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Good maintenance practices are critical if you are to enjoy trouble free operation and long
life from your Brave Trencher. Most required maintenance procedures are shown in this
section. However, other common sense maintenance practices such as cleanliness and
storage must be followed.
1. See manufacturers operating and maintenance instructions for engine maintenance
procedures.
2. Check all bolts and nuts for tightness before operation and periodically thereafter.
3. Check all set screws in belt pulleys and bearing lock collars before operation and
periodically thereafter. If set screws are vibrating loose, Locktiteʼs "Threadlocker"
#242 should be applied to the threads and the set screws retightened.
4. Check drive belts for proper tension before operation. Adjust if necessary. Adjust belt
tension using the turnbuckle to ensure the spring stretches approximately 3/4" to 1" for 9"
models when clutch lever is engaged. Keep belt free of dirt and grease at all times.
5. Rotor points must be checked for wear before operation and periodically thereafter.
Check at least every 200 feet initially. When working in difficult soil conditions, they
should be checked more often. In good soil conditions, they may be checked less
often but never less than each 500 feet of trenching.
6. Check rock rotors before operation and periodically thereafter. Points on the rock
rotors should be loose in the socket and should rotate freely to prevent uneven wear or
breakage. The nut on the point should have between 1/16" and 3/32" clearance (a
nickel is 1/16" thick) between the nut and the socket (See Figure on page 3-3)
7. Check rotor bearings for wear every 2000 feet. This is done by lifting the front of the
machine off the ground so that the rotor may be turned by hand. Then grasp the end
of the rotor firmly and try to move it from side to side. If there is more than 1/4" move-
ment from side to side,the bearings must be replaced.
8. Check the idler pulley for wear before operation and replace if necessary.
9. Periodically check the idler arm for lateral movement. If the pivot bolt is badly worn, or
the bolt is loose, the idler arm may have enough lateral movement to cause the belts to
come off the pulley. The pivot bolt should be tight enough to prevent lateral move-
ment, but not so tight that it restricts free pivoting of the idler arm.
10. See page 3-4 for instructions on how to use the eccentric lock collar on rotor bearings.
SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
4-1
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