Wrecked Gator!
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- We took Allie (John Deere Gator) to a project a few weeks ago and now we need to fix it!
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It's the upper A arm or control arm
Tim, you're a good man. I think we can all learn a lot from your attitude.
I’d go with “upper control arm” personally. 👍
Was going to say the same thing lol
@@znovosad555 Same Here
Or a-arm. Upper control arm sounds better tho.
One other thing. It would be a good idea to tighten the bolts that hold the control arm to the frame in the approximate angle that the gator rides at. Those inner bushing look to be torsional elastic bushings. Meaning that when you tighten them down with the control arm lowered all the way down they are locked in that position. Then when you put the weight back down on the machine they are twisting to be in there normal running position. The bushings will wear out faster from being pre-twisted so to speak. Just an observation.
You are absolutley correct. If you tighten the bushing in a down position, it will prematurely wear the bushing. I think this is called preload or something. Same applies to cars and truck too.
In addition to what these people said, it can cause ride height issues and binding that makes react differently in the side that is binding. I do race car alignments all the time and on a 2500 lb car we saw a 1/2” drop when we “relaxed” the bushings
Should have had the girls come over and help fix it. Make it a learning experience.
Your AWESOME not to get mad at the girls!! Too many people would have gone off the deep end.
Parts are easy to replace, people are not! Glad to hear no one was harmed in the making of this video.
Great perspective on this. Its good to make kids be responsible for their actions but some times 'stuff happens' and it isn't because of negligence or in general being bad. I recall once when I was young (probably too young) my uncle let me drive his 4 wheel ATV on his farm land and I ended up flipping it and breaking a headlight on it. He gave me the same kindness and benefit you gave these girls and I have always appreciated it. It left a mark on me for how to be in my own life. As always thanks for sharing.
Sounds like the girls are fortunate to not have rolled Ali👍
It is an upper control arm. Side note, the 2 bolts that fasten to the chassis should not be tightened until everything else is together and the weight is back on it. This allows the rubber bushings to be in a neutral position and not twisted like they are when you tightened them up and then loaded the suspension. By doing it like you did in the video, you may prematurely wear out the rubber bushings.
When I lend things to people, I always tell them, "Now... don't treat this as if it were YOUR'S, treat it like it's MINE"
U always tighten fasteners that incorporate rubber bushings with a load on it, ie: jack under the lower control arm with equipt weight on it.
So at rest the bushing is not twisted, this helps it last longer.
I'm with you the kids had a blast. This is a memory they will talk about when they are old. I think and relive fun we had as a teenager with farm implements doing things we were not supposed to do. We lived and I smile still to this day 40 + years down the road.
That TTWT coupon is the real deal. It makes things much more convenient to get when you do not have to factor in the shipping cost. Thank you for passing the savings on to us. I have been watch all your gator videos since I'm in the market for a side by side.
Thanks for the feedback.
I agree with another commenter about the bent upper A arm. The new one seems to be stronger in the area where it bent. Maybe you could find out if this product has been UPGRADED. ( John Deere will never notify you) Check on some similar gators at your sponsoring JD Dealer!! It still seems a little off from the view on the video.
You will have to monitor steering and tire wear and look at other similar ones to be sure there are no more damaged parts or if there is an adjustment needed to be made because of this newer Improved ?? part. Enjoy your videos!!! Just my opinion!!! Everybody has one!!!
I really appriciated you sharing how you handled this situation. I believe we all could do better in how we handle things in life and I will remember that the next time Im in a similiar situation.
Great philosophy and attitude on the issue. Life is essentially a collection of obstacles and issues to overcome. You can either be pissed at them for occurring, or you can just accept this is life, issues occur, you choose how you overcome them.
Great display of patience, kindness, wisdom and responsibility on your handling of the situation and fixing the equipment.
Glad you got the Gator fixed without too much trouble. Sounds like the girls were just having fun as you say. My granddaughters have done the same with our Mule. That's one of the main reasons I bought it so that my granddaughters could learn how to drive and control a machine similar to a small vehicle.
Tim, you are a good man and your videos teach much more than mechanics, maintenance and operations -- thumbs up to you!
It's called an upper A arm or control arm. Glad you didn't get upset with the girls. Kids will be kids. God bless
Dad's understand way more then those that are not!! True dad's Tim!! Great vid 👍
Tim I’ve seen a few videos on repairs for gators and RZR. They used after market upper A-arms. The material is thicker and won’t bend. You can also weld bracing across the opening or place gussets in between the openings.
I always called it a A warm. Doesn't matter. You knew how to fix it. Great how to video. Love your analogy on you taking responsibility for you inviting them to enjoy.
Great attitude Tim and I agree with you. I always believe that if something has already happened no sense getting upset or worrying about it. Lessons are learned and how we react defines who we are.
I can't believe that gator cant hold up to to little girls kind of sad
Two
Yeah...because if they ran it full speed into a solid object nothing should happen...what alternate reality do you live in? Damage doesn't happen or not happen because of someone's age.
@@buckhorncortez, According to the girls, all they were doing was swerving and it bent. Nobody said anything about full speed into a solid object.
Pfft - Tim even says he’s totally surprised it didn’t hold up. Buckhorn it’s gonna be a lonely position to second guess Tim and stand up for the quality of gator suspension parts.
That's an upper control arm. And at least in the automotive field you would tighten the two bolts where it connects to the sub-frame with the weight of the vehicle on it. You will cause the bushing to fail prematurely because they are tightened and then twisted when you lowered it.
Tim was very understanding instead of being mad at the girls and that was nice
I agree with your train of thought . If kids were playing ball on the street and happen to break a window than yes , either the kid or parents should pay to replace it . Now if you invited the kids to play in your yard and they broke something than NO . You invited them and knew the risks . Glad you were able to fix the problem . Can't believe that there were only 2 parts in North America . What's with that .
Good for you for taking the responsibility.
You have a LOT of toys! It's a good thing you have the tools to repair the toys. I like watching you do the repairs.
When it comes to lending tools etc. to someone, I have a basic rule. It's still mine and I am responsible for it. When we lived in CT we had a nice flat back yard and a fence between us and our neighbor - which I helped him put in. Three panels of cedar with the center panel pulled forward from the other two so that passage was not impeded but our decks had some privacy and his sons could play in our backyard as a soccer field since his lot was all woods and boulders. Simple rule: my property, my expense. If the ball went through the windows, the boys had to clean up the mess, but I would call the glazier and have it repaired.
Worked for thirteen years and never was a window broken. Lawn got dug up some, but why have a lawn if the kids can't play on it?
I had the same problem with my BX. I let the 17 year old neighbor kid help me move some logs. He had experience with his dad's BX so I didn't give him much instruction of using it. Next thing I know he flipped it. The load was to high tring to turn on an incline. It's still in the shop being fixed. 😢 At least he didn't get hurt.
Hi Tim,
Unfortunate that the girls crossed the line of too much fun and something got damaged, but hopefully they learned a lesson that will help them later in life.
What you need to get are a bunch of the magnetic part dishes and put one in every vehicle and tractor. We have used them a number of times when working on a combine during harvest in the field during a breakdown. Screws and nuts can very easily get lost on the ground and of course finding them is impossible.
Had something similar happen (though not as expensive). Helping my brother on his property and he had a couple workers (local teenage boys) working to pull unwanted plants from a fence row. They were using shovels and having a hard time at it, so I grabbed my garden hand cultivator (four tine) that I had already broken the handle on (4ft down to 2ft) which made it perfect for tight spaces and "pop'n" small roots (used like when you put a tooth bar on a bucket). I showed them how to use it and turned them loose. Well they were able to work much faster and took out a couple dozen plants in short order. They then moved on to a very large rose bush. The handle ended up breaking at the tool head. Both the boys and my brother offered to replace the handle. I refused and stated they were just doing what I had instructed them to do, and that it had worked just like it needed to help the boys work faster/easier - always a plus in Texas heat. To say that the tool wasn't designed for that use shouldn't need to be said. I also said that I had already broken the handle once and when you use tools and stress them in ways they weren't designed for, sometimes they are going to break. I think you handled the situation perfectly.
Outstanding way to look at the situation!!! Refreshing in today’s madness!!!
The lessons of youth. Learned a few myself. You did the right thing 👍.
Hi Tim, its called an "upper control arm", also it is always a good idea to tighten any control arm mounting bolts with a load on them, i.e. normal ride height as they would be sitting normally(put a jack under the control arm and jack it up, hopefully, that makes sense). It is to prevent damage or excess tension or rotation on the bushings. As always great video!!
Ideally you will want to tighten those upper control arm bolts when the vehicle is resting in is normal ride position. Maybe just back the nuts off and tighten again now that it's done. Really good video! I completely agree with you as well, well done!
Great job enjoyed that, you have plenty of patients my friend !!!
Control arm for sure. Great mentally absolutely the way to handle it. Your videos are awesome.
Nice repair!
1. Yes, that shipping and service was outstanding you really can’t beat that, unless you need a part yesterday for a job.
2. I agree with your statement about loaning and liability. I did the same thing with my daughter and my 4 wheeler I even adjusted the throttle as not to be able to go fast, and her, her cousin, and friend who all should not have been riding together hit a tree. Yes I was monitoring them and just like always you can’t watch them every minute. I had to repair a fair bit the damage was significant, but they were OK and all were wearing helmets I can’t tread that fact enough.
You know Tim I have had 8 gators over the years and never had that problem. 4 of my 6 kids learned to drive with gators. I thought the only thing that had to be replaced on them was the front fenders each spring. My kids have run over cedar trees that were 4 inch dia. Never hurt the steering I think that that waS just a defective part.
Great approach with the girls. You approach to them will have a lasting effect long beyond this incident.
Tim as a body and suspension guy on Automotives yes you should always tighten the suspension parts with the weight on the suspension. so on the ground, as it would sit. back in the 90 ford as well as others were using suspension parts that had built-in memory with a rubber and if you didn't follow the instructions you get bump steer or it would steer towards the opposite way ford also used different wheelbases on the driver to passenger side to avoid ppl fallen asleep and going into oncoming traffic the car was set to go towards the ditch if the driver wasn't steering or holding the steering wheel its a top control arm
When you hand over the keys you understand that you are still responsible so I agree with your outcome. On the bright side better that it happened in the gator then on the highway in a couple years when they get their first car. Hopefully they retain some lessons from this experience to use later in life.
You handled everything really good !
Good job with the fix, Tim!
When I bought my JD lawn tractor some years ago, I discovered the need for 18mm sockets and wrenches (which apparently aren't common in sets). That remained the same in my second lawn tractor and also apparently in Gators.
Tim your a very understanding man Must have been a wicked pothole As the song goes" Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
I wouldn't have expected that to happen at all unless Allie was well loaded, especially on a vehicle designed to be used offroad in an agricultural or industrial use. I wonder if there is power steering that would make it possible to really get some aggressive steering input from some young ladies.
Upper control arm and the new one appeared to be made a little differently in the area that bent. The new one appeared to be a little thicker in the area where the old one bent.
Looks like they could have gotten excessive sway causing it to bottom out aggressively. If they were really doing the equivalent of a moose test, then I could see how hitting a bump at or near full compression on that side may have caused the upper arm to bend. This is somewhat supported in that it's lacking any other physical damage. It doesn't seem like it hit anything from the video.
I was thinking maybe your brother & nephew were using your gator at the half century of progress show last week? I saw them at the show on Thursday! Had to do a double take, sure enough it was them. The grounds were cover in gators.
Yes we were there! We were in our Kubota. We took the doors off and left them on the truck so it was easier to get in and out of to look at stuff and hear and talk to people. The first year we went we left them on and decided that was no good.
I was a mechanic at several shops through the years, a couple different occasions, one was in retail, where the customer came in for a simple flat repair, finding the leak was easy, it was a bent to the point of cracking an alloy rim. The customer asked how such a thing happens, to which I said I suspect it involved hitting a curb perpendicular to how you should be traveling at 30 mph or more. They immediately turned to junior and asked how this happened, junior denied ever feeling anything to that effect, the parent asked if there was any other things, to which I can't remember exactly how I softened the wording so we didn't have domestic violence happening in the shop, but quite simply, if you ask me a question, I'm gonna answer honestly, and my answer included the fact that as bad as that rim was bent, someone knows the exact moment that happened, you can't have missed it.
Second, at a shop where I was responsible for a fleet of Triaxles, but never figured out how the driver was able to break a set of Mack camelbacks, for those who aren't familiar it's a stack of leaf springs a foot thick made up of 1 inch thick individual leafs. So, some things are easy to know what happened, you just don't know who, and in the other case we know exactly who it was we just never figured out how they managed to break it.
Thanks for sharing Tim .
Nice video Tim! I liked what you said about letting people using your toys and not to be upset with them if something goes wrong.
Way to go Tim.Thinks happen.You done good!
You need a set of Metric wrenches to go with those sockets Tim. I've noticed several bolts on my Johnny are metric just as you found on the gator. Ever since I was a mechanic 35 years ago I've had a both SAE and Metric in the toolbox, so I'm not surprised to see them on other equipment as well.
Nice repair job Tim!
You are a good man Mr Tim!
Tim, They make a metal dish with a magnet base to mount to your work, for small parts. Personally, I use a soap box or empty egg carton.
Upper “A” arm 🇺🇸
My wife is 47 and far from a 14 year old girl but I swear she could break solid chunk of steal. Woman is hard on the fixtures....
Good video Tim thanks for sharing
Easy enough repair, don’t know the cost though...you did the right thing
Upper A arm is what I'd call it Tim and yes I'd say they hit a pot hole or something along those lines but luckily nobody got hurt the lord looks over us dummies sometimes and keeps us safe, been watching a long time love the videos God bless
May already be in the comments but NEVER BEAT ON THE END OF A BOLT WITH A HAMMER! Very likely to damage the threads. Press it out, turn it out, pry under the bolt head, use a leather, soft brass, lead or rubber/plastic hammer but do not do anything that could possibly damage the threads. Part is called the Upper A Arm.
Upper control arm. And for that to bend like that I would think possibly hit a hole going fast. But your right if you let them drive it without any type of rules or warnings you own the outcome. But Im sure it was not done on purpose, things fail no one got hurt so it was good. Like I tell my kids it all just tired iron and can be fixed, but fixing them is alot harder and more stress on me.
Awesome video! Job well done 👍🏻🇺🇸
Sound like you handled that well Tim.
Tim you're hired!!
Good outlook on life Tim
You are correct upper control arm
Those 2 bolts you did up at the back of the bushings should ideally not have been done up until the end. Normally you leave them loose put a axle stand under each lower arm so all 4 corners are supported on the springs at ride height then do them up. So the bushes are done up at ride height under load not at full droop and left twisted under load. This will make the ride ruff and wear the bushes out in a matter of a few hours
Either way it should be able to stand up to the stress. Unless they run into something solid. If it was my kids I as the parent would offer to pay for the replacement or fix it for you. Thats just the right thing to do in that situation.
The parent DID offer to pay. I turned him down. Good folks.
@@TractorTimewithTim thats good then you have the option of saying yes or no to their offer.
Upper control arm
Have you looked into cordless impact guns??
They really are great and faster not having to drag out a hose and much quieter.
I have all snapOn. But do it again Milwaukee makes the best that I’ve found.
A 3/8 will be just as powerful as your air gun. And just use a 3/8to 1/2 adapter for your impact sockets.
Trust me it will be like the first time you used a cordless drill out side with no power available.
And yes upper control arm or “A”arm.
You are a great american
Love your channel
Hey Tim. This is just a suggestion but I think you should add replacing a upper control arm on a John Deere gator side by side to the title of the video. Would be beneficial to someone looking to replace one and could possible bring more viewers to your channel. I also agree with you on not blaming the girls. Just an unfortunate thing that happens. Take it easy.
Just ordered a 50” Gator toolbox for my XUV 835M using the TTWT code for free shipping at GreenPartStore.com. Thank you! By the way, my 835M is supposed to be delivered tomorrow. I’m very excited!
Good story.
Great video
Fisheye or wide angle lens on the camera screws stuff up. It would probably be a good idea to get a helping hand while doing a repair, educational, but not a terrible penalty either.
I concur with your attitude about not having the young girls pay for it. What may be common sense to someone may not be too another. They didn't know about nor understand the potential hazards. We had a similar experience with three nephews playing with two 4 wheelers and a motorcycle. They all collided into each other. Fortunately no was hurt and I learned a lesson.
BTW, I believe it is an upper control arm.
That is my attitude when loaning equipment. It is much easier to let go and be charitable. I value kids more than stuff.
I think it is called an "A" arm similar to a car's suspension part. What has me concerned is that is a fairly heft looking part and I do not believe it should have bent from that the motion you described Kind of makes one wonder what was the quality of the steel in the original part?
Excuse my grammar, I'm sort of in a hurry to make an appointment...
great work tim 🤠👍
Upper A arm. Just did lower A arms on a 06 mustang.
You know what funny I’m from Edmonton love this Channel
Yard stuff Doing some yard work yea real funny. From Edmonton. Watches a tv and can type. Haha
I agree about the fees. As a parent you want kids to gain experience and that means sometimes we have to reach into our wallet. I encouraged my 2 daughters and there friends to do a Daytona Beach trip. Well, needless to say the car got a blown head gasket. Both kids are adults now with their own kids, yet to this day, they haven't spilled the beans. I have a suggestion. With your pull with JD, you need to have the JD Engineers get those girls some test units to put the Gator through a TEEN use. With only 2 parts available in North America, JD should evaluate what else could be vulnerable to girls that have no fear. Although, that part looked really beefy, not sure how one would improve it.
Turning back and forth as fast as you can is a good way to flip this type of equipment.....and what is the minimum age recommendation???
That was my concern. I remember a few years ago when "Consumer Reports" rated a 4WD vehicle unacceptable because it would flip doing that very maneuver. I really think they should have gotten some cautionary advice before driving because of their lack of previous experience or training. Hope they were at least wearing seat belts. As far as minimum age; on private property I would leave it up to the owner's judgement about the girls judgement. They wouldn't have any way to know the hazards unless warned. It's unlikely you'd have guessed the damage to the control arm though. It seems an off-road vehicle should be more robust than that.
That part is the upper control arm and they must have hit one or more hard spots hard with the gator and belt it. They had to have hit it hard to bend that part too, but it can be done, and the parts must be weak as to bend so easily.
not really weak, just not designed to take a hit in a different way. Same as sliding your car into a curb in ice.. Shit usually bends because it was never designed to take that force in such a way.
@@zuestoots5176 They don't make parts like they use to and that goes for tractor and ATV parts also.
Accidents happen, as long as everybody is safe and sound.
Forget the adjustable hammer.
What has been a great time saver has been a 12" adjustable pry bar.
All steel construction and lets you pry in all kinds of awkward angles. Prying bolts, using for leverage when hooking up implements, the possibilities are endless.
I would make them pay for you to get it fixed, then split the parts cost with them.
Yep top or upper control arm
I wonder why it bent the top frame. It would make more sense for the bottom frame to bend because the force is on the bottom of the tire not the top
I suspect that maybe the complete story wasn't told. Lol
The should pay but it doesn't always have to be money..fresh made cookies work well.
Pay for what? he knew the potential for something to go bad..
@@zuestoots5176 You missed the joke.
Hey Tim I have been debating if I should get one of those shop stools. I have been using a five gallon bucket to sit on. I think it’s time to upgrade is that stool listed on your site.