at it , it is really easy and quick once you get the hang of it ----------- a recipricating saw ain't going to do it , I have seen recip blades that instead of having teeth they have diamonds impreginated onto the blade have never tried it but would think that would cut it
An air die grinder will do it so will welding around inside the bush. Shrinks the bush slightly.Can it be cut with a reciprocating saw?
Well I got those things out finally with a little help from a friend and a sludge hammer and socket. I noticed though that with the rod end disconnected when I grabbed it there on the rod end and move the tilt cylinder side to side there was enough play in the base end pivot that allowed the rod end to move about 1-1/4" on one side and 3/4" on the other side. Is that normal or is that too much play? I took off the base end pivot pin to check it out and there was slight wear on it but looked pretty good to me. However, when trying to taking it off, the whole pin was spinning in the arm, so I had to grab it on both ends. I cleaned the grease off of everything and tightened the pin back in its hole. One thing that had me a little confused was that in the manual it says to tighten the pin retainer bolt to 350-360 ft-lbs, where as it appears to be the same 5/8" diameter, grade 8, bolt as the Bob-Tach pivot pin, but the manual says to tighten that bolt to 350 ft-lbs if it's 3/4" diameter or 190 ft-lbs if it's 5/8" diameter. My Bob-Tach pivot pin was 5/8" so I tightened it to 190 ft-lbs, but how come it's says the same 5/8" bolt in the base end of the tilt cylinder needs 350 ft-lbs of torque, is this a mistake in the manual?An air die grinder will do it so will welding around inside the bush. Shrinks the bush slightly.
7LBSSMALLIE
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this is really something to not stress about, make sure all mating surfaces are clean red loctite and hit with an ingersoll 1/2 gun. peridocally check torque. it will be just fine. yes we do find mistakes in man all the time.Well I got those things out finally with a little help from a friend and a sludge hammer and socket. I noticed though that with the rod end disconnected when I grabbed it there on the rod end and move the tilt cylinder side to side there was enough play in the base end pivot that allowed the rod end to move about 1-1/4" on one side and 3/4" on the other side. Is that normal or is that too much play? I took off the base end pivot pin to check it out and there was slight wear on it but looked pretty good to me. However, when trying to taking it off, the whole pin was spinning in the arm, so I had to grab it on both ends. I cleaned the grease off of everything and tightened the pin back in its hole. One thing that had me a little confused was that in the manual it says to tighten the pin retainer bolt to 350-360 ft-lbs, where as it appears to be the same 5/8" diameter, grade 8, bolt as the Bob-Tach pivot pin, but the manual says to tighten that bolt to 350 ft-lbs if it's 3/4" diameter or 190 ft-lbs if it's 5/8" diameter. My Bob-Tach pivot pin was 5/8" so I tightened it to 190 ft-lbs, but how come it's says the same 5/8" bolt in the base end of the tilt cylinder needs 350 ft-lbs of torque, is this a mistake in the manual?
7LBSSMALLIE
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also a note on tilt rod bushing , they do turn and zerk wont line up9and wont take grease) remove serk and pin use a qual sharp punch(and glasses) couple o good raps will knock a new hole,this is really something to not stress about, make sure all mating surfaces are clean red loctite and hit with an ingersoll 1/2 gun. peridocally check torque. it will be just fine. yes we do find mistakes in man all the time.
