So is the strut just something to hold the spring with a shock mounted elsewhere? would it be possible to alter the shock mounts by the same amount?
Its a Macpherson type strut...the real deal. just shrunk down a little. the gas charged shock has a spring perch welded to it that the spring sits in. then the whole thing is bolted together with a big bushing on top. it makes replacing it pretty simple. The bottom of the thing is the shock tube, which slides into the steering knuckle and is pinch bolted in place.
In other news,
I did find an uprated aftermarket gas filled strut that has a more robust spring. Its designed for Mules with a cab and plow....and its 100.00 less expensive than the stock ones. its also adjustable. The problem with trying to DIY a rebuild is that the cartridge is not easily replaced as it has the spring perch welded in place.....not the kind of project I want to try to DIY!
Ill save my drachmas and get a set soon.
today, I removed the lift bracket, which went quite well, and put everything back to the way it was. in testing the suspension travel, the shock is almost bottomed out no matter where it sits...lifted or not. so its time!
I took some time to smooth out some rough welds and spatter on the plow lift and get some paint back on it. I also had to fix a cracked bumper tube. when I stood on it to test the suspension yesterday, I opened up a pretty sizeable crack and almost went a-tumblin......
we did get some snow today, which , I must say, encouraged me to get this thing operational again.....In the end, we only got about 1/2"......not worth plowing.
The last 2 days have been a winter storm like I remember as a kid! We got nearly 24" of snow!.....
The mule did quite well. I plowed every 4-6" and am glad I did. The mule did fine with that much snow. by the end of the drive way, the snow was coming over the plow. A neat effect is when the snow is curling off the blade as it is pushed aside.
This morning was the heaviest snow, and the deepest. 6". The Mule is a beast. I may add gussets to my brackets as that thing can push through way more snow than expected...very happy.
on the other side of the coin, my limit switch stopped working (when raising the plow) and I found that it had gone out of adjustment. a simple fix.
I also changed the oil for good measure. It was pretty black.
The cooling fan comes on and goes off as it should and the thing holds coolant just fine.
I do need to chase down some clunks and and hesitate to turn the wheels full lock and really get on it. (No breaking when there is a lot of work to do!)
The lights work perfectly at night...I thought it was too bright, but once it gets really dark, they are perfect.
The wiper works well on the window, but I do wish for more sweep. Still in a pinch, it clears the glass nicely.....
Get ready you guys in the UK...the 7-10 day count down begins....weather patterns being what they are.....
The big dig out continues....cars, walkways, pathways....lots and lots of snow banks making getting in and around parking lots fun.....
JP
Yep that looks like proper snow! were due our 1st on Sunday so if it actually lasts long enough for me to get my coat on I shall use my ruler with the smallest graduations and we can compare!
I spent the last couple of nights kind of refurbishing the pivot point on the plow....I ended up taking the push tube and flipping it around so I could use the other end of it. No holes to weld true and then drill back out, a clean slate.
it worked well. I was able to snug up the sloppy pivot, add 2 large bolts through the plow into the plow frame, and re-align the limit switch again.
It has made a big difference. its how you would say "toit!"
Some parts are beginning to come in for the plow. These pillow blocks will act as a pivot point for the lever that will push and pull the plow to angle it.
The cable and T handle unit, which locks when turned, will act as the release for the locking lever that clicks into place at 3 slots in the plow frame. (one straight ahead, and two more for the angled locations)
I still have to drill a slot in the floor of the mule in a spot that allows me to keep my hand near the up/down switch....I am thinking that I want to keep one hand on the steering wheel the whole time and use the other one for working the plow.
No joysticks or hydraulics on this one.
I also got these in the mail today. When the windshield has snow on it, or when the plow is angled, its a little tough to see the edge of the plow. these wands will do the trick...
It looks like more snow on the way over the next few days....last year we had one real storm...this year, Im really glad I have this mule!
Post by 07lilredwagon on Feb 14, 2021 20:39:45 GMT
Okay, tell me what you think.....Heres my idea for the lever to operate the plow angle feature. (and the T handle for the angle release lever)
Take one broom handle and measure it out so that, mounted to the floor just in front of the seat, it can be pushed forward far enough to get enough travel to swing the plow blade roughly 6". This is when the push rod on the other end is mounted on the plow just to the right of center......the plow swings freely so it wont need much force to move it. (moving it out to the end of the plow complicates things a bit even though I get a better mechanical advantage. )
The pivot point is roughly 18" from the top and uses the pillow blocks which will be mounted to the floor. The tube will then go 9" through the floor. I dont want to go any more than that due to ground clearance issues.
I found that I will need 5.25" of travel up at the plow to move it enough to go lock to lock. at 6" below the floor, I get 4.5" at the end of the tube, 8" below gives me 5.5 or 6" and 9" below gives me about 6.5" of travel.
I can mount the T handle to the dash or to the lever. Im thinking now that the dash might be a better place as its a fixed point and can stay easily accessible. If I mount it to the lever, it may get uncomfortable to lock and unlock it when its at the furthest point forward....
Its a bit old school and totally mechanical....( as opposed to electric or hydraulic).....but Im kinda diggin it this way......
let me know if you guys see any issues so far......
I might have missed the advance maths lessons and it was a very long time ago! Didnt you know we went metric by the way?! Hopefully we will soon return to the old sizes now weve pulled the drawbridge up!
Personally I would just be lashing it all together and jiggling it where required until it worked, If it didnt work I would rip it all off and throw it in a corner!
Of course!...The Colour is all wrong! That's what's got me going in circles!
As I work through this I begin to see what will work best and what wont. Partially because of the complete collection of odd ball bits and pieces I have squirreled away (what I can get away with using for free, of course) and production designs that work perfectly well but cost money....cant have the latter, sooooo......
The T handle went up on the dashboard. works great there. Done! the cable is almost the perfect size (somehow) and will work well. the cable is a Bowden type, come to find out and they use special clamps and cable ends commonly found on bicycles and lawn care equipment.
I must have some of those somewhere........
Found them: take one cable end, adapt some kind of aluminum nuts and clamps from old telephone or cable or electrical connections (dont really know for sure) by drilling a hole through the end of the captive nut for the cable to run through and you have these things
anybody know what these were used for?
drill a hole through the plow lifting bracket and you get this;
Ends up I was not getting enough travel for the release arm from this height. (release arm would have been 5" or 12.5cm tall if I left it here. The problem was that I was maxing out the T-handle's travel limit.) some head scratching found that I would get more travel if I attached the cable down low on the arm....and shortened the arm. so a 3" or 7.6 cm arm is appearing to work better and need less travel to release the plow's 3 notches. With a 12.5cm arm, I would have needed all of the 6.5cm of travel the T handle had to offer. at the 7.6cm arm length, I would only need about 1.5" or 4cm of travel to release the plow. ( with a .875" or 2.3cm thick arm.)
with me so far...good, cause now Im lost!
Anywhoo....
In this photo you can see the bracket I made to secure the cable casing (no clamp there yet) and the two utility trailer leaf spring hangers Im going to use for the release arm. Actually, they are a nearly perfect size for this. The holes can be used too. the bottom one for the pivot bolt and the top one for the return spring and the cable end. Im not sure if I chose the hangers for this purpose, or designed this part of the system around these hangers....either way, I guess.
So, gtviva, Im kinda following in your "lashing it all together and jiggling where required until it works" idea.