# FHM 25GD Manure Spreader Repairs



## AussieMikeL (Aug 14, 2019)

I purchased a new FHM (Farm Helper Machinery Company) 25GD Manure Spreader tractor attachment on EBay recently. Overall happy with the general solid design but I had to do a number of repairs to get it to work after delivery and the list may help others who purchase this attachment.
During assembly, I noticed that 3 of the 8 wheel hub bolts were not screwed in fully. It turned out that the threads had not been cut to the full depth for 3 holes that hold the bolts that hold the wheels on. It took some time with a tap and die to cut the threads to the correct depth so I could put the wheel on. After assembly I tried to tow it but a loud noise from the apron chain drive stopped me. I took the cover off and the leaver tong that raises the roller arm was jamming on the roller cam. I had to bend this leaver back to correct the jam. I then towed the spreader but the apron chain did not move. I ground the lifter tong down an eighth of an inch to increase the travel of the roller arm to allow the pusher pawl to catch. The apron chain now moved as long as the cover was off. When the cover was replaced, the roller axel scraped and was jammed by the cover. I bent the cover a bit to prevent this problem. The engineering drawings provided and the writeup of the break pawl adjustment does not correspond to the actual equipment. To help get the apron chain working reliably, I added a sleeve to the shaft of each of the pawls to remove the slop of the pawl on their bolts. I also lowered the roller arm lower position by another 1/8 inch . Together, this finally showed a gap of 1/32 inch between the driving pawl and the gear tooth necessary for reliable operation. I also worked out that when the gear cover was tightened at the top, it jammed the end of the roller shaft and prevented it from dropping to the position required. It could be corrected by bending the roller arm but I put spacer washers at the top of the gear cover to stop the jamming. The arm on the bottom of the spring for the roller arm was bent under the frame by 2 inches and required straightening. I started testing after these repairs and within 30 seconds, the roll pin fell out of the outside of the front shaft of the apron chain start lever. Jammed a nail in it to get going and was able to finally spread 8 loads successfully. Am tracking down a 3/16 x 1 1/4 inch roll pin. But it now seems to work OK. Maybe I should have expected these issues from overseas manufactured farm equipment.


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## AussieMikeL (Aug 14, 2019)

Images for the post


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Welcome AussieMikeL. It seems that issues like this seem to be the norm, rather than the exception from "over seas" manufacturers. We've almost come to expect it. Makes one wonder why anyone would go the the trouble of manufacturing something that is inherently flawed. Thanks for sharing your series of repairs for others to see.


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

That is some serious re-engineering you had to do. You deserve two
thumbs up for being able to figure it out


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