Brianator's "Mud Duck"- Tractor Recovery Rig/Mudder

i'd say the best place for the fire extinguisher is where it is easiest access for emergency situations !

diddie wrote:

i'd say the best place for the fire extinguisher is where it is easiest access for emergency situations !

Like diddie said, but not where it could get snagged for accidental discharge.  I think @MN Mudder is talking about the round part covering your steering shaft between the floor and steering wheel.

@Brianator I was thinking the fire extinguisher would be good below the steering column nice and convenient to reach in an emergency!
edit-looks like mighty already said it whoops!

MN mudder wrote:

@Brianator I was thinking the fire extinguisher would be good below the steering column nice and convenient to reach in an emergency!
edit-looks like mighty already said it whoops!

Ah right on the steering column... well it should stay pretty clean there, as long as it won't be in the way of getting kicked as I get on/off the tractor or be in the way of any controls I think it's a pheasible spot. I'll explore that!

Well, I've gotten a little bit of tinkering done the past couple of days.


I made a brace for the underside of the front toolbox (some tweaking still required)...



...made a proper (reserve tank) mounting bracket out of steel flat bar and installed this nifty 3-way fuel petcock (I found on Amazon) that's for a Polaris Sportsman! I love the fact that I won't need 2 separate ones and that it's easily accessible but it was pretty tricky to set up because I had to make sure that it was high enough to allow the reserve tank to gravity feed while being low enough to get a short piece of hose between the tank and petcock. I got it done but may revisit it in the future to see if I can do it even better.




I also found a home for the battery disconnect switch (still needs to be wired up)...



... and decided to replace the ammeter with a voltmeter I had kicking around (still needs to be wired).


After some testing last night I realized that an ammeter is pointless on this build because there isn't nor will there be enough draw on the system to make it worthwhile, I mean I haven't even seen it twitch and I know it works! I'll get more use out of the voltmeter to keep track of battery voltage because of the winch (to be installed) and it looks good (even better at night)! I have a warning light (still needs to be wired up through the relay) on the dashboard that will let me know if the generator isn't charging.


That's all for today!

You can find links to the 3 way fuel valve and battery disconnect switch by clicking here.

Looks really good. Lots of good ideas to steal, if second winter ever goes away. (Like hobbits have second breakfast, we have second winter)
You are right about that ammeter, but, I like to see them work. So, I got a digital one that should read the tiny charge/discharge from the JeepTor’s alternator.

Please,
- get a rubber insulator for that terminal on the generator.
- tell me how to hook up the warning light

I doubt the bracket/toolbox could ever get so bent to touch the terminal(s) but it's not a bad idea, would even help keep them clean!

I'll refer you to this post,  look at the "pilot light" diagram. For a standard charging system you would tap your trigger for the relay from the charge wire by "teeing it" after the diode, everything else should stay the same.

https://www.atltf.com/t6824p69-bo-brianator-s-mud-duck-tractor-recovery-rig-mudder

If you have any other questions regarding the warning light please PM me and I'd be happy to walk you through it.

Thanks!

Very nice updates!  I still have my ammeter and have added a voltmeter as well.  Ammeters are pretty much only good at showing your charging system working, but to really see that, you either need a digital or an ammeter that has a small scale.  +-30 is just too large.  Need +-15 or less. Which I think you have a 15.  Even 15 is hard to detect any movement.

Thanks @MightyRaze! Even the original 10amp ammeter is basically useless! A single 35w (2.9amp) light BARELY makes it budge so what's the point right?!

A little "night vision" preview for y'all, same as with The Warhorse I need to tone down that ignition pilot light on the flapper switch but I'll deal with it in the future. The small light on the right is the horn button and I have to say the photo does not do the voltmeter justice, the color looks washed out and brighter than it actually is, I'll play with filters on my phone camera or try my GoPro next time.


You can find a links to the Illuminated switch and horn button by clicking here.

I like the look of the meter.

[mod]LOL, @Nevadablue the forum thinks you are trying to say a dirty word with the "a n a l" part.  I'll look into refining that.  Thanks for the heads up![/mod]

I got some stuff done the last couple days,  yesterday not so much as all I did was wire up the battery disconnect and voltmeter but today was a monumental success in my books! It wasn't too nice out to be working outside so I warmed up the workshed, cranked the tunes and got after something that's been bothering me... the hood!


Before I could really get into it I had to spend some time straitening and shaping the sides, especially on the ugly side (where someone used a torch to make a cut out for exhaust) so I could make a filler panel. I had the perfect piece of sheetmetal left over from the muffler build so once I added a couple of small bends to shape it I got busy tack welding it inside and outside. I'm thinking I'll use fiberglass matting/resin to build it up/shape it then skim it over with body filler to smooth it out but I'm a long ways from that!




Then it was time to tackle the other ugly spot! Someone cut some bars out of the grille, maybe for an anchor point for a winch or something(?) but either way it drives me nuts!
 


So I used some of the same metal I used to make the rear fuel tank bracket to make new vertical bars and horizontal tabs, welded them in place and ground down the welds a bit. It was a bit of a process to curve the vertical bars so I won't bore you with the details but it involved a bench vise,
a hammer, a pair of vise grips, a piece of 1/2" round stock and about 30 minutes.  There's still some tweaking, welding and grinding to do and it may not be perfect but it's good for now and looks way better than the gaping hole I started with!  Lol
 




Then I sprayed it with a little black lacquer to protect it for now...



... and then it was time to mount the fuel pump! I ordered the exact same one used on my Kawasaki 14hp so this way I'll have a backup one way or the other and I liked the size and price of it! Here's where it gets tricky... I spent about an hour trying to figure out where on the tractor,  close to the motor I could mount it and hook it up in a way to simplify line routing and still have decent access to it if needed but wasn't having any luck but that's partly because I didn't have the reserve tank in!  I put it in quick, held the pump up on the underside of the tank and saw my solution!


I tack welded 1/4" studs on the bottom of the tank, protected it with black lacquer, test fitted it in the tractor and made sure it won't interfere with removing the fuse box cover which it does not!




So it's been a pretty successful day for me and I'm happy with what I got accomplished!

Good stuff, fiddly though. Do you have a mig? Just curious. If you do, you can make a million spot welds and grind it smooth without the filler.
I sure hate to see that Mud Duck color go. Sigh…
Could you post a link to the fuel pump you got please. Would be a good reference.

Very fiddly (and time consuming)! No I have a flux core wire feed, 80amp/110v. It will need to be filled because I didn't Zeus the panel into the hood (to save time) so it leaves a large "crater" on the outside that's about 1/16" deep but worry not because I've been there, done that before and know what to do! Lol. I know you're disappointed to see the patina go that's why I'm making it a slow transition, wouldn't want to shock a fellas system by changing it TOO quick! Lol. Nope sorry no link, where's the fun in that!?

Well I wasn't super motivated today but did get a couple things accomplished still:

The fuel pump is set up and ready to be plumbed to the rear tank.



I have some 5/16" brake/fuel line that fits well inside the 1/4" fuel line so I'll run that between the rear tank and the fuel pump and make the connections on each end with fuel line.


Figuring out how to get the pulse signal from the engine for the fuel pump was surprisingly easy, all I did was install a fitting into a oil filler cap I scored from the salvage yard last weekend.   



It will be at the highest point of the crankcase so I don't think oil getting into the line/pump will be an issue but if I do notice oil accumulating in the hose I'll make a small baffle or figure out another solution.

You can find a link to the fuel pump by clicking here.

I got the rear tank plumbed and the rest of the fuel system done today so hopefully I'll test it out this week! I'll start at the tank and work my way forward:

Once I got the hard line in the tractor and run between the tank and pump I installed 1/4" "rubberized" clamps front and rear to hold it secure. I also installed a 1 way fuel valve close to the tank to prevent the fuel from running back down the line causing me to have to prime the system everytime I start it. Time will tell if it's even required or if the fuel pump will even overcome it, it's more of an experiment with something I just happen to have "in stock" and I can replace it with a fuel filter in the future if it isn't needed.


This is the (5/16") one way fuel valve I used, a friend needed one for his tractor and the deal for the 2 pack was decent so that's how I ended up with this one. Even though it's 5/16" and my flexible fuel line is 1/4" it was a perfect fit!



I ran the hard line along the frame and was able to tuck it into the dash with the hydraulic lines...


... bent it up and secured it with another "rubberized" clamp then connected it to the fuel pump with some flexible line and a fuel filter...



... and this is what it looks like fully connected! I'm concerned that a broken belt could wipe everything out so I'll be designing and building a belt guard, something that fully encloses the top half but isn't a complete nightmare to remove. I have a few ideas and 2 of them are very promising,  I just need to make some cardboard mockups and test fit them.


I "one upped" myself in regards to the pulse fitting I showed in the last post, I wanted to install a shut off so when I'm running on the reserve tank (which is gravity fed) the fuel pump isn't still trying to pump and I came up with this contraption!
 


It's a 90 degree fuel shut off valve, in a piece of hose and friction fit into the oil filler cap with a filter/baffle that should slow down or stop oil from creeping up the line and into the pump! That piece is the removable filter from a Honda (and clone) fuel tank fitting that I glued and wired (not shown) in the hose to hold it secure!



I started installing the tire inflator also but started running into so many fitment issues (which has been sorted out now), misplaced a fitting I had on it previously and want to try out again plus I'm lacking a fitting I need to plug the gauge port (there's no way around it now) that I decided to wait and tackle it in the future!  

That's all for today, let me know what you think!

You can find a link to the 1 way fuel valve and Honda fuel tank fittings by clicking here.

Can I recommend you a double V belt? https://www.vbelts4less.com/2-Band_c_192.html

You could and I had considered it near the start of the build, I know Gates makes them and also where to get them locally BUT changing belts on this machine is NOT easy plus I'd rather be able to limp home on one belt than shred a double or have one half of that continue to whack around (even for a few revolutions) if the other half holds on. Thank you for the recommendation though, in alot of cases it's definitely the right way to go!

keep up the great work ! looking good. and let me say that was a stellar job on that grill repair !

Thanks @diddie and you as well! The grille repair is just roughed in for now. I plan on doing my best to make it invisible but not until I'm deep into bodywork!


Well nothing much doing today but I did plug the gauge port in the tire inflator with a fine thread M8 bolt (same thread pattern) and sealed it in with red LocTite. I also had to trim a little piece off the top so it wouldn't hit the seat mounting bracket...


... then installed it and reassembled the back half of the tractor.  


As you can see there's not alot of room in there but I've tested it out by fully compressing the seat spring/fender pan, it all just barely clears! I may end up making a limit rod or bracket but I'm not looking forward to disassembling/reassembling it all it's a real pain! There's just enough room to connect the air hose without too much difficulty and I have a little cap over the tip to keep dirt out for now, I tested a piece of hose and just wasn't liking it but am hunting for a nice rubber cap for it to keep the whole fitting clean.

I've really created a monster here in a sense that assembling/disassembling just about anything is a real procedure and alignment/clearances for most things are in around 1/8" but I guess that's what you get when you're working with limited space and cramming as much in as possible right!? Lol. I'm pretty proud of what I'm accomplishing here as it's required alot of thought, planning and patience but it's all coming together really well!  

Sorry for the weak update but progress is progress right!?

Until next time!

i agree with the assembling/disassembling. things have to go in and out in a certain sequence. i'm hoping to disassemble one more time before i start my final assembly so i'm gonna make sure i've got everything sorted out before i do so.

Well, another weak update but it's still progress, I made a intake for the beast with stuff I already had kicking around!


I started with this little piece of aluminum tubing I had left over from when I made a cold air intake for my car, it just happened to fit over the air filter flange with minimal slop and I liked the angle it put on the air filter.




This is the air filter I had from my abandoned off road kart project. It's a dual stage, 35mm ID but should flow plenty enough, if I feel it's not working well for some reason I'll replace it with something with a larger ID.




It happened to fit snug inside the tubing but what I did was cut a slice of plastic tubing to sit inside it and give support for clamping it.





Then I trimmed the lower "lip" off of the tubing so a hose clamp would sit nicely and added reliefs to the ends of the tubing to allow it to compress and clamp down tight...
 



...and added a wrap of electrical tape to the air filter flange to take up the little bit of slop and provide a better seal...



...then installed and admired it for a few moments!




It's ultra-light so I'm sure the hose clamps will hold it fine and there's enough space left between it and the side of hood that I can get my fingers inbetween them so if I do need to choose another filter I'll have to keep that in mind!

That's all for today folks, until next time!

A link to the air filter can be found by clicking here.

I like it, nice job!

Thanks @Nevadablue! It seems to work just fine I found it today!

Not much of an update as I was working on other stuff today but before it got dark out I tested the fuel pump and rear tank and it seems to work well! I still have to actually test drive it to be sure but I'll say it was pretty easy to prime by running it off the reserve tank until it warmed up then switched the 3 way fuel valve back and forth between the rear tank and reserve every 5 seconds until I saw the fuel get drawn into the fuel pump and then it was on and stayed running off the rear tank! The one way fuel valve seems to be doing it's job too so that's a bonus!

I have to say I'm pretty happy about it! Lol

Hey just so you know man, I know a guy down here (I'm buying some really cool stuff that I will be showing later) who has a bolens with the same (or similar) hydro as the one you have that he's taking to scrap, it has no hood, engine or front wheels but it looks like it might be decent for parts, let me know if you're interested...
Other than that, great job on this rig, all you need is some more tractors to recover!