upside down?

[ygmir]

Hi all,
I'm wondering if I need to remove the engine and/or t-20 from my Hustler before flipping it to work on the bottom?
I understand the oil bypassing the rings thing, but, am wondering if there are any other issues with it being upside down?
Would/could it harm anything, maybe in the trans?
I can't think of what would go wrong, except for the above stated oil in cylinders, and, that can be addressed by removing the spark plugs and a short cranking......
draining the fuel tank.
Would I need to drain the trans? does it have a vent that would leak?

sorry if this is dumb, but, I'd rather think about it before doing this.
And, I'm guessing someone here has had thier machine upside down.......grin.......even on purpose.....grin again.......

thanks,
Henry

[racerone3]

as long as you drain the fuel and oil, i don't see any problems. you might want to remove the battery as well.

[ygmir]

yeah, the battery for sure, I thought that, just, forgot to say it........thanks.
how about the trans issues?
HEnry

[LarryW]

Other then maybe leaking from a vent, I dont see anything else that could go wrong. If I am not mistaking I believe there are vented and non vented T20's but maybe that was a mod.

[Mike]

Your vent on the T20 should be built into the upper fill plug. You can either drain the fluid or just put a normal plug in there. Other than that, the T20 will be fine.

[ygmir]

thanks Mike,
I remember the vent in the upper plug, so, that should be easy enough......
and, It's probably due for an oil change, too......

I'll get some pics of it on it's lid.....
Maybe I can suspend it like in the unloading picks and spin it over the fire to heat the body for re-shaping and hole fixing? hahahaaha,
and, do the "BBQ Hustle (r)"? LOL.........
Adult beverage in hand, of course...........

someone stop me, I'm thinking I'm funny again.......

[ygmir]

well.....
it's on it's side, I'm working on it that way for now, I can't lift it alone to flip it on it's top. I got it on one side, but, that's it.....If I get help I'll set it that way.
But:
I started "welding" holes and cracks with an old fashioned big soldering iron. It works pretty good and, I'm developing a technique that seems good:
it's a pointed tip, 4 flat sides to a point.
so, I take the tip and melt a "v" groove along the crack and, then, lay one of the flat sides on the plastic and move back, folding and melting the sides into the middle. It seems pretty solid.
I also tried a filling technique, for the larger holes:
using the soldering iron, I melted around the sides and pulled some of the edges in until I had a thin layer of material over the hole, at least mostly. Then, cut some bigger pieces and welded them in. But, to finish, I used a propane soldering torch, fanning the flame like brazing. it worked neat! it made a fair puddle, and, smoothed the surface and ran into the low spots. When it cools, it's nice and smooth. you can run it just like brazing, melting the surface and the other material follows the puddle, to a point....to much heat and it sags or runs.....

Anyway, now I'm just looking for more material for filling and may even try welding the edges of an extra sheet as a sort of "skid plate".........

any input would be welcome, since, I'm learning as I go.

Henry

[hdble]

Hi Henry,
Sounds like your learning fast, show us some pics of your handywork, may give someone else some ideas how to fix theirs.

[ygmir]

good idea, hdble, I'll take some "action" photos........
Henry

[boncrshr]

Keep us posted, I'm pretty interested how this works out for you. I've got a few cracks in my upper half and engine cover that could use some attention.

As far as working upside down, I say just go ahead and tear the whole thing down...lots of work though...but the inside of your tub will NEVER be so clean...until you take it out for the first time! Although upside down would be the best way to drain the T-20.

[ygmir]

photos in gallery

ok
I think I got all the pertinent info and pics in my gallery under "plastic, HDPE, welding"......I'm not sure how to put the link to the gallery here, sorry......

My friend is laughing hysterically, reading my text, knowing the brand/model of my machine, and, using his imagination on the pics......
You can be the judge.....I think he's twisted......hahaha

anyway,
I'm not sure if I need to or can post more details at to the techniques I sort of developed doing this, I think I got most of it in the text of the photos.
I'm sorry, I think the order is somewhat mixed up, but, it's all there.......
I hope this can be of help to someone.......

I did note a few things:

HDPE will burn quite well if you don't pay close attention while using a torch to braze........

it also blisters when sticking to skin........

I found a great source for HDPE:
plastic 5 gal buckets, at least the ones I have....it says "HDPE" on the bottom......worked great....I used a square one so I'd have flat pieces to work with, and, corners if needed. But, a regular round bucket would work just fine since I cut it in pretty narrow strips.

making the grooves and or seam welding seems to work best in short lines.
melt your groove, or, both materails to be joined with the tip, then, go back and fill before it cools. only an inch or two at a time seemed to work best.

That's all I can think of for now.

good luck
Henry

[LarryW]

Looks like you did a Good Job. Great info. too.

[ygmir]

Thanks Larry,

[boncrshr]

Very cool...thanks for going through the trouble of documenting everything. So once you completed repairs, do the patches feel stable/good??

[ygmir]

yeah, I poked and prodded them, they seem solid...and, when I turned the rig back on its wheels, I went inside and melted/folded edges that were sticking through over the edge of the hole as a lock.........and filled any voids existing therein........
Also took advantage of the rig being over to use air and blow dirt/grime/ leaves etc out.

Henry