[TJS]

Re: BOSS Straight plow lower end rebuild vs 2.0...

Nice work. I also like doing plow work after getting past the nasty stuff. Stronger better etc. I repinned my circa 1979 diamond plow last year. I have a post here somewhere on here too. It performed great.
T.J.

 

[zapster]

The Official Snowplow Repair Thread..

Yep with another winter set to hit the plowboys will soon be destroying plows and related parts.


So here's the thread to post all those repairs that SUCK when it comes to plow repair.

I will merge Steve's Boss repair into this thread and away we go.


Post them all.
We want to see what fun everyone has.

I will be posting mine done today after I finish it...


...zap!

 

[Willie B]

Re: BOSS Straight plow lower end rebuild vs 2.0..Plus the Official Snowplow Repair Th

I love seeing a pre season/fix it right plow repair. More common is the gobber some snot on there and hope for a miracle.

Willie

 

[zapster]

Re: BOSS Straight plow lower end rebuild vs 2.0..Plus the Official Snowplow Repair Th

Here is what I found staring at me this morning...
Fisher plow A Frame.
Snapped the tube in half!

By the looks of it because the part is bent down..
That tells me that the trip edge is being abused on a regular basis.
Being bent backwards makes the stress on the tube and eventually this is the result..

3 cut off wheels later....

Tomorrow...
The repair.

...zap!

 

[BD1]

Re: BOSS Straight plow lower end rebuild vs 2.0..Plus the Official Snowplow Repair Th

$450 Steve ? That's dam good for three hours of work . :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Really nice job Steve. It's amazing how those hours add up hour after hour. You get started and figure about 4 hours, then another 4, and another. The more you cut apart the worse it gets. It's almost better to build a new one from the start. I hate to try to patch stuff. Once you patch here there is another then another.

 

[Bls repair]

Around here they buy a used piece of crap plow put it on a $40,000 truck and want you to rebuild it + give them $100 to boot.

 

[xryan]

Re: BOSS Straight plow lower end rebuild vs 2.0...

As someone who uses and repairs his own snow-clearing gear, any ideas on how your customer pulled the bushing out of the A-frame? In my experience, normal plowing activity pushes the blade into the A-frame.

I wouldn't even call it a bushing, more like a piece of tubing inside a thin walled rectangular tube with no cap on the end. You are putting INCREDIBLE stresses on that one point. I've seen those plows snap off even when driven by the person who owns the truck. Back drag away from a garage door, bump over an apron edge and the front of the tube snaps right off. The first time the plow gets wet that front of the A frame starts rotting away. Then use it with actual snow and salt. Give it a week over the warranty date and it breaks. Done those COUNTLESS times. Typical BOSS junk. Look at the size comparison to the Fisher which I can also tell was HAMMERED repeatedly for years before that broke, and I guarantee it never saw a drop of oil or grease since it was new. I'll just say that employees running equipment have a hard time busting Fisher stuff, owners respecting their own equipment still have catastrophic BOSS failures. Western and Blizzard are pretty good as well (Douglass Dynamics owns Fisher, Western and Blizzard, Meyer are maybe on par with BOSS, Snow-way I've only owned one and only know two others, all three are 15 years old and still going strong, just typical worn out edges and a few hydraulic lines. Actually I made a set of big wings 2-3 years ago for an old 7.5' Snoway HT to make it 9' for my church's (HUGE) parking lots and it's still going strong.

I got to search my pics, I'm sure I have some nice shots of destroyed plows I repaired. Sometimes you just shake you head and don't ask questions, just hand them the bill. The price goes up when it's cold outside, but they never learn. 90% wait till there's already 6" on the ground!

I'm in Rochester, NY and our equipment gets a lot of logged hours and miles every snow season (October-May)

 

[7A749]

I was gonna answer, but I think Ryan did a perfect job so I'll just agree with what he said lol.

Yea, they're cheaply built. I'm no plow expert but I've seen enough of them now to know there's a big difference between a plow like Fisher and Boss.

 

[TJS]

You guys want to see a near bullet proof plow, look at an old Diamond (before they sold out to Meyer). I have been using this circa 1979 Daimond plow since 1994. It has out lasted 3 trucks. Albeit I did repin it last year and was never touched prior to that. I did convert the lower A-frame to fit a Fisher MM1 set up.

 

[zapster]

On with the repair...
New tube and all ground and cleaned frame..

Tube installed..

Welded some spots inside..
Not done from factory..

Notice I welded the tube in as one piece...

Don't forget to wrap the welds..!

One more time....


...zap!

 

[zapster]

Now after cooling completely we take a cut off wheel and remove the middle.
That way there is no pin alignment interference...
Have done them before with 2 pcs of tubing and all the alignment in the world with the pin still results in bending and twisting along the way and the pin don't fit and when that happens its time to break out the reamers.
I don't do that anymore.

Middle removed and before massaged with flap wheel..

Dont forget the hole for the cotter pin...

And there we have it.
Much stronger than factory..
Like it should be.

I get all the fun jobs...


...zap!

 

[mike837go]

@xryan, thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize it was a design feature.

@zap, that is pure genius! 1 tube guarantees alignment. Then get rid of where the blade connects. Love it!

I did the reskinning/ rebuilding thing last year:

Old skin off:

Reassembled blade:

Installed and ready to go:

 

[Billyc]

How do you guys roll the material for the face? And what is the material of choice?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[mike837go]

How do you guys roll the material for the face? And what is the material of choice?
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I cheated, I found a metal supply shop about 30 minutes away (took most of a day to find them) and threw the plow in the bed of the truck.

The crew there confirmed my measurements, recommended a particular thickness, cut the sheet to size and rolled it. Just under $250 for the material + cutting and shaping + sales tax.

 

[zapster]

@xryan, thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize it was a design feature.

@zap, that is pure genius! 1 tube guarantees alignment. Then get rid of where the blade connects. Love it!

Genius?:laugh:..No..
I wouldn't go that far...

Sick of arguing with it after doing it with 2 separate bushings?
Most definitely.

Just a little common sense is all.


...zap!

 

[mike837go]

Genius?:laugh:..No..
I wouldn't go that far...

Sick of arguing with it after doing it with 2 separate bushings?
Most definitely.
Just a little common sense is all.
...zap!

Remember, Dear Zap, "common sense" is a rather rare commodity these days.

 

[zapster]

Remember, Dear Zap, "common sense" is a rather rare commodity these days.

Man you ain't kidding..
That's a understatement.


...zap!

 

[86turbodsl]

Love this! Great work guys. I have a BOSS V-plow repair i'll be posting here as i get it done. There's more of those around here i think because it's a michigan company. I bought it dirt cheap for my own use. Maybe I'll beef it up while i'm at it.

7A,

Can you tell me more about this carbon arc torch? I'm not really a big fan of OXY/ACETY cutting. I suppose this does a better job? I've never seen one used before. My uncle had an engine drive Lincoln he used to turn up to kill and just stab the electrode through to cut. I'm guessing this is more refined.

 

[AKmud]

Not really a repair, more of a modification. I had to change the mounts on this 18' plow to fit a newer model loader. The owner had mounts laser cut from 2" plate.

First, I cut off the old mounts -

The new mounts weren't cut for the arc of the blade. This was a little nerve wracking torching 2" plate by hand.

Then I cut the channels to inset the new wider mounts -

 

[AKmud]

Fit looks good -

I tacked on a brace to keep things square -

Then it was on to three passes full perimeter. A lot of time with a weed burner preheating the 2" mounts alternating between the two. Total time was about 10 hours working alone. This last pic is the finished product, I left the brace on overnight to cool. It fit like a glove. :cool2: