Alamo MACHETE Product Service Manual page 145

NOTE;
This Section is written to give a POSSIBLE CAUSE of a problem and the POSSIBLE SOLUTION
of a problem, it is also to aid in finding problems and to correct problems. There may be more
than one cause to a problem as there may be more than one solution. Inspection and testing by
you at the Unit site can diagnose these problems, This section cannot be used as absolute
diagnose of a problem as well as not to give the absolute solution. It can only suggest where to
check and what to repair.
General:
Cracks in mowing Decks or Booms can be generally attributed to Severe Usage and/or
Vibration caused by an imbalance in the rotating parts. It should be remembered that vibrations occur
as a result of operation when cutting Heavy Material or hitting stationary object that cause a component
to bend, break or lose pieces etc. In some cases it may be the result of a design or application, this
is something that will have to be determined through investigation of circumstance.
Simply welding up a Crack will not usually yield a satisfactory repair; simply welding may cause
another weak spot during welding process. The condition that caused crack may still be present. It is
usually advisable to grind down the weld and add a plate over the weld to span the site of the original
crack.
Adding a reinforcing piece (or Extra Brace) may not be as good as it sounds a number of
reasons this is not advisable. Because you could be making an area that needs to flex some to relieve
stress is being eliminated; the added weight may change the balance of unit or component.
A good suggestion for future reference is to take photos of cracks (Failures) before the repairs
are made; this will aid you in future failures to see what happened in the past ones. This is a good idea
because the failed area may not always cause the failure, it may be caused by something else and
it is sometimes hard to explain what the failure looked like before it was repaired.
Always repaint any area that has been re-welded to prevent rust as well as cosmetic
appearances.
Machete (Service Manual) 04/04
© 2004 Alamo Group Inc.
Possible Failure
Cause and Solution
145
Section