[ATernus]

I will not deny the fact that the 147 was being abused at the time, but is it common for the cast lift lever to break? Or did I just beat it up worse than people normally do?
I'm used to having big toy options available on our construction sites, and trying to make the little loader do too much at home with the box blade on it.
I have 80lb of suitcase weights hanging on the sleeve hitch, and its a standard Brinly box blade with the option of putting a cinder block on it, but I have 72lb of steel flat weights in its place. They came from a zero turn mower front weight kit to offset the rear bagger. I don't believe the weight was the problem, and I was grading out an area for retaining wall extension and a set of future stairs along side of it. Transitioning from steep hill to valley many times and almost having it resting on front wheels, and box blade only, with one or barely both rear wheels touching the ground. Will say I could cut a hell of a lot of material in a hurry though... Found one quick on ebay last night to get me back up quickly. Also going to weld the old one up as a spare, and may fabricate one following the plans that Adam had made in the past. When I can find the time..... I have an excavator rented for next weekend for this project and another, so the 147 can watch from the sideline and be free from further harm.