John Deere 80 cracked frame question

Patatrcc

Member
Hello. I had been looking for an 80 for quite some time and out of the blue last Friday, my wife surprised me by saying she had found one and bought it (sight unseen). It showed up and has a cracked frame. The more I look it over, it looks like it has been used in some tractor pulls. Anyway, I did some checking to see if anyone had any posts about welding up the frame rails on a 50, 60, 70, 80 etc and found nothing. Don't know how rare this is. Wanted to know if anyone knows if the frames were made from [u:65e08d9a55]cast iron[/u:65e08d9a55] or [u:65e08d9a55]cast steel[/u:65e08d9a55]? There are a few welds on here that look like they're with 6010 and not Nickel-Cast and they're still not cracked. The frame cracked out again, but the others on the front end and radius rods didn't. Normally, 6010 won't last 5 minutes using it on cast iron, but it might on cast steel if it was pre-heated. I am going to try and get this frame fixed but wanted to know what steel it was first. If I can get it fixed, great, if I can't, it might become a yard ornament. I enclosed some pictures. Thanks.
 
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I can't help with welding advice, but the frame on an 80 is the same as the R, 820, and 830. Finding a frame at a wrecker shouldn't be difficult. Heck, I have a couple R's for parts with good frames, but getting one to you is the tough part. I live up near Edmonton, Alberta.
 
Never seen that failure before......I wonder if he was hanging wts. on the frame tub? I've seen a 830 that had 2k lbs. on each side.
 
Almost certainly it's "grey castiron".

To weld or braze it properly it would have to be taken off and properly preheated and before welding and cooled slowly afterwards under controlled conditions.

Is it not possible to find a good "frame" anywhere near you?
 
The frame is a common enough part from the older "R" tractors that I would replace it with a good used one. A JD 80 is still pretty collectable and a welded frame really lowers it's value, or at least it would for me.

Also the frame is cast iron. The tie rods and brace rods are steel. So the welds are sticking to the steel and not the cast iron. To really repair it correctly your going to have to preheat and slow cool the cast iron frame. The only way to really do that correctly would be to remove it. IF your going to that much trouble then just replacing it would be easier to me.

Plus the large JD two cylinders really vibrated when pulled. The JD 80, 820 and 830 proved to JD that they had to do some thing to go to higher horse power tractors. The JD 820 and 830 started having warranty issues because of their massive vibration issues. So welding a major structural component like the frame would scare me. I would never trust it. This from a fellow that has welded many things but none of them would be exposed to the vibration stresses the JD two cylinders can produce.
 
Try 812-987-3982, foreverdeere, in Lanesville, In. I don't know how far away you are. Ryan Linde. They have lots of big two cyl. diesels.
 
I am in Western Montana. I don't know what a frame would cost or how much to ship one, but it's probably going to come to that. I agree, I think the tractor had front weights on it. That's what leads me to think it was a pulling tractor maybe. The hack that had it also torched out two slots in the tin work right below the radiator that run right down the outside of the frame rails. Looks to me from the faded paint in that area that there was a flat bar on each side bolted to the frame that extended out through the torched slots to the front. Then some sort of bracket was out there for tractor weights. The guy I got it from was in Western Colorado and bought it around 2000 from a guy outside Kansas City, KS. He had it for 16 years and never touched it. Was going to fix it up when he retired, but decided to sell it cheap instead.
 
I don't know, but I wish she could talk! All I really know is that it hasn't been touched since 2000 (when the last owner bought it in Kansas). The engine isn't stuck, the pony turns over, coolant is ok, oil is decent in both, tin is fair, tach shows 1401 hrs (but take that with a grain of salt). Has one leak around the bottom shaft of the power steering box. Engines aren't leaking, rear end and Powr-Trol are full and no leaks. S/N is 1197. If I can get the frame fixed or replaced, it might come back to life. There is a You-Tube video of a "D" in a tractor pull that is riding a wheelie down the track and then when the driver pops the clutch out, it slams down to the ground and snaps the front axle in half. That came to mind when I started looking at this crack. Especially if there was weight out front and it all came crashing down a dozen times. It's not made for that.
 
One thing I have seen on 730's and I'm sure they had the same on 830's if the tractor was pulled to extremes, the upper shaft in the transmission could be bowed or twisted...you might want to check the transmission over really good....this is very very very expensive fix...I would say you could get a front end...now having said that they are either worth scrap price or a fortune if the seller knows you need one badly....I hauled a couple off on 520/530 for scrape...there's such a rare need for replacing....I can't image how that tractor frame was broken unless turned over or off a cliff...
 
(quoted from post at 08:09:38 08/13/16) I am in Western Montana. I don't know what a frame would cost or how much to ship one, but it's probably going to come to that. I agree, I think the tractor had front weights on it. That's what leads me to think it was a pulling tractor maybe. The hack that had it also torched out two slots in the tin work right below the radiator that run right down the outside of the frame rails. Looks to me from the faded paint in that area that there was a flat bar on each side bolted to the frame that extended out through the torched slots to the front. Then some sort of bracket was out there for tractor weights. The guy I got it from was in Western Colorado and bought it around 2000 from a guy outside Kansas City, KS. He had it for 16 years and never touched it. Was going to fix it up when he retired, but decided to sell it cheap instead.

Western Montana isn't bad at all. I'd haul a frame down, or meet you at the border, or something. The only concern I have, is that I have no idea with what's necessary to move parts across the border.

Email is lmvaneck(at)mcsnet(dot)ca
Let me know if we can figure something out.
 
Lyndon,

I might have to do that. I have a couple of places that I have emails into right now that I'm waiting back on. I run a little metal fab shop here and have about 3 jobs this week I need to get completed and then plan on getting the 80 inside so I can work on it. If I don't find something in SD or ND, we'll have to chat and see what it takes to get something across the border.

I did get that scabbed up piece ground off the frame on Friday night and cleaned up a little. It might be fixable, but like someone already said-a tractor with a good frame vs. a welded frame is a big difference in value.

I got my manual Friday as well and had a couple of questions. I will start a new post on that in hopes someone can chime in. Thanks~Pat.
 
Western Montana isn't bad at all. I'd haul a frame down, or meet you at the border, or something. The only concern I have, is that I have no idea with what's necessary to move parts across the border.

Email is lmvaneck(at)mcsnet(dot)ca
Let me know if we can figure something out.[/quote]

Lyndon, I tried emailing you direct on Aug 16th 3 different times, but it won't go through. Keeps getting sent back saying that email address isn't correct. I can give you mine. Don't know if you can show it on a post or not?? (I see you put yours in a code for some reason) but mine is my handle @aol.com . Haven't heard back from anyone on a support frame yet and I've checked with 3 salvage yards here in the states so far. Would be interested in emailing you direct and seeing what you have and what we might be able to work out. Thanks- Pat in Montana.
 

Thanks for the info on that. Transmission shifts in/out of all gears nicely at the moment, but that really doesn't tell you anything until it's running. Hoping to hear back from a few places you guys have listed on this post for a replacement frame. Haven't heard back yet, but will let you know something. Yes, hoping they don't want a fortune for one of them, either. Pat.
 

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