655A Swing Post Help

[Richard_Weaver]

Picked up an 88 Ford 655A backhoe and the swing Post is fractured on both sides where the swing cylinder pins fit. Can it be repaired (figure it is cast) or does anyone know where I can find a used one?
Link to photos

 

[Anonymous-0]

It is most likely cast steel so yes it could be welded. Looks like someone gobbed a bunch of globs on it before. It can be repaired but is not going to be an easy job. More than likely you're going to have take a lot of the backhoe apart to do a proper repair. To do a proper repair you need to grind a V in one side or both of the cracks and completely fill them back up with weld. 7018 or higher xx18 stick rods would be the best choice. You will need to prepare it for welding some before taking anything apart. Then it will need to be carefully tacked together to hold everything in alignment. You might need some extra temporary bracing as well. Once it is sufficiently tacked you can start taking off anything that is in the way of getting a good weld. You may have to tack one side and then weld the other side and then come back and grind your tacks out so you can get 100% penetration. No sense putting a band aid on it. A little preheat 200 deg. or so wouldn't hurt. It might be something you want to hire a professional welder to do. Waste of time to fix and then have it crack again because of an improper weld. I think finding a used one could be difficult. Dave

 

[PD Mechanical]

Richard: As long as there are no loose pieces I don't see any need to weld anything before removing the casting. The pin bores may have to be re-bored after the repair. I don't know where you're located but we can make the repairs for you if you're somewhere nearby. We're located in NY. You can contact me directly if you'd like at [email protected]. Good luck. Steve.

 

[Richard_Weaver]

Thanks for the replies. It"s got to come off, no question about that. If I go the repair route vs replacement (best quote so for ~$1500) then it would go to a professional shop.

Richard

 

[Anonymous-0]

Pretty sure that it's cast iron. Working on my newly aquired 555B and manual says mine is cast iron and have confirmed as much with the grinder test. I've got no cracks but a couple loose pin bores. Would speculate that you'd have to take that out to properly weld but I'm no cast iron welding expert.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I guess it could be cast iron but most stuff under stress like that is cast steel. A shop could tell for sure. Some cast iron can't be welded but if it is cast iron is going to be a more critical repair job with proper procedures followed to the "T". Dave

 

[fred goodrich]

I think I have one 6076423293