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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 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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2018 - Volume #42, Issue #6