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Put a concrete collar around the pipe where it will enter the dam.

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The view standing up on the hump from both sides. In the second shot you can get an idea how much higher the pipe is above the deepest part. I took both standing in the same place. 20220905_113049.jpg


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Handy as a pocket for moving stuff around the homestead.

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Spent several hours moving dirt with the dozer. The dam rose another few inches. It had been raining lightly for an hour or more when I decided to quit because the dozer had gotten HOT. I hadn't really realized just how hard I was pushing it all afternoon.
 
The dam has risen a foot maybe eighteen inches since I last got a pic. A VERY LONG WAY TO GO YET. I still probably need to move three or four times as much dirt as what's already been moved to even get close to where I want it.
 
Dug and spread another few tons of earth today after attempting to adjust the steering brakes. They and the steering clutches are shot. I could probably do the work if I could afford the parts and had a good repair manual. I've got one more trick up my sleeve to try but after that I'm out of ideas. I can see the brakes are down to the rivets or just about down to the rivets. Hard to be sure with the angle and lighting inside the case they are in.
 
Believe it or not my little Chinese tractor did what the D4 couldn't. I put my homemade ripper on and it was able to break up ground the D4 couldn't. Now I can push a layer off with the D4 then break it again and repeat until I hit solid rock or get where I want to be. I can only go down 4-8 inches at a time but that's dang good progress considering!

I'll try and get pics to post next time I go up.
 
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I'm breaking up the ground using the homemade Ripper on the tractor. Which looks like the third picture. Then I'll push it off with the dozer in the last picture. I made that old Ripper around the turn of the century that thing is been some kind of Handy. If I remember correctly it weighs about 700 pounds the inside it's filled with concrete each of the Ripper teeth is in a sleeve.
 
Tractor was doing great breaking up the ground UNTIL I was already straining the hell out of it and hit a root or rock or something. At which point something had to give. The something was one of the old welds on the TPH lift arm, broke it clean in two AGAIN! The is the first of my welds to break on one of these arms. Both arms have been broken a few times but never where I had already welded them until now.
Even considering that I got quite a lot of earth moved using the dozer. Lucky for me I was on the last pull of that round of breaking up ground when the arm broke.
 
Just one question on the welds; did you use doubler plates?
 
Nope ground a vee and welded solid with flux core and a Lincoln 175 HD. That weld held for many years of hard use. That same arm has been broken in 4 or 5 other places since that weld was made. It's more patches than factory at this point. lol The right side has also been broken many times. I use this little tractor a LOT harder than it was ever designed for! My TPH backhoe weighs 1500 lbs plus the stress of use which should say something about how tough the whole setup is!

I'd rather the arms give than the rear end housing which is why I haven't added any extra material along the sides to reinforce it. If the rear end housing breaks the tractor is probably toast!
 
I know I mentioned the steering brakes and clutches are pretty much gone. Well since I haven't been feeling to great I spent the down time trying to find a cheaper option for fixing the brakes at the minimum. Caterpillar wants about $1,300 per side for new brake bands. I think I found new linings I can rivet on myself for about $100 for both sides. Now if I could find some decent instructions on replacing brakes and installing the new linings. Waiting on word back from the seller if these will fit my machine.
 
The company did get back in touch and they are the correct parts so now I just need to see what the total cost will be and hope I have enough left after bills next month to order them.
 
Biggkidd said:
I spent the down time trying to find a cheaper option for fixing the brakes at the minimum. Caterpillar wants about $1,300 per side for new brake bands.
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Installed? Sounds like you bumped into my former profession. :rolleyes:
Just be glad you weren't the guy screaming:
"And I want it finished by monday! I don't giveadam what it costs!!!
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"
Yes, we made big bux making miracles happen.:D
When we finished, his name was Ben-Dover. ;)
 
Supervisor42 said:
Installed? Sounds like you bumped into my former profession. :rolleyes:
Just be glad you weren't the guy screaming:
"And I want it finished by monday! I don't giveadam what it costs!!!
58199-go-crazy.gif
"
Yes, we made big bux making miracles happen.:D
When we finished, his name was Ben-Dover. ;)
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$1,300 for the brake band ONE brake band, it takes two, one for each side. The repair manual is almost $200 so I'm going to have to guess and go with it.................
 
Got the tractor torn apart today. Got the broken arm all cleaned up and started welding it back together. Had to stop before finishing the light just isn't good enough this time of day where I'm working to continue, can't see crap these days! I was wrong about it breaking my weld. It turned out it broke on a diagonal between two old welds that were about an inch apart. So now there will be three welded areas in about one linear inch of the arm. Oops! I am going to have to replace both arms before much longer, the ball sockets are fairly well wallowed out at this point and the metal is getting pretty thin around them.
 
Biggkidd said:
Got the tractor torn apart today. Got the broken arm all cleaned up and started welding it back together. Had to stop before finishing the light just isn't good enough this time of day where I'm working to continue, can't see crap these days! I was wrong about it breaking my weld. It turned out it broke on a diagonal between two old welds that were about an inch apart. So now there will be three welded areas in about one linear inch of the arm. Oops! I am going to have to replace both arms before much longer, the ball sockets are fairly well wallowed out at this point and the metal is getting pretty thin around them.
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That sounds rough having that much weld on them.
I've got a 1970 Duetz and one of the lift arms is worn around the ball. It hasn't popped out yet, but has gotten stuck solid a few times. Just a matter of time. I'm gonna try and make a little plate and screw it into the arm to try and hold it in place.
 
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Bacpacker said:
That sounds rough having that much weld on them.
I've got a 1970 Duetz and one of the lift arms is worn around the ball. It hasn't popped out yet, but has gotten stuck solid a few times. Just a matter of time. I'm gonna try and make a little plate and screw it into the arm to try and hold it in place.
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Yeah I've done more stuff with that it was NOT designed for than I have stuff it was designed for. Anytime you over work equipment hard as I tend to you BETTER expect stuff to break. You also BETTER be able to fix it yourself or not do it. I'm pulling a six tooth ripper down 8 + inches with this little 35 hp 4x4 and it was NEVER meant to do such work! This is ground the D4d's 10ft blade couldn't do more than scrape 1/2 inch at a time. I've also pulled a 2 bottom 18" and 16" plow's. Almost everything I own that attaches to this tractor was designed for 50hp or better. Worse though I USE it as if it were 50+hp. ALL THE TIME.
 
Mine Duetz is a 32 HP 2 wheel drive. With all the clay around here I do good to pull 2 - 12's. Best thing about it, dad bought it in 1971 and we farmed with it for years. I got it from him about 10-15 years ago, had to put a clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing in it. That's the biggest repair it's ever needed. Biggest drawback since I've gotten older is it doesn't have the step-thru platform. Gotta swing my leg over the hood. Somedays that work better than others.
 
Bacpacker said:
Mine Duetz is a 32 HP 2 wheel drive. With all the clay around here I do good to pull 2 - 12's. Best thing about it, dad bought it in 1971 and we farmed with it for years. I got it from him about 10-15 years ago, had to put a clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing in it. That's the biggest repair it's ever needed. Biggest drawback since I've gotten older is it doesn't have the step-thru platform. Gotta swing my leg over the hood. Somedays that work better than others.
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This is an 06 Jinma Same tractor as were sold at northern tool as Nortrac.
 
Rode by the half done pond sight last night and there was a crane or blue heron just taking off out of the pond. Which I expect now has a lot more water in it after last night and today.
 
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For now this has more or less just turned in to a pond project! Be that as it may.
Whelp I decided to go ahead and attempt to get the dozer going. Which after an hour or so I did. Then I proceeded to make on hell of a mess! I didn't count but I'd guess I managed to take out 6 or 7 medium size hardwoods, mostly over a foot in diameter but less than 18 inches. There were also several smaller trees that came down. This is all out of where the pond will one day be. Now the real work of breaking them down begins, and I'm already pooped!
 
A few pictures from today I cut that one tree up entirely with that baby Echo CS 330t even though that other big chainsaw was sitting there that Stihl chainsaw I don't see the sense of20230326_183744.jpg20230326_181011.jpg20230326_183804.jpg20230326_180852.jpg20230326_180846.jpg20230326_180843.jpg20230326_180835.jpg toting the weight around if I don't have to
 
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