Trout 2003
ArboristSite Operative
Hey all. I figured since everyone spent so much time lending me a hand that I would make a post here with some details....as well as challenges that the less than 'mechancial' guys can look at to figure out how to do this themselves. I took a little heat at times but in reality most guys never have to do this so if this post can help a few that want to take a shot at it than great. Hopefully when they do what I did and run it through a search engine this post will pop up. For more back history please refer back to my original post. Lots of little questions answered in there.
http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...-for-older-huskee-22-ton-log-splitter.306925/
Here is what I started with. The old original Briggs that had pretty much vibrated itself to death. It's amazing that it made it as long at it did....
Getting the motor off was easy. Just 4 bolts and it comes right off. No mess, gas, or oils to worry about. The next thing before unbolting the pump was to pull of the hydraulic hoses which was a bit of a bear. They don't wanna be removed. They're happy how they are haha. Wear padded gloves cause when they come off your hand is smashing against something probably haha! Also, expect a LOT of hydraulic fluid on come out immediately. I'd wear safety glass for everything in this post but especially this. Unless you plug it its going to drain near the filter for 24 hours so have a good pan ready before you do this. That was unexpected to me so I made a little mess. The threaded high pressure line from the pump to the cylinder was really tight so I removed the mail connection from the cylinder instead and not from the pump. This freed up the pump and I undid the 4 bolts and removed it. At that point your down to nothing more than the mount.
I took a moment there to clean everything off really good and get it back down to just paint. I'm pretty picky about things. I had a motor mount made from a local metal shop. Being that I was going from a vertical motor to a horizontal I wanted something to protect the pump and hose connections from falling logs which does happen at times so I went a little above and beyond. I'm sure, and have seen people get away with much less. I wanted it to look nice though. Initially I made the plates to drill out for the pump mount and just mount it all direct to the metal but that didn't go well so I ended up going on a wild goose chase looking for a pump bracket, which I should have done from the start. It wasn't very easy to find one that fit 'plug and play' to the Predator 6.5 and existing pump but eventually I found one through 'Rugged Log Splitters'. $34 bucks well spent, trust me, if you're not perfect with measuring holes buy the bracket! Don't be cheap!!
I had to grind out a hole for the pump bracket to fit through but that wasn't a big deal. There's many ways to mount the motor of course but however you do it pay close attention to several things. Know where the exhaust is gonna blow!! You don't want it blowing on you if you can avoid it. Pay attention to how the hydraulic hoses are going to get back to the filter. Those hoses are not forgiving at all. They don't bend much. Look at the pull start and swtiches. Really look at everything from a functional standpoint and make sure you'll be happy with it when it's done. Once I did all of that (and caught things) I tapped the new motor mount holes. Get a couple of drill bits cause 1 will not be enough. Here we are with the new mount on.
From here I mounted the new pump brackets and marked out the motor bolts which didn't go great. I don't have any great advice but just do better then I did haha.
I ended up missing the mark a little and had to grind some holes larger laterally and install washers for the mounting bolts. Not the end of the world but amateur-hour for sure. Once the motor was secure I fished the pump on and bolted that into place. Check the other post for trials and tribulations of the LoveJoy cupler haha.
The Hydraulic hose is going to challenge you in several ways. First off finding it. The 2500psi 3/4" hose is tricky to find although once you find it you'll figure out they're available in several areas around you. Tractor Supply will not have it though. Call your local Farm Extension and ask them....they'll know where to go. Some auto places will have it too but more rare. Either way, you'll probably need new hose as it will be longer than the last. Once you have it the stuff is STIFF and difficult to cut. I used a grinder to cut and I had a terrible time working it onto the pump and filter but it eventually went after 5-10 minutes of pushing. After that, thread the pressure line back onto the cylinder you're all hooked up.
Note, take this chance to replace your Hydraulic fluid filter also. Those filter can be bought at Tractor supply. Just take your old one along but a quick google search will show you the number. Pick up some new fluid too as you'll need a jug and a half to replace what ran out during the motor change if you don't cap the line.
So after like 2 weeks and 10 cases of beer she was all back together! I took it outside and ran it for an hour at 50% throttle. Ran the cylinder a few times to purge any air in the line. The next day I did the same thing again. The 3rd day I was ready to go but changed the oil and I'm grad I did cause it was actually pretty dirty, most likely from whatever they put on the metal when it's new.
I was a bit nervous to go and cut figuring I had to have messed something up but it worked perfectly! Yesterday I split and stacked 2 cords to get the year moving.
Here's some more pick of the setup
So I have around 8 hours on the engine. Its quieter and has less vibration then the Briggs did. It also uses WAAAAY less fuel. Engine ran 6 hours on 2 tanks. With the Briggs I had to fill it after each load so one more tank fill per day every 3 loads. The operation is nicer too. I always hated the prime button and the predator doesn't have it which is nice.
So, so far so great and I'm happy to be cutting for the winter of 2018-2019 finally. I'm behind schedule but I'll catch up. Thanks again for all the help and for putting up with me
I appreciate it!
http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...-for-older-huskee-22-ton-log-splitter.306925/
Here is what I started with. The old original Briggs that had pretty much vibrated itself to death. It's amazing that it made it as long at it did....
Getting the motor off was easy. Just 4 bolts and it comes right off. No mess, gas, or oils to worry about. The next thing before unbolting the pump was to pull of the hydraulic hoses which was a bit of a bear. They don't wanna be removed. They're happy how they are haha. Wear padded gloves cause when they come off your hand is smashing against something probably haha! Also, expect a LOT of hydraulic fluid on come out immediately. I'd wear safety glass for everything in this post but especially this. Unless you plug it its going to drain near the filter for 24 hours so have a good pan ready before you do this. That was unexpected to me so I made a little mess. The threaded high pressure line from the pump to the cylinder was really tight so I removed the mail connection from the cylinder instead and not from the pump. This freed up the pump and I undid the 4 bolts and removed it. At that point your down to nothing more than the mount.
I took a moment there to clean everything off really good and get it back down to just paint. I'm pretty picky about things. I had a motor mount made from a local metal shop. Being that I was going from a vertical motor to a horizontal I wanted something to protect the pump and hose connections from falling logs which does happen at times so I went a little above and beyond. I'm sure, and have seen people get away with much less. I wanted it to look nice though. Initially I made the plates to drill out for the pump mount and just mount it all direct to the metal but that didn't go well so I ended up going on a wild goose chase looking for a pump bracket, which I should have done from the start. It wasn't very easy to find one that fit 'plug and play' to the Predator 6.5 and existing pump but eventually I found one through 'Rugged Log Splitters'. $34 bucks well spent, trust me, if you're not perfect with measuring holes buy the bracket! Don't be cheap!!
I had to grind out a hole for the pump bracket to fit through but that wasn't a big deal. There's many ways to mount the motor of course but however you do it pay close attention to several things. Know where the exhaust is gonna blow!! You don't want it blowing on you if you can avoid it. Pay attention to how the hydraulic hoses are going to get back to the filter. Those hoses are not forgiving at all. They don't bend much. Look at the pull start and swtiches. Really look at everything from a functional standpoint and make sure you'll be happy with it when it's done. Once I did all of that (and caught things) I tapped the new motor mount holes. Get a couple of drill bits cause 1 will not be enough. Here we are with the new mount on.
From here I mounted the new pump brackets and marked out the motor bolts which didn't go great. I don't have any great advice but just do better then I did haha.
I ended up missing the mark a little and had to grind some holes larger laterally and install washers for the mounting bolts. Not the end of the world but amateur-hour for sure. Once the motor was secure I fished the pump on and bolted that into place. Check the other post for trials and tribulations of the LoveJoy cupler haha.
The Hydraulic hose is going to challenge you in several ways. First off finding it. The 2500psi 3/4" hose is tricky to find although once you find it you'll figure out they're available in several areas around you. Tractor Supply will not have it though. Call your local Farm Extension and ask them....they'll know where to go. Some auto places will have it too but more rare. Either way, you'll probably need new hose as it will be longer than the last. Once you have it the stuff is STIFF and difficult to cut. I used a grinder to cut and I had a terrible time working it onto the pump and filter but it eventually went after 5-10 minutes of pushing. After that, thread the pressure line back onto the cylinder you're all hooked up.
Note, take this chance to replace your Hydraulic fluid filter also. Those filter can be bought at Tractor supply. Just take your old one along but a quick google search will show you the number. Pick up some new fluid too as you'll need a jug and a half to replace what ran out during the motor change if you don't cap the line.
So after like 2 weeks and 10 cases of beer she was all back together! I took it outside and ran it for an hour at 50% throttle. Ran the cylinder a few times to purge any air in the line. The next day I did the same thing again. The 3rd day I was ready to go but changed the oil and I'm grad I did cause it was actually pretty dirty, most likely from whatever they put on the metal when it's new.
I was a bit nervous to go and cut figuring I had to have messed something up but it worked perfectly! Yesterday I split and stacked 2 cords to get the year moving.
Here's some more pick of the setup
So I have around 8 hours on the engine. Its quieter and has less vibration then the Briggs did. It also uses WAAAAY less fuel. Engine ran 6 hours on 2 tanks. With the Briggs I had to fill it after each load so one more tank fill per day every 3 loads. The operation is nicer too. I always hated the prime button and the predator doesn't have it which is nice.
So, so far so great and I'm happy to be cutting for the winter of 2018-2019 finally. I'm behind schedule but I'll catch up. Thanks again for all the help and for putting up with me
I appreciate it!
