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

Looking forward to seeing that paint job ! and nice pick on that steering wheel.

Thanks @diddie and I plan on getting back to work on it soon!

Brianator wrote:

@diddie I hear ya! I've never seen any THAT bad either!


Well, I've got a little tinkering done the last couple days!

I replaced the rod ends on the tie rod for pretty cheap ($23), cleaned it up and hit it with some bedliner...


...and replaced the control shaft seal so no more leaky hydro!


The power grid in my area is overloaded with it being the weekend in cottage country and everyone running their ACs to stay cool (been 86F the last few days) so I can't weld new rod ends on the drag link yet but I was looking over the rest of the steering and noticed the lower bushing at the steering gear is thrashed so I'll have to look into that soon.


Yesterday my neighbor @CodeRed and I were bombing it around my yard and testing it over some obstacles and stuff, the tractor itself was doing really well but the engine started acting funny and I lost throttle control but everything is hooked up the way it was. Turns out the governor (and arm) stuck in the idle position so I'm not sure what that's about but I've reset it and will hopefully test it out tomorrow!


Sorry for the weak update but it's still progress! Lol

How’d that contaminated fluid ordeal work out for the hydro?

Rustbucket Garage wrote:

How’d that contaminated fluid ordeal work out for the hydro?

Good, its been good ever since I replaced the fluid and the weather warmed up, I'm convinced that the fluid absorbed condensation created by the temperature differences or that maybe there was just ice that melted and got absorbed by the fluid.  I'm hoping for the latter because I'd like to use it for snowblowing duty this coming winter.

How's your situation with aerated fluid?

Still the same as of march (last time the tractor ran).
I’m almost wondering if the control seal is causing the leak, but I don’t know. I’ll be giving the hydro system a once over here once the engine and FA are done.

This isn't as much of a update as it is a heads up I'm gearing up to get back to work on this rig, still lots to do before the weather turns and I've been putting it off too long.

I did order a new fuel nozzle that should take care of the engine starting to run lean when it's hot, I believe the replacement carb was designed to run mainly on smaller displacement engines but it's all good this should solve it.


The major things on the to do list are:
- Make a new front clamp plate that will double as a spot to mount the front bumper/winch plate - Complete!
- Finish front bumper/winch plate
- Install and wire winch
- Trim motor plate so I can run a PTO belt behind the drive belts
- Paint, lots of time will be eaten up with bodywork and paint!


I'm looking forward to making more progress on this old girl!

@Brianator wondering if you've been working on that paint job ? can't wait to see how she looks !

Your timing couldn't be better man, I had just been thinking up and making a to-do list of things I want to accomplish before the Build Off closes and paint just happens to be very high on that list!

Sadly, I'm going to leave you and everyone in suspense for the most part until right near the end, I'm planning a teaser and alot of sneaky shots to avoid giving too much away until then...

@Brianator UH I'm kinda doin the same thing lol. i just have a hard time not sharing !

This is exactly why I wouldn't ever do a build off.
I actually thought about converting a zero turn into an offroad 2x4 dual engine tank but now I already said too much.

fbisurveilancevan wrote:

This is exactly why I wouldn't ever do a build off.
I actually thought about converting a zero turn into an offroad 2x4 dual engine tank but now I already said too much.

I have toyed with that idea too, there was some guy selling something like that on kijji

Offtopic I know but you could take 4 hydraulic motors, mount them like on a Ferris 3000 with suspension and run them off of one comically big engine and 2 or 4 pumps.
Mount a forward reverse pedal on either side and retain the steering wheel aswell or simply add another set of hydraulic motors in the front.

My expertise is in hydraulics mostly and I would love to do something like that but I didn't have the urge yet.

Tidbit tip: you could literally bolt 2 Ferris is3000's ass to ass to each other and cut the rear one off after the motor mounts. The mounting holes are there already, just need a few bolts and reverse some hoses
Since I have 2 I already thought about that  

diddie wrote:

@Brianator UH I'm kinda doin the same thing lol. i just have a hard time not sharing !

Apparently I do too but for once I'm going to be sneaky about it!  Lol


Well, I got myself motorvated to get back to work on it! First thing I want to do is build the bumper/winch plate so I removed everything that was going to be in the way of making a new front frame clamp that will double as the bumper mount by wrapping down the front and sides of the axle mount.



That top clamp plate was so messed up and uneven that I had a feeling the frame tubes were crushed... boy was I right sad to say!


Luckily my exhaust tubing expander is the perfect size to start working them back in shape.



Once I've welded the cracks I'll use the tubing expander and a hammer again to get them more perfect. The plan from there is to weld in some sleeves for the bolts to pass through so I can crank down on them without crushing them, I need it to be strong for this 700+ pound beast!

Now that I've gotten a start I'll be able to keep picking away at it!

Very nice... there has been a few times a set of expanders would have been nice!

Yeah I'll put those on the shopping list now for sure.

Nice work

I made a little progress this past week, not a whole lot but it's better than none!

With the front axle mount on the bench I made a cardboard template for the new top clamp/bumper mount.


Then I transferred the template to 1/8" steel.


Cut it, scored it, bent it and welded it...


... ground it, shaped it and painted it!


Now I need some 3/8" threaded rod, weld sleeves in the frame tubes and paint that all up while it's easy to get to.

As I was cleaning the grime off the axle mount I found some of the original paint and primer! I only scraped off the loose stuff and left the rest for good luck!
Lol  


That's all for now, hopefully I can get a little bit more done this coming week and it back on its wheels this weekend!

I got a little bit more done, I used a offcut of steel from The Warhorses winch plate to cut the threaded rod mounting bolts down to proper length...


...test fit it...



...used anti seize on top of the threaded rods to mark out where to drill...


...then drilled all the holes and test fit it again, so far so good!


Now I need to drill out the holes in the tubes to accept the steel tubing "sleeves" I need to make and weld in (and weld the cracks too), unfortunately the rear ones are completely inaccessible but luckily I don't have to remove the engine to do it, if I remove the flywheel there's plenty enough space to get it done by using my drill bit extender!

I still have today and tomorrow to get it back on its wheels before the weekend ends (Monday is a holiday up here) so I'd best get at it!

Later!

Unfortunately I did not get it done this weekend as i was hoping, I ended up getting distracted by other things around the yard that needs doing before the snow flies which, it will here soon enough!

I did remove the flywheel to get at the tops of the rear holes with a small uni-bit that goes up to 1/2"...


...then went from underneath with a proper 1/2" bit to line bore the holes and make sure the tubing I got will pass through.


I'm wishing I spent more time picking away at this build over the summer because now I'm starting to feel the pressure! I have alot I want to accomplish before the Build Off is over and I'm losing good weather to do it!

Noone to blame but myself I suppose! Lol

Well, I cut the sleeves down to length...


...and found more fractures that needed dealing with.  What I did was drill a 1/8" hole just ahead of each one and then v-notched them so I can burn them in as I go along.


Here's a progress pic of the first sleeve. First I tack welded them in place top and bottom then took my time on the top by burning it in a little at a time and grinding as I went along. A piece of copper tubing worked great to keep the holes clean and clear, they just needed a little cleaning up at the end!


3 out of 4 done progress pic... (Tops only).


...and then it was time for a test fit of the axle mount and bumper plate which, all went on relatively easily!


I still need to burn in the sleeves and fractures on the underside, the weather got really crummy and I was getting hungry so I shut it down for the day but I'm really happy to have finally got to this point! Won't be long before it's back on its wheels and I can start on mounting the front bumper!

I finished burning in the fractures and sleeves. May not be perfect but it should be fine, it's pretty awkward welding and grinding (and taking pictures) on your back! Lol.


Then I cleaned up, primed and painted the front end and motor plate, I had JUST enough bedliner left in the can to get it done!

Because it was just above freezing I got creative with a heater and some anti fatigue mat to warm the metal up first and then for drying I boxed the one side in with cardboard and cooked it for awhile!

With that monkey off my back I'll be able to keep moving forward!

Until next time!

really nice repair work man, the copper tube was a clever Idea !

Creepycrawler wrote:

really nice repair work man, the copper tube was a clever Idea !

Thanks man I appreciate that!


Alrighty so I've made a tiny bit more progress! This will be a true glimpse into the color scheme I'm going with, there is a "Easter Egg" in a recent pic that probably slipped by most people... *hint* it shows a front wheel painted...


Not that it will really be seen but I wanted to have a little fun and paint the flywheel! It's crusty and nasty as you can see.


I started trying to clean it with brush wheels and that wasn't going so well and was wishing I had a sandblaster but wait! I do have one! I bought it like 8 years ago and completely forgot about it! Boy did it do a decent job and quickly!  


I masked the magnet and sprayed it with etching primer...


...then a base coat of gold then I taped off the tops of the fins and used a hobby knife to trim around the outsides...


...then laid down a good layer of black, peeled the tape and sprayed a couple coats of clearcoat and viola!


Yes that's right...black and gold is how the Mud Duck will roll!

I think it's going to look great!

Very nice!  Love how it turned out.  Wish I had a sandblaster!  So excited to see your final product!

Thanks @MightyRaze! Still a ways to go with it that's for sure! Lol.

It's just a basic siphon feed sandblaster, siphon tube in the sand bag and no blast cabinet and they can be had for around $40, bags of blasting sand are about $10 so as long as you have a compressor and $50 to spare there's no real reason not to get one! I'll probably use it much more now that I remembered I have one! Lol

It's mobile once again!


I installed the flywheel and new front clamp/bumper mount...


...installed the front axle, hooked up the steering, opened the fuel to the reserve tank (gravity fed) for simplicities sake, switched on the ignition, hit the start button and I was rewarded with nothing! No spark! Arg! Lol. Luckily, before I tore the whole front of the motor apart I cleaned up the points quick (on the side of the block) and got spark back!


Then it fired right up so I took it for a 30 minute run around my yard, it ran, drove and tackled some obstacles no problem!


It's still leaning out a bit once it's warmed up and likes to afterfire when shutting it down but I have a new fuel nozzle that I showed in a previous post and that should take care of that!


I'm so glad to have it running and driving again but I still have alot of work ahead of me before the Build Off ends and I have goals to accomplish!

Man, you don't have all the pieces in there, but I can see where this is going, and it is a beauty!  So excited!