# Yoder 640 Wheel Mod



## bbq pit vulture (May 6, 2013)

Yoder 640 Wheel up Grade.

Used a floor jack inserted from the hopper end, to raise the end with the castor wheels.













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Only removed one leg at a time. Must maintain support 

Take the leg to work bench to work on.

The top 4 bolts are 5/16 inch, with a 3/8 nut inside.

Might need a wrench to get loose.

The lower 8 are 1/4" hex head screws.













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Caster is threaded into bottom of leg, remove with slip joint pliers

caster is not threaded into leg very tight, once loosened will thread out.













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Use a taper drill to enlarge the hole for the caster shank, to the fit the

new caster shank about 5/8 inch













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Original threaded hole about 1/2 inch













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Enlarged hole about 5/8 inch













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Add three washers to the caster stud.













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Insert caster stud in leg add another washer and the nut.

I used a nylon self locking nut. The nuts are 16mm. don't panic

if you don't have a 16mm wrench and socket.

15/16 inch is the same size 7/8 inch will work too just a little bit loose fitting on the nut.

The end of the caster stud, inside the swivel is 

16mm, use an opened end wrench there and a socket inside the leg

Reinstall the leg. and repeat for the other side .













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Finished with the casters.

Remember, Only remove one leg at a time to maintain support













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Now for the 16" Wheels.

Purchase a 3 ft length of 1/2 inch rod at a Big Box store,

and two 1/2 inch fender washers.

Jack up the pellet hopper end of the Yoder.

Remove the pins holding the original axels in place remove the wheels and axels.

On one end of the 1/2" rod. Drill a 1/8th inch hole 1/2" in from the end of the rod.

Insert one of the axel pins in the hole, slide on a fender washer the wheel and two washers that were removed from

The original wheel. insert the new axel in one side slide it across to the other side, insert in that axel hole.

On my Yoder there is a slight misalignment between the two sides, Use a hammer to 

tap the axel in all the way. Install the two washers, the wheel and the other fender washer.

Using a center pinch, mark the axel as close as possible on the out side of the washer. Drill the second hole, insert the pin. Trim the extra length of the rod.













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Using the two washers between the wheel and the leg there should be about 1/4 inch clearance.













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Done













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## show me smoke (May 15, 2013)

well done lots of Yoder owners that do the wheel mod will appreciate this post.


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## chef jimmyj (Jun 6, 2013)

Do you have Part #'s and where to purchase the Wheels and Casters? Thanks...JJ


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## bbq pit vulture (Jun 6, 2013)

I purchased the wheels from Amazon.com. Or they can be purchased directly from Northern Tool & Equipment.

Link to the larger wheel.


Link to castor.


The 1/2 inch axel rod was purchased at a local bog box store.

Link to Grizzly.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-1-4-Black-Rubber-Swivel-Caster-w-Brake-Threaded/D2549


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## chef jimmyj (Jun 6, 2013)

Thanks for the info...JJ


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## tropez (Jul 17, 2013)

Out of curiosity, does the grill sit flat still or at the same angle? You seem to have thought this through so I'm assuming there's some front wheel to back wheel ratio you had to figure out before deciding on these wheel sizes so the thing didn't end up sitting like a hot rod with it's ass up in the air?


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## bbq pit vulture (Jul 17, 2013)

tropez said:


> Out of curiosity, does the grill sit flat still or at the same angle? You seem to have thought this through so I'm assuming there's some front wheel to back wheel ratio you had to figure out before deciding on these wheel sizes so the thing didn't end up sitting like a hot rod with it's ass up in the air?


Sorry I can not take credit for the wheel size. I found all the information in this thread started by Show me Smoke.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/134980/yoder-640

I followed this link posted by MossyMo post #4.

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18483&page=2

Showing the original mods. 

The grill does sit slightly low toward the small wheel end about an inch or so. Which is good in my opinion, as it allows the grease to flow toward the drain end.

If you wanted the grill to sit level add more washers between the castor and the leg. I added 3 washers to start.

It sits about 5 inches higher, which is also good as it is easier on the back.

The only slight disadvantage is closing the lid if you are short, I am 5ft 9in it is a bit of a reach to the handle.













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## tropez (Jul 18, 2013)

Ollie8974 said:


> Sorry I can not take credit for the wheel size. I found all the information in this thread started by Show me Smoke.
> 
> http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/134980/yoder-640
> 
> ...


Sitting higher sounds nice, I'm 6'4" so usually taller is better for a guy like me. Thanks for the info. Still debating if I need this mod or not, I'm not sure how often I will be moving this smoker/grill so it may not be worth the extra $100 (or so) at this time.


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## nickmv (Apr 5, 2014)

Great job with this guide --- I'm so glad I found it!

Anyways, I decided to go with a smaller setup, but it worked well. So a couple things:

The stock casters -- no wonder they were falling apart! One of mine had busted the balls out of the bearing just from rolling it over brick paving stones from my shed to the  yard. Anyways, when we took it apart, it turns out that at the factory, they did a horrible job of tightening things. The busted caster definitely had a loose nut over the bolt, which of course definitely led to failure. Overall though, we can agree that the real reason for all this is the fact that a 2-inch caster is just not acceptable for the size/weight of this smoker. This puppy pushes 375lbs, and to have 2 inch casters up front --- man, NOT good.

So anyways, I couldn't find any 6.25inch casters from Home Depot, so I opted to go with something a tad smaller. I got some 4 inch casters which fit the bill perfectly. I of course had to use my step bit as well (same one you have), and expand the mounting hole. Everything went well with that changeout, til we decided to accidentally tip the smoker all the way over onto the hopper. Luckily this thing is built like a tank and it handled the tip just fine. I was worried for a minute though. 10 gauge steel is tough!

Since I had 4 inch casters, I didn't want to mate that to 16 inch wheels, as I felt that the angle would be too steep, compared to the stock setup, or your 6.25 <---> 16 inch setup. In the end, I opted to go with 12 inch rubber tires from Northern Tool.

All in all, it works great, but I'm still working on reducing a little wobble in the tires. I need to get some nylon bushings which are thinner than the washers I used. This should help stabilize everything properly.


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## big johns bbq (May 15, 2015)

just curious. I see the pictures are date stamped close to a year ago. How have they held up? Would you change anything since using them for a while?


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## bbq pit vulture (May 15, 2015)

The Wheel mod has held up great.

I highly recommend it.

I would not change anything..


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## show me smoke (May 22, 2015)

Mine has held up great.  I would recommend it


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