Bushes stuck in dipper

[S B Rural Contracting]

Went to change out the dipper end bushes this afternoon on my Kubota kx61-3 only to find they don't want to come out. Long story short I bought the machine at 700hrs and the buckets were pinned on. Towed it straight to a long job in Scotland and fitted a tilting hitch up there at the start of the job. Fitted on site so didn't bother replacing the bushes. 900 hrs later I'm back I Wales now and finally getting round to changing the bushes.

Problem is the dipper end and seals have all smushed up together into a big burr. There wasn't enough room to fit even a 0.5mm shim when I put the hitch on, and there's still no real gap. So I'm thinking it was probably battered from having side to side play with buckets pinned on.

Any way I managed to get the seals out - see photos. Took a carbide burr around the seal seat to remove the burred over steel, but I'm cautious about going too deep. Already seems like new seals might be a loose fit. It's hard to keep it a round hole.

Had a go at drifting out the bushes but neither would budge. Has anyone had a similar problem and how did you fix it? I've been told run a bead of weld around the inside of the bush so it shrinks the bush slightly as it cools/contracts.

Need the digger this week so it's all back together now but will have another look next week. Hopefully armed with a solution.

 

[bobthebuilder]

bigger hammer

 

[CPS]

Run a few beads of weld around the inside of the Bush, the full way around and let it cool. Then they will tap out ok.
Your seal seat is fuxked now though, so you can forget about the seal or tack a few spots of weld in and grind them back to the seal fits in

 

[S B Rural Contracting]

Ok thanks, I'll give that a go next weekend. Yeah it's mullered.. that's the seal coming out in the third pic.

Bigger hammer is always helpful but couldn't get much purchase on the bush. Everything I used as a drift either chipped (hardened punch) or just mushed the end up (section of broken breaker bar)

 

[Bri963]

I just run welds along the bush as it’s easier than going round. Never failed yet, 1 tonne to 25+.

 

[DaveDCB]

Dismantle a hacksaw and reassemble it inside the dipper/bush… cut a nice slit into the bush and it will release it… maybe

 

[doobin]

Dismantle a hacksaw and reassemble it inside the dipper/bush… cut a nice slit into the bush and it will release it… maybe

You won’t touch a hardened bush with a hacksaw!!

Weld a bit of round stock in there and then you have something to bash against with a kango too.

 

[Mogman]

+1 for welding inside the bush they’ll drop out then

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

Have you got new bushes to put in? Are they not originally top hat bushes?

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

This line around the outside is the bush, this is why the middle is proud of the dipper end, the rim of the top hat has worn away!

 

[S B Rural Contracting]

Hi Mick. Yeah I can see what you mean, but the bushes are plain, not top hat. Got new replacements ready. I guess that's a weld or maybe two pieces pressed together? I didn't really take many photos before putting the hitch back on but you can see the bush edge in this pic where I'd started to remove the burr.

I've thought of a plan. I'm going to try to see if I can get a mag drill lined up exactly with the bush. I've got a 30mm cutter so that should be easy enough. Then I'll get a 38mm cutter and see if I can cut away all the crap to get to the edge of the bush. Then I'll weld etc and weld something in to hammer on. Wish I'd thought of that before getting stuck I with the carbide burr, might have stood a good chance of getting a tidy seat for the seals..

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

I see now! You have a job on there! Gas axe? To start with!

 

[doobin]

I see now! You have a job on there! Gas axe? To start with!

Got to be easier to weld some round stock in and bash it with a 20kg packer to start with? Less chance of damage.

I had trouble getting a weld to take to the hardened steel (@V8Druid chime in with them rods for OP) but got there after a few tries on a much bigger machine. Weld barely took but the combined heat cycles and impacts were eventually enough.

 

[Gecko]

I'm going to try to see if I can get a mag drill lined up exactly with the bush.

You'll make a mess of your cutter when it touchs the bush

 

[Bri963]

Got to be easier to weld some round stock in and bash it with a 20kg packer to start with? Less chance of damage.

I had trouble getting a weld to take to the hardened steel (@V8Druid chime in with them rods for OP) but got there after a few tries on a much bigger machine. Weld barely took but the combined heat cycles and impacts were eventually enough.

Usually 7018 will do the trick, but 312 will also work.

 

[DaveDCB]

You won’t touch a hardened bush with a hacksaw!!

Weld a bit of round stock in there and then you have something to bash against with a kango too.

Would of probably got through it in the time it’s taken to realise it’s easier to weld it

 

[V8Druid]

Got to be easier to weld some round stock in and bash it with a 20kg packer to start with? Less chance of damage.

I had trouble getting a weld to take to the hardened steel (@V8Druid chime in with them rods for OP) but got there after a few tries on a much bigger machine. Weld barely took but the combined heat cycles and impacts were eventually enough.

eutectic 299 .... Ni/Cr/Moly will weld just about any steel including files and truck springs

 

[Mogman]

eutectic 299 .... Ni/Cr/Moly will weld just about any steel including files and truck springs

Why would you weld a file to a truck spring

 

[bobthebuilder]

Why would you weld a file to a truck spring

why not

 

[Rob65]

Why would you weld a file to a truck spring

Because a file is small and easy to loose. If you weld it to a truck spring it will. Easy to find then you want it, kind of like a big key ring stops you loosing a single key