Hydraulic/Bottle Jack Presses

[SMLWinds]

Ok...I am totally ignorant on this one and looking for help. I have a D6N Caterpillar dozer. On the main arm, there is a 4 inch pin that locks the lift arms to the body of the dozer. That pin lost it's set screw/dowel and is now starting to back out. I need to press it back in. I can call and get Cat to do it, but like most of us on here, I would rather do it myself if possible. Even if I have someone else do it, I want to understand how it is done.

I tried a hammer to no avail--it will require a press. I am new to presses and have been looking them up. Everything I see is a floor press where you can put something on a stationary frame and lower a ram onto it. Obviously that will not work for me. What I need is something I can brace against the other side of the frame and have the ram free to place and press on the pin that is backing how. Basically, I need an open ended press, not one with a "roof." I can't find anything like this--how is this accomplished? Essentially when I need is a 6 foot high bottle jack I can turn sideways, set on one side of the dozer and them push on the other to press the pin back into place.

I hope I explained that decently. I appreciate you reading this and any response that can help me understand and/or accomplish this task. Thanks!

 

[Hiball]

Without some pictures of what we are dealing with, I’d say a welder + steel and porta power/ram or a bottle jack/pump down should be able to persuade the pin. Maybe a heavy 2 jaw puller with some length? Im not sure how far you are away from being able to grab onto something. Hammer or sledge hammer?

 

[WittHay]

Usually large pins that have been greased come out fairly easy. You have to jack up the dozer blade frame to get the weight off the pin.

if a pin is starting to walk out, sometimes you can put a large socket in the space and drive it out with a big sledge hammer and either put a extension on the socket or use a piece of pipe or round bar to fully drive out the pin.

Clean and grease and drive the pin back in

 

[JimNC]

^^^^^ I think this, get the weight off the pin and I bet it’ll move with a mallet or pressure from a C-clamp.

 

[MJD1]

Take the pressure off it and use a porta power. You may need to make an extension if they are 6 feet apart. If you have nothing to push against, a log chain hooked between 2 points will give you a push point.

 

[SMLWinds]

That is all good points. Thank you! I am about to go put a jack under it and see if I can get the pin back in.

I honestly had not seen a Porta Power before--pretty impressive and useful tool there! Can someone tell me what brand would be the best to buy? Just looking at Amazon, they all look the same. Are there companies that more a better quality one than others?

 

[MJD1]

Blackhawk, otc, porta power ( brand name), and enerpac are better quality but at a premium, especially enerpac and otc. I use and abuse a 10 ton hf and a 4 ton and 10 ton northern tool setup. I also use air over hydraulic pump of some China manufacturer. Haven't had any issues other than a couple that didn't work right. For occasional use, it really shouldn't matter what brand you get, but I would go with a 10 ton setup.

 

[matt_i]

I can't see the frame but basically you have to invent and then fabricate a structure that will bear the reaction force of the bottle jack, which can be quite big.

Typically there would be a heavy flat bar/plate, channel or I beam where the base of the bottle jack sits. Next you have to create structure to "get behind" the framework of the bore into the machine. Typically a tape measure a saw/torch or welder will get you to where you need to go.

You mentioned trying to push against something that's ~6 feet away, that's a possibility as well but you have to assess the potential for the heavy force to simply bend the other side away as the mechanical path of lesser resistance and not actually displace the pin. Trying to use some sort of a pipe, tube or post is dangerous because its tough to keep everything perfectly aligned on the axis of the long piece. Any little bending of any part means the post and jack fly out to the side...

As others have said, even armed with a perfect press, the set of holes has to be aligned, simply using brute force can chip the housings, put bad burrs on the pin that in turn scars the bores.