Quick Hitches bending lift arms

[the old grind]

Redneck in training is set up properly. ... The old grind is setup improperly and I have seen them come from dealerships wrong many times.

Makes sense to me, since attaching stays farther out would reduce the ratio/leverage that can bend the draft arms.

It's amazing how much lift power you lose if those are swapped. It is akin to lifting a barbell with your arms instead of your legs.

I'd be willing to sacrifice a wee bit of lifting power by resetting the NH's stays as they should be and lift arms closer to pivot. Holes are spaced close enough that I doubt I'd notice the difference by switching the positions. btw, The Deere doesn't have the option of mis-assembling these bits. Expect me to 'fix' the NH accordingly.


I hope the OP is getting as much out of this 'class' as I did. (Thanks, guys.)

 

[Fawken]

Makes sense to me, since attaching stays farther out would reduce the ratio/leverage that can bend the draft arms.



I'd be willing to sacrifice a wee bit of lifting power by resetting the NH's stays as they should be and lift arms closer to pivot. Holes are spaced close enough that I doubt I'd notice the difference by switching the positions. btw, The Deere doesn't have the option of mis-assembling these bits. Expect me to 'fix' the NH accordingly.
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I hope the OP is getting as much out of this 'class' as I did. (Thanks, guys.)

Actually you misunderstood what I'm saying. You will actually gain power by getting the lift linkage closer to vertical. Dealerships are like Walmart. Who puts the bicycles together at Walmart? The hitch is about the last dealer prep item that gets assembled by the dealer. You think their most experienced diesel mechanics handle it?

 

[the old grind]

The 'bending' of the draft arms I referred to was lateral, not vertical. Never bent one by lifting, so can't comment on that possibility.

Uh, forgive me for thinking that leverage could ever matter to lift capacity, and that only arm angle does (tho' both ends may 'swing' in arcs of unequal lengths/angles?)

... and for agreeing with you that the boys at the shop totally goofed. (that I'll correct it was my hint, there)

So ... if I fix & show pix .. can I be ungrounded?

(For all I know it was their best guy that didn't know the a__ end of a tractor... :confused3
:laughing:

 

[Fallon]

Nope that's exactly how they're supposed to be on that machine. And generally yes the smaller tractors have them on the inside from what I've seen. The really big tractors have both on each arm- in and outter.

Small tractors don't have enough room between the wheels when you figure in the CAT 1 separation distances to put them outside. Outside is generally better & you can get a much wider angle outside for strength if there is room there.

Not a problem, just a compromise for the form factor.

 

[tcreeley]

My NH TC30 has the turnbuckles on the outside. Nothing to hook to on the inside.

I had a dirt plow attached one time and without thinking I backed into a bank. I bent a lower lift arm. I straightened it with a 6 lb sledge hammer. I think they are designed with bending in mind when the pressure is there so that the pin on the tractor that the lower lift arm is attached to, does not snap or break the casting.

Looking at the bend spot of the lower lift arms it looks like there was too much free play in the turn buckles so that the bush hog was swinging side to side laterally and caused the bend in the lower lift arm. Looks like the turn buckles acted as a pivot point for the bend.

Another idea is that the turnbuckles had no play and while going into a turn the bushhog was lifted- with the lift providing the bending force against the resistance of a too tight turnbuckle. If this case the case- there probably would be a twist in the lower lift arm as well.

Lucky that all the damage there was, was to the lower lift arm.

 

[geneP]

Actually you misunderstood what I'm saying. You will actually gain power by getting the lift linkage closer to vertical. Dealerships are like Walmart. Who puts the bicycles together at Walmart? The hitch is about the last dealer prep item that gets assembled by the dealer. You think their most experienced diesel mechanics handle it?

Pardon me while I disagree. Lift links closer to to the load increases lift capacity but decreases arc or range of the 3 point implement attaching point. You will get more vertical lift if the lift link is closer to the rear end.

 

[Fawken]

Pardon me while I disagree. Lift links closer to to the load increases lift capacity but decreases arc or range of the 3 point implement attaching point. You will get more vertical lift if the lift link is closer to the rear end.

The problem with that is since the linkage is not vertical, i.e. angling away from the tractor, much of the lift force is redirected trying to pull the arms into the tractor rather than straight up. The mechanical losses become greater as the lift goes higher because the upper lift arms are so much smaller than the lower. If I had a way to post a diagram, you'd see what I mean.

 

[geneP]

A solution to the bending arms problem can be solved by welding a 1 1/4" x 1/2" flat bar to the bottom of the lift arm. I would straighten the original arms, add the flat bar to the bottom, and swap the lift attaching points with the stabilizer attachment point. If you can't see the flat bar in this pic I can get a closer shot.

 

[dgdubya]

A solution to the bending arms problem can be solved by welding a 1 1/4" x 1/2" flat bar to the bottom of the lift arm. I would straighten the original arms, add the flat bar to the bottom, and swap the lift attaching points with the stabilizer attachment point. If you can't see the flat bar in this pic I can get a closer shot.

this will be my solution but I'd still like to know why they're bending. I looked into the suggestion that the chains belong inside the arms or ahead of the lift arms that neither fit that way and it's contrary to how the manual shows everything installed. I know I overloaded the arms the first time they bent but subsequent bending has me baffled.

 

[Fawken]

this will be my solution but I'd still like to know why they're bending. I looked into the suggestion that the chains belong inside the arms or ahead of the lift arms that neither fit that way and it's contrary to how the manual shows everything installed. I know I overloaded the arms the first time they bent but subsequent bending has me baffled.

You need to read the entire thread. And look at the pictures.

 

[Djames55]

this will be my solution but I'd still like to know why they're bending. I looked into the suggestion that the chains belong inside the arms or ahead of the lift arms that neither fit that way and it's contrary to how the manual shows everything installed. I know I overloaded the arms the first time they bent but subsequent bending has me baffled.

To me most likely the subsequent bending was just from under sized 1/2 inch cheap TS chinese junk lift arms being used...

 

[sd455dan]

To me most likely the subsequent bending was just from under sized 1/2 inch cheap TS chinese junk lift arms being used...

Think you may be right -those lift arms (Look) like mild steel??

If I am not mistaken both my Chinese and American tractor have what appear to be cast steel lift arms.

Also as mentioned by another poster- you could add (weld) a support to the lift arms to counter the horizontal direction of possible thrust. This also appears to be designed into some lift arms.


Just went out to remove some stumps after posting and OOps-

Pushing dirt in reverse to fill in a stump hole and must of caught a root -at least the 3 point arms held up, but broke the mount that the previous owner of my Gannon box blade added/modified to it


Hope you get your 3 point back up and working well -
time to get the box blade back to the shop for some welding

the joy of tractor ownership...

 

[tman1020]

Why didn't you switch the turn buckle with the lift support as mentioned earlier. This should help prevent the lateral bending you are experiencing or did you try that also.

 

[Fawken]

Why didn't you switch the turn buckle with the lift support as mentioned earlier. This should help prevent the lateral bending you are experiencing or did you try that also.

That's why I told him to re-read the thread. I can easily why his arms are bending with the turnbuckles in that position as they have no leverage.

 

[jones6780]

I agree that the stabilizer bar/turnbuckle/chains should be as long as possible for leverage to control movement. The lift arms have 3 holes for a reason. If you need more lift distance and less lift power then move to the inner hole. If you need more lift power and less lift distance the move to the outer hole. The holes are only a few inches apart and do not significantly change the angle with the lift support. My 1700 has chains on the outside for stabilizers. There is nothing on the in side to connect to but I would prefer on the inside.

 

[hunt4570]

Your linkage is set up completely wrong. Those turnbuckles are supposed to be on the inside of the arms. Or they can stay there but you need turnbuckles or chains on the inside too. The ones on the inside are most critical. Also can't tell if you have turnbuckles on both sides but they have to be there- on both sides.

Mine are on the outside also, I think every tractor I've ever had they were on the outside!