Picked up a Kwik-Way Loader for my 522xi

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

Found a nice loader project on eBay and wound up high bidder, somehow, last week.

 

It was a bit of a drive for me, but even with gas and tolls (12 hours round trip!!!) I'm into this for under $400.  This particular kwikway loader originally came from an early 80's FF series Sears garden tractor.  That was the big Sears tractor that went up against the Deere 420.

The kwikways were all built the same, they just took a machine specific subframe.  This one had the loader, the valve and the rams, no subframe or pump.

Diagonal braces came with it and the valve and the hydraulic rams are all in good shape for their age.  

Thanks to doc724 and some others, I've got all the dimensions I need to build a subframe.  A friend of mine is going to take my CAD drawing to a laser cutter vendor to cut out all the subframe components out of 1/4" plate.  I'll weld up the front diagonal mounts, the pump bracket and the mid mount frame.



Made some cardstock mock ups of the front mounts, and fine tuned them to fit .

 

I've also picked up a  control valve service manual and an oring kit to refurb the valve.   The valve is all torn down now and all parts are in good shape.



As soon as fall leaf cleanup is done, I'll be able to get some front mount patterns and measurements for the pump carrier and then I should be set to get an order in to the laser cutter.  This will be a fun project.  Hopefully it will be ready for mulch spreading duty come spring.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Snowmobileaddict
added photos

[mikekot3 92]

Awesome work on the CAD models. What program did you use? I have Solidworks at work. Would it be possible to get your model sent me via email?
Please advise,
mike

[Forest Road 594]

Under $400? That's a home run. The single worst part of installing my loader is getting the subframe on and off. I'd suggest removing the running boards for a clear view of your chassis. I believe it's possible to fabricate mounts and either weld them directly to the chassis. Or run a piece of steel on both sides of chassis and make your mounts permanent yet still allow you to mount mower deck and other attachments.

Best of luck

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,330]

Here is what is will look like. I love mine!! 

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

Awesome work on the CAD models. What program did you use? I have Solidworks at work. Would it be possible to get your model sent me via email?
Please advise,
mike

Thanks.

I've got an older version of AutoCAD at home along with a copy of Draftsight too.  I'm using AutoCAD for this.

The DWG is getting added to each day.  I'm just about done.  I think all in all, I'll have about 2.5 square feet of 1/4" plate to laser cut into all the pieces.

After I'm done I'll be happy to share it with you.

Andy

Here is what is will look like. I love mine!! 

I cant wait to get mine done

 

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

Got my CAD file sent off to a couple of laser cutting vendors on Monday.  Hoping for a low price...

Drawings are attached to this post.  Looks like about 4.5 square feet of 1/4" plate to get all the flats cut.

I'll use a chop saw for cutting the rest of the pieces.

 

Dimensioned Subframe ISO.pdf

SUBFARME FLATS QTR Inch Plate.pdf

Edited November 4, 2015 by Snowmobileaddict

[953 nut 55,065]

       $ 400, you stole it! A 12 hour round trip is well worth it for a nice loader. The loader will come in handy this winter moving snow around. Now you need to look around for another  to mow with, once you have the loader mounted you won't want to be without it.  

[DougC 2,641]

Thats awsome. What a find. You got a nice winter project in a heated garage. Better cut some more wood for the stove before the snow fall........

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2015 at 0:50 PM, 953 nut said:

 

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2015 at 0:50 PM, 953 nut said:

       $ 400, you stole it! A 12 hour round trip is well worth it for a nice loader. The loader will come in handy this winter moving snow around. Now you need to look around for another 

 to mow with, once you have the loader mounted you won't want to be without it.  

 

 
I think the only reason it didn't bid higher is because it ended at like 11:00 PM on Tuesday night.




 

Edited June 30, 2017 by Snowmobileaddict

[82Caddy 851]

I don't think the end time had anything to do with it.  I'm guessing and would bet money it was because of how the ad was titled...

Good find for you.  If I had seen that, I would have bid on it too.

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

My o-ring kits came in the mail yesterday for the OMCO control valve.  I needed to buy 2 since its 2 spools.  One kit I was able to find NOS on ebay in the sealed Toro Wheel Pouch.  Wheel horse used this same valve as an implement lift valve on C and D series Tractors for the while.

New Part No 105178, Old Part No 110976

For the other one, I bought from this seller:  http://classickitchensandmore.com/wheel-horse-tractors-parts-c-42/wheel-horse-tractor-hydraulic-lift-valve-reseal-oring-kit-new-p-2351.html

The large o-ring  (#13 in the diagram) from Classic Kitchens didn't fit though, it was about 3/16" too long (the cross section was right, it was just too long).  It didn't matter though because I didn't need 2 of that ring, just 2 sets of spool o-rings and 2 sets of o-rings for between the valve sections.  So I used the factory o-ring for that location.  The rest of the Classic Kitchens O-rings matched up fine.  I did find out that SEPW.com still has this factory o-ring kits in stock.  At most other sources they come back as NLA

Here's the valve all put back together.  I think I might pop the handles off, mask off the spool ends and paint it black.  According to the stamped numbers this valve was manufactured in February 1982.

Edited June 30, 2017 by Snowmobileaddict
typo

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

For being 32 years old, the hydraulic cylinders sure come apart nice and easy.

Ive got all the oring and back up specs along with the rubber wiper seals as well.  I figure it will be about 35-40 bucks to get all four cylinders repacked and sealed.

Here are the particulars for other Kwikway owners:

 

 

Edited July 13, 2017 by Snowmobileaddict

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

The sanding and priming is going great.  The gloss black is going to lay down nice.

Edited June 30, 2017 by Snowmobileaddict

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

Got my o-ring order placed.  It was cheaper than I thought.  I bought most of the parts at www.theoringstore.com.  Some of the O-rings had minimum order QTYs that's why it looks like a lot of O-rings for 4 cyliners.  The 8 spiral Teflon backup rings I needed were $16.00 shipped.  I bought those from http://jaarsparts.com/




 

Edited June 30, 2017 by Snowmobileaddict

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

My low bid came in for CNC laser cutting of all the subframe parts that I need from 1/4" steel plate. 
The bids were as follows

Shop #1:                 $240

Shop #2:                 $200

Shop #3                  $160

Shop #4:                 $125

All requests for quotes were for cash at pickup and included: 1/4" steel plate material, time to load my supplied DXF CAD file into their cutting program and the actual cutting of the parts.  I'm not that surprised by the range of quotes.  I figure some of these shops work on much larger projects and to take care of a hobbyist or shade-tree type like one of us will cost a bit more than others. 
 

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

The 32-year-old instruction decal for the loader has seen better days.

I reworked in AutoCAD and exported it as a PDF.  I'm going to see about taking it to a decal/vinyl printer.  Its about 3" x 3" square and sits on the topside of the steel plate that the control valve gets bolted to.

 

Valve Decal Model (2).pdf

Edited July 13, 2017 by Snowmobileaddict

[slammer302 2,155]

My low bid came in for CNC laser cutting of all the subframe parts that I need from 1/4" steel plate. 

The bids were as follows

Shop #1:                 $240

Shop #2:                 $200

Shop #3                  $160

Shop #4:                 $125

All requests for quotes were for cash at pickup and included: 1/4" steel plate material, time to load my supplied DXF CAD file into their cutting program and the actual cutting of the parts.  I'm not that surprised by the range of quotes.  I figure some of these shops work on much larger projects and to take care of a hobbyist or shade-tree type like one of us will cost a bit more than others. 

 

I think the lowest quote is not to bad considering its a small order that most shops would not even bother doing I'm lucky enough to be a CNC operator and can cut what ever I want as long as I supply my own material if you need any small stuff done I can probably do it for but will have to be shipped that's why I say small stuff

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

My low bid came in for CNC laser cutting of all the subframe parts that I need from 1/4" steel plate. 

The bids were as follows

 

Shop #1:                 $240

 

Shop #2:                 $200

 

Shop #3                  $160

 

Shop #4:                 $125

 

All requests for quotes were for cash at pickup and included: 1/4" steel plate material, time to load my supplied DXF CAD file into their cutting program and the actual cutting of the parts.  I'm not that surprised by the range of quotes.  I figure some of these shops work on much larger projects and to take care of a hobbyist or shade-tree type like one of us will cost a bit more than others. 

 

I think the lowest quote is not to bad considering its a small order that most shops would not even bother doing I'm lucky enough to be a CNC operator and can cut what ever I want as long as I supply my own material if you need any small stuff done I can probably do it for but will have to be shipped that's why I say small stuff

 

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

 

Thanks Slammer.  That's good to know.

I fiddled around with nesting all the parts up on one shape and as tight as I could get them it came out at a piece of steel 24.5 inches by 25 inches.  So just the material from al local steel shop (Midwest Metal Warehouse) clocked in at $51.  I know most CNC programs import piece separately, figure in the qty, do some computing and then nest them for minimizing waste material, but I'd be shocked if they could get my parts cut from a much smaller piece of material I was estimating.  So I'm pretty happy with the $125 quote.  Going into this I figured Id be at like $150 on the cut parts.  So $125 is just great.  Little extra jingle in the piggy bank for the hydraulic pump I need to buy to run this setup.

[bmsgaffer 2,043]

Talk to Terry about the decals @Vinylguy.

He makes some good stuff and reasonably priced too! He may have that on file or will put it on file to help out any future loader owners. 

[doc724 925]

Wow, those costs for Laser CNC are dirt cheap and includes the material?  Out here (MA), raw material alone, cut to size from bar stock, sheet stock and structural steel for projects that are 10% the size of yours has cost me $50 (and there are few steel suppliers who have counter service)!

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

Wow, those costs for Laser CNC are dirt cheap and includes the material?  Out here (MA), raw material alone, cut to size from bar stock, sheet stock and structural steel for projects that are 10% the size of yours has cost me $50 (and there are few steel suppliers who have counter service)!

I'm lucky here, we've got local to us,  www.speedymetals.com and Midwest metal warehouse.

very affordable and you order online and pickup in a couple of hours.  God for us hobbyists/enthusiasts

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

I found some vintage advertisements for my actual loader.

It was built for the Sears FF series garden tractors.  They were a pretty formidable machine.  The ad comparing it to a Deere is good for some laughs.  I love the 1982-83 styles clothes.

Edited June 30, 2017 by Snowmobileaddict

[DennisThornton 4,769]

I found some vintage advertisements for my actual loader.

It was built for the Sears FF series garden tractors.  They were a pretty formidable machine.  The ad comparing it to a Deere is good for some laughs.  I love the 1982-83 styles clothes.





 

I'd love to have an FF!  Optional front and rear PTO!  Big, for a GT.  And I'd also like to find a FEL for it!

[Snowmobileaddict 403]

More good news. 

Hydraulic hose replacement cost is below what I had thought it would be.  All (8) hoses that connect to the (4) hydraulic cylinders were cracked badly and crumbling.  They weren't leaking but, considering the time and effort I'm putting into this project, they needed to be done.

I went to Universal Hose and Fittings http://www.universalhoseandfittings.com/Custom_Hydraulic_Hose_Assemblies_built_to_order_s/1955.htm

and requested a quote via e-mail and later on placed my order via phone because you couldn't select my option on their website store/checkout. 

All (8) hoses I needed are identical. 100R16 5,800 PSI 1/4" hose with a 1/4" NPT male fitting on one end and a male (3/8") -06 JIC on the other end.  Each hose assembly is 16" from tip of fitting to tip of fitting. 

That order came to $7.73 per hose assembly and $16.98 shipping. $78.82 total.  Not too bad.  From talking to folks, it sounded like these would run like $20 each at a NAPA or Parker hose shop.  The same hoses from www.discounthydraulichose.com would have been $149 shipped.



 

Edited November 11, 2015 by Snowmobileaddict
typo

[doc724 925]

Another site to bookmark!  thx