[markgru02919]

Just before Christmas I purchased a 4020 for the purpose of removing the PTO and HVFB for my 4018. The HVFB blower chamber was both eroded and rotted, the brackets / mounting areas were twisted and cracked. I had to cut very deep into the Vacuums brackets with a cutting wheel to weaken them to the point I could straighten them out. I then opened the cuts up into a bevel with a grinding wheel welded the areas up and ground the welds flush. All the brackets look like brand new now and fit together nicely with no binding at all. To fix the eroded area, I went to a local sheet metal house to have a 10 gauge (much thicker than the original) piece of sheet metal cut and curled to fit over the eroded area. All the repairs are finished and once the warmer weather is here I plan on sandblasting, fill, prime, paint and replace the decal and it will be ready to go this spring. The pictures below show the repairs so far, once it is painted I will post pictures of the finished bagger.

The good old craftsmen screwdrivers, they were the closest things I had available

 

[InTroubleAlltheTime]

Nice work Mark. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: So how about the 4020, is it just a parts tractor or are you going to put it to work?
:222: :446: Best Regards, Rich

 

[markgru02919]

Nice work Mark. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: So how about the 4020, is it just a parts tractor or are you going to put it to work?
:222: :446: Best Regards, Rich

Hi Rich, The 4020 is gone, I sold it about 3 weeks ago. I do not have enough room to keep it. If all goes well and I get my larger shed built I may pick up a second tractor to have one with the blade and one with a snowcaster for winter use. I have a cab but again I can not mount that on my tractor either because of height restrictions in my shed. I was planning on building a bigger shed this spring but the way taxes are going up, cost of energy, the lack of employment opportunities we are having second thought about spending any more money in RI. My wife and I are considering a move south, possibly to the NC area. I have a brother in Catawba, NC and it is a much lower cost of living out there.

 

[fjmg]

Nice work! I too had a little work to do on my hydravac but I was fortunate that there was no rust, just needed some bump hammer work and crack repair. One thing I did notice was the mount holes (between vac and bracket on tractor) were quite"ovaled" so after repair I followed some advice on this forum and I took the impeller in to a place to check the balance up to 4000 rpm. WHAT A DIFFERENCE, the unit now just hums beautifully with almost zero vibration! I would strongly recommend having the impeller balanced on a used unit.

 

[markgru02919]

Nice work! I too had a little work to do on my hydravac but I was fortunate that there was no rust, just needed some bump hammer work and crack repair. One thing I did notice was the mount holes (between vac and bracket on tractor) were quite"ovaled" so after repair I followed some advice on this forum and I took the impeller in to a place to check the balance up to 4000 rpm. WHAT A DIFFERENCE, the unit now just hums beautifully with almost zero vibration! I would strongly recommend having the impeller balanced on a used unit.

Were would I look for a company that offers this type of service? If you do not mind what do they usually charge to balance the impeller? Thank you for the advice.

 

[Mjoe7]

Nice job! :thumbup: :coolphotos: :goodpost:

 

[fjmg]

The local company I used was called Dynamic Machine. They work on almost anything that rotates in the industrial/commercial/agriculture sector. I would start by calling places that rebuild the large electric motors. I am pretty sure it was over a hundred dollars and when I paid for it I flinched a bit but after hearing my hydravac run after the install I could not believe the difference and would not hesitate a minute if I rebuilt another hydravac.

One of the reasons I wanted to check the balance was that my unit had plenty of half inch holes started on the back of the impeller in highly random locations (as if someone was just "guessing" with a hand drill) and when it returned many were filled back in and a few new ones were present.

 

[Bob MacGregor]

The holes that are on the back of the impeller blades are balance holes from the original manufacturer. I have done weld repairs to several impellers and balanced them on an aircraft wheel balancer where I was employed, I had to do the same thing, but I did it with an end mill. I have also repaired blower housings but I installed the repair piece inside rather than outside and then it is replacable when it wears thru. I've repaired four different blower housings and one twice.
Mad Mackie in CT :mrgreen: :lol:
:mowlawn: coming soon to your area!!!!