Replacing centre pivot on a Matbro TR250. Part 1. Disassembly

In this video I split a Matbro TR250 as there’s some serious play in the centre pivot.
First job is to disconnect all the pipes and wires to the front end. Along with the steering rams and prop shaft. The bottom pin was extremely loose and lifted straight out, however, the top pin was tight and needed to be pressed out with a big bottom jack after removing the weld holding it in from a previous repair.
A little side job was to make a trolly for the big tank jack to sit on allowing it to roll on wheels, this was used under the front half when splitting the machine.
Once the machine was split, the centre joints were removed and the wear was obvious to see. Both the top and bottom housing will need line boring and the bottom pin holes will also need line boring.
That’s all for part 1
Hope you enjoyed the video!
Thanks for watching.

[@andrewrobinson2869]

At least by videoing the job the customer can see how much extra work it is, I think it’s work videoing every job in case some unexpected happens you can always show the customer the issue. Love your work, regards Andy Perth Australia

[@billforrest4205]

As Andrew said below you could have done with steam cleaning that area around those hose couplings first. A worthwhile investment would be a set of hydraulic line plugs/caps, keeps all the crap out of customers hydraulics! and helps stop the hyd oil swimming pool effect 😄

[@gerryboard6615]

Definitely a two man job,( probably plus the apprentice) to split that one. Its strange how we get used to working on our own sometimes, it just takes a bit longer.

[@tehoro6893]

Oliver. The top bearing is a split race spherical type. It has the pin with a nut to keep reasonable tension on the two outer halves. The bottom is a fractured race spherical bearing. At 30:04 you see the fracture fore and aft. Fractured race bearings should be installed with the fracture 90 degrees to the line of pressure. In this case left or right as you view from the drivers seat I endorse Allanwinters' comment under, about reuseable plastic plugs and caps for hydraulic systems

[@allanwinter4991]

A Caterpillar selection box of plastic hose fittings plugs and caps would be very handy for you when working on hydraulics.

[@andrewmawson6897]

With things like that gunged up spool block I always steam clean them first. Not only does it reduce the risk of getting muck in the lines but I believe the heat significantly eases undoing the pipe caps. Added benefit being more pleasant to work on.

[@hrenes]

Indeed! and top off the holes.

[@snowballengineering]

I power washed the middle but didn’t expect it to be as bad under the panel. It was already in the workshop by that point

[@bertjetolberg103]

I like to clean it first also but you always find greasy spots when pulling them apart

[@christopherpeary7290]

Good advert for a grease gun

[@grahambaker9377]

All for a bit of grease ? I would of give it a good clean down first usually shows other faults up, nicer to work on. Good touch with the jack on a trolley.

[@filmbluff99]

As a non-farmer, what makes your channel particularly interesting is the wide range of jobs that you tackle, and the ingenuity that you show in solving various problems and building tools. 😀🇬🇧

[@normesmonde5332]

I love farmers when they bring in all their stuff in that’s worn out you never ever get covered in grease fixing it. 😊

[@haydenwilliams1750]

I don't think I ever saw a farmer grease anything until they got 18v grease guns.

[@ianm1470]

Great video Oliver, I admire your patience and stamina when tackling such a daunting job. I’m not sure when those bearings last got a shot of grease!!! a typical lack of preventative maintenance. Looking forward to part 2 and many thanks for an interesting project.

[@zeff1015]

Great video! Don't listen to the comments about doing it wrong heating the bolt. Both work in different ways. Just don't heat both. If you heat outside it expands breaking the bond. Heating the bolt, it tries to expand but is constrained by the outside so when it tries to expand it can't and will lengthen instead. The result is that the diameter will shrink when it cools. Just make sure to replace the bolt.

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday, that’s definitely a ball arch job, you did we’ll splitting it on your own, it’s a pain in the ass job with 2 people, great job mate, cheers

[@normanbuchanan9710]

your patience and innovative attitude is part of what makes your videos so interesting and enjoyable.

[@markb1487]

As a UK beef farmer this brings back memories,,just very poor maintenance has caused this.. Absolutely great video,,👍💯🇬🇧

[@graemewhite5029]

Another good video Olly, those pivot grease nipples have seen as much use as a BMW's indicators ! Those stuck countersunk screws respond well to a rattle up from an air chisel with a blunted spike, works great for stuck brake nipples too if you "massage" the caliper where the nipple screws in and no chance of melting rubber bellows or ABS sensors and the like when you're putting heat into them.

[@stephenbrockway1626]

Top job . There . Feel your pain With the job . As you say 2 man job . Professional job as always Just hope you charge enough for your professional skills . When it comes to line boring And all it pitfalls / problems Enjoy watching what you achieve on your own 👍

[@malcolmobrien1008]

If you need part numbers or drawing guide let me know. I wouldn’t bother going to extra time making pins for that as they are relatively small money to buy from HES or Alexander Mills etc

[@richwielechowski5191]

Recently discovered your channel from a shout out from Watch Wes Work. Your approach to repairs is sure top notch and through.

[@snowballengineering]

Thanks and welcome

[@jtg2737]

35:53 any customer should not be surprised by the cost and not think "Oh it is just a couple of hours and done, ...". No it is a very tedious, dirty, dangerous, and forethinking type of job just like many others where alignment needs to be achieved. Also lots of tonnage involved where something could slip and kill the repairman doing this job ----->God forbid.

[@mikestarkey7989]

Bodgit and scarper have gone to town on this vehicle! It makes for an entertaining film for us but a nightmare for you. Like I said an enjoyable film, keep up the good work!

[@daleburrell6273]

28:30...play it any way you want- and don't let yourself be distracted by the "armchair mechanics"...(!)

[@jonathanodell9507]

Another great video Oliver. Don’t let the internet professional bother you one bit, they are sitting at home in the internet watching you do the job 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂!!!!

[@TheByard]

Back in 1964 I drove a brand new Matbro Mastive front end loader, it also had the split body steering, a Ford 6-cylinder turbo charged engine, two forward gears, one reverse, two- or four-wheel drive. On the first factory service the engineer turned up in a new Mercedese Benze estate car, he was the head engineer at Matbro and had a lot of input into the steering system that they patented. The owner had either sold or leased the patent to Caterpillar and as a thank had given the engineer the MB. I loved the machine apart from it was bloody cold in winter as the driver pod was where the jib is on your machine. The lift and tilt mechanism was on each side of the cab, the bucket was 1.5 yards, and I could load 11 cy. trucks in 3 mins from a spoil heap. I was employed on the Victoria Line Tube tunnel, that were to be excavated using Tunnel Boring Machines the first time used in London UK.

[@Ian-SaintGeorge]

Watching your "potato top n tail machine" re skinning the curved plates. Not wishing to teach grandma to suck eggs, etc etc. If you make a plywood template of the curve of the 'new skins' from the existing skins, a bit like the segment of an orange. You could have the profile ready to place on the metal whilst passing through the rollers. All you need to cut out of the template is a couple of U shaped pieces from the "skin side of the orange segment" so that you can place the wooden template into the new skin whilst in the rollers. Save a lot of guesswork. I think you work is excellent, having worked in heavy engineering most of my life. Keep up the great work, keeps me interested. Thank you.

[@peterarmstrong8613]

Ollie, don’t listen to the armchair critics from KZbin. They aren’t there getting their hands dirty while you are rehabilitating someone else’s bodge job.

[@GerbertGerbert]

As you have to make new pins, could you not make the top on a straight pin instead of stepped? That way you can linebore it, as I feel it would be a letdown to the job to not linebore the top one. I only have keyboard knowledge though so I might be totally off. Great job though!

[@PaddyGun]

Need to do this same job on a thwaits dumper I bought, was very well maintained but they missed those two grease nipples 😅

[@andrewmawson6897]

I did my Thwaites dumper a few years back - was dreading it but in the end proved easier than I'd feared. I strapped front and back together so they kept position and no fingers were lost :)

[@PaddyGun]

@@andrewmawson6897 going to tackle mine now before bushings get bad, should just be a bush replacement as there is very little play but can’t get grease into them

[@noelscally1234]

Great job, no washing was going to make much difference there, that was a job that botched before! Great video👍

[@delboytrotter7902]

It amazes me how you don't swear.....when i was in the car game i used to turn the air blue slagging off the bastard the did the bodge before it came to me. It makes the job 10 times harder to do......mind you, i used to charge well for it lol

[@sjv6598]

Ignore the negative comments, there’s always more than one way to skin a cat. You’re doing an incredible job on your own. It’s amazing seeing one man split that thing in half 👏🏻🫡

[@infostump8061]

I’d have bored that straight through, wouldn’t have worried about the smaller size, I’d have made them all the same.

[@Barnagh1]

Great work, very difficult. Now for a long session at the parts washer!

[@9madness9]

Looking forward to part 9,hate when jobs like these come in but pays the bills

[@antoniob519]

A little tip when it comes to loosening very hard screws: while you make force to loosen, give a few blows to the other part of the piece... you will get good results. Thank you for your videos! Greetings from Seville, Spain

[@malcolmbennett3907]

Love your “work with what you’ve got” attitude. My dad was an agricultural engineer and I learnt a lot from him. As a boy I was the monkey sent up inside a combine harvester to hold the other end of a bolt. ….PS we’re talking Massey Harris now😂 Those who know will know🙄

[@philiphartley8823]

Its a good job there are skilled folks like you around or these machines would end up as scrap in many cases. Well done mate for showing us how it can and should be done.

[@MikeHarveyPhoto]

So all this work is still cheaper than a bit of grease every now and then I learnt something

[@johnbriglin3987]

Such a fantastic disply of tenacity and patience ,you virtually remade the difficult bits.I hope the farming community realise what a service you provide and what an engineer youare

[@boydovens4180]

Customer , " just a bit play " . With jobs like these , hope for the best but expect the worst .

[@andrewrowbotham2347]

I wonder how often the bearings were greased?? Get yourself some hydraulic hose plastic plugs, saves you lots of clean up etc and keeps the system clean. Andy UK

[@thepagan5432]

Well that's a mess without any doubt. When we would fit pins we would use a paste called Coppers lip which would keep the pin lubricated and make disassembly much easier. The cowboys who 'Fixed' the problem before probably worked for Blodgett & Scarper Ltd., they have depots everywhere. One thing I used to do when in the field was to have a bucket, scrubbing brush and soap, then clean the area down. The hydraulic hoses we had tapered rubber corks to fit in the ends and stop oil leaking everywhere. Can't wait for the next episode, take care mate 👍

[@caahacky]

I hope you charge enough for this job.

[@petercarioscia9189]

I really fkn love this channel. Watching you figure out issues and troubleshoot is damn fascinating. Reminds me of when i used to work on cars with my tool box full of random mismatched tools from my dad and grandpa...just on a much larger scale and a lot less cursing

[@waynep343]

Absolutely a splitting video. Planning on cutting some plates to bolt on to weld your line boring brackets to.

[@alanbrodigan7731]

Love the type of work that you get to repair which are not easy. Your attitude towards the repair is great as you never seem to get to frustrated. Thanks for the entertainment.

[@josejaviersenandebarcia445]

real problem and real good solution. Good luck boy

[@peterparsons7141]

I say ,,nay nay ! You know how to remove a damaged fastener. Every KZbinr thinks because they’ve seen a nut welded to a broken bolt,they know how to remove a fastener. I watched you do it and thought to myself,,a man who has removed a few fasteners. And then you made the comment about people who said you were doing the work incorrectly. At the end of the day whatever works, but when I saw you heating and then welding a nut, with heat applied to the correct spot to break the thread loose,,,and presto ! Very nice work !

[@bobhudson6659]

I feel better now. Glad I am not the only one to ever get these "lovely easy" jobs. Others have commented re a surcharge of 10%. I would make it 50%, especially if customer wants it back in a hurry. Also customer could have removed the cover and cleaned all the bits - extra10% onto the surcharge. Suggest you also tell customer if "Bodgy Bros" does more work on it in the future (because customer does not grease things) then customer can "whistle dixie" - won't do this again at any price. Those sorts of customers cry and whinge but the only way for them to learn is for the good repairers like you who can think around the problem and come up with creative yet sensible solutions is for you to let them "reap what they sow". If you keep baling them out of problems they will never learn. Don't care if I get called hard nosed but fair is fair and what is happening to you is not fair. Retired 72 yr old mechanic/machinist in Land Down Under.

[@georgedoorley5628]

that machine was repaired by the company that owned it prior to the present day owner to get them out of a corner , and was sold soon after .........its still in its company colours ........matbros were always ellow when they left the factory .......

[@lwilton]

That's quite the mess you have there! :-) I think if I was doing it, I'd give a lot of consideration to boring out the small end on that upper pin, and just putting a straight pin thru,

[@sjv6598]

The pin is smaller one end for a reason.

[@seggonscontractors588]

Can't beat a Sunday afternoon watching Britain's answer to cutting edge engineering 💪💪 and it gets better as it's a series!! 😁😁😂 I've been asked to do the same job on a terex but I think I may decline politely... 🤔🤔😂😂😂😂 love the videos oly! Keep up the good work!!

[@ianbrooks6816]

Great work. One of those jobs you wish you hadn’t started, and you hadn’t! Love the makes; Need a spanner so made one. Needed a bigger spanner so extended it. Needed a trolly so made one!

[@AdelinoGambiarras]

Wow I can't believe that someone totally made a total messed up that much trolley wasn't fleet for purposes, but I am share you can make worth while.

[@fredbcj]

I worked at Matbro Tetbury site for 7 years , stress relieving and lining pins up , inspection, if hard stamp is BCM 1 (bray construction machinery 1) I checked it, the top plate on front chassis doesn't look standard , and didn't have the 2 gussets running up the back

[@fredbcj]

we used oxygen acetylene with the biggest cutting nozzle ,only used for heat tho, and full psi on both regulators nearly , and put shrinks in ,say on a high spot when making the carriers the bars are always curved from the mill, so chalk the high spot, heat down the line starting with a neutral flame 5mm from the surface to tip of the flame cones, then with your thumb on the oxygen just roll on the oxygen till you see like lemonade bubbles fizzing on the mill scale ,keep moving , if you roll on to much you have 8 indents from the nozzle ,thats to much, so on the 250 ram bosses ,when distorted from welding and you need to lighn up for reaming , say the pin needs to come down to enter the opposite boss , a shrink can be added in a half circle opposite the weld outside at top of boss ,this will push in , and half circle bottom of the boss inside ,this will push out , re enter the pin and with the side sheet moved out at bottom and in at top pin should of dropped horizontal to enter the other boss , we used this on axle pads ,donkey heads , compensating levers, inner outer booms , in the sub assemblies every boss welded was stress relieved on opposite side of the weld .

[@leedale4008]

I take my hat off to you,you have the heart of a lion.

[@willemvantsant5105]

Would have been nice if the owner had cleaned before delivering the mess to you. Absolute butchery the previous so called repairers had performed previously. Not the sort of work to do on your own. Looking forward to the proper repair.

[@StuartMoores]

just love fixing bodge work, been a carpenter for 50 yrs and I always point it out to my client and charge a 10% surcharge

[@grahamkahabka66]

It's always great to see your problem solving skills and listen to your descriptions of the logic you apply to the task.

[@garyrhodes7089]

good content mate I enjoyed it thanks

[@raystormont]

Clever design for that upper split ball support joint. Seems new pins could benefit from induction/surface hardening before final maching to size and maybe drill a channel for zerk grease fittings if not already present. Ray Stormont

[@ShainAndrews]

Can of worms is charged by the hour.

[@billdoodson4232]

The good thing with videoing these repairs is the fact that your customers can see exactly what needs to be done to make a good repair. Making good repairs never comes cheap, probably the reason why it's all having to be done again now, because it was done as cheap as possible previously. Anyway your customer is going to find it hard to argue about the size of the bill.

[@aidanreilly520]

Great video Oliver, thats a tough job to be taking on by yourself Only advice I'd give is don't rush it & don't be afraid to charge the full amount for your time and materials. However it's arrived at its current state of disrepair it's now a big job to put it right. Hopefully owner realises with a little TLC+ Grease there's thousands of hours left in that machine when you've finished the job Best of luck Oliver hope everything goes smoothly

[@ypaulbrown]

another great video....cheers from Florida, USA...Paul

[@StuartMoores]

love your work,. Straight forward and down to earth🎩

[@astravanmk2]

Excellent work Sir! Looking forward to part 2.

[@scrunion]

I think "totally knackered" is a pretty fair assessment Oliver 🤔 Looking forward to part 2 !

[@beakittelscherz5419]

May I ask: How do you deal with such customers? I mean If you have no video proof and they dont want to pay what it is needed done ? (sorry this ain't my native Language, idk how to say it better). I found it difficult. And I stopped such jobs bc of that. made enough money, but the constant "Make it cheap but ok "was stressing me out af. At the end this happens: No one askes if the Customer wanted it especially THIS (CHEAP) way,- it all comes down to: "look, this is this Carpenters work, and it aint good"! I hated that. So now I do what I want and sell to everybody that likes my stuff and pays the price. No repairjobs any more. You have my Respect, Mate!

[@brianalder2234]

This is abit different 👍 quite suprised that's what holds both halves together , velly interesting ! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@Aventuras_en_Moto_Hn]

Some people repair it welding and grinding the center bore manually so the bearing fit straight,,,, cheap and quick,,,,,,

[@yeagerxp]

PROPER MAINTENANCE??? What is this PROPER MAINTENANCE you speak of?? It is is the big bill you get for getting the machine fixed because you are too lazy to keep it properly maintained 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Well done Oliver 👍👍👍. Thank you for sharing. Be safe 🇨🇦

[@stefanmuller1017]

About the heating area and the comments you did mention. First of all: You are doing this as a job, so you are professional and others should respect that. And second: As everyone can see, heating the screw worked absolutely perfectly. And everything that works was the right thing to do. ;-) So it's nice that you explain such things that others can learn from your decisions. But just don't let the backseat drivers comments bother you. ;-)

[@martinmeasures829]

Oli, it's your business, it's your channel so tell all the nay sayers to f**k off, personally I love what you do and how you do it, so keep doing your thing.

[@gbentley8176]

Good safety approach. Any job with wheeled bits needs thought. Love the tank jack. Shows what so called fabricators can get away with knowing the customer rarely checks. Thank you for posting.

[@davetaylor4741]

More flogged out farm machinery. If you flog it out. Expect to pay to fix it.. Obviously bodging it last time didn't work. Hopefully new parts and modifications will. Quite an interesting varied job. Keep the little grey cells working.

[@markfiges999]

As you say Snowy, what a ball ache, hang in there buddy .............(I'd like to say as you get older it get's better - but it doesn't🙃🙃🙃

[@cstew8355]

Excellent mate you keep your cool! Calm and collected what a great channel and a good guy thanks for sharing you hard work brother 👍

[@carlthor91]

Every large company I've worked for, and lots of small ones, ensured, that equipment WAS ALWAYS cleaned before servicing, field service excepted. Work goes faster, you see MORE of what you are working on, and LESS contamination of assemblies in the work area. As well as a greatly reduced fire hazards. Insurance costs are much reduced as well as better working conditions, all as a result of an hour or so cleaning. Work proceeds faster. Best wishes.

[@Spitter-ud8jd]

That's one of those jobs you gotta be like the Lord Humongous from the Road Warrior and {Just Walk Away]. They didn't pay you enough for that one. Great video keep em coming.🍻

[@marctunney3743]

Hi mate doing a good job be safe 👍🏻 nice to see all the experts giving you advise from there armchairs 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ChrisSherlock]

How come you get all the good jobs?😀

[@snowballengineering]

That’s what I’m wondering 🤔

[@AddictedtoProjects]

Oooohhh. This will definitely be an interesting series to follow. Can't wait for Part-2! :)

[@walterrobbins4470]

I had to check the definition and etymology of the word knackered. I wanted to make sure I understood the full meaning. It seems to be pretty straightforward

[@bertjetolberg103]

Nice job when its done😂 I have to do the same next winter I bought a wheellaoder about the same Size as this Perkins 500 in it an it was a good price Just onder 4000 hours and EVERY pin in it is worn out So dont buy stuf from a horsefarm if u cant fix it yourself

[@DavoShed]

Great video. Customers all think it should be easy. Shame it’s so easy they can’t do it them selves. I hope you included a link to your video on the bill 🤠

[@551moley]

I've got a Barford dumper that needs similar attention, L&S Engineers have full kits to replace the bushes and pins, not cheap but what is! You make it look easy many hours or days in 36 mins, lol.

[@cliffludo6860]

Can't wait for part 2, great stuff snowball, a bit of luck having a 46mm socket to hand, I wonder how many people have a socket that big to tackle a job like this?

[@daleolson3506]

Clean the thing.

[@bradanderson1627]

You need to get yourself a impact hammer son or just hit the top side of the braker bar with a hammer while you put the bar under tension works to just dings up the bar head . I use my impact hammer 10 times more than I thought I would, love it . This one should’ve been done a few years ago 😂😂 good luck 😅🙏🏻 🤪

[@johncone9516]

Obviously Matbro's Achilles. They were just as weak at the pivot point in the 60's when I had the pleasure of having to repair them

[@stevefromlondon9175]

That's one arse of a job that's a farmer fix all right you have great skill & knowledge Regards Steve UK London

[@glennmoreland6457]

If customer is constantly whynin n cryin with "when's it ready"....."haven't you done it yet"......then just put it back as it was and tell him to come get it off your property.... It'll be him that did all that shyte on it on the first place caus he were too much of a cheapskate to get it done properly when it first started showing it needed attention... I'm a Leeds based electrician and i see it loads in my walk of life too... Loads... Don't ever be bullied by a customer trying to get you to just do this....just do that... If they don't want a rite job doing on it then tell em to send it somewhere else... It ain't worth your time kid... It's a disgrace it were ever allowed to get that bad in the first place and they'll have known... ☹🇬🇧

[@orville697]

Looks like you have some right gash f#@$#rs in the farming maintenance world, I mean who welds a head of a bolt on a bit of threaded bar. Invest in a impact driver helps removing suburb bolts and put anti seize on when fitting bolts. Great video

[@RUNCI28]

24:21 paint still on grease nipples ,doesn’t see much maintenance I suspect . Great job tho working with what you have and doing it on your own . Top work 👍🏻

[@passenger6735]

Thats a tough enough job for two people!! Make sure you charge correctly for your time otherwise you'll be the most popular engineer living in a cardboard box on the street.

[@PAINFOOL13]

Here fix this and hurry up sheesh 😂.very involved. You got this.👍🏻👍🏻

[@mikestarkey7989]

The old saying is "what ever can go wrong will go wrong" but in this case it's more a case of what could be broken, warped or trashed, will be!"

[@robertlewis4666]

Always leaves be a bit stymied why customers don't clean a machine before sending it in for repair. Maybe they prefer paying techn wages to clean it for them! Nice job mate!

[@DavidSellars-b8l]

I would no longer attempt this. Your tank jack roller is quite good. I agree with the people on the steam cleaning and would have pulled it out once I saw what was under the panel. Also, all the oil on the floor should have gone away before using a torch or welder. I'm just finicky with fire. Prefer not to light off a customer's machine and my shop. My hat is off to you going after this one.

[@walterrobbins4470]

I got really nervous when you put heat on the caps to get the bolts out. I was really hoping that the hydraulic fluid wouldn’t catch on fire