# Fisher Plow Damage



## Jake00 (Aug 11, 2002)

Hi All,

I have a Fisher minute mount plow on my Chevy 2500. After hitting the road hard the other day, I noticed while plowing that the bottoms of the springs on plow leave tracks, and the plow doesn't make direct contact with the ground like it did before.

I can't see any visible damage ... the waster piece looks like it may have bent outward slightly when the plow made contact with the road, but not enough for the 'tracks' it leaves behind.

... anybody got any ideas?

--Jim


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## Shaper (Jan 9, 2003)

There are two things
that I can think of:

1) The trip edge is worn down so far that the springs are hitting.

2) When the plow tripped it returned to a position forward of where it should be. Seems like if this happened it would pop the springs out of the spring holders. When these plows trip it actually creates more space between the pavement and the springs.


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## Dave1250 (Mar 5, 2001)

*You might try*

Put a cutting edge on or try a plastic . I put a 1/2"x8"x 8' metal on my fisher and it works fine it does trip more because of the 8" metal but it extends down approx 2 to 4" hope it helps


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## Jake00 (Aug 11, 2002)

Thanks for the replies,

I tried to remove the edge piece, and broke the first bolt, so I left it alone. I tried to manually trip the trip-edge, but it requires more torque than I can provide. So I pushed hard into a snow bank with the blade all the way up, hoping it would push the trip edge back a little. It helped some, but slight tracks are still present.

I measure the width of the removable piece; it measures about 5 5/8" in the center, and about 5 inches on each end. So it's worn pretty well. I bought the plow used, and in looking underneath, it looks like the plow had been used without that piece by the way the edge is worn. The trip edge looks like it's more forward than it should be ...

I'm assuming the edge is 6" when new ... and replacing it is probably the thing I have to do. I imagine I'll have to break off each bolt and replace them as I go ... still cheaper than a new blade.

Thanks again!

--Jim


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## CT18fireman (Nov 30, 2000)

Are you sure the A-frame, mounting frame and plow are in good shape? In an extreme case if the A-frame is not level or the plow is tilted back in some way then the springs could be contacting the ground. This may be hard to visualize but I look at the plow from the side and look at the A-frame, front of the truck and blade itself. Unless the factory base shoe (where the springs attach at the bottom) has worn severly then the springs should not contact. If you have that much depth (5") to your steel bolt-on edge I cannot imagine how the springs would be contacting unless something is broken.


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## Leethehandyman (Jan 8, 2003)

Jake.....I 'll add a couple more things to your quest. Without going and measurng mine ,if I remember correctly 5 inches is near the end of the lifeof the cutting edge. I bored another set ofholes one inch down from the factory holes to gain another inch of life out of the edge. I have never lived how soon these would wear out. Anyway on the older plows when the spring connections on thebotton made markes it meant a couple of things......1) the trip edge(not the replaceable cutting edge) is worn to the max. Someone has not run shoes or replaced thecutting edge on time. 2) the bottom of the mouldboard used to come unwelded allowing the trip edge to jamb up under it. The minute mount should be welded differently to avoid this but considering the other misfortunes this plow has suffered anything is possible. You may not see this if you were not looking close. What it does is causes the trip edge to roll forward and flatten outcausing the heels( spring bottoms) to drag on the ground. Get this fixed before the bolt holes wear through then you have to rebuilt (expensively ) the whole spring setup. Hope this helps....shout if I you need more clarification.


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## nben (Jan 22, 2003)

Older Fisher straight blade with 5" left on the edges = time for a new cutting edge. Don't wait or you will wear off the mounting points for the trip springs. I've seen it many times........:waving:


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## CT18fireman (Nov 30, 2000)

If you properly wear in the base angle before installing an edge then you should get close to 4" before needed to swap the edge. What would be the benefit of only getting 1" of wear??? No wonder people complain about the edge wearing fast.


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## reformedlandscaper (Jan 29, 2003)

Jake,

As was stated above, be careful that you do not let the tripping edge wear down so much that your springs are not attached to the plow! Also, if you edge has worn down to almost that point, I would advise using only a 6" cutting edge (I used to bolt them and then weld them on) If you use an 8" cutting edge on an overly worn tripping edge you will have the pleasure of watching the heads of the carriage bolts flying off when you catch your first speed bump or berm! It is just leverage doing it's thing. If you do a really nice job on the welding, you can used the 6" edge as a base for a 5/8"x8"x8' cutting edge. I have been out of the business for a while, but the tripping edges were a few hundred to buy. They are easy to install but make sure you bring you springs with you so the dealer can compress them.


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## reformedlandscaper (Jan 29, 2003)

BTW, I think that Fisher makes a pretty good plow overall, except for the 10'- I had one on a Chevy Kodiak and had a lot of problems. I will say that Fisher did replace it with a new model that came out, which was somehat better. They even let me keep the old plow, which looked great in my Case 580K!!

Good luck!!!


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## Jake00 (Aug 11, 2002)

As I said in my previous post, I bought the plow used. I've found that the condition of the plow does not match up with what the guy told me when he sold it to me. 

On the other hand, I wonder if I beefed up the front end suspension on my truck ('94 Chevy 2500 xcab short box) if that would improve the contact angle. The front end does seem a bit low. Either that or put some weight in the back ... thoughts?

--Jake


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

Jake,you should be able to move the a frame on the headgear,there should be 3 sets of holes that You can use,put the pins i nthe lower set of holes to improve the downward angle without raising the truck.If you put 2 turns on the torsion bars it will pick the front up about 3/4" to 1 inch with the blade on.I swapped my minute mount from my GMC to my dodge,what a difference in height! I had to move the a frame mounting holes,its not a big deal,I had the best luck doing it with the plow on the truck,remove the cotter pins first,then mount the plow,use a floor jack to take the pressure off,them move them,install new cotter pins. I got mine down to 4" before I started to rub the spring perches,thats when i put an edge on it.The factory base angle went 4 yrs before needing an edge,once i put an edge on it,I wore thru 1-2 a season .Now use Urethane so wear isnt much of a problem anymore.


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## Jake00 (Aug 11, 2002)

John,

I finally got around to adjusting the plow as you suggested. That went fairly easily, but now the plow doesn't have enough ground clearance to navigate some of the frost-heaves out there ... so I guess I need to decide whether or not i can live with the original problem ... which I guess I can for the rest of the season ... we'll see what next fall brings ... 

Thanks again to all of you for your responses.

--Jim


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## site (Oct 24, 2000)

Jake- 
I had the same problem, and a welder fixed it. On older plows after the trip edge has been tripped for years on end the area where the tripedge meets the moldboard gets mashed down. This causes the tripedge to return too far so it sits on the ground at too much of an angle. Have a welder weld a strip of steel along the entire length of the moldboard to stop the tripedges return where it belongs (usually hanging down 1/4" to 3/8" from bottom of moldboard). this is hard to explain without pictures. Let me know if you need further explaination.
Secondly stay on top of cutting edge wear.


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## BWhite (Sep 30, 2002)

*base angles*

Fisher base angles ( trip edges) are almost $400 kinda silly to wear that out


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## BOB JONES (Nov 29, 2001)

i had same problem on old style fisher had a bent a frame


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## Jake00 (Aug 11, 2002)

Bob Jones said:


> i had same problem on old style fisher had a bent a frame


 Bob, was that a bent plow frame or bent truck frame?

site said:


> Have a welder weld a strip of steel along the entire length of the moldboard to stop the tripedges return where it belongs (usually hanging down 1/4" to 3/8" from bottom of moldboard). this is hard to explain without pictures. Let me know if you need further explaination.
> Secondly stay on top of cutting edge wear.


Buying a used plow has its upsides and its downsides. Problem is that I bought it sight unseen, because I trusted this guy. Well ... that was pretty dumb. The plow had a pretty tough life before I got it last winter. The wear is pretty much where it was when I bought it. I don't have a lot of jobs, and they are all gravel driveways/roads.

Anyway, is there a way to trip the trip-edge manually? The moldboard you mention, I assume, is the bottom edge of the plow blade? When I was looking at the plow the other day I thought that if I could only find a way to trip it, I'd be all set.

thanks,

--Jim


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## BOB JONES (Nov 29, 2001)

it was the A frame on the plow that is connected to the plow blade had to replace it


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## Jake00 (Aug 11, 2002)

Bob,

Thanks for the info ... I'll take a closer look at mine now.

--Jim


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

I sodlone of my 7.5 minute mounts few yrs back,it was only 2 yrs old ,the second day the new owner had it he hit a frozen bank at an angle,going about 25mph.He called me up telling me the plow didnt scrape good,and that i sold him a junk plow, well he brings it over ,drops the blade,and one side is about 3" off the ground wiht it all the way down ,he finally admitted hitting the pile,he slid off the road,blade up,and the snow banks stopped him from going off the road,it cost him an A frame,and some underwear im sure. I think he got away cheap.


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## site (Oct 24, 2000)

JakeOO-
To trip the blade by hand unbolt the springs. The moldboard is big and yellow, and shaped like this (. The area I'm concerned with is at the bottom edge of the moldboard- right where the tripedge meets (or smashes against) the bottom of the moldboard.


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## thealshow (Nov 23, 2003)

Jake 
I wouldn't unbolt the springs. I tried that and had to invent a tool to put them back together. The easiest way to trip the blade manually is to hook a come-along to the cutting edge and the other end to the truck frame. This will give you the gap you need to weld in the strip.
AL


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## Jake00 (Aug 11, 2002)

Excellent idea, thanks for the feedback!

--Jim


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