Posted by Gary on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 at 8:05PM :
On the last forum I posted a question about shear pins. Here's why. I am removing a huge rock from a field. It was buried with maybe 6 inches exposed. It is about the size of a Ford Taurus. I first dug and then jacked it inch by inch to about 1/2 way out of the ground.
After that, I tried pushing/pulling with my very small dozer, assisted by the front loader on my 9N (old Ford tractor). To little avail.
Right, I then sheared the pin on the winch.
Now for the new discovery. After more jacking, I decided to try again with the winch pulling and the dozer pushing on the other side of the rock. I used a piece of cheap 5/16 threaded rod for a shear pin.
I could tell that the winch was not going to make it. It was going to stall the engine at idle. Just as I was going to push the clutch in, it sheared the pin again. OK, I could have expected that.
I turned the truck around and passed a chain around the rear axle. OK, guys, this is the W500 crew cab. It's a big truck. The axle is rated for 17,000 pounds. It's big too. Pulling directly from the axle should eliminate the chance of bending bumpers, frames, hitches and things.
With the truck in 4 wheel, low range, with a little wheel spin, I finally started to move the rock. There was much more sense of control over the situation this way than with the winch. The winch was way outclassed by this rock.
I also noticed that the limited-slip rear was really doing its job. Both sides were spinning in the back. Note that I am letting the clutch out so the wheels spin and do the slipping. Tires are easier to replace than clutches. I am not doing any jerking, just driving up slowly until the chain is snug and then, with a little gas, easing out the clutch to cause wheelspin.
I think I will have this thing out tomorrow. I will take some pics and post them.
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