Does anyone know how to stiffen up the suspension on an HG? Mine has an Anderson blade on it, and while doing some recent work, I notice that there is a lot of movement of the body in relation to the blade.
I've got an OC3 with an ATECO bucket on it, and it has a ridged mount......looks like Ateco did it. There is a solid weldment going across and mounting to some beefy flanges that bolt to the frame. This weldment also supports the forward end of the lift frame for the bucket arms. Even with the bucket, it's easier to control the cut than it is with the blade and spring suspension on the HG.
Can this be done by just making an adapter to mount on the existing support arms to slolidly join to the track frame, or does it require an entirely new suspension set up? Would there be any problems with the stiff mount? I don't notice any frame problems on the OC3, but I'd guess that you would lose some traction with less ability to conform to the ground.
Any thoughts or experience would be welcome.
Thanks, Mike
Mike, I don't think there would be any problem with solidly mounting your track frames to the main frame. Most of the loaders are made that way - my OC-12 loader is that way, as well as the OC-96 we used to have. Our Cat 977K and Allis HG-7G were that way too.
My OC-12 dozer has a walking beam, so it can flex, but it won't nose dive like a spring mounted dozer would.
You could go either way with yours. Good luck.
Mike,
A simple solution to see if you would like it, take the main spring out of the assembly and replace the spring with a piece of heavy pipe the same length as the spring, put the assembly back together again and you have solid mounts!
Good luck,
Ray
I like the idea of a walking beam, that seems to be the best of both worlds, but I also like the simplicity of Ray's idea, too.
If I substituted the pipe for the springs, what happens when you bear down on the blade and the frame rises? I've never had the springs apart, so don't know exactly how they work. Or is the spring the same length as the upper limit of the travel? It seems like mine rises up quite a bit higher than what would be a normal ride before it starts lifting the track frame.
It almost seems as if mine compresses the spring to completely, though, with just the weight of the blade on it. I might be so used to it that way that I've not got anything to know what the actual ride height should be.
If I do the pipe thing, would it be alright to leave it that way? Or does this put too much twisting force on the existing spring supports?
Thanks for your responses!
Mike
Mike check your instruction manual, it should show a cross section view of spring assembly. The stop for the uplift is a stop nut on the bottom of the assembly. As far as leaving the pipes in, you could leave them in, as the twisting should be minimal, for the track frame fastened to the back takes care of that if your hangers fit tight.
Ray
I've got the suspension apart......I had one spring that was broken. I'm sure this didn't help the nose diving.
My plan is to cut the pipe 3/4" shorter than the spring to give a ride as if the spring was compressed that much. I'll put a 3/4" spacer under the nut so that I can tighten the whole stack down tight.
The ride height looked to be too high when I raised the front to just starting to lift the tracks. Does this seem about right? It would simulate a spring being compressed 3/4".
Thanks for all your help.
Mike
I have a drawing that I made several years ago and that shows assembled height of appox. 9 inches measuring from center of the bottom pin hole to the center of the top hole. I do not have the actual compressed spring height, but I would not go too small.
I just read your message Ray, and had an idea. I've got a 1944 issue of the Red Tractor Book, which shows the Nebraska tests and ...................... a cross-sectional view of the tractor! It clearly shows that the frame is level with the ground. I'll set up the tractor that way and see what sort of dimensions and atitude that gives me.
Thanks, Mike
Everything is back together. What a difference! I've been preparing an area for an apron outside of my shop and the HG works great with it's new solid suspension.
I ended up making the spring replacement spacer 6 1/2" long and the tractor sits level now. The blade also raises a lot higher, for more clearance, too.
Thanks for all your help!
Mike
Just for future reference there were two different spring rates available, Standard and Heavy Duty.
I am almost certain the one we had when I was a kid had the heavy duty--possibly because we used a cultivator on the front. The one I have now seems much "softer".
I do not know what either spring rate was--but any spring maker that had one of the existing springs could make a new one either to match or at a different rate.