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On site and workshop line boring

Line boring in Wodonga

Wodonga is around three hours east of the workshop and we run it as a planned trip. Worn pins, oval bores and sloppy linkages get welded up and machined true where the machine sits, on freight yards, farms and factory floors.

Excavator pivot housing line bored back to a true, round bore at the SOS Engineering workshop near Echuca
  • Mobile set-up

    We come to the machine

  • Workshop

    Fully set up at Wharparilla

  • Breakdowns

    Callouts by arrangement

Wodonga VIC

What we see around Wodonga

Wodonga is roughly three hours east along the Murray Valley Highway, at the far end of what we cover. A run that length gets planned properly. We want the full picture before we leave, which machine, which pivots and what bore sizes, so the right bar, the right bushes and the right pins are all on the truck.

The work up that end is a mix. Freight and logistics through the Wodonga yards, timber coming down out of the hills, and beef and dairy country through Baranduda, Tallangatta and the Kiewa valley. Forestry gear is the hardest on pins of anything we touch, because grapples and grabs take shock load from every direction rather than clean straight lift.

Hill country adds its own wear. Loaders and tractors working on a slope side load their pivots constantly, so bores go oval faster than the same machine on flat paddocks. Catch it while the pin is only knocking and it is welding, boring and new bushes. Leave it until the housing has stretched and you are buying a new component plus freight.

~260km from the workshop

Around three hours, east along the Murray Valley Highway through Cobram and Rutherglen

What we get called to

Log grabs, grapples and forestry gear, loaders and tractors on hill country, feed out gear and dairy plant, excavators on civil work, forklifts and freight yard plant, plus truck and trailer hinge points.

Local industries we work with

  • Freight and logistics
  • Timber and forestry
  • Beef and dairy
  • Manufacturing

What line boring actually does

Every pivot on a machine wears. Grease breaks down, dirt gets in, and the pin starts working the hole. What began as a round bore slowly goes oval, the pin loses its fit, and the play works its way through the whole linkage.

Line boring fixes that in place. A boring bar is set up through the worn hole and aligned to the original centreline, the bore is built back up with weld, then machined true to size so a standard bush and pin drops straight back in. The machine usually needs pulling down to get to the pivot. We can do that for you, or you can have it stripped and ready before we arrive.

Left too long, that play stops being a bore problem. It cracks weld seams, elongates the housing past repair and puts load through things that were never meant to carry it. Caught early, it is a day of work. Caught late, it is a new component.

The short version: if you can rock the attachment by hand and feel movement in the joint, the bore has worn and it is worth a look before it costs you a component.

Signs you need line boring

  • Slop or knocking through the linkage under load
  • Bucket or blade wandering off line
  • Pin holes gone oval or egg-shaped
  • Pins spinning or seizing in the bore
  • Grease weeping straight back out of the joint
  • Cracked or dished bush housings

Spotted one or more of these? Give Sean a call and describe what the machine is doing. You will get a straight answer on whether it needs boring now or can wait.

What we line bore

Twenty years across mining, agricultural, civil and factory work. If it pivots and it has worn, there is a good chance we have bored one before.

Excavators & dozers

  • Boom and stick pivots
  • Bucket ears and links
  • Blade and C-frame pins
  • Ripper and hitch bores

Loaders & trucks

  • Loader linkage and bucket pins
  • Articulation joints
  • Tipper body hinges
  • Suspension and spring eyes

Agricultural gear

  • Front end loader arms
  • Three point linkage
  • Header and harvester pivots
  • Trailer and hitch points

Fixed plant

  • Crusher and screen pivots
  • Conveyor bearing housings
  • Press and baler linkages
  • Gate and chute hinges

How a line boring job runs

No mystery and no runaround. Here is exactly what happens from the phone call to the machine going back to work.

    You call, we talk it through

    Tell us the machine and which pivots feel worn. We work out whether it is an on site job or one for the workshop, and what it will take.

    We come to you

    The mobile set-up carries the boring bar, welder and power. Farm, pit, yard or factory floor, the machine stays where it is.

    Strip and measure

    Pins and old bushes come out, the bore gets measured, and we confirm how far it has worn before anything is cut.

    Weld and bore true

    The bore is built back up with weld, then the bar is aligned to the original centreline and the hole is machined round and back to size.

    New bushes and pins

    Fresh bushes pressed in and pins fitted, so the joint sits tight the way it did when the machine was new.

    Checked before we leave

    Measured against spec, moved through its range and greased up. You see it working before we pack up.

Why owners keep calling us back

No fuss, no runaround. Just honest work that holds up and gets your machine back to earning.

Quality of workmanship

Every repair is done properly the first time. Bored true, welded clean, measured and checked before it leaves.

Care for safety and equipment

Your machine gets treated like ours. Safe practice on site and respect for the gear we work on.

Reliability

When we say we will be there, we are. Straight answers, on time, and a fix that holds up.

Sean O'Sullivan, owner of SOS Engineering Co
20years in
the trade

My promise to you

G'day, I'm Sean. After 20 years in the trade, I decided to open SOS Engineering. That is two decades across mining, agricultural, civil and factory work, so there is not much machinery I have not had my hands on.

When you call, you deal with me. Whether it is a breakdown that cannot wait or a scheduled service to catch the small stuff early, you will get a straight answer, honest work, and a fix that holds up.

That is the deal: I look after your gear like it is my own, and I keep you moving.

Great service, keeping you moving.

Sean O'Sullivan

Line boring in Wodonga and the North East

Wodonga is around three hours east of the Echuca base and sits at the outer edge of our travel. Bandiana, Baranduda, Barnawartha, Chiltern, Rutherglen, Yackandandah and out toward Tallangatta come with the same trip, and Albury is just across the bridge. On a run that far it pays to line up everything that needs doing, and we will work through it while we are there.

Wodonga

Planned run

~260km

Travel from base

Line boring FAQs for Wodonga

We do. Wodonga is around three hours east of the Wharparilla workshop along the Murray Valley Highway, so it runs as a booked job rather than a drop everything callout. Tell us the machine, the pivots and the bore sizes when you ring and we will bring everything needed to finish it in the one visit.

Got a machine down? Let's get you moving

Call Sean with a quick rundown of the job and the machine. Straight answer, no runaround, on site or in the shop.