3PH pin marring

UTCenturion · Feb 10, 2014

Whats Causing this and how do I prevent it. I went to remove my rotary cutter and the pin sleeve got stuck at a certain point on the pin. After hammering with a dowel I got the pin out but its covered in surprisingly deep grooves in the middle of the pin area. What am I doing to cause this and how do I prevent it?

7879fordman · Feb 10, 2014

It's the low quality of the metal in the pins . And no grease .

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UTCenturion · Feb 10, 2014

I actually had grease on them at the time. I cleaned the grease off to be able to better take photo of the damage.

7879fordman · Feb 10, 2014

Just the low quality of the metal I have noticed the same thing on the new pins I have bought over the older ones I have had for years .

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UTCenturion · Feb 12, 2014

7879fordman said:
Just the low quality of the metal I have noticed the same thing on the new pins I have bought over the older ones I have had for years .

Sent from my iPhone 5 using TractorByNet

Yuck, I've swapped for a spare pin I had handy, can I sand the high bumps off and reuse this pin or is that asking for trouble.

Dr_Zinj · Feb 12, 2014

I suspect you'd lose too much structural strength sanding the gouges out completely.
That also doesn't address the gouges in the female/receiver side of the pin connectors. You may need to replace the whole connection assembly.

UTCenturion · Feb 12, 2014

I'll check the connections on the 3 point hitch for marks. I have had the rotary cutter attached with a new pin for a few days with no visible effects. I was just thinking of keeping this pin as a spare, but sounds like I just need to throw it in the scrap heap.

Reverser · Feb 12, 2014

That pin looks long so I assume it's the top link pin?
Sometimes the fit-up on the implement top links are kind of a sloppy fit. I've seen top link brackets on some implements being wider than necessary, allowing the components to work back and forth. If that's the case, then I can see where dirt/sand/grit could get on the pin and the grease holding the grit in place would wear the parts. Without a pic of the whole assembly together, it's hard to tell for sure.
Regardless, though, I would still think that the pin is softer than it should be.