Author Topic: It's BIG, Yellow and digs holes! JCB 3CX Project 8 is joining the Tractor Shed  (Read 37285 times)

Online awemawson

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A long trip today Sussex to Norfolk, Lincolnshire, / Cambridgeshire borders to kick the tyres of a JCB 3CX Project 8 1995/6 back hoe excavator. Lots of driving but worth it I think as this seems so far to be a pretty good specimen for it's age.

I've been looking for a few weeks and seen some absolute dogs so it was a relief to find this one that lived up to it's description and photos.

It comes with a ditching bucket, four digging buckets and a 'quick hitch' which is a 'good thing' as those six items would be about £2K to buy at the moment!

No doubt there will be many little things to sort out - inevitably there always are - but the first thing to sort out is moving all eight tons of it the 170 miles home  :bugeye:

 
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline russ57

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Very handy to dig the veggie patch.

Not planning to drive it home then? Say ride there on a motorcycle, put it in the bucket and drive the whole lot back?

Didn't you pick up a big trailer for something a while ago? Bit of extra bracing and it'll be good to go...

Russ

-russ


Offline SwarfnStuff

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Golly, A nice handy toy Andrew if you have big stuff to do, dig and move.

Here in OZ a friend has one that he used to transplant many 30yr old olive trees setting up his olive farm.
It still gets used to shove, dig and generally make mayhem around his now 5 acre block after selling off the rest of the farm. (Should be quoting in hectares, but, hey, I'm on my 81st lap of old Sol).

Good luck with the move.
John B   :beer:
Converting good metal into swarf sometimes ending up with something useful. ;-)

Online awemawson

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Russ even that big trailer wouldn’t take this beauty!

John, I’m regressing really. I had a 1990 Project 7 3Cx some years back when we moved here and there was genuine reasons to have one. Her indoors objected to it as being ‘ugly’ in the farm yard. OK it was a bit rusty, but a faithful work horse nevertheless. This one is very much more tidy.

My ‘justification’ is that we have a large pond that needs clearing out, and about 3/4 mile of ditches that need clearing, but really it’s just because I WANT one !
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline PekkaNF

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Should be good for digging trenches and building barricades. It is JCB by Lord Bamford after all.

Offline mattinker

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This should be interesting! Maybe I'll get to see it in person one day!

Cheers, Matthew

Offline Spurry

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That looks a very nice machine. It does even have the 'Extra Dig' if I'm not mistaken. Looking forward to your mods.
As it is all a question of Want or Need, I was considering a 360, but trying to find something to compare with the reach of the JCB is difficult.

Offline Pete W.

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I hope we don't need to be building barricades just yet!!

I've no idea what 'extra dig' might be??

My acquaintance with 'plant' gets no closer than having a stepson who's a plant operator but I do seem to watch a lot of YouTube videos.  It seems to me that someone needs to invent a digging machine that can dig with offset - with the diggers I see you have to either position the machine astride the trench or to dig obliquely (slant-wise) across the trench.  With a long trench, surely there are times when it would be an advantage to dig from one side but track the machine parallel to the trench??  Please will someone lighten my darkness????
Best regards,

Pete W.

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you haven't seen the latest design change-note!

Offline russ57

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Like this?


-russ


Offline Pete W.

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Hi there, Russ,

Thank you for your post.  That photo looks like the machine is digging at right angles to the trench.  Also, that's much wider than what I'd call 'a trench' - does it even have another side?
Best regards,

Pete W.

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you haven't seen the latest design change-note!

Online awemawson

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That is a ditching bucket being used to fair up the sides of a ditch, which is pretty much exactly what I will be using mine for initially - I've about 1/2 - 3/4 mile of ditches to clear.

The 'Extradig' is to extend the 'dipper' further. The back end has a 'boom' pivoted on the machine, with the 'dipper' pivoted on the 'boom', the 'extradig' is a co-axial  very stout square tube partially inside the dipper that can be extended by a foot pedal. It is this inner tube that has the buckets and other attachments on the end.

Using this construction with the extra dig gives the 3CX a total 'stretch' of 7 metres (21 foot) from the machine, which I need to reach to the far side of ditches as clearance can only happen from one side.

A '360' machine (ie one where the boom and dipper along with the cab are mounted on a turntable) is far easier for ditching as it can drive parallel to the ditch as the work progresses. However a '360' with a 7 metre reach is a very big and expensive machine - probably 30 ton whereas the 3CX is 'only' 8 tons.

Incidentally, for the anoraks, the machine that Russ posted is either a 'Project 12' or a 'Project 21' - the give away being the way that the boom is swiveled. All the 3CX's pivot the backhoe assembly on a massive king pin, and up to and including 'Project 8' this kingpin has a 14 tooth heavy duty gear splined onto it, and two small hydraulic cylinders push a rack past this gear rotating the boom. The later model have a pair of hydraulic cylinders bearing directly on the king post thus turning it left or right. You can just see them in the photo.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline djc

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...a digging machine that can dig with offset - with the diggers I see you have to either position the machine astride the trench or to dig obliquely (slant-wise) across the trench.

One of the things machine designers need to consider is how to get the forces seen at the pointy end of the bucket back up the arm of the machine, into its superstructure and back down to the ground upon which it is sitting. They need to do this for all possible positions of the boom making sure the machine does not tip over.

In the standard configuration of a (360) machine, with it astride the trench, the machine end of the arm is very close to its centre of rotation and the counterweight on the back is opposite the boom. This gives maximum stability or maximum force-exerting potential for a given amount of stability. When you do things like offsetting the boom, the stability or bucket force or both are considerably reduced. In the picture above, the machine is a lot less stable digging over the side than with the arm central and facing rearwards. You have to trade off versatility for speed or power.

The sideshift with vertical stabiliser legs is a little peculiar to UK and Europe. If you look at US-model backhoes, the boom is invariably centre-mounted and the stabilisers when deployed exceed the width of the machine.

Online awemawson

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JCB have made both styles for quite a few years now. The centre mount with 45 degree stabilisers is known as the 1400b or some such title in the states.

When operating side shifted to the extreme, and the rear leg inevitably on relatively soft earth being the top of a ditch, the massive 4 in 1 (or 6 in one in my case) front shovel restores stability but tends to twist the machine. This can be augmented by putting a ton of ballast or even earth in the front shovel.

When ditching the extreme extension of the dipper and 'extradig' obviously exerts huge torque, however there is no need to actually lift when so extended as you are scraping the far bank and ditch bottom so the forces are actually upwards on the boom and dipper. As the extradig is pulled in and boom swung back over land to dump what you have scraped the geometry becomes far better !
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Online awemawson

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Well guess what turned up today  :clap: :clap: :clap:

Various things have conspired to delay the delivery of my new toy. I had made contact with a transport firm that was only 1.5 miles from where the 3CX was lying,and arranged a reasonable price for delivery. The father of the chap I bought it from was supposed to drive it the short distance to the transport yard and it would go at the next opportunity which was to have been last week - that all fell through when he ended up in hospital  :bang:

The seller drove it to the transporters yard who kindly sent me photographs of it safely in his compound to await the next opportunity which turned out to be this morning.

On a beavertail lorry it safely got under the multiple telephone lines and 415 volt 3 phase lines that cross my drive (phew!) into the farm yard where the very nice driver (who was actually the owner of the company) unloaded it and put it my Tractor Shed. Oh good - it does actually fit  :thumbup:

Now I have decided to let the excitement calm down and NOT drive it for a bit - you can do a LOT of damage in a short period! I even got the delivery driver (who co-incidentally has owned one in the past) to park it up for me in the Tractor Shed.

. . . evaluation phase starts now !
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Online awemawson

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Now the cab is absolutely full of junk - old bits of rag, drinks cans, grease tubes mud - you name it. When I can face it I need to take several black bin bags full of grot out, and vac and sweep it out to see what remains.

Things that I KNOW are needed:

Glass for instrument cluster (declared broken by seller so no surprise)
Two rear view mirror glasses - simple plain mirror no heaters!
A plastic 'stone guard' that fits behind the rear chassis frame (plain flat plastic 3 mm sheet easy to make)


Then I need to give it a good service. A full filter kit covering engine oil, gearbox oil, hydraulic oil and air cleaners plus diesel filters.

Then a good greasing - I already have in stock about a dozen genuine JCB 400 ml tubes of grease - it looks like I'll need quite a bit - there are 70 (yes 70!) grease nipple on this machine  :bugeye:

« Last Edit: October 20, 2021, 09:48:13 AM by awemawson »
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline hermetic

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Well you would think with a purchase of that magnitude they would have given it a bit of a pressure wash and valet!! Never mind Andrew, it will be easily done and very rewarding. I am jealous! Looking forward to see some digging videos!
Phil
Man who says it cannot be done should not disturb man doing it! https://www.youtube.com/user/philhermetic/videos?

Online awemawson

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Private sale Phil. Actually I'm happy it's not been 'prepared for sale' as you see it warts and all - there seems to have been no attempt to cover anything up.

So I ventured out armed with a big workshop vac, a dustbin, and a dust pan and brush and made all sorts of discoveries having fully filled one dustbin:

A/ Various missing retainers and covers.

B/ The 'optional' cab fan that fixes on an arm

C/ A very worn and tired copy of the operators manual

D/ And biggest surprise of all - THERE IS a FLOOR  :clap:

All seems to be in pretty good order - the only dodgy thing I've found so far is that the bracket that holds the door opening limit strap on has been torn off at some time and rather badly welded back. At first I thought that it was tin worm, but no just grotty welding. Close to the (bonded in) glass so not ever so easy to fix.

One discovery is that there is a fold out / fold down anti vandal cover that locks in place over the instrument console - oh and shards of glass from the original glass showing that it was 1.75 mm thick but I think I'll probably put poly-carbonate back.

Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Online awemawson

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This mornings task was to drive the 3CX into the farm yard, open all the windows and doors, and give it a good blow out with an air line in all the nooks and crannies. Still amazing amounts came out despite yesterdays intensive hoovering and sweeping.

After another sweep out and hoovering, I followed up with a 'wet cloth swabbing down' which at least now lets me read all the various legends on controls. A good clean up like this i find is the best way to find the true state of new toys as you are forced to look at every detail.

Fortunately no horrors revealed and in fact it's confirmed that ALL the rubber gaiters for the controls are intact and in good condition. Quite surprising for a 25 year old machine.

Reversing blind back into the Tractor Shed I took extremely carefully, as both rear view wing mirrors are broken, neither were originals by the look of it, and no doubt are a pretty expendable item when working on site! Two genuine one ordered.

It looks like my hope that I could get a few days in this year ditching has been dashed. Last night the River Brede over topped it's banks and we are flooded, so the ground will stay too soft for quite a time.

Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline ozzie46

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Re; the title , what is Big Bird doing in the tractor shed? :D :D :D

Ron

Online awemawson

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Things are beginning to happen, and bits arrive. I've decided to give the 3CX a full service, including changing all the antifreeze. No idea what is in it, the coolant level is low so the lot is coming out, a quick flush, and new at 50% dilution going in.

So today the new coolant arrived - 25 litres of concentrate as I need 20 litres (at least) of diluted. Also the replacement rear view mirrors arrived, so backing into the Tractor Shed should be less hazardous!

First thing this morning I unloaded the four digging buckets from the front shovel and palletised them for easier movement and storage - pleased to find that they are genuine JCB ones. This will allow me to more safely prop the front arms 'up high' to allow access to the engine.

We had a heavy  frost the other morning and it  resulted in the death of the battery - it soon recovers after a few minutes charging but time for a new one as these things have to be reliable - replacement due to be delivered tomorrow.

I've ordered a full set of engine oil, transmission oil, hydraulic oil, fuel, and air filters along with a new sight glass for the hydraulic tank, new glass for the instrument panel, and breather filter for the hydraulic tank - this lot should arrive towards the end of this week.

Meanwhile I've been tracking down a minor hydraulic leak from the back end - only slight but needs attending to. It's a bonded washer joint to a hydraulic fitting - it's as tight as I can get it so at some time I'll have to remove and replace it - fairly sure I've the correct size in stock.

To more easily get at it I fully removed the remains of the PVC 'stone guard' that protects the hoses from muck chucked up by the rear wheels - it's badly broken - there's a left and right side version - can't see the rhs one as it's behind the carriage which is currently slid to the right, but it's probably in much the same state. £150 each from JCB or £17 each (in black) as a pattern part !

Still can't find why the interior cab light and radio aren't powering up - fuses are OK so a bit of tracing called for.

On the subject of fuses I find these modern car fuses with the two flat blades confoundedly hard to pull out and re-insert - can't see what your doing and fingers are in the way anyway. Particularly troublesome as the Project 8 fuse board is to the right hand side of the drivers seat and only about 6" away so no room anyway. I think I'm going to bend up some sort of clip to grip the fuses for removal and insertion !

« Last Edit: October 26, 2021, 10:27:50 AM by awemawson »
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline Pete.

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I bet you could find a fuse puller on thingiverse. I might have one somewhere you often find them supplied in car/van fuse boxes.

Offline Pete W.

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Hi there, Andrew,

You referred to a 'bonded washer'.  I take it that's the generic name for what I was introduced to as a 'Dowty Seal'?

Are they a multi-manufacturer item?  Are Dowty still in business? 
Best regards,

Pete W.

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you haven't seen the latest design change-note!

Online awemawson

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PeteW - yes Bonded Washer = Dowty Seal

Pete. - turns out eBay abounds with fuse pullers so order placed ! Johnny Bravo popped over to pick up some electrolytic capacitors and pointed this out to me .

Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Online awemawson

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Only a little thing this morning, but at least it's ticked off the list: Replace the broken rear view mirrors. I had a few moments waiting for someone to shift some of the 'stuff' he's storing here so grabbed the opportunity !
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline pycoed

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 Well Andrew, do you really expect us to believe it'll be just a Dowty seal? :D We all know it will be an internal  crack in the valve block, which is obtainable only on special order (8 months delivery ) at a cost of £4,199.57 plus a 10% order fee, plus the VAT, payable in advance. This option you will decline.
The alternative will of course require drawing a new part using some arcane 1970's CAD system to machine a pattern on the Beaver to make a casting using an induction furnace, subsequently modified to improve the design so it can be capable of easier machining.
The resultant valve block will be turned out on the beaver at 25% of the JCB price, ensuring that you make millions & can therefore stay in the pig business for at least another 3 years.
Am I right?