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Reinforced Frame Keeps Old Farmall From Breaking
Gary Swensen saw an old Farmall M snap in two when the loader was overloaded. Equipped with a Dual 345 loader and grapple, the M with its wide front end couldn’t handle the 7-ft. bucket loaded with dirt.
“My neighbor had the M loaded with weight on the rear wheels to counterbalance the loader,” recalls Swens
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Reinforced Frame Keeps Old Farmall From Breaking TRACTORS Miscellaneous Gary Swensen saw an old Farmall M snap in two when the loader was overloaded Equipped with a Dual 345 loader and grapple the M with its wide front end couldn’t handle the 7-ft bucket loaded with dirt “My neighbor had the M loaded with weight on the rear wheels to counterbalance the loader ” recalls Swensen “However as he backed up with the full loader the front end dropped in a hole and the strain found a weak point at the transmission The M broke in half Grease and gears fell on the ground The steering shaft and gas tank were bent It just made a mess out of the old M ” Luckily for the neighbor a local dealer had an old M with a blown engine Both tractors were split and rebuilt with good parts from each “I have a 450 Farmall with the same loader ” says Swensen “To make sure I didn’t have a similar problem I added a brace to either side of the transmission ” Swensen used a flat bar of 1/2-in steel and three 5/8-in grade 8 bolts with a tensile strength of 150 000 lbs per sq in As the shear strength of a bolt is typically 60 percent of its tensile strength the brace bars added significant support “I was able to use 3 existing bolt holes in the transmission that lined up straight ” says Swensen “Those old tractors have multiple threaded holes for the various attachments that can be mounted everything from planters to cotton pickers ” All Swensen had to do was drill holes in the flat steel to match the bolt holes and add washers where needed to bring all 3 bolts in line He also noted that the support arms on the loader are short and are located about midway near the center of the engine “This may be a contributing factor to the M breaking apart ” says Swensen “I lengthened mine so they go all the way to the front of the engine ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gary Swensen 1408 Sunrise Dr Yankton S Dak 57078 ph 605 660-3489; g_swensen@msn com
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