Chinese forklift axle in a bad way

In this video I rebuild a worn out forklift axle.
So nearly all the bearings and joints were worn out. Two of the bearing houses had to be gouged off and new ones made in the lathe, reamered back to size in the radial arm drill so the new bearings could be installed. Steering ball joints also replaced.
Hope you enjoyed the video.
Thanks for watching!
Check out the Snowball Engineering instagram account.

[@sjv6598]

The issue isn’t the fact it’s Chinese, it’s a maintenance issue. Or complete lack of. That’s a fantastic repair matey.

[@snowballengineering]

Maybe should grease my own forklift more often 🤣 Thanks!

[@sjv6598]

@@snowballengineering every 8 hours of use or 800? 😂

[@benjurqunov]

But why does this not explain why Chinese never defend homosexual special rights ?

[@stevenmoran1196]

Don't trust the Chinese might be spying on you

[@andreasbertram2761]

A leak of maintenance can make a bearig to disappear ...😂

[@bobhudson6659]

This is the first video I have watched of your work. I am a 71 yr old retired machinist/mechanic/welder/fabricator in Land Down Under. For a fellow your age you have remarkable skills, especially the ability to think around problems. As many have already commented, most people would have run a mile if they were handed this job. Your approach to the repairs is excellent. I was especially pleased to see you pull in those needle roller bearings (with their very thin outer shell) with a long bolt. To keep hammering with a drift on such a thin outer shell is to ask for problems. Overall, really well done to you. Would be happy for you to repair anything of mine if I were in the UK. However, I like to maintain my equipment so it would never have been in that condition in the first place. I have had to repair other people's lack of maintenance jobs before and I tell them I will do it once but if they don't maintain it, regardless of how much they offer to pay, I won't do it a second time. In fact I won't do any other work for them at all. Have subscribed and will be good to see other work you do. Regards. Bob Hudson.

[@snowballengineering]

Thanks Bob. The problem solving is the part I love most about my job. Keeps things interesting.

[@anthonyshaw7251]

@@snowballengineering just come across your channel & subscribed. I’m a FLT engineer & you have the ability I say that can’t be taught, to think there is always another way, 👍

[@snowballengineering]

Thanks Anthony

[@kingtut5923]

Ruha

[@tommyatkins5163]

At least you didn't need to worry about setting the grease alight when using the gas axe😉. Really nice work and great to see a tradesman repairing as opposed to throwing away and getting new. 🛠.

[@carl_h]

I didnt have much hope when I saw all the damage. You did much better than what I thought was going to happen.

[@gerryboard6615]

I have never seen such a knackered stub axle assembly, doubtless due to a lack of preventative maintenance . A good engineers fix and hopefully a happy owner.

[@kirkpowell6161]

Still love your videos, you have a really good balance of detail and time lapse. I enjoy projects that bring the "destroyed" back to "new". Keep up the great work!

[@snowballengineering]

Thanks! I try to make them so if you have a short attention span like me you don’t get bored 😆

[@trevorjones2473]

I have a niggly feeling this man knows what he is doing!. Top work buddy.

[@snowballengineering]

I have a bit of an idea 😆

[@AW-Services]

Great repairs and refurbishment Olly. Surprised you didn't paint it black or snowball blue. I bet the Chinese fabricator was called Mig Wel DIng

[@toddplenda5569]

Nice work, my dad always said the hardest part about any job is just getting started.

[@ypaulbrown]

I used to get these sorts of forklift disasters that came from a scrap metal yard...... they would operate until the pin would just snap off.......never this rusty.....did work on one from a Fertilizer Factory, and even though it was only a few years old, the whole machine looked like it had been in the ocean a few years....... keep up the fantastic work, Paul

[@Darryl603]

I like your solution to hold parts in line with the box tube. Excellent welding!

[@andrewhill2570]

Awesome repair! I think you could save a lot of time and money by investing in a good press for pushing rods and bearings in and out instead of hammering the heck out of everything. Keep up the good work.

[@adamdiaz8442]

A man of his calibre would probably build one

[@Mobileblaster]

I enjoy the fact you don't try and hide a small issues you have "I didn't quite drill this bit enough 😂 but it don't matter" nice clean job 👌

[@hy78an]

You are becoming one of my favorite channels to watch.

[@snowballengineering]

That’s great! Thanks for watching

[@marklowe330]

Ive repair several fork lift axles over the years. You did a good job repairing that one. Enjoyed watching. Thanks for your time.

[@Yawwee]

That is precision work !!! Nice job !!! Well done. Amazing start to finish - terrible to brand new !!!! Turning old parts back into new ones !!!!! 😃💯👍

[@johnjohannemann1220]

Growing up I worked in a full service automotive machine shop. We would get I-beams from larger trucks. We are even a 60 ton press would not press them out. Job well done today, sir. I look forward to another video. Thank you.

[@alanrichardson1672]

Great video and fabulous work to repair such a mess, I doubt many would tackle a job with so much rebuilding. 👍👍

[@joewhitney4097]

Wow, that was quite the project. Great rebuild video. Good luck with the remainder of the reconditioning. Thanks for sharing.

[@snowballengineering]

Thanks for watching

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday, well that looked a wreck when you first started, the customer definitely got there moneys worth out it, the repair went really well, great job mate and throughly enjoyed watching, cheers

[@snowballengineering]

Thanks Matty!

[@seansysig]

Nice repair. Setup prep on the radial drill bed is very critical to success of the reaming ops.

[@TRAVISGOLDIE]

The thing i LOVE about this channel was s it’s perfectly imperfect. You just feel real and genuine

[@snowballengineering]

Thank you!

[@thecorbies]

Excellent repair. Will probably outlive the rest of the forklift truck now. Regards Mark in the UK

[@snowballengineering]

Thanks Mark. Should do, as long as it’s greased regularly.

[@raymaster]

@@snowballengineering for some reason that seems to be asking a lot for some.

[@jamesriordan3494]

Really well done. I hare grease guns too, but MUCH less so now that I have installed “ Lock N Lube” tips on all of mine. HIGHLY recommend 👍🏻

[@snowballengineering]

A battery grease gun with one of them tips is definitely on the shopping list!

[@siggyincr7447]

I'd never heard of them. Might have pick one of those tips up and try it out.

[@WhatTheTarnation.]

You are fantastic. To be able to see the basic components, their interface, and simply, as a matter of fact, just make new ones. You know words going to get out that you can fix anything....

[@ceeF4]

A tip for anyone repairing these axles. If youre in the trade and use TVH for your parts the triple thrust bearing doesnt automatically come with the cap/cover, its a seperate part and has to be ordered seperately. 👍

[@snowballengineering]

Have you learnt this the hard way?

[@ceeF4]

@@snowballengineering You could say that, Heli, Hangcha, Tailift, TCM, Maximal, Nexen and other spurious Oriental manufacturers use similair set ups and share parts. Ive seen that many and ordered that many kits you know whats what lol. 🙄👍😁

[@trevormansfield6740]

Bloody nice job. That axle was scrap till you got hold of it 👍

[@warrenjones744]

Brilliant Oliver! It's official, you can teach an old dog new tricks! The way you tacked the bosses on to that bar before you welded them to the axle frame. I have not seen that done that way before. So the moral of the story here all you old timers that think you have seen it all before. Pay attention to the young fellas. they have good ideas too. My 7 year old grandson teaches me things every time I see him as does Oliver here with his repairs. Outstanding sir. Who was your mentor as you learned the trade?

[@snowballengineering]

Thanks Warren! Glad I could teach you something 😁 I did 7.5years at a local agricultural engineers where I learned a lot, but that was more fabrication work than the type of repairs I’m doing now. My dads also very practically minded and done his fair share of engineering so it’s in the blood I think.

[@sackvilleweldingservices]

To be fair, the axle is quite a well built thing. Sadly, the maintenance man isn't as good as the Chinese engineers that designed and built the axle. On the plus side, bad mantenance is good for business! Have been in IG and followed you.

[@scania357]

Excellent job there, talk about making a silk purse from a sows ear. Thank you for sharing.

[@RalfyCustoms]

Happy days Oliver, nice practical work there buddy, thoroughly enjoyed this one 👍newly subbed and loving the content

[@ceeF4]

Top job, looks like TVH managed to supply you with some parts for the rebuild!! 😁👍

[@mathuetax]

Nice job of rebuilding that decimated axle, probably better than original as well.

[@ЮрийБольшаков-ю4ю]

Грамотный слесарь- универсал. И сварщик и токарь и сверловщик. Можно быть уверенным в хорошем результате.

[@tfildaed]

Amazing amount of problem solving! Ca Lem built a fabulous press that would save beating things into submission.

[@timothyosullivan2904]

Sir I must compliment you on your Skill and abilities on bringing this forklift back to life again , cause I come from the same kind of background engineering myself , now days there is no young men inclined to get their hands dirty like you and me , I'm supposed to be retired at 73 still working at full steam , I'm more into classic car restoration etc . over here its almost impossible to get any young person to register for an Apprenticeship , People like you and me are most wanted now days in the after market engineering field , most important that you are getting paid properly , Regards to you ,

[@robertdobson1340]

Only thing more satisfying than a long spiral of drill swarf is when the scale peels off a good stick weld by itself

[@jerryglenn7323]

Oliver Snowball. Thanks for showing us!👍.

[@robertcrossley9803]

Another first class repair captured on video. Thanks

[@H4rleyBoy]

I'm always amazed at the POC that people expect you to fix after so much abuse, but you keep on doing it I'm not sure that CEE would even bother taking those extreme jobs on as good as Kurtis is.

[@delcat8168]

great job rescuing that worn out axle.

[@jamespayne8781]

Interesting design on that axle. The average Joe might find it difficult but for someone who can see the various parts all put together they can indeed repair even that disaster.

[@georgedunham6833]

30 years ago I would find the same problem with TCM forklifts used in dirty environments. I would have to weld it up and grind it out to original size and ream everything. It would happen to the bellcrank as well.

[@josephgriffiths7656]

Lovely work, some good quality repairs there. Suggest an air hammer for knocking out old 'bearings', they're fairly impressive the new ones. torque test channel has some good suggests to save your back and time. also try a locknlube grease fitting, they saved me so much grease.... Never had any luck with those original grease attachment things

[@mikelskelley]

Love too watch engineering videos, before I retired we used to use High Pressure Grease Coupler Locking Clamp, I don’t know if you have tried them,

[@snowballengineering]

Ive seen them but haven’t tried one yet.

[@LeonardRoberts]

​@@snowballengineering I really like the locking grease coupling and powered grease gun, of course being a farmer I have a lot of greased joints to lube up.

[@Craneman4100w]

You need a press brother. the savings in time would be enormous. In a shop like yours, I would think a big one for sure. You can never have a press too big.

[@denjhill]

Perfection. I have an old Case 580SE backhoe that desperately needs the same kind of repair on its front axle.

[@stevefromlondon9175]

Great editing why do people leave their machines so long before repairing I suppose they don't have time to stop in our fast way of living great job Regards Steve UK London

[@peterantonic6923]

That was an awesome repair considering the forklift has not had any maintenance for many years. I doubt very much the owners will do the wheel bearings considering the condition of the parts when they came in. 😁👍🇦🇺

[@TheRossi48]

Ótimo vídeo, muito bem explicado. Abraços do BRASIL.

[@kenwoodcoda]

You brought it back from the dead. Nice work.

[@bobpotter895]

Nice work with sensible straight forward techniques. I thought I was the only person who hated greese guns.

[@wojtas-4]

Profesjonalna naprawa!, w zalewie Pakistańskiego partactwa i dziadostwa, kolega jest pozytywnym wyjątkiem.

[@andrewwhitnet3557]

Great job.That axle looked surprised,I Don't think it had ever seen a grease gun!Just a thought,most people I know have lathes,but I've never seen a new lathe.

[@fluke196c]

People don't make good equipment anymore, it's all junk. Those old machines are keeping our heavy equipment alive and will continue to do so for many years to come

[@Pinzpilot101]

Now that is a bloody good idea Using the forklift as a bench...I,m fed up with having to do heavy parts on the floor because they are too heavy for my bench...OK so I don't have a forklift...but I do have a small tractor with a bucket...I can soon make up a support for the best height to work at...Thanks for saving my back in the future.😃

[@Imwright720]

A nice press would be a wonderful thing. Beautiful work as always.

[@johnhughes121013]

Great video. I'm guessing that the customer never did fit the 4th steering bush when it arrived!

[@normanpiper4534]

Great repair. good to have a commentary as you go along.

[@stephenmead8183]

That looks so much like a Clark Y55 rear axle. I spent years looking after a fleet of many forklifts. It was quite a common occurrence for the needle rollers to collapse and take out the roller cage. That screwed up the eye in the casting. All we did was get it machined out, strong bush pressed in then push in the replacement needle rollers. Even tho we had a good maintenance scheme going it didn’t stop the forklifts working in dusty and rough conditions. Cement, drilling mud, tanneries, so much salt. That also screwed up the mast rollers and lift chains. Crosshead rollers.

[@nighttrain1450]

I saw that and thought skip it. Then you said “hold my beer”. Epic.

[@rustyul]

So I think maybe the proper way to get the holes aligned before reaming would have been to put a bar through the both of them and using dial indicator in the spindle of the radial drill and indicate the shaft vertical in two spots 90° apart and indicate center with the spindle. It is a tedious back and forth process but it's probably The best way to ensure alignment. Still a great repair. You are very talented indeed.

[@Craneman4100w]

Just using a bar through the holes would make a huge difference on the alignment.

[@frankroden8233]

I noticed the one spindle is really wore out ,,Keep up the good work !!!!

[@GenMaster124]

Outstanding workmanship ! …..thanks for sharing 👏🏻👏🏻

[@ypaulbrown]

outstanding Video .....best wishes from Florida, USA ,Paul...great camera work, great choice of music, and the narration is fantastic ........Bravo........I love your work table, I used to use my lift the same way.......they have many uses the normal driver does not understand, even great for lifting the lorry to change a tyre.....

[@snowballengineering]

Thanks Paul!

[@wansolve289]

Great repair job! Awesome quality work you do. Unfortunately that’s prob the only grease those pins will ever see, Till the next time they call you.

[@DavoShed]

Back when I used to ream holes we only ever left about 1/64” (0.015”) for the ream. What’s that about 0.5mm. If the holes were slightly out of alignment we’d put a single point cutter through first like a boring head. If you put progressively larger drills through they would just follow the original hole. You found a way through which is great. I only mention this now for others who may read this.

[@super6954]

Thanks for sharing another great video. I have absolutely no concern about your ability and what you did fixing this axle. What does concern me is that's one beat to death forklift steering axle, that's clearly seen no real preventative maintenance since the warranty ran out and a previous botched repair. What the heck is the rest of the pile like as I'd seriously question it's safety to be operating it, and suggest a trip back to it's roots in China should be in it's near future L.O.L Take care

[@davidmcc359]

Thoroughly enjoy these videos and whilst never in the position to do the same, I CAN use some of the tactics you utilise in small jobs I do. I actually laugh at the speeded up hammering, for it reminds me of Benny Hill and all the head slapping he done, but back to the video, just love watching a capable and confident mechanic at work.

[@marctrossbach6560]

Awesome video. Fun to go along on the journey with you

[@kentuckytrapper780]

I've got a Toyota forklift that needs that work done to it and the breaks have not worked since I've had it, future job 4 me,lol. Great video..

[@KW-ei3pi]

Excellent repair. Thanks for the video. I sometimes use a pin that is chucked in the spindle to line up bores, but it's not always and option. Regards

[@snowballengineering]

Yes, that’s a good way to do it. I’ve done it that way before by tack welding a bar onto a morse taper adaptor to line bores up.

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

I always do that "tap then Thump" with the sledge too... 🙄😅 I can only imagine what the rest of that machine looks like, you earned yer keep there , mate... 😖 I have read that melting candle wax into seized parts works better than penetrating oil (which just flashes off before it does anything) when applying the oxy... though it does get a bit smokey in the shop... tried it and it seems to work ... 😷 Heating the Allen setscrew to loosen it also softens it so the hex hole often rings out, of course the upside is its easier to drill out ! 🤔 Another trick I learned along the way was if fitting new threaded studs where there is high heat in service, coat them with Milk of Magnesia when assembling so they'll come out easier next time, apparently Boeing plane turbines were built using it !! A sub & a like from this retired jobbing machinist... Good luck with the channel 🤗 😎👍☘🍺

[@snowballengineering]

I like to know where the object is I’m hitting before the big hit 🤣 I’ll have to try the candle wax. I heated the Allen screw because its quicker, sometimes it’s enough to break them free. The second time I heated around it and it came out easy enough, luckily. Another good tip. It’s great people with so much knowledge and experience are watching my videos! Hope you enjoy the channel. Thanks!

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

@@snowballengineering When I was starting out, I worked with an old guy who was a wizard at all things engineering... but he would never teach me the ways... I said to him one day that I hope he'll be happy bringing all his "secrets'' to the grave with him, knowledge is made for spreading...he actually did loosen up a bit after that... 🙄😂 😎👍☘🍺

[@gorillaau]

​@@peterfitzpatrick7032He was destined to write a book titled "The secrets of my Trade", with all of the pages blank. A collegue had a co-worker who was dubbed the ghost. He could remove tubes out of a boiler, without getting a mark on his coveralls. He also went to extremes to keep his way of doing it secret, such as stopping work when someone approached. This could be an exaggeration but I can imagine it has some basis.

[@sergejstarvids9656]

Отличная работа молодец так держать удачи тебе и крепкого здоровья.

[@mikeburton7077]

I have battered Ford King pins when red hot to get them out !Good job done

[@donfink7063]

Nice one son! Real silk purse, sows ear job. You can be proud of yourself, but who the hell let that axle get that bad in the first place?

[@grahambaker9377]

Well thought out repair and well executed.

[@gutsngorrrr]

Great repair on what was a complete knackered and very abused piece of equipment.

[@gerryoneill8881]

Another great job completed, well done.

[@helmutzollner5496]

Amazing how these jobs find you. Italmodt looks like these kinds of jobs lie around and nobody knows what to fo with them until you do a YT video in the first one snd then they send them yo you. If you remember tge stone crushers you had a whole bunch of last year. But one thing really stuns me. That is the state of this stuff when they comes into your shop. This axle must have been pretty badly worn for several years already before it had deteriorated to this degree. Are these machines still from that equipment hire company you mentioned before, or are they from different owners? Do they do no maintenance on these machines at all?

[@christopherforster6555]

Well done with that hope they look after it better very interesting work you do thanks.

[@hornetboy3694]

Great video, brilliant work. Thank you Oliver

[@marcom2248]

Very well done. I always love it, when someone knows excactly what to do.

[@izalman]

Good job... You do realise you've quadrupled the value of the fork truck by fitting those parts. Did the king pin/bearings job loads of times when I was a FLT engineer. Our axles were cast vanadium steel, if the bearings collapsed the pin was softer than the housing so limited the damage.

[@paddynfs6452]

Its crazy really as takes pretty much the same time to make the axle regardless of the metal used. Obviously regular greasing would of helped 😂😂 but looked like the the pins weren’t made from hard enough material (or hardened deeper) Curious if the replacements were harder or like for like

[@daleolson3506]

Grease?

[@siggyincr7447]

I have three Chinese Jin Ma tractors and it seems like using the lowest grade steel they can in any given application is the norm. Despite that, I've been using them for about 8 years now on the farm hauling trailers and they have been holding up pretty well. Though you can forget about using the PTO system for anything but light duty applications.

[@josephfarber6027]

enough said, ''made in china''

[@chriskwakernaat2328]

@@siggyincr7447 china uses mostly scrap they melt for "steel". atleast for the cheaper things.

[@siggyincr7447]

@@chriskwakernaat2328 That's common practice for every nation. Mild steel made using scrap steel can be perfectly fine. Though I will say that Chinese hot rolled mild steel has inclusions and unbonded laminations at a far higher rate than from other countries, from what I've seen. I've never seen an analysis on it, but my guess would be that it probably strays further from the standards than it should too.

[@AGEngineering]

Good job there Oliver. Just subbed to insta also. Great interesting videos.

[@snowballengineering]

Thanks!

[@dennisbjones]

It's good to see that the obviously blocked grease nipples have now been replaced.

[@gorillaau]

I was half expecting to hear that the hole for the grease nipple wasn't drilled all the way through. The manufacturer saves time this way, right?

[@GAIS414]

That must be one expensive Chinese forklift to be eligible for this kind of treatment. Nice work though.

[@wildbenny11]

That was a great job you did there you got a beautiful still

[@johnwhite6899]

Hi when I saw the beginning of the video I thought the piece was scrap. How you managed to get that back in service is amazing. One thing I've always wanted to ask is when you set up your oxy/acetylene torch for cutting you always seem to touch it onto the work piece just wondered why you do that. By the way I'm not mechanically minded more info electrics.

[@snowballengineering]

It’s oxy propane I use. The propane burns about an inch away from the tip so when you turn the oxygen on it blows the flame out. Holding the tip onto something makes the propane burn at the tip and stops it blowing out when you turn the oxy on.

[@johnwhite6899]

@@snowballengineering that's why I'm electrical not mechanical thanks for the info.

[@paweisyn7446]

Good job there Oliver. 👍👍👍 - Greetings from Poland.

[@walterverlaan1286]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

[@daveo6728]

Grease is a necessity Great job fixing it.

[@strandum67]

You can always get a bigger hammer 😅 Nic video as always :)

[@snowballengineering]

Need a bigger person to swing the bigger hammer sometimes 🤣

[@padraiggluck2980]

Really great work. I admire your talent. ⭐️

[@carlthor91]

That looks an aweful lot like a Cat forklift steering axle, my buddy just did a similar job on one, didn't have to cut the kingpin eyes off though, not that bad.👍😊 Best wishes from Northern Canada.

[@donaldstevenson2475]

One thing I noticed is aiming heat directly at the actalene tank while cutting.BOOM

[@afterthemouse]

At 17:00 we started to play my favourite game when watching your videos... it's the What the F*** and why the F*** game! As always an education watching you work.

[@jefferyhubbard9591]

I enjoy watching your videos, but I wish when you talk we can hear a little better. Other than that.....great videos, keep coming. Thanks

[@PaulDuncalf100]

Great work, that chinesium stuff is a nightmare.

[@adriancollins]

Love the gas axe, can't be seized if it's a liquid 🤣