Any major areas I missed?

[laidback01]

well, the original seal was 20 years old too. The rotec seems to be 'OK', and for a home user, it'll be fine. If I put another 3k hours on it over the next 10 years, it'll be pretty good.

 

[Welder Dave]

On a lot of backhoes you have to watch when you pull the stick in and curl the bucket for transport so you don't hit the boom with the bucket teeth. Some even weld an extra plate on the bottom of the boom to prevent denting the boom with ghe bucket teeth.

 

[laidback01]

I may have to do that. I have a new foot long scar/deep scratch along the inside of the boom arm. I'm still a 'meh' operator, and I like to do multiple operations at the same time. with small/stock buckets, I typically unfurl the bucket while also unfolding the dipper arm. Damnit! That's a hell of a scratch. thinking I may cover the whole underside of the boom in RhinoLiner.

I'm going to have a weld a box to protect the exposed hydraulic cylinder and it's lines on the boom to body connection. I have a tendency to pin stumps, rocks, whatever, against the boom - this was learned on my backhoe which is fully protected and this behavior seems expected. will probably just weld nuts to the edge steel and go over to Pacific and have them roll some steel into an appropriate arc. put some holes in that and bolt it up.

 

[Coup]

I know im late to the party on this. I have a deere 50D anyone know where I can get the complete tool box cover for it? Deere says they are discontinued.

 

[Welder Dave]

I know im late to the party on this. I have a deere 50D anyone know where I can get the complete tool box cover for it? Deere says they are discontinued.

Should have started a new thread. Probably need to look for a used one or have one made.

 

[laidback01]

if you can't get one from Deere, and you can't get one from a wrecking yard... then you either make one yourself, or you go to a fab shop.

I'm getting a mid-sized plastic printer for just this issue. looks like the epoxy printers are better detail, but parts aren't that strong. the ones that have a print head that melts the trimmer line look suitable for strong(er) parts.

 

[Coup]

Could you recommend a wreaking yard i could try. Not much here in Northern Ms.Dont mind used. I would pay you laidback for a plastic one. Im sick of freaking mice making a home in it.

 

[Welder Dave]

See if your JD dealer is part of the used parts network where they can check with other dealers for used parts.

 

[laidback01]

I have a 50ZTS which is likely about 10 years older than a 50D. I'm rather doubtful the toolbox covers are the same. mine is a 2001. the 50ZTS doesn't have the different parts for different years issue like the 50D either. I see when you look up parts for that, the early serial numbers reference
Remarks
8099559 NLA,ORDER 8103069, ALSO ORDER 7049647
for the toolbox cover and the later models refer to:
8113134

and they are very different from each other and also very different from mine. I'll ask our local shop here in Kalispell, MT if they have a source for 50D parts. Will post back in a few days - I don't go to town that much. A quick search for used deere parts brings this company up: https://amsparts.com/john-deere/50d/excavator/parts I really don't know anything about them though.

 

[Coup]

Thanks !

 

[laidback01]

I was at Reddig's today, and they have a 50G in the lot for sale, but he rather chuckled at the idea of getting cab parts for a 50D or 50C. Too old, "everything worth getting has been!" he states. Now, we are a low population area, so there's not likely to be a lot of these in the old equipment salvage yards here. Anyway, that's all I know! Good luck. I think you might just get one bent out of sheet metal by a steel shop... Pacific will put steel sheet in their brake for me and bend when I need it. it was inexpensive for me at the time I needed it, I recall a couple bucks being added for a couple bends. Probably more now.

 

[Welder Dave]

$1 a bend seems unbelievable. Press brakes aren't cheap.

 

[Welder Dave]

If they give you a good deal if you buy the sheet, great!

 

[laidback01]

Found another problem. Makes sense though - 3000 hours on the machine, it wasn't super well taken care of from new. Used a heavy plate compactor for preparing the hole for septic tanks mostly. That vibration is what backed out most of the bolts on this machine, what made it need new pins and bushing so soon, etc.

Anyway, was using it the other day, have a grand time! And smelled coolant on exhaust. well, crap! so I shut it down and got out to look. Coolant all over the engine, the bay, dripping on the ground etc. I let it cool, refilled the tank, and get it back to my shop. So it's coming apart now.

and it's a good brand radiator, and as it turns out copper! Well, that's fantastic! I can fix this.

play with it in a water bath looking for air leaks, I found only the one after a fairly intense search.

You can see the crack - it's running vertically with the tube nearest the white marks. So, today, I'm going to let it warm up a bit (that's frost on the fins), clean the paint off, and do some soldering. well, cool, I'm good with this!
I'll get another pic up when it's all back together.

 

[laidback01]

well, I'm taking it to a professional shop. I fixed the one leak and promptly found two more in the bath. I think it's best if someone else works on this.

 

[Coup]

If yours is like mine you have to RELIGIOUSLY clean out the rad and cooler .once fixed. Especially in between terrible design.I made a curved hose attachment and gently spray.A pain trying to do that between fan blades

 

[laidback01]

yeah, I think my radiator will need to be re-cored. No looking forward to that expense, but... I need the excavator more than i need the excuse of not having it.

As to keeping it clean, I have a little window screen material that use magnets to hold on the frame of radiator. works good for larch needs and larger. no use for dust.. but I have pretty dcent access on this machine to push water through from the fan side.

I've seen the engine bay for the 50Ds, they are a bit more compact. The 50 ZTS I have is the original model, and they really hadn't refined everything yet. so it's not as compact as your setup. Which is OK with me as I don't need to worry about it.

Even so, they cram a lot of stuff into that 'engine bay' (more like a heat trap coffin) but the cooling system seems to work pretty well.

 

[Georgia Iron]

Laidback01, looks like somewhere along the line you have pick up some handy skills. I like how you installed the tach. Owning any machine for me even new ones seems to be a constant job of upkeep and repair/ replace. From exhaust parts rust and rotting out, to radiators needing work just like yours, brakes needing replaced, throwing tracks at the worst time, to everything in between, it is constant work and money to keep going.

Greasing is a daily job and is worth the effort and time it takes. A well greased machine wears at a much slower rate.

It is a never ending job thats eats your time with the reward being you have a machine to use and do things you want done. I have often wondered about the 1000s of machines that went down and stopped working due to owners stopping repairs for lack of money, time or just tired of battling wear and tear.

If you have time i would like to hear more of your techniques for tracking down the electrical gremlins.

Keep up the good work!

 

[laidback01]

Turns out that radiator needed to have the tube "cut and plugged" as it sounds like the one fix I made was what the professional would term a temporary fix. The other leaks I thought I found, he could not... I must have just have had aggravation-imagination working against me.

So, this will not cost that much, which is cool, but the really good news is that Howard states my radiator withstands 15 psi just fine now that the crack has been cut out and filled with silver solder. Good deal!

Anyone know where to get that engine foam? I pulled a pile of it out of there (carefully) while I was working, but... a lot of it is worthless, completely soaked in various oils and coolant. it's not drying, and it's gritty. I'm thinking that I could cover the radiator in wax paper and use expanding foam - minimal expansion type I think and fill in all the gap areas with that. It's closed-cell foam which won't hold dirt/oils as easily, and hey, it's bright yellow, so it'll match. Anyway, is dried expansion foam OK to replace the other engine bay foam? Any major fire hazard more than the other foam? anything else I need to think of?

@Georgia Iron Thanks for the compliment. Means a lot coming from folks like you! I look at some of the stuff you've done and it's really impressive! I sorted out a while back that maintenance is actually an exercise that calms me down. It's a way to help me understand the machine too - be it whatever equipment. As I continue, I'll update this thread or whatever with information.

thanks much! Have a good day.

 

[HarleyHappy]

I prefer the neoprene foam for gaps and such but the expanding foam should work.
For engine heat and sound deadening, you can’t beat Dynomat and it oil resistance is pretty good.