Dig-It truckhoe / backhoe

[corax]

Well, this is "a vehicle other than Toyota" - recently I bought a mini towable backhoe with a seized 18hp Kohler engine - if I can't fix/rebuild the engine that's on it, what are my options for a cheap 18 hp horizontal crank engine? I'm fairly good with internal combustion, but don't really have any experience with small engines, what usually goes wrong with these little beasts? Are there any brands I should stay away from? I've been looking at Kohler, Briggs, Tecumseh, and Honda - all seem to be about $1,300 +/-, but that's a bit out of my budget. Are there any good places to find a used engine?


This is what I got :D - now I just gotta figure out if/how to tow it 6 hours without getting pulled over for no tags
http://www.feterl.com/Pug/htdocs/dig_it/images/backhoe.jpe
Dig-It towable backhoe (http://www.feterl.com/Pug/htdocs/dig_it/backhoe_specs.htm)
(made by Feterl, used to make farm equipment, now out of business)

[Seanz0rz]

something out of a riding mower? our generator has a 18hp briggs. been a great motor!

try a lawn mower repair shop, they might have used mowers or other power equipment. also look on craigs, etc for non running riding mower, generators, etc.

edit: btw, that thing is TOTALLY BADASS!!!!

[CJM]

Im with sean on this, find a mower repair shop, someone selling the same kinda shaft drive off craigslist or something (must come out the same way on the other engines, you can get vertical or horizontal-mowers usually vertical shaft. IE top of engine is facing you.)

If its seized you could crank the sucker open and rebuild it, VERY easy.

Oh and fwiw shoulda got the bobcat itself and a used backhoe attachtment, much more versatile and fun.

[DHC6twinotter]

I'd go with a Kohler over a Briggs, but I don't know anything about Tecumseh or Honda.

Very cool looking contraption! I want one!

[corax]

something out of a riding mower? our generator has a 18hp briggs. been a great motor!

try a lawn mower repair shop, they might have used mowers or other power equipment. also look on craigs, etc for non running riding mower, generators, etc.


Haven't thought about a riding mower engine . . .



Im with sean on this, find a mower repair shop, someone selling the same kinda shaft drive off craigslist or something (must come out the same way on the other engines, you can get vertical or horizontal-mowers usually vertical shaft. IE top of engine is facing you.)

Oh and fwiw shoulda got the bobcat itself and a used backhoe attachtment, much more versatile and fun.


the engine that's in the backhoe is a horizontal crank, but I'm not sure it should matter if it's only running a hydraulic pump. I should be able to just make new mounts and bolt the pump under the engine, right? Wish they made push mowers with 18hp engines

I was looking at the Bobcats, but then I'd also need a trailer, also looked at some front loader tractors, but same thing with the trailer. This thing only weighs 2,700 lbs (limits how much it can dig a bit - no boulder moving), but I can tow it with the 'runner - even bought a pintle hook for it. Plus the price was right since it needs work.

[Erich_870]

Join the Small Engine Technical Forum http://www.perr.com/phpBB3/index.php

I needed info on fixing a weed whacker engine and they were REALLY helpful. :thumbup:

Erich

[CJM]

Ah so it had to towable..

Generally as far as engines go B&S is the bottom these days, then tecumseh, then you got kohler and then honda.

I would look for another kohler b/c it will match better tbh, but generally they are all the same engine with slight variations.

A large snowblower might work, a salter motor off a salt truck, go kart engine, concrete mixer,etc. You need the correct type of shaft tbh, you can try but best to find the same thing. The other type of shaft may fit with some mods, dunno as I cant see the whole thing up close..

[corax]

here's the back of the engine - most of the engines I've been looking at are 1" diameter/keyed crank. The Kohlers I've seen come with 1" or 1.125" - I think they used a splined adapter on the crank for the hydraulic pump . . .
http://www.asset-auctions.com/90916A/3739-4.jpg
looks like they put on a new starter before they figured out it was seized :D

[CJM]

Might be able to unseize it, got nothing to lose really if you take it part.

I would start by pouring every single possible lube, spray and oil in it. Thats how I got a nice 2 stroke dirtbike unstuck. I let it soak in ATF, oil, PB Blaster, etc, etc.

[MTL_4runner]

At the very least I'd pull the seized engine and disassemble it to see what the damage was. It's a twin cylinder motor so you may only have one piston seized and in that case you could sleeve the cylinder and get a new piston installed relatively cheaply. Worst case would be both cylinders seized as well as scoring damage to the crank, rods and case (it would be cheaper to get a new one then, pay attention to the shaft diameter and length if you order new or buy used motors). You won't know until you open it up (and of course post pics and we can help walk you through it all since small engines are rediculously simple to fix).

[corax]

just got the new toy today - I took off Friday to start tearing it apart and finding parts in a junkyard (exhaust, fan shield, air cleaner, maybe a hydraulic pump, etc)
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/batardsalamano/Dig-It/100_4860.jpg

[Seanz0rz]

dood just hook it up to a 22r and you should be fine...

[CJM]

What is that hideous thing towing it!

[corax]

I almost talked them into throwing in the hydraulic tamper that came with it (has an separate "utility" circuit for other tools - that's the big coil of hose behind the seat)



dood just hook it up to a 22r and you should be fine...


My roomie was trying to talk me into a Subaru boxer engine - if I only had the money and time :wrenchin:



What is that hideous thing towing it!


Company car, rides much nicer than my 'runner + it has complimentary Sirius Satellite :D

[CJM]

How dare you post suck horrendous cars on this forum?

[corax]

How dare you post suck horrendous cars on this forum?


Here ya go, fixed it for ya -- I borrowed Lance's 'runner to pick up the new toy :shake:

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6288/1004860.jpg

[Seanz0rz]

ROFL keith!!!!

[CJM]

Much better!

[corax]

Glad I could provide some entertainment :D
(pic was a re-hash of this (http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=2318.msg53258#msg53258))

[DHC6twinotter]

Here ya go, fixed it for ya -- I borrowed Lance's 'runner to pick up the new toy :shake: http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6288/1004860.jpg


:rofl: That's great!

[YotaFun]

Thats priceless Keith lol!!!

[Good Times]

o man that's too funny.

and I thought people totally forgot about that pix!

[corax]

Turns out it wasn&#39;t seized, had it running in < 1 hour but the maintenance guy that helped me get it hitched up said it backfires. I&#39;ll have to wait till I get the exhaust together to see how well it runs (don&#39;t like running it with a manifold). I got 2 partial tube manifolds together so I can piece a header system together (nice mandrel bends) and my roomie is donating this muffler from his Formula SAE kart (I want to make a stack out of it and put a flapper on the top :hillbill:)

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/batardsalamano/Dig-It/100_4866.jpg

It&#39;s amazing how much interchange there is on these engines - I was junkyarding yesterday and snagged the airfilter box and front shroud off a B&S Vanguard figuring I could hack it up and make it work. I don&#39;t even have to cut anything, most of the bolt holes already line up :D

[corax]

header is made, now I need to fab a 2-1 collector and find 2 nice 90 degree mandrel bends in small diameter tube to run to the muffler
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/batardsalamano/Dig-It/100_4868.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/batardsalamano/Dig-It/100_4870.jpg

[YotaFun]

looking good Keith

[corax]

got a bit more work done on it in the last few weeks - engine runs great, just needed to be blasted out with some carb cleaner and have the low speed jet cleaned. I also poured SeaFoam down the carb while cranking until it hydrolocked (low speed crank = no damage, don&#39;t try this at home) and let it sit for an hour so it could seep into the rings and free them up nicely (no more exhaust smoke :D) then I blew it all out the tailpipe. found a front shroud on ebay for $10, and got the governor linkages all reassembled and adjusted. installed the hydraulic pump yesterday and decided to finish up the exhaust today. here&#39;s the 2-1 collector I made for the header out of a piece of 2" i.d. reducer with some 1 5/8" universal flex pipe to the muffler
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/batardsalamano/Dig-It/100_5157.jpg
my roomie couldn&#39;t get rid of this CBR muffler for $5 so he donated it to my cause, just had to weld one 1/4" tab onto the reservoir so I could bolt my muffler on to that
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/batardsalamano/Dig-It/100_5158.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/batardsalamano/Dig-It/100_5159.jpg
I was thinking of running it like a stack with one of those little flapper valves on the top to keep water out, but that would&#39;ve put the exhaust pipe too close to the rubber suction hose for the pump

[corax]

I had it out yesterday in WV to dig out a bunch of stumps, the soil was anything but clean - plenty of bowling ball and smaller sized rocks - and it did rather well. Hell of a lot better than digging by hand (which wouldn&#39;t have been fun because of the rocks anyway), and as long as I could get under the roots I could break them without much stress to the machine (also moved some rocks about the size of a 10 year old kid). My biggest problem was getting the machine around the property, it would occasionally get stuck and I had to use the bucket to drag my ass one way or the other (didn&#39;t think about airing down the tires until I was on my way home), but I was also working on damp ground with plenty of leaf cover and those hydro motors don&#39;t exactly spin fast. Anyway, on one of those stucks, my day ended abruptly when I backed up and the one rear caster snapped off - when I looked closer I found the pivot pin had either been undercut or started to crack a long time ago and I just helped it along with my ham-fisted maneuverings and trying to offroad it

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/batardsalamano/Dig-It/100_3361.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/batardsalamano/Dig-It/100_3362.jpg

The fix is pretty simple though - drill the caster and weld a new 1 3/16" pin in place so I should be bck up and running in a few days . . . now to figure out who make an M/T tire small enough to fit this machine . . .

[DHC6twinotter]

What are those upper two casters for? Does the back end flip down or something?

[CJM]

Thats why i like tracks.

[corax]

What are those upper two casters for? Does the back end flip down or something?


The front (by the boom) drive wheels/motors have hydraulic quick disconnects and a giant clevis pin holds the motor and wheel onto the machine - disconnect the hydraulics, pull the pin and yank both wheels off the machine so those casters can go inboard of where the hydraulic motors were - now the machine is only 35" wide and can be pushed through a regular fence gate



Thats why i like tracks.


Yeah, I'll agree with that. Really I was looking for a small TLB (tractor/loader/backhoe), but I couldn't find one that wouldn't seriously dent my bank account - I only have ~ $2k into this and I should be able to get that out of it when I'm done

[CJM]

Yea, I know how much those stupid little backhoes cost its really insane.

A Toyota truck with low miles may fetch 5k, but one of those backhoes in even fair shape will fetch 10k with ease.