Mulching - "The Daily Grind"

[treemuncher]

Currently working a stump & loose slash clearing job. I got in a good 1.5 hours and then my fuel injection pump took a dump. The machine was dead where it sat. Fortunately it was dry enough, and cleared enough, to get my service truck in close to the machine for diagnostics and repairs. It really sucks when I break down in a swamp or in the bush and everything has to be hauled in, sometime miles in. Air, water, tools, everything right there at the machine - that's about as easy as it can get.

Thankfully, I had an extra FI pump on a core block back at the shop that a buddy have given me after it dropped a valve. Once the other pump was on, the fuel line on #3 started puking diesel. I had to pull air cleaner and other parts to get a clean shot at the valve cover to pull and inspect the problem injector. New seating washer, retorqued all injector clamps, checked #4 & #5 seating tubes as well. Fixed. Washed it down good and started work again the following morning. If you like being a mechanic or just fixing stuff, mulching is definetly the way to go!

The machine is running good. Not a perfect finish job but perfect for what they want/need right now. I got a couple of acres done of mostly pine stumps with a few large hardwoods mixed in here and there. The customer is happy and ready for the big rubber tire machine. I told him to try the tracked machine first to be sure that his group was happy with my performance and cost basis. It's cheaper for them to try me out with the tracks first before making a commitment with lowboy costs on the larger machine. I should have another 20+ acres of this stuff to knock out as soon as the weather clears and the machine is moved on site. I will try to get some video footage if time allows.

 

[crane operator]

I see guys all the time, trying to get into the clearing game with a much too small compact track loader and a light head. End up with overheated hydraulics and the machine beat to pieces.

You prefer running your tracked machine, or the big rubber tires?

 

[treemuncher]

I see guys all the time, trying to get into the clearing game with a much too small compact track loader and a light head. End up with overheated hydraulics and the machine beat to pieces.

You prefer running your tracked machine, or the big rubber tires?

Bigger is always better if there is a lot to be done. However, unless I ever get 750 - 1000 hp under the hood, I will always want more power. I do about 90% of my work with the track machine because I can move that with my custom built straight truck myself. I sold my lowboy after the divorce so I have to hire out moves on the 2 larger machines. Normally, any more, it's just the Barko 937 for the bigger jobs, unless I get a ditch mowing job, then I need the PC200. I keep looking at lowboys and telling myself "NO!"

With the track machine, tracks go more places with fewer issues and the floating head allows me to contour uneven ground much better. The rotor on the track machines FAE head has a smaller diameter so that gives more usable torque. The cab is large and spacious, air ride seating, nice BT stereo with subwoofer system and a hydraulic push bar. I have been up 44 degree slopes with this machine and side hilled over 30 degrees without issue. The main drawback is that the tracks are always slower than tires and there is no adjustable head float system. It is pretty nimble for its size.

With the rubber tired machine, ground speed is much faster, especially on back dragging with the electronically adjustable float pressure. Steep side hills are no place to be with it and neither are swamps or wet conditions. It is only suitable for flat ground or certain slopes with head-on access up to about 25 degrees. It has a road gear and will do about 15 mph on the highway - easy to move on right-of-way work or job to job if within about 5 miles or so. It takes a lot more maintenance time as it collects so much dust and debris into the machine. It also has more greasing points and is just so tall that it is difficult to work on at times. The cab is smaller, good AC, fairly quiet, fixed push bar, spring seating (or maybe the ladder) that kills my knees after a long day in the seat. I do not have a refined control for dropping trees with the fixed push bar but it does have a lot more butt to push with and reaches higher. I can also make a finer finish product with this machine when required.

I enjoy running both machines. I just don't get to run the Barko as much but when it makes economic sense for the customer, that is what I push for to save them money. I get to chew trees like an over-caffeinated Godzilla with that thing, especially when it is reclaiming overgrown farm fields. Some jobs, depending on conditions, allow me to cover well over 10 acres in a day. It is a beast with an insatiable appetite that nearly runs through jobs.

Today was a "show it some love" day for the Barko. My two lift cylinders have been weeping for a while and needed a rebuild before starting another job tomorrow. Some squirrels also got into the machine during the winter and chewed up the newest camera wiring - new one on order. That will get changed out on site.

Barko cylinders are some of the easiest units that I have ever rebuilt. Unscrew the cap bolts and that's it. Just damn big and heavy to lug around and hold up is the hardest part of the repair.


If you don't have a seal folder kit, get one. Best thing I ever purchased for installing hydraulic seals in those inner rings. No more damaged seals and no sore fingers.


I always work alone. Winch straps are my best friends for many repairs and the forklift for heavy work. I think out the possibilites before tearing things apart so that I do not lose any digits nor pieces of any body parts. A few close calls taught me well to be prepared for what can happen if I do not think it out or pay attention. Here I was winching the cylinder closed while lifting it for the installation of the eye to the lift arm.

 

[treemuncher]

Not too bad for 13 minutes of work in wet conditions that were slowing me down. Covered in stumps (6"-24" mostly pine) that were cut low, now ground flush and easy to drive over. Ready for the customer to throw down grass seed and able to keep it cut with a bush hog mower. Knocked out over 5 acres yesterday and 200 gallons of fuel.

 

[cfherrman]

Thirsty!

 

[HarleyHappy]

That seal folder looks different than mine. I bought a cheapy set off Amazon for 16 bucks but it doesn’t have that center post. They work okay, sometimes great for some seals but if they have a good taper on them, I want to throw them in the trash.

 

[Dom]

200 gallons, it certainly does not run on good intentions. Probably still efficient for the work done.

 

[treemuncher]

 

[BC Placer gold]

Really impressive, top quality work!

 

[alaskaforby4]

This is exciting to read! thanks for putting this out there. We just bought a '14 Barko 930B with a Fecon Head. We mainly do residential pads 10k+ sq ft and a couple 5-10 acre borough road jobs a year. Been around mulching a little bit, but mostly deal with the excavation and trucking side of things. Excited to be able to grind it all up onsite and not deal with so many trucks! We had Hendrix Timber Mulchers go through the entire thing before getting shipped up here. Should be here this week, cant wait.

Anything you recommend specifically watching out for with these machines? I saw you mentioned extra cleaning.

 

[treemuncher]

Anything you recommend specifically watching out for with these machines? I saw you mentioned extra cleaning.

Keep the head balanced. Build extra guards to keep the discharge minimized. Learn what it does far away from people because it can/will throw chunks a long ways when least expected. Keep a close eye on the temps and clean out the radiators if it runs warm - warm goes to hot pretty fast. Most importantly, keep those hydraulics immaculately clean. A filtration cart is an excellent investment and use it every time you service the machine with an oil change. Good tires will keep you from getting stuck.

 

[alaskaforby4]

Okay will do! Did you have to modify your head with the extra guards, Do you have a picture of what you’d recommend? How often do you get your drum balanced? Fecon just balanced this one and installed new teeth, so excited . Is it okay if I just PM you if I have further questions so I don’t clog your thread up here?

 

[treemuncher]

Okay will do! Did you have to modify your head with the extra guards, Do you have a picture of what you’d recommend? How often do you get your drum balanced? Fecon just balanced this one and installed new teeth, so excited . Is it okay if I just PM you if I have further questions so I don’t clog your thread up here?

Don't worry about adding to this thread. I put this up for others to share and maybe learn from. That's what I see forums are for.

I thought I had an injector go out on my #5 cylinder back at the end of May, so that got replaced with a working extra that I had. Once that job was finished up, the machine was moved to the next job that I had hoped to knock out prior to vacation time. No such luck - machine started running on 5/6 cylinders again so I called my customer, let him know my situation, loaded the machine and dropped it off at the shop. I knew I would not have time to work on it again until we got back home so there it sat, waiting.

Once we returned, the diagnosis was #5 rocker bridge was off the mounts, causing #5 cylinder to be down. I would bet money that I missed that when I thought the injector was out. I put the bridge back on, set the valves and went back to work on the job that I had pulled off of. #5 rocker bridge jumped off again within about 10-12 hours. This time, once I put the bridge back on, I watched the lift while the engine was at idle. Damn, #5 intake lobe on this cam (or the roller lifter) is going out on the Cummins QSC 8.3. It's running at about 50% lift height compared to other cylinders. This will be a couple more weeks out of work between repair time and parts delivery. This one is not going to be fun.

I finally got to the timing cover after 3 days of draining fluids, removing electrics, sheet metal, tanks and more. Now Cummins claims I need a $2k-$2.5k tool set to hold up the tappets to pull the camshaft on this engine. I am still waiting for the new tappets to arrive. Once I have those in hand, I will build my own tooling for this operation. No diesel shop local has ever worked on this engine, let alone know what tool set I speak of. Another typical problem in my life to be solved. I will either machine something to fit or plastic-cast what I need.

The good news? I used my borescope camera to check the flywheel coupler plate - no evidence of cracks showing so I don't have to pull the engine. At least not yet at this point.

Days like these, why did vacation time go by so fast? I miss those cool weather conditions and fresh seafood! 30 minutes after picking these up at the dock, these were ready to serve.



Back to reality of my life - living in high humidity swamp ass conditions of August in the mid south with major repairs under way.





Now it's just a waiting game for the lifters too arrive so that I can make the tooling. Until then, I can not proceed any further unless I want to pull the entire engine.

 

[treemuncher]

Waiting on parts........so I had time available to repair the leaking floor cylinder on the 862B. Definitely the easiest rod end to pull apart with the locking key thread system but what a heavy b*****d to do by hand and alone! It took the 1" impact gun to knock the bolts loose. Even with that, one bolt still required heat to get broken free. The rod had suffered some bad rock scrapes that marred the chrome and wasted the seals. I filed down the high spots and then took a cotton buffing pad with metal polishing compounds to smooth the rod as best as I could. I think that it should hold pretty well as smooth as the compounds got the surface finish.

I found a thick gallon jug that fit perfectly tight to protect the piston as I pulled and installed the rod. There is also a piece of rubber conveyor belting on the edge of the metal to keep from scarring the rod when sliding it up into place. Straps, straps and more straps to get this job done.






Just about to install the piston into the cylinder. I lost count of how many times I was in and out of the belly. I got my ladder steps in on this job!


On testing, everything is tight and dry. This rebuild was long and slow due to the weight and being careful not to scar up the parts nor myself.

 

[cfherrman]

I'm in the keys and it's packed forest where it hasn't been developed yet and thought of your machines trying to chew through it. It's really dense I'll try to get a pic today

 

[treemuncher]

Will these repairs ever get done? Damn, I miss being able to work and listen to the trees scream!

 

[Tones]

I still have vivid memories of the pain you've going through. That part of the job I don't miss.

 

[oarwhat]

What happened?

 

[treemuncher]

What happened?

I had #5i lifter go down and ruin the camshaft. Things went downhill from there but I still see light at the end of the tunnel (maybe bowel?). See https://www.heavyequipmentforums.co...ent-tooling-anyone-have-pics-or-specs.119876/

 

[treemuncher]

All back together and running as of today. However, the air compressor for the reversing fan is dead, again. I've got another one on order for later this week. I also found one of my hydraulic filters is bypassing so I have to figure out which one it is and diagnose that situation. Obviously a replacement will be in order but there should be a reason why it has gone to bypass. And the front lights are out. It seems endless trying to keep everything working and in proper order.

Lots of parts, panels and connections to be made to put everything back together.