3 pt hitch problem?

Ceriusone · May 8, 2005

Have come across an interesting (and seemingly persistant) problem with using some attachments on my Mitsubishi gray market tractor(2501D). I was hoping that someone else might have some experience with this.
My three point hitch does not drop low enough to effectively use items such as a drag harrow and bottom (potato)plow. I also cannot get my box blade down as low as I would like when I tilt it and try to cut deeper on one side, such as ditch digging. The drag harrow uses the 3 pt hitch and then connects to the main frame of the harrow with chain. I will have to modify by adding a lot more chain just to get the harrow flat on the ground! I have studied the hitch and the two lower arms each have only two holes in them. The upper or lifting arms are in pinned to the lowest holes...thus the hitch only lowers to about a foot and a half to two feet from the ground! (I'm sure this is the lower limit of travel because I have used much heavier equipment like brush hogs and disc harrows and that distance is persistant). It seems to me that the only way I can get it to go lower is to somehow drill thru these arms and place holes lower. Why should I have to do this? Any thoughts or ideas on this?

KenVT · May 8, 2005

Any way you could post some pics of this?

sounds like the 3pt requirements must be slightly different in China?
Are the arms just too short?
Maybe custom made arms would be better than dilling new holes, Holes closer to the tractor may lessen your 3PH lift capacity...

Just a Thought..

Ken

Ceriusone · May 8, 2005

Unfortunately, i won't be able to provide pics until a week from now after I go up to my property where the tractor is. Believe it or not, I had asked the dealer about the "highness" of the hitch when it was being demonstrated and he said that was normal and as low as any should go. I've seen them go a lot lower. I will try to get pics posted as soon as possible. I have used the tractor for a while, though, and it lifts fine and has good hydraulics. This is the only problem I can find. All of the arms seem to me to be the same length and make-up as all others I have seen, so I am kinda baffled.

KiotiJohn · May 9, 2005

( sounds like the 3pt requirements must be slightly different in China? )
Just to clarify, that tractor was made for the Japanese market for rice paddies.
Where the arms attach, are there more holes to raise/lower the rear part of the arms? Is it possible that putting them in the highest hole will allow the hitch points to be lower?
On my tractor, the hitch arms are two sets of holes so that I can set it to go lower or higher. Maybe the simple fix is to do as you said and drill a new set of holes further back on the hitch arms. I think mine goes down to about 6" from the ground when in the holes closest to the rear of the tractor, and about 1' in the other holes.
John

Ceriusone · May 9, 2005

That sounds logical. Just by looking at the arms, though, I had assumed that by the way they operate that they would move closer to the ground in the lowest set of holes. Seems like the upper holes hold it higher. I've been wrong about things on this tractor before, so I will give it a try and move the upper arms to the holes closest to the tractor and see what happens. If that doesn't do it, then I guess I will try to find something that will drill thru that metal and make a new set to suit. Thanks for your input. That's what I like most about this forum. Other's responses get me to thinking about things in ways I probably wouldn't have on my own. Thanks again.
Dennis

djradz · May 9, 2005

I think you'll find the lowest holes get you the lowest, not the other way around. Drilling is OK as long as there is adequate metal. If you tractor is like others, it should be pretty easy to take each side off and use a drill press or otherwise hold the parts - much easier than on the tractor. You might also look to adjust the "raise" adjustment. Usually it is used to adjust how high the 3-pt will go, but it might have an effect on how low as well. If you can sacrifice a little height, you might give this a try. Most tractors have some sort of adjustment screw/linkage tied to one of the lower link control arms near the top of the tractor where their shaft enters the tractor case.

Ceriusone · May 9, 2005

Thanks! I'll take a look the next time I get a chance and see what linkage I have tied to the raise/lower controller and see what I might can do. I could probably stand to lose a little bit of the raise heighth without much effect. Just as an all-round general question....what does seem to be the average distance from the ground on the lowest setting with a three point hitch? Is it possibly common for 'all' gray's to be higher?

KiotiJohn · May 9, 2005

( I think you'll find the lowest holes get you the lowest, not the other way around. )
Depending on the layout of the tractor, placing the hitch arms, at the tractor, in a higher hole will cause the other end of the arm to hang lower when the hitch is in it's lowest postion. It's just geometry. Not all layouts will work this way, but some do.
John

djradz · May 10, 2005

Lower arm is hinged near the rear axle and the piece (turnbuckle or crank on one side, solid on other) is connected about half way out on the lower arm. I'm sorry, but I just don't see how shortening these connecting piece will do anything but further raise the lower arm, unless there is some very strange "geometry" going on. If you have a pic, it would be very helpful to illustrate. In the pic I've attached, you can see that if the crank is turned to shorten the connecting piece, or a higher hole is utilized, the lower arm would be raised also.

KiotiJohn · May 10, 2005

On the left side of your picture, you see that fork connection on the left hitch arm? It's in the middle hole. If you lower that to the bottom hole, and then crank down the right arm, adjusting it to another hole if possible, you'll get a lower hitch level.
I can see from the pic that your tractor won't do what I was talking about, but you will go lower if you change the hole to the bottom on both sides, or probably, you can only move the left one, and then crank down the right one to even it up.
John

Soundguy · May 10, 2005

I see where his confusion is. On many tractors, there are 3 holes in the lift arm itself, and 1 hole inthe fork.. in that case, using the top hole inthe arm, lowers the connecting point. However as we are looking at this picture, the lift arm has 1 hole apparently, and the lift fork has 3 holes. in this case, I agree with KJ using the bottom hole in the ford will lower the connection point.. etc.

Soundguy

Ceriusone · May 10, 2005

Of course, in the case of my tractor, there are only two holes in the lower arm and the upper or lift arms are pinned into the holes furtherest from the tractor. I'm sitting here trying to draw this out and making these parts move on paper. when I get back to my tractor on the farm, I will definitely have to move the pins to the holes closest to the tractor and see what the difference is on the lift. (I'd also like to see how much difference there will be in lift strength..if any). It will be real interesting to see which application does what to the distances. I'm hoping that moving the pins in toward the tractor will do the trick, because if it's not enough, I have room to drill another set of holes. Outward on the arms away from the tractor, I do not.
Thanks for all of the input. I'm surprised to see the subtle but real differences in the design of my hitch compared to others.
Dennis /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ceriusone · May 10, 2005

Oh, also forgot to mention that my connecting arms from the lift arms to the lower do not have the holes in the forks that Djradz shows in his photo. It is just simply the one large hole for the pin. The only changes I can physically make are moving the pins to one other hole in the lower arms.

Tractors4u · May 10, 2005

When the grey market tractors are unloaded from the shipping containers they do not have the wheels & tires, 3 pt hitches, mufflers and etc on them. Those pieces have to be installed. It is likely that they put the wrong ones on your tractor.

KiotiJohn · May 10, 2005

( Of course, in the case of my tractor, there are only two holes in the lower arm and the upper or lift arms are pinned into the holes furtherest from the tractor. I'm sitting here trying to draw this out and making these parts move on paper. )
I think Brent has hit the nail on the head. They had a container of different models, and you're got the wrong arms. You can probably find some other lift arms that will work better on that tractor if you can't get the hitch down further with our suggestions.
Make sure you get the fork type connector with different hole levels so you can make it work well with different implements.
John

Keith_B · May 10, 2005

Before doing any modifications I would check to insure that if any stop on the lift control is set to allow the arms to go as low as they will go. Usually these stops are just a nut on a piece of metal with a stud in place. When the stops are set the control lever hits the stop and will not allow the lever to move to a position to let the 3pt arms drop any lower.

DirtHauler · May 11, 2005

Just a curious thought here, but instead of drilling, buying etc., aren't most lift arms clamped or bolted to a splined shaft? Would it be possible to drop the lift arms down one or two notches on the splined shaft?

Soundguy · May 11, 2005

Not really. At least on fords, the upper lift arms are on a splined rockshaft that has a master spline.. no offset is allowed.

For Cer., if the holes are more or less parallel, the hole closest to t he tractor in your description, will lower the end of the lift arm. the hole away fromt he tractor will raise the end of the lift arm / connection point.

Soundguy