3-Point Hitch 3 Point Hitch Arms not lowering all the way on 7234

   / 3 Point Hitch Arms not lowering all the way on 7234 #1  

MajMac392

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2002
Messages
406
Location
Southern Maine
Tractor
Cub Cadet 7234, John Deere X300 Riding Lawn Mower
I had a problem earlier this year but I didn't get any replies. I hope someone can help me with this.

I have one of the older Cub Cadet 7234 models with just under 700 hours, I bought new back in 1996 or so. It has the Mitsubishi 23 HP engine and drivetrain. I've used it this summer but rarely use the 3 point hitch. When I went to put it away today I realized the two upper arms of the 3 point hitch were only lowering part way and not going all the way down. There is no implement on the tractor I just had the arms raised because I was pulling a trailer around and the arms were in the way. I tried moving the control valve that adjusts the rate at which the arms move up or down but that didn't have any effect at getting the arms to lower all the way. The hydraulic fluid is full.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I assume most 3 point hitches operate similarly so someone with another brand of tractor may have some ideas for things I can check?

Thanks for listening.
 
   / 3 Point Hitch Arms not lowering all the way on 7234 #2  
my 6284 lowers by gravity, so makes sense that yours might not go all the way down without an attachment on it.Check to see if the hydraulic piston for the PTO has only 1 hose going to it, if so then it lowers by gravity.You would have to stand on it and then lower it.
 
   / 3 Point Hitch Arms not lowering all the way on 7234 #3  
Don't know if this applies to your tractor, but on my MF, there is a knob that I can move in the slot for my 3 pt hitch lever that will limit how far down I can lower it.

I use it when brush hogging and set it so that the brush hog only lowers to a certain amount.

I then forget about it when I go to remove the brush hog and can't get the 3 pt arms to lower far enough

then I remember and move that lever limiter all the way down so that I can put the 3 pt lever in the lowest position.

so.....check your actual 3 pt lever to make sure it is in the lowest position in can go.
 
   / 3 Point Hitch Arms not lowering all the way on 7234
  • Thread Starter
#4  
I hope the weather is better today to take the tractor out of the garage to look closer at this. I don’t think it is a free fall issue because it seems to lower fine, just not where it always has dropped to.

At this Point the lower arms are disconnected and laying on the floor. The upper arms that actually lift the lower arms and implement have nothing attached. The picture shows where the upper arms are at their lowest point. I can grab either of the arms and lift them from the current position to its highest point which is maybe 45 degrees. When I release it, it lowers fine to where you see it in the pic. The arms are easy to lift, no binding but if I try to lift an arm and kind of bang it lower hits is a solid metal to metal sound like it is hitting against an internal stop.
 

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   / 3 Point Hitch Arms not lowering all the way on 7234
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Well folks it’s fixed but I think it was a couple of factors causing it. I got to thinking that the lever that controlled the 3 Point Hitch had been somewhat hard to push and pull for awhile now. When I looked at the linkage for it the other night, I thought I probably should look to see if I needed to lube anything but to do that, I had to pull the seat and pan beneath it to get to the linkage. When I got everything removed it had a lot of dirt and grime with old oil and 25 years of dirt and dust. So I cleaned up all of that off with kerosene and Greased Lighting, washed it down with hot water and then blew it dry.

I oiled up all of the pivot points with WD40 and also re-bent the control lever that activates the hitch. Quite a while back I was picking up rocks or moving a tree and I had bent the lever. I couldn’t really get to part of the lever until I had the seat and sheet metal removed. The lever looked like the bend in it didn’t allow as a positive throw of the linkage as it should have. There is a couple red arrows in the last picture that shows kind of a bushing one of the rods pivots in in the center of the photo was tight and causing some tightness. The lower arrow shows a bend in the control lever. I also removed the lower stop for the control lever that gives me better movement.

So the hitch moves much better, drops as it should and the lever moving it is much looser now.
 

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