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Unique Repair

The Engine Shed

Active Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Messages
34
Location
W Mass.
Occupation
Self Employed heavy truck and equipment mechanic
I thought all of you might like to see the repair I came across the other day , I thought at first someone was just playing some kind of practical joke but once I looked closer I found a different scenario.
This is on a good size Bandit Chipper

My thoughts are that the wheel became loose and the holes got all hogged out , the fix got to several stores and buy seven wrenches and seven extra thick washers , remove the lug nuts and install the wrenches , washers and then the lug nuts , the pressure from the wrench handles is the only thing holding the wheel on because the lug nut holes are twice the size of the nuts .

My hope is that this was done to just get it off the road , I think it would have been wiser to get a new wheel and do it right the first time .
 

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Jonas302

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2015
Messages
1,207
Location
mn
Well thats umm interesting(; Looks like it might have got them off the road
 

digger doug

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Joined
Nov 2, 2011
Messages
1,503
Location
NW Pennsylvania
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Thrash-A-Matic designer
I wonder why the one at 3'oclock has (2) wrenches ?...:rolleyes:

I suspect if on the passenger side, the law would take a dim view
when passing bicyclists....:eek:
 

oldirt

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Messages
504
Location
iowa
I haven't laughed so hard in a long time! could I copy this pic and send it to a friend?
 

The Engine Shed

Active Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Messages
34
Location
W Mass.
Occupation
Self Employed heavy truck and equipment mechanic
I wonder why the one at 3'oclock has (2) wrenches ?...:rolleyes:

I suspect if on the passenger side, the law would take a dim view
when passing bicyclists....:eek:

You'd have to ask the "" mechanic "" that did the repair what his reasoning was when he did this ??
 

mitch504

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
5,776
Location
Andrews SC
This is a perfect example of one of my favorite sayings:

It's amazing what'll work if you are to stupid to know it won't!
 

old-iron-habit

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
4,233
Location
Moose Lake, MN
Occupation
Retired Cons't. Supt./Hospitals
My guess is they used what they had to get it off the road. At least I hope so. Good old yankee inginuity.
 

old-iron-habit

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
4,233
Location
Moose Lake, MN
Occupation
Retired Cons't. Supt./Hospitals
I wonder why the one at 3'oclock has (2) wrenches ?...:rolleyes:

I suspect if on the passenger side, the law would take a dim view
when passing bicyclists....:eek:

Judging by the cracked fender, I would say it probably is the passenger fender. Most of the fenders crack on the front bend in the fender because they are not built heavy enough to hold up in the wind.
 

Jim D

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Joined
Nov 11, 2012
Messages
408
Location
California
Occupation
equipment operator
Washers are cheaper than wrenches. Had they gone to an auto parts store, they could have bought larger nominal sized lug nuts to use as spacers. There is a story behind the pictures...
 

digger doug

Senior Member
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Messages
1,503
Location
NW Pennsylvania
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Thrash-A-Matic designer
Washers are cheaper than wrenches. Had they gone to an auto parts store, they could have bought larger nominal sized lug nuts to use as spacers. There is a story behind the pictures...

Yup, to keep the "Axmen" groupies at bay......:D
 

The Engine Shed

Active Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Messages
34
Location
W Mass.
Occupation
Self Employed heavy truck and equipment mechanic
Willie ,
I hadn't thought about the balancing part , I bet you're right on that one .

Jim D ,
I kind of thought the same thing , I'm sure they went to different suppliers because the wrenches are different brands and they were all brand new , why not just buy a bow of washers , who knows ??

A little more input on how I happened to notice this repair ,
I do heavy truck and equipment repair work for a municipal utility company and every year they go out to bid for everything including toilet paper , well this year they went with lo bid for their tree trimming crews which is all well and good but it always comes back to " you get what you pay for " .
The lay down yard for these tree guys is pretty much next to my shop and I was surprised when two brand new bucket trucks with brand new chippers showed up one day , I didn't pay too much attention to the comings and goings of the crews but about two weeks after the new equipment showed up so did the mechanic from the company that sold the equipment and after a couple of days went by of him pulling both chippers apart I decided to check in and see what was going on , it seems the low bid company hired people who had never run a chipper before so they didn't know you had to lock in the clutch , the mechanic said the low bid company called complaining that hey couldn't chip and brush with the machines unless one of the crew stood there holding the clutch in other words slipping the clutch , the mechanic was laughing as he was telling me this and yes he put clutches in both brand new chippers and did his best to explain the over center clutch to the operators .
Since that point in time there has been several other trucks and chippers parked there and the tree company's "mechanic" comes to do "repair work" on them from time to time , I'm not sure why he hasn't fixed this particular chipper yet but my guess is that he's probably the one that did the wheel repair .

Oh , and the fender on the chipper is actually the road side fender , the gutter side fender is in much worse condition !
 

kshansen

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Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
11,270
Location
Central New York, USA
Occupation
Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
And when this outfit decides they can make the big dollars they thought this job would pay them they will let those new machines fall apart then sell them to some poor soul at an auction thinking they were good low hour machines.
 

Randy88

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
2,149
Location
iowa
I'd have thought for sure, he'd have used vice grips instead of combination wrenches, far more plentiful and cheaper too, just use the vice grips clamped on the studs and your done.

So if there's nothing in the DOT manual stating you can't use combination wrenches to hold on the wheel, does that mean it's allowed??
 
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