Hello,
New member here Gary. I am planning the pickup of an OC3 and HG68? in the next several weeks. I am working to get a hauling trailer lined up.
Both machines need work, and will have to be winched onto the trailer. I have been reading this forum, start to finish... enjoying the info.
Two questions, on the HG if you could assist.
I will purchase the owner's manual books once I get casting numbers, etc. But until then...it looks like I will need to remove the drawbar at least on the HG.
I am hoping this should be pretty easy to do. I was planning on bringing PB Blaster, mapp gas torch, 4-6 foot breaker bar and impact sockets...do you think I will run into
any serious issues with removal...units have been out in the weather for some time...they aren't showroom condition...but I have seen much more rust...any suggestions?
I need to speak with the owner again, maybe this week. The trailer will accept up to 81" wide. I believe the HG has 12" pads on it...I believe that would bring me to 80".
That would leave 1/2" play on each side....a bit tight...are my measurements correct...Hopefully it has 10" pads on it...this would make my removal much easier, as I plan to pull the machines off with other wheeled tractors once I get them home.
Thanks for the assistance.
Hi Gary welcome to the forum!!
I'm not in front of either of my machine right now but I'm pretty sure the standard pad size is 10 inches that should put you at 78 inches width. I have seen machines with wider 12 inch pads but they are pretty rare I think. The draw bar bolts being rusted may not be the problem, usually there's enough grease and oil leaking to keep then from rusting tight. My problem was the bolts face down & the end of the bolts get damaged from running over rocks & such making them difficult to remove. Bring a battery Powered saws all if you own one!
Scott
Scott,
Thanks for the welcome.
I am hoping for 10" pads just to be sure I can get it loaded without any issues.
I never gave any thought that the draw bar could be bolted on with nuts, rather than just being bolted in.. On my wheeled tractors, I just have bolts to remove... good thought on the sawzall...I do have one and will bring it with me, might do well to have a grinder with cut-ff wheel..but I hope it will simply unbolt..
Thanks again, if you think of anything else, please let me know.
Gary
On my HG 42 there is a1/2" bolt at the front just below the rear driveshaft u joint, a bolt facing down with a nut on the bottom. Then there are two bolts farther back. One in front of & one behind the rear drawbar support. These are 3/8" or 7/16" bolts. All face down from the top with a nut on the bottom. The threaded portion sticking out below the nut can allow The end of the bolt to be damaged, making removal of the nut on the bottom a problem, but a sawsall or a "hot wrench" / cutting torch would be helpful!
Scott
I've seen them really stuck, in fact I had the same situation when I drove 400 miles to pick up an OC-4. I needed the room to get it on the truck and knew I had to get the drawbar out of the way. To make a long story short, I ended up removing the support bracket and that let me swing the drawbar off to one side up against the track.
I will have a long drive also and want to make sure I can get these loaded as quickly as possible. I have looked at various HG's and I am not sure if could remove
the "caged" support, swing the bar to the track and be of equal distance of the track....Again, I appreciate the insight you have both provided.