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my latest project

732K views 7K replies 82 participants last post by  TUDOR 
#1 ·
Hi everyone,
this is my latest project.

It is my first attempt which started out only as an addition to my lil Husqvarna tractor but it morphed into an individual piece due to the limitations of the Husky. This was my first time putting a hydraulic system together from scratch and thanks to surplus center and bits and pieces of information on the Internet I have a base to work with. I am aware of the dangers of hydraulic pressure and I know I have not even scratched the surface as to the possibilities of various components and combinations so I am open to and would appreciate any suggestions offered by the wise and knowledgeable members.

This was going to be a bolt on addition to my new Husqvarna 26-HP V-Twin Dual Hydrostatic 54" Garden Tractor , that is until I found out about the trans-axle not being rated for ground engaging implements which was the reason I bought it to begin with. By the time I learned this I had already committed to building the loader and was almost to where it could be mounted - only missing some hoses and fittings. Not being able to source my choice for a trans-axle for under $1600. - the JD fix I went with the idea of a separate entity :eek:(gasp !) a stand alone tractor.

I am one for using what's on hand first so this has me using the steel I had been saving for the roadster ( it can wait ) starting with 3 inch 10 gauge stainless steel box , 3 inch .355 stainless steel tube , 10 hp Honda , Parker gear pump 9 - 18 gpm - running thru a priority flow divider to a Parker 18.3 cu in wheel motor.

On the ground my 23 x 10.5 x 12 Sedona Mud Rebels in back and my Carlisle super lug 18 X 9.50 x 8 in front.

Still looking at possibilities but I am leaning towards two manual trans axle's belt driven by the hydro motor I can have an automatic with five gear ranges .

To turn the wheels I am thinking two MST 5 speeds such as 205-500 Series . . .

Trying to put in a picture (here) :confused:

I'd love to hear some suggestions.

Thanks for checking this post.

Donewrken
 
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#3 · (Edited)
FEL Build more pictures

I thought I would add some pictures.



New tires for the front showed up.


With the hood on.











This shows the reinforcements 1/4" x 4" front edge 1/4" x 3" on the sides






Comparison for perspective tires are 16 x 9.5 x 8




Some things still up in the air






Here is a shot of my test setup on the hydraulics






The reservoir is 1/8" plate and powder coated inside and out about 3.8 usable gallons.







I initially plumbed the low sides with clear tubing to get an idea how I needed to orient the pump , and air bubbles in the tubing told me it needed to be flipped 180 degrees. That enabled the charge pump to have clear fluid pour straight down it's throat - which also made the pistons very happy. The return - or "B" side is plugged and the case drain sort of works in both directions the tank end is submerged and will draw fluid if necessary to keep the pump full. At least that's how it appeared to be working - return fluid is not foamy which is a good thing.



The pump's prime mover is a 3hp 2800 RPM Baldor but with some belt slipping and less than equal pulley size I clocked the pump RPM at 1224. That was still enough to give me decent speed controlling the bucket so I am hopping when setup to give the engine an advantage at 60 - 70 %. That would quiet things down a bit - just depends on how that Honda 10hp is going to react.



Well the parts I have ordered are starting to come in hopefully the trans-axle for the lil hussy will show up soon that would give me a bit more room to work as I could then put her in the barn.

I am still hoping for some ideas for the trans-axles for the FEL I am still leaning towards manual shift tranny's just not sure which ones.

That's about it for now

Donewrken

:thanku:
 
#5 ·
Thanks Wildcat ,

Yes I agree there should be some type of standard. The way a salesman over at Sears explained it to me the rating able to use ground engaging attachments was what separated a "Lawn Tractor" from a "Yard" or "Garden Tractor". The absolute kicker for me was rated for hilly property and then find out the trans-axle cannot handle that either.

I found a Peerless 820-037 Transaxle for a good price - it's in the model family of the one the racers like to use with some gear changes and such. It has one inch axles and about fifteen pounds of extra metal. It's supposed to be a pretty rugged unit so I think in the long run this will be a fix with the least amount of headaches ! :trink40:

Thanks again

Donewrken

:smilie_fl
 
#7 ·
Your not confused at all . yes that is what I am building. Rather than powering a hydrostatic drive and conventional transfer case to achieve all wheel drive , I am hoping to use two gear drive trans-axle's - one up front and one in back - powered by a hydraulic wheel motor.

I am hoping someone can offer some advice on what might fit in here. Otherwise I will probably end up buying the least expensive pair of 2 speed tranny's I can find but would rather get it right the first time. So any help with which ones are durable and which ones to avoid would be appreciated.

Thanks

Donewrken
 
#11 ·
It might be real close , the bucket is 48" due to the width of the steel plate I bought. Which is not to say I cannot make another bucket. In fact I am planning on another bucket made from the plate right in front against the band saw. The reason is with that steel plate I can make it around 100 pounds lighter as it's 14 gauge opposed to 1/8". The one that is on there now weighs in at 164 lbs. - which is not too bad (I think) but lighter bucket means larger payload. It is also 48" though and I am not sure any extra width would be that beneficial , but I could be wrong. Ha ! It wouldn't be a first - and I can always buy more plate if needed.

I like the wider stance for stability and would probably settle for that over worrying about leaving some tire tracks. I am planning on a little longer wheelbase right around 60 inches it seems to distribute the weight a bit more. Plus the additional weight of the steel I am going to use should be helpful.

Thanks

Donewrken
 
#13 ·
(sigh!) Late to the party, again. :banghead3

Some reading that you might find interesting.

I am one for using what's on hand first so this has me using ............... 10 hp Honda , Parker gear pump 9 - 18 gpm - running thru a priority flow divider to a Parker 18.3 cu in wheel motor.
The pump in your pics may be a Parker, but a gear pump it is not. It looks like the variable displacement pump half of a zero turn hydro, which sort of reduces the need for gear boxes. It may possibly up your horsepower requirements, depending....... . A flow divider with a pair of appropriate sized motors would be a better drive system, but I don't know the specs for that unit. In any event, it won't run the drive and the loader too, without wasting its potential.

Gears are a PITA for loader work. A pair of transmissions would be doubly so, unless you lock them both in one gear. A foot control hydro works best.

There is a ton of math needed to build a loader that works efficiently, and another ton to figure out the drive ratios and hydraulics for the tractor. For the drive, you start with the max engine rpm, the tire diameter, and the desired top speed, then fill in all the blanks like; axle rpm, final reduction ratio, pump displacement, motor displacement, and since you want a 4X4, you get to do it all again for the front axle and then balance the needs of both axles against the pump and motor sizes and make adjustments as required. They're not difficult calculations, but they are tedious using a calculator with all the trial and error finding the best match.

5 speed GT transaxles? From what? You're going to need all the gear ratios, including reverse, for the calculating.

I initially plumbed the low sides with clear tubing to get an idea how I needed to orient the pump , and air bubbles in the tubing told me it needed to be flipped 180 degrees. That enabled the charge pump to have clear fluid pour straight down it's throat - which also made the pistons very happy. The return - or "B" side is plugged and the case drain sort of works in both directions the tank end is submerged and will draw fluid if necessary to keep the pump full. At least that's how it appeared to be working - return fluid is not foamy which is a good thing.
Ummm. The case drain is in the pump housing to drain excess fluid from the case, not to put it in. There is enough normal internal leakage to keep the case full of oil. Whatever you do, DO NOT PLUG that port. The same goes for the 'B' port! You are fortunate that you left the case drain open, but it is not designed for that much flow!

The charge pump ensures that the main pump has an adequate supply of fluid and it doesnt care which way it is oriented, right side up, upside down, or on end, it's all the same to it. The bubbles of air either came from the tank as the main pump was being charged or from the pump as air was being displaced, depending on which direction the bubbles were flowing.

I'm not sure of the wisdom of powder coating the inside of the tank. I won't use that stuff on the outside of any part of my tractor, never mind the inside of a tank. It breaks off in chunks when it fails, and it is not flexible if you happen to ding the tank. Hydraulic tanks do collect some humidity which will cause a certain amount of corrosion if the powder coat is cracked.

Powder coat is for show, paint is for work. I have a powder coated bracket bolted to the painted ROPS on my tractor. The bracket is rusted in places and the coating is flaking off. The ROPS is painted and faded, but it isn't rusted. Guess which one looks better after 6 years? The bucket on that tractor was also powder coated. Looked great in the showroom and kinda ugly after a year of use. The painted bucket on my GT looked better after 10 years of hard work!

If the sides of your bucket are 1/8" plate, you can lighten it by removing the 1/4" side reinforcement. It's not needed. The cutting edge is a bit light. My 54" homemade bucket has a 1/2 x 4" cutting edge that has about a half inch bow to it after 24 years of heavy (800 lb+) lifts. The shell of that bucket is all 1/8" plate.
 
#15 ·
Bar Tread ,
A plan - I do but nothing written in stone. I have in mind adding weight - filled tires , wheel weights / extenders ( has anyone had success using brake rotors ? I am thinking three or four per side about 12lbs. each - about six inch width) and concrete or suitcase type.
Other thoughts : bowling balls might be hard to secure , same for cannon balls
Thanks
:thanku:
Donewrken

TUDOR,
RE: Some reading that you might find interesting.
Yes , thanks. I read the first three pages that is where I saw your responses and why I was hoping you would offer your views.

Thanks for that.

My mistake it is a piston pump ( that is why I bought it) .
It is a nice pump I am impressed with it so far , as mentioned it is my test setup - still learning.
Was not sure where the air came from on first setup had the same thought of air in line but was not sure. The air almost immediately cleared when I turned the pump 180 and the drain was not acting as if it was working two way - only like a drain.

Sounds like your getting your moneys worth out of that bucket. The 1/4" reinforcement (side of bucket) also filled in the gap since my 1/8" plate was only 12" wide , glad to learn that 1/8" will suffice.

Thank you , I respect your years of experience and taking the time and effort to respond.

:050:
Donewrken
 
#16 ·
Update - some new pics

I finally started chopping up the stock I've been collecting so thought I would add some pictures.



That's the one 2nd on the right , I have thought about that stick of metal often. Do I really want to . . .



yeah it's almost exactly - let's see measure five times and



cut once ! Do I really want to do this am I really gona

just pull the trigger !




Done ! now square it up.


Moving right along a few more - less stressful cuts later



That three inch box is some pretty stuff I'm already starting to like this frame.


Added some holes while I could still get it to the drill press.









yikes !






New rims arrived !






New seat too !
Amazon - Quote New Black Universal tractor seat End Quote





I was given three choices - I think I will try and work around it considering the almost 30% refund.
I can always cover it - or just get another ! Ha !






New wheel motor and drums - color seems right anyway.





For scale.






New rear rims arrived !



Loved the new front tires so much I had to get a better match for the rear.








New drums , tires , rims and Gorilla nuts - what a combo !




I know it's not the 4x4 setup but I have to test the new motor so bear with me for a bit while . . .





I was pleased with the way the frame is taking shape it came out flat and square (surprise ):bannana: lots of tacks and flips and just took my time.
 
#21 ·
It looks like that has worked out nicely for you Bernard , thank you for that information.

I have been looking at the best way to mount my "canopy" :rolleyes: and for the rear mount I am thinking about this 12 foot by 6 inch I-beam I have laying around out back. If I chopped off about three feet of it to put on the back it could not only be a solid mounting point but also add a few needed pounds. :dunno:

Donewrken
 
#24 ·
Bernard , good job ! I like your creativity on the weights - with the stair railing hub. I'd be thinking of getting that cap chromed sort of like a little bitty mooner ! Ha ! :thThumbsU

Nice work on the mounts , they look great. You put a lot of thought into them. I like the wheel base you had to work with, did you have to relocate controls - pedals etc. :fing32:

Donewrken
 
#25 ·
changed it a little, the hydro lever to a foot control and had to modify the brake ped arm some pic of work
just looked up brake pic did not look at them will see what they are
 

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