And the update we've all been waiting for (hopefully)!
My parents came out for a week and so my dad and I tackled some overdue projects, this being one of them. Here are some pictures of the progress we made re-working the hydraulic plumbing and getting the new pump installed.
Here is the new suction line welded into the tank at the bottom. It used to come through the top. The strainer is screwed onto the other end of this fitting.
Turned old suction line into a vent (1" to 1/2" reducer, a 1/2" nipple, and then a surplus spin-on oil filter re-threaded to 1/2" NPT). The old fill/vent/return cluster mess was removed and replaced with a collar, 6" riser, and then an elbow. This will connect to a filter head and then to the hydraulic hose you see laying on top of the tank. That's the return hose that comes from the control valve. I still have to order a filter head and filter.
Top view of same.
This picture shows the new pump with the brand new suction line running under the I-beam and to the elbow in Pic #1. A couple of hydraulic fittings to get the spacing right, then a tee with new gauge (0-5000 psi), hydraulic elbow, and the tube that runs to the valve. I was able to reuse a bunch of old parts here and just put a few new bends in the tube with a conduit bender. It lines up really nicely. That tee is Sch. 80 black iron so it should withstand the pressure (it lasted this long without problems).
I had to use a series of adapters to get the pump to interface with the PTO clutch. The adapter I had made for me, is almost perfect but not quite. All the bolts lined up but the new pump flange did not cover all the bolt holes. I had to seal everything up with RTV but it should keep the rain out. For the shaft, I needed a 5/8" to 7/8" bushing (Fastenal), a 7/8" shaft coupler with set screws (Big Bearing Store), and a piece of 3/16" x 1/4" step key. I had to shorten the shaft coupler by 1" but after that it all went together beautifully.
Another two views of the same.
And an overview of all the changes. You might also notice that I removed the throttle controls and ammeter from the "control panel". That was a whole other project that I'll discuss next.
So last month, I figured that since the pump and plumbing were going to get done soon, I should take some time to fine tune the engine and figure out why the throttle is so touchy to adjust and impossible to maintain a constant engine RPM. The whole throttle setup was rigged with rusty springs and little bits of wire and was just crazy. Figuring it was only like that because someone wanted the controls facing the operator instead of the rear, I took all that apart and re-set everything to factory spec. That made it WAY worse, like the engine would just keep over-speeding no matter where I had the throttle or governor set. I tried everything I could think of, followed the official Wisconsin manual instructions to a "T", but still no good. Just out of frustration, I removed the governor cover to see if the fly weights were stuck or broken, or if the oil pressure line was clogged, but what I found surprised even me. The governor was MISSING entirely! No wonder it was impossible to set or adjust. I bought a governor off eBay, installed it, reset all the linkages properly, and everything started working correctly. Why anyone would just completely remove the governor without replacing it is beyond me. Anyway, part of this project involved moving the governor control back to the factory location and building a crude choke control out of a thin metal rod. The ammeter never worked to begin with so I just eliminated/bypassed it. Someday I will get a new one, along with an oil pressure gauge. There are factory Wisconsin brackets for these.
I still want to tidy up the engine wiring, because everything that was done is way too long and poorly terminated, but it works for now.
All in all, excellent progress and all I need to do now is get the filter head and filter. My dad has a filter head laying around so I'll grab it next time I'm there.
What do you think!?
. The slippers are all accounted for, in place, and in one piece. Holddown plate is in one piece. Pistons have the ball ends still there and not broken or worn off to a nubbin. Swash wear plate isn't worn through into the actual casting of the swash plate. And pump case is still in one piece. It is amazing how much damage can be done when the diesel engine has enough torque….
