3-point hitch top link issue

[mikerose]

When I bought my used Kubota BX-23 the seller forgot to give me the top link for my 3-point hitch, it got lost and he ended up purchasing a new one for me from Tractor Supply. It's a Part # 0268412. I want to use the hitch to hold a home-made rear weight using a metal garbage can like I've seen. But it seems I have two issues.

This top link is just a bit too wide to fit into the proper spot on the Kubota, perhaps an eighth of an inch. I'm guessing that means it's the wrong one, yet going on line with TSC doesn't tell me what the right one should be. Is it possible it's because it's aftermarket? Supposedly these are all pretty standard according to the guy that sold it to me. Also it looks kind of long, about 18", and it seems a shorter one would be more sensible for what I want to do.

I did a lot of research into the types and grades of these parts and came away very confused! Frankly the whole 3-point hitch thing is very foreign and new to me, although some You Tube videos helped a lot.

So I'm looking for advice on how to proceed with solving my top link problem. The Kubota receiver does not look bent in any way. I suppose I could grind down one end of the existing top link so that it fits there. The pin fits fine by the way, it's just that the end of the link is a tad too thick. Thanks for your help.

 

[bcp]

My BX2360 top link is about 14 inches in shortest position and about 22 inches fully extended. A "standard" top link is longer and will prevent proper operation of your implements.

Here is an aftermarket for Kubota:

Top Link Cat 1 14 1/2 F/Kubota, Center

Others with about a 9 inch center section may work. Category 1 (Cat 1) is the end size you need. If too wide, grind it thinner.

Bruce

 

[jeff9366]

Frankly the whole 3-point hitch thing is very foreign and new to me, although some You Tube videos helped a lot.

An Anglo-Irishman named Harry Ferguson invented the Three Point Hitch after WWI. He took out numerous international patents on every development through 1935.

It is the Three Point Hitch that made the modern "lightweight" tractor possible. Mounted implements transfer weight to the rear tires through the Lower Links and to the front tires through the Top Link, improving tractor traction by multiples. Before Ferguson, "light" tractors were six tons, priced proportionately, and still lacked traction.

Henry Ford was the first person to license Ferguson's Three Point Hitch in the USA, in October 1938, which led to the Ford 9N. When WWII started for the US, and many farmers went to war, Henry Ford sold Ford tractors in the 100,000's, to replace labor. Steel was continually allocated for tractor production during the war. No steel was allocated for civilian automobiles.

Ferguson's patents also covered Draft Control and Postion Control. About the only "modern" aspects Ferguson did not invent are Four Wheel Drive, Power Steering and the Power Take Off (PTO).

The last of Ferguson's Three Point Hitch patents expired in 1955. Today Ferguson's Three Point Hitch is standard on tractors all over the world. No one has been able to improve on its principles.

It is worth reading about Ferguson on Wickipedia.

LINKS:

TractorData.com - Three-Point Hitch

Harry Ferguson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Baby Grand]

I had to take a grinder to the replacement top link I got from TSC to make it fit one of our implements. There was what looked like a bushing pressed into the Heim fitting that was about 1/16 to loong - so out came the grinder and never a problem, since.

 

[SeymourBota]

Tisco makes a short top link- even shorter than the stock Kubota.
It was available at Tractor Supply- not sure about the present.

Amazon.com: TISCO - PART NO:JSA1009. TOP LINK 9IN: Industrial & Scientific

 

[/pine]

This top link is just a bit too wide to fit into the proper spot...

Like Baby Grand said...grind it to fit...(not uncommon at all especially with hydraulic top links)

 

[Zick]

Yup, had to get a replacement for mine. Got it from Farm and Fleet, right length but too wide so out came the grinder.

 

[BeezFun]

So I'm looking for advice on how to proceed with solving my top link problem. The Kubota receiver does not look bent in any way. I suppose I could grind down one end of the existing top link so that it fits there. The pin fits fine by the way, it's just that the end of the link is a tad too thick. Thanks for your help.

I went through the same thing. I bent my original toplink so bad I couldn't use it. I bought a replacement at TSC, and got so fed up with how crappy it was that I took a torch and spent an hour straightening my original kubota top link. I know they're really expensive, the one for my model would cost $175 as opposed to the $20 one I got from TSC. Maybe you can get lucky and find one on ebay or craigslist, or ask your dealer to keep their eyes open for a used one. Or if you get frustrated enough, pay the big bucks and buy a replacement.

 

[mikerose]

Wow, thanks everybody! This forum is great, I've always received quick and useful info here, much appreciated.

 

[efam3300]

I also bent my Kubota top link and went the $20 route for a replacement. Had to do the grinding to fit, no issues with using it on my brush cutter or 3pt disc.

 

[Ken45101]

This top link is just a bit too wide to fit into the proper spot on the Kubota, perhaps an eighth of an inch. I'm guessing that means it's the wrong one, yet going on line with TSC doesn't tell me what the right one should be. Is it possible it's because it's aftermarket? Supposedly these are all pretty standard according to the guy that sold it to me.

Yes, top links are petty much standard....EXCEPT Kubota does it different I guess there isn't enough demand that many third parties make replacements to fit the oddball Kubota dimension.

If it is for something where you do not need rigidity (like a bush hog), you can just use a length of chain with some quick links for the ends. Or you can do like I did and replace it with a hydraulic toplink, about the same price as the Kubota toplink (Assuming you have a spare hydraulic valve to use, otherwise the cost goes way up.)

Jeff9366, thanks for the historical information, especially the part about 9n WWII production. Very interesting.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

All Kubota B series and smaller use a 1 9/16" wide ball swivel at the tractor end of their top links. Who knows why, but they do. :confused3:

 

[tcreeley]

I put a hydraulic toplink in back at the start of the winter. I like it.

 

[mikerose]

Thanks to all who replied, including the person who mentioned that I can just use the pins from the link on the top connector to attach the barrel/weight with a short length of chain--brilliant!

I do have an additional question about how to use the rear hitch from a hydraulic standpoint. Based on experiments yesterday, although I do have a choice about whether to power the rear PTO or not, it looks like the rear hitch always goes up and down in unison with the cutting deck. Assuming I have that right (and please correct me if I'm missing something there), then of course the weight needs to be well off the ground when the cutting deck is down. That also means that the only way to remove the weight would be to set it down on something higher, like some cement blocks. Right?

 

[Happy Gilmore]

An Anglo-Irishman named Harry Ferguson invented the Three Point Hitch after WWI. He took out numerous international patents on every development through 1935.

It is the Three Point Hitch that made the modern "lightweight" tractor possible. Mounted implements transfer weight to the rear tires through the Lower Links and to the front tires through the Top Link, improving tractor traction by multiples. Before Ferguson, "light" tractors were six tons, priced proportionately, and still lacked traction.

Henry Ford was the first person to license Ferguson's Three Point Hitch in the USA, in October 1938, which led to the Ford 9N. When WWII started for the US, and many farmers went to war, Henry Ford sold Ford tractors in the 100,000's, to replace labor. Steel was continually allocated for tractor production during the war. No steel was allocated for civilian automobiles.

Ferguson's patents also covered Draft Control and Postion Control. About the only "modern" aspects Ferguson did not invent are Four Wheel Drive, Power Steering and the Power Take Off (PTO).

The last of Ferguson's Three Point Hitch patents expired in 1955. Today Ferguson's Three Point Hitch is standard on tractors all over the world. No one has been able to improve on its principles.

It is worth reading about Ferguson on Wickipedia.

LINKS:

TractorData.com - Three-Point Hitch

Harry Ferguson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cool bit of information :thumbsup:

 

[jeff9366]

I just finished a biography of Henry Ford; I INVENTED THE MODERN AGE.

Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson were similar eccentrics, with at times bizarre outlooks on consumers and manufacturing.

 

[Grandad4]

Thanks to all who replied, including the person who mentioned that I can just use the pins from the link on the top connector to attach the barrel/weight with a short length of chain--brilliant!

I do have an additional question about how to use the rear hitch from a hydraulic standpoint. Based on experiments yesterday, although I do have a choice about whether to power the rear PTO or not, it looks like the rear hitch always goes up and down in unison with the cutting deck. Assuming I have that right (and please correct me if I'm missing something there), then of course the weight needs to be well off the ground when the cutting deck is down. That also means that the only way to remove the weight would be to set it down on something higher, like some cement blocks. Right?

One would preferably configure a tractor for mowing OR for a 3 point attachment, but not both at the same time. When you're mowing, you don't want the extra weight of an implement hanging off the back needlessly compacting the soil and limiting your maneuverablility. Conversely, when you're working with an implement, the mowing deck can only get in the way, drastically limits the ground clearance and is at risk of damage from rocks, curbs, stumps or whatever else might be in your path. Of course it's possible to save the trouble of removing the mower deck when doing other work, but I've always found it more productive to get the tractor properly set up for whatever type of work is to be done. Removing/reattaching the deck is a minor chore that doesn't take much time or effort once you've done it a few times.

 

[mikerose]

The counterweight is to balance the bucket in front properly. No way I'm going to be taking that on and off. I don't have a huge lawn, so it's no problem to mow with the loader in place.

 

[BlacknTan]

Mounted implements transfer weight to the rear tires through the Lower Links and to the front tires through the Top Link, improving tractor traction by multiples.


It is worth reading about Ferguson on Wickipedia.

LINKS:

TractorData.com - Three-Point Hitch

Harry Ferguson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the life of me, I cannot fathom how a top link, more often in tension than compression, transfers weight to the front wheels!

I find that Wikipedia often contains as much fantasy as fact.

 

[bcp]

For the life of me, I cannot fathom how a top link, more often in tension than compression, transfers weight to the front wheels!

I find that Wikipedia often contains as much fantasy as fact.

I can't find that in either of the linked articles or the Wikipedia article on the "Three-point hitch."

???

Bruce