CC 149 Hydraulics Project
 

So after getting all the hydraulic lift linkages and plow linkages rebuilt and working, it's time to get rid of it all. :bash2:

This tractor is never going to be a lawn cutter, but basically a tiller and blade machine and by spring should be sporting a FEL. So I need a rear lift and a dedicated hydraulic system for the loader. So might as well start at the beginning, or in this case the front.

First off came the nose and the PTO pulley and all of its linkages. I picked up the pump and coupling that I'd be using. I machined an alignment coupling to locate the exact position of the pump, then started cutting with the zip blade. I'm no coward when it comes to taking stuff apart or rearranging metal, sometimes to my detriment. With some measurements in hand it was time to check the scrap pile for suitable material. Some 2"X3" by 1/8" tubing jumped into my hand, aching for some active duty. A piece of 1/4" plate and a few minutes with the plasma cutter made the beginnings of the pump mount bracket.

A morning of fiddling, cutting, checking and rechecking had the pump mount in place and the tubes boxed and welded in place. The engine being hard bolted to the frame made the direct coupling possible. There are advantages to belt drive, depending on the circumstances, but direct works good for me. The pump can easily be removed by removing two bolts and two hoses. After everything cooled, it was satisfying to have the pump slip in to the bracket boss and the shaft into the light friction fit on the alignment coupling. The Lovejoy type couplings are pretty forgiving, but it's nice to have everything about perfect! The front of the frame is substantially stronger now too which may come in handy later.

Tomorrow, I start on the back end.

Attachment 106718

Attachment 106719

Finished except paint and the pump can go back into it's box until the FEL build is nearly complete. The pump of course hits the grill mount casting. The plan as of now is to simply raise the casting two inches and fab a bezel at the front of the hood to the dash. Maybe I should put a reverse flow hood scoop there like some of the seventies muscle cars :bigthink:

I should probably replace the basket pulley, but I can do that later if somebody wants a complete end to end PTO set up.

For a bit there I thought you were coupling it directly without a "flex" in the drive.
I prefer the "Boston "couplings, but like you, what one has on hand is the
"right one" :beerchug:
Coming along fine

Really looks great..:beerchug:

Now to the back end. I didn't get a lot of work done but, a fair amount of the planning and gathering parts. First step was to mount the tiller and make sure there was clearance for the new cylinder and lift. It seemed a good time to add a couple of gussets from the mounting plate to the frame. Four extra bolts to handle more load and axle torque. And of course I now have a pile of rebuilt excess parts.

Anybody need lift parts?
I machined a couple of 3/4" bore hubs to fit into the ends of a heavy 1 1/2" square tube that will be the rocker arm for the new lift. The arms were drilled for multi position cylinder mounting for more stroke or more weight. The cylinder is 2" bore, substantially more lift than the original 1 1/2". More stroke too.
All jigged up and ready for welding. After the arms are welded and the tube cooled the hubs will be slide in and have a 3/4" shaft passed through both for alignment before they get welded.

Nice work so far. I assume you’re converting the tiller to hydraulic drive.

The plan was/maybe still is to hydraulic drive the tiller. But I have a surplus 14HP gas engine with a centrifugal clutch and pulley that I can fairly easily mount on the tiller. With those dedicated 14HP I can overspeed the tiller some and increase ground speed while running the tractor engine at a more moderate rpm. The new rear lift cylinder will be plumbed to the existing valve and still be powered from the hydro. The bigger bore should have no trouble lifting the tiller and engine, plus the cylinder has a 1 1/4" rod, so no fear of overloading that.

Coffee time so I might as well up date now.
The new lift arm got welded up and the lower cylinder eyes welded to a plate. The dry fit and check for range of motion and interference all looked good. I drilled a 5/8" hole through the ram shaft then cut the bushing off. Guess they won't take that cylinder back now.:biggrin2:

I would have preferred to have the fittings parallel to the pin, but if it becomes a big nuisance, I'll cut that bushing off too and turn it or maybe weld on a Cat O swivel.

The lower eyes are welded to a separate plate that will catch two of the diff bolts and two through the bottom of the tiller bracket. Two reasons, first being there's no room to get the 4" pin out while mounted and because of maybe wanting to change the mount to the Cat O swivel which would require eyes closer together.

I've probably doubled both my lift capacity and my lift range. Now I need to put on some hoses.