FREE Ditch Witch | Will it TRENCH again??
Today on the channel we bring home and tear down the newest addition to the fleet. This Ditch Witch Model R40 Trencher was free to me, but is it worth anything? Can we fix it up and get it ready to trench again or will she be rendered scrap? Tune in to find out!
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Impressive determination on the tire…WOW!… that reminds me, I need to get more scraping tools, more different sizes of pry bars, a pressure washer, and what ever that bead busting sledge you were swinging for what must of been two days. Great video!
All right - a new project. This guy is grrrrrr8 . Thanks
Great video mate so sorry to hear how you got this machine all the best to you all
Wow the patience you had on the tires great video bro
Tyler you always have some great stuff ! -- So sorry to hear the demise of your Dad's microphone --- That HUGE GRIN on your face tells the "Rest Of The Story !" -- CONGRATZ !
I got him a new one don’t worry 🤣
@@dieseJL 🤣🤣🤣
Great video . New project for us to watch . Can't wait to see this get back to work.
Soon!
I just found your channel and enjoyed what I saw. Thank you for your content. I admire your skills and work ethic. Good luck in all you do
Welcome aboard!
Hey Tyler in the late 70,s here in South Australia I worked with a State owned Authority and we had chain trenchers of various brands ,they did a fantastic job while they were working ,but so many moving parts ,and Ditch Witch parts in Australia were very expensive ,eventually Back hoes replaced them because the hourly hire rate was much cheaper as they spent so little time in the workshop,and a Massey Fergusson back hoe was basically a farm tractor you got parts anywhere ,buts there,s no denying the trenchers were fun to operate. Look forward to you fixing this machine . Cheers Kym Adelaide
Nice shoutout to Diesel Creek. I found you after him. Love watching you work.
Thanks! I thought it was funny haha
This is promising to be a really great video series..!!!
First one of your videos I've seen. The pain is very real! Keep at it.
Oh if this is your first video, it's just a shadow of the tip of the iceberg - so to say. Please go back and watch some of other, past vids. Tyler is good at finding these deserted old machines, getting them running and fixing what's wrong with them in the midst of all that. You'll be(or are) hooked on the channel!
Welcome!
I ran a 1946 9n Ford for awhile. A great tractor and project. Onward!
I still run a 8n , had it about 10 years. Good tractor. 👍
Talking about a can of worms.. Godspeed on your new restauration project :D
Some water and washing up liquid goes a long way to help getting tyres off the wheel and over the edge of the seat. By the way I enjoyed watching you for the first time, especially seeing you do the repairs on the ditch witch. A machine that I have only once seen before or at least something similar here in Britain. But that was over 40 years ago now. I would have taken the seat off the scrapper even if it didn't fit correctly you probably could have adapted it for yours. When we had scrapyards like that I was always looking around them to see if there was something that I could use.
Keep in mind, rehabbing $ vs. New/used $$$$. Keep at it, looking forward to part 2.
Thank! I agree, always worth something knowing what you’ve got.
you got a good machine its all well worth the time to tare into it and repair it and learn something as you go
Awesome video.
Just came across your channel. Looks like fun so I subscribed. That’s a really cool little trencher.
Welcome!
You lucky man. This will be a great little money maker. I follow IC weld. Cutting edge emginering.Hamiltonvill farms and Diesel Creek.
Hi , i really enjoyed your video 😄 , i do have a question for you, is there a shear pin in that 90 degree box? My dad has one of these ive always thought about fixing, right angle box spins the input but not the output 😬 hoping its nothing too major, bearing dont seem to have any play
I can feel that frustration in your voice….. I hate that feeling!! Just keep on trucking!
Diese for President!
Free good deal. I used to run an old C99.
Nice job as always. You should get some Ken-Tool tire irons, those harbor freight cheap ones bend line nothing. The ken-tool ones also have more useful shapes on the ends.
Yeah I’ve been eyeing them up but I’m too cheap haha
Loved the bone yard. Matt doesn't need another Christine trying to kill him lol. Great video.
I’m glad at least one person got a laugh out of it 🤣
Watching you struggle with that drive shaft and u-joints was too real for me. I've been there. That machine is the " gift that keeps on giving". Hang in there.
It’s just iron!
@@dieseJLSometimes iron can wear us out mentally and physically
Physically I have been feeling it but mentally never! Gotta keep it light in that department and have MULTIPLE PROJECTS!
Just remember it’s now about what you can haul it’s about what you can stop
well done
41:56 I have that same vice. My dad bought it new in the 70’s. Never took it out of the box. It’s been under his bench ever since. Last year I took it home and it’s the vice I have used since.
I like it. Little small but it’s amazingly strong. I got ours from a family friend who bought it new.
Tyler Ran across your channel as I was going true KZhead And the treasure caught my eye I am currently 73 years old And when I graduated school at 18 I went into the trenching business It was a great passion Still is today. Before you get too carried away what I'm about to tell you is to help you and to make you aware Of the pitfalls That got worse and worse from the age 18 until I retired at age 65. Nowadays they Bury more and more underground Plastic water lines, gas lines electrical conduit Lighting cables for the outdoor lighting Also the phone And they are paired to sometimes thousands of paired lines With no protection over the talk at the top of them so when you dig if you don't find that colored tape first and you tear one of them up they cost thousands and thousands of dollars I can't think of what the name of it is isn't that terrible . And that is that you need underground insurance Because you could end up owing a lot of money Without it And the cost for Ditching cost Most customers would not let you trench on their property without them getting a Certificate of insurance from your insurance company so they would know anything underground would be paid for to fix by the insurance c insurance was a fortune Not only. Underground but you also need liability insurance In case the treasure actually or accidentally Bumped over a phone Pole or it ran into the house or chicken co-op hit somebody's car anything that could happen does it happen Oh you require Liability insurance This is just for your digging Then there's insurance on the truck and trailer and the more you get the more they want to Nick you for the insurance. If you're making p Payments on a machine that you're buying from somebody then there is an inland marine policy that covers that said tractor Now the unfair part about This Is if you pay or purchase a $10000 Use d Transfer And you did not Pay cash And financed it. They would base that insurance on the cost of a brand new one So many dollars per 1000 And then they would tell you how much yours was worth If something happens and you need to replace the treasure even though you're paying 35000 for a new one they're only giving you know probably 7500 As payoff for the youth treasure but you're paying the value per 1000 of a new one This is expensive so check all your insurances the cost before you get involved in somethand get buried. So by the time you get all of this paid for you can pay for it per month Jobs are not plentiful You'll have to scout them out. Trenchers are expensive to maintain because of all the moving parts That go into the ground And we're out And then there is the Rocky ground that a treasure will not work in Tree Roy roots in, your wayYou have got to get through all this and sometimes you'll do more machine digging what is a good job might turn into a terrible I will not go into worker's compensationThat's another disaster that costs a lot of money if you have employees, Send comment and replies if you want to know more then I'll get you in my email address which I'm terrible at computer keys. So please check out the insurance Underground for trenching Company liability Which is separate From trenching underground And finally an inland marine policy which covers Your equipment that's being used to perform the work I know I've taken all the incentive out of it😢 trenching
I appreciate the note! Definitely a lot to consider. My dad owns a golf course and as you can imagine there is a ton of trenching there to do. Irrigation mains and runs, drain tiles, you name it. Then, we know a decent amount of farmers or other people with land. I would hope you would agree it is pretty safe to trench in areas like that?
I live about an hour from where these are built. I had a summer job a couple years working for some guys that laid poly oilfield lines. They had a gas R65 and a diesel R6510 with rock chains on both. Very capable and pretty durable machines. I learned to operate them as well as service and repair them. They didn't have an easy life in this part of the country. Lots and lots of rocks and some rough terrain so they got torture tested about every time they went out. Appears to me the only service yours ever had was when it left the factory 45 years ago.
That’s what I was thinking 🤦🏻♂️
Hi I like your video , one thing I wanted to say you don’t have to time lapse it as it’s more interesting to see you take it apart at normal speed. Thanks again 👍👍
Good.job cool machine good show 😃👏👏👏👍👍👍👍
You can buy a screwdriver with a split tip that holds slotted screw very nicely. Or you could magnetize your screwdriver.
check some farm equipment gear boxes brush hog or choppers had some weird gear box setups maybe even the old combines might be ale to rig up some sort
Id bet you can replace the bearings and seals in the 90°gearbox and put it back together and run it. It dosnt.look like the gears are shot. Remember it turns slow and there isnt much hp there. Ive seen similar run for years.
I changed a lot of tractor tires and when the beed is rusty it's a lot of work almost impossible to get the beed off the rim ... After many years later I tried something different i put grease around the beed so I hope it stops the rim from rusting to the tire
Hello nice job. Think when you have back together it will be a good machine. Some shafts that need be replaced my be cheaper have a machine shop make for you. Just a suggestion dish soap and water in a spray bottle and spray onto tire will make it easier to take off tire and install. Enjoyed your video have a great day.
Thanks! I hope it’s a good unit too!
Taking the tires off the rims looked a lot of fun, if you’re a masochist of course. 🤣
What junk yard is that where you went looking for ditch witch parts?? I’ve got that same Vermeer 440 articulating trencher backhoe that I need to scavenge some parts for! Thanks!
Just a comment about removing the tires; we used to set the claw hammer where we wanted and then we'd hit the flat end with a sledge. That seemed to work much more efficiently.
What’s the name of that junkyard? Love the videos keep up the good work
Just a little bit of soap goes a long way when breaking down tires. Even with rusty wheels. Nice little project.
The V4 Wisconsin. Some people swear by them or swear at them. I’m in the later. Absolutely junk in a IH 3200 we had.
You're right, that is disney land for folks like us!
Clean everything up then inspect then decide what to do. Doing bearing and seals is alot cheaper than replacing drive train parts.
Just some advice. Those old air cooled V4 Wisconsin motors do not like unleaded fuel. Makes the valves stick. Put some lead additive in the gas first, save yourself the headache.
I love the face expression when your dad is hammering on the rim stuck under the trailer 😂
Looking forward to the 'rebuild' Tyler. Great project, are you going to paint her up like your Ford? 🏴🇬🇧
Not this time… painting is so much work haha
I worked at ditch witch for a while and the jack shafts were awful as well as the timing belts on the duetz engines. But the r40 is a fantastic machine
Tyler ya'll need a Harbor Freight tire machine. You spend all day beating on a tire and the bead breaker itself is worth what you pay for a tire thingy. Then the only thing you will need is a spray bottle to spray water and soap on the tire. The Dawn dishwashing liquid serves two puposes. 1. Find leaks around the bead. 2. Lubrication to turn on a new tire onto the bead.
Subscribed from Nagaland, India.
Good evening from the mango farm
Why didn’t you take the U-joins apart on the shaft to get it apart ?🤔
You can't script the sledgehammer scene. But you can expect it. Classic
Any info on that insly excavator maybe a video on it ? I have the same one im fixing up and going to put it back to work
It needs a motor. It has the Cummins V378 in it. Leaking coolant into the engine oil. We will get to it this year hopefully, we really are starting to need an excavator around.
I think I picked up a carb like that one yesterday at the dump lol
Not gonna lie I had a good laugh at the tire removal part 😂. Not that I would have done any better
hey ivest for a ball joint removal tool, easy to make u joints and may other things like a puller
In my experience of underground utility work a self propelled trencher like this one nd a mini excavator are your best friends
It’s none of my business but I’m curious what it is you do for a living you seem very knowledgeable in gears and gearboxes puts me in mind of somebody that works at like Motion Industries or maybe some engineering background
I am a manufacturing engineer for a company that makes hundreds of thousands of axles per year 😬
Bro...a local tire shop will probably break those down for like $10/each. 😂
Get a manual tire changer at harbor freight then modify it for the tires.
Soap and water on those tires will help in removing the tires off of the rims
Gearbox is a bit of a bummer, But a lot of that stuff, pinion and ring and some of them bearings, I'd clean the snot out of it and still run it, It's not like its driving at speed so even with some pitting would still last a while especially if the machine isn't going to be used a lot, My Allis Chalmers tractor is prime example of that, gear box was full of water and the thing sat for years outside, It was probably as bad as that. The parts I can find costs more than what the things worth, I cleaned it out, bearings and all, has pitting on everything, I just use a thicker oil in the gearbox than factor now, been going strong for the past 5 years now, well not used as hard anymore, use to pull around and load scrap cars with it.
Lube is your fiend when mounting and dismounting tires!
I'm sorry Tyler, that's just an insane amount of work to go through to break down that tire. I would have spent the 30 bucks to take it to a tire shop and have them do it. Of course I'm 35 years older than you and couldn't possibly do that anyway, but even if I were your age, I'm just too lazy to do that. Hats off to you my friend.
🤣
If i was going to work that machine, id replace all hydro lines. Just one less issue later.
That’s a nice junk yard
Hi Tyler, we live pretty close to each other. You know you can get a bead breaker for aroun $100. That would have saved you most of your aggravation trying to get the tire off. I just bought a tire machine. If you would like i could break the bead for you on the other 3 tires.
I actually just did the two tires and the second went much better than the first!
Start video with it just needs the last 20% to be done proceeds to fix 90% of it, basically only the engine and frame were in order everything else were junk. well watching ppl fix shit is why i am here so wont complain. XD
Could double as a log skidder with the lift on the back
Now that would be kinda cool
Sad to see that beautiful stuff sit in the woods at junk yard but also good bc it's not being cut up
If you keep up with what you’re doing you should have a KZhead channel like Diesel Creek did! Only thing I see you’re doing that I seen other KZhead people say is they had to learn to look at the camera differently. It is like you always look to the side and not into the screen.
I looking for a case 980A or B tracthoe for parts in Belleville Ohio
Do you guys ever check to see what the value is on this stuff once you have it all rebuilt? Is it worth more than you will have in it? Just curious because nobody ever mentions cost of goods to repair and end value. This piece sure looks like it should be good when done but what's it worth?
If I were to sell it I would surely lose money. But if I use it to trench I would make money.
Well, that makes sense. If that is the case, I'd be putting the best parts I could find in it. And it appears that you are doing that. Fix it the RIGHT way. Thanks for your reply. That's more that I get from most comments I leave.@@dieseJL
I love hearing from you guys!
I'm 81 years old and been around the automotive industry all my life. I went through GM school and became a Buick mechanic. Hated it! So, I did the next best thing and began a 40 year career in selling tools to all those guys who didn't hate it. I sold S/O, Mac, and Cornwell and had a great life. Now my son is doing the same thing. And doing a far better job that his old man did. I love watching you youngsters working on this old iron and wish there were more like you so the old stuff would never be gone.@@dieseJL
Is it just the angle Or was the drive shaft twisted?
Oh she’s totally twisted lol
That Tire change Time lapse gave me PTSD. I swear every time I do it that I will never do it again unless I get a machine. Then I do it again. B/c reasons.
Same
What yard did you go to? Looks like lots of good junk!
Left rear tyre is on the wrong way round too.
Use soap or old motor oil, be a lot easier. Cheers.
I'd like to have that insley!
Not for sale
@@dieseJL is it a 560?
It is. I see quite a few of them around actually. We gotta rebuild the motor in this one.
Morning
I might have missed it I'm not there but why not change the bearing and it will be fine only thing that I see went bad was the bearings
You didn’t see the missing teeth?
@@dieseJL no but I'll try to go back and watch now
Any chance you can send me a picture of the throttle linkage. I’m trying to figure out how it goes as the one was all rusted and broken in pieces
I will attempt to. I think I can reply here
The bearings on the recondition gearbox sounds like they close to failing. Why not just replace the bearings on the old one?
The bearings are unique you can find them and then the old one had chipping and missing teeth on the gears
tire tube?
16:32 😅😅That guy next door looks like he's on the struggle bus trying to move the ladders around to the backyard! Never saw the carry-ladder-over-your-head option before, what's that all about?🤔😅😅 I'd love to pick their roof repair apart, I can only imagine whats going on up there on your neighbors house!🤡 Joe Schmoe the Roof Handyman to the rescue? Omg, I'm dying to see more of this circus going on over the fence....🤔🤦🏻♂️🦺🛠️
Oh boy, on second glance (18:06), WTF is going on in the yard next door? I feel sorry for you man! That looks like a $h!t show over the fence nextdoor with all that junk piled back there. I hope it's not as bad as it looks from this shot. 🤦🏻♂️🤔 Now I wanna know more! LMFAO 🤣🤣
What about the excavator will you get that working
In time
UNDO THE U JOINTS!
I also to hate tires
Replace all four lines would be best
750 divided by how many years/decades???
Yeah but how about that insley
Soon
Just do bearings and seals.
Don’t you have to take the u-joints out to get that out . Oh I see there made different from a vehicle lol
Deisel😃😃😃😃 Creek
*Diesel* 👍🏻🤔😄🛢️🚛🚜⛽
I was watching you beat your brains out on that tire thinking, dude, just take it to a tire shop, hand ‘em a few bucks, and get on with your life. Some things your better off giving someone a few dollars to do it and move on….. pick your battles. That “transfer case” is actually called a drop box.
Agree, but if you have to get it off use a jack on the tow hitch of a heavy truck or tractor to break the bead. I drive over the tyre with a digger to separate it from a rusty rim.
you need a bead breaker, vevor have them and they salting all youtuber, ask them please :)
😃👍👍👍👍🤚