Bent Rotary Cutter Deck - Can it be Fixed?

[fourbrads]

Greetings. I was not careful enough when I bought this used Land Pride RCR1248 (heck of a deal!) and did not notice that the deck is bent in a slight U shape on the left side. See the pics with the 6' level. I'm not sure how (or if) it will cut in this condition, but if it does fine I won't worry about it much.

Is there a simple way to bend it back into shape?

Also, it came with a horseshoe shaped top link that I 'think' will work with my quick hitch. Should I be trying to source a floating top link for it, or will it work fine as-is?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Jim

 

[CATRAT66]

The blade is parallel to the gearbox and as long as that is parallel to the ground a slight bend in the deck front to rear is negligible
Bent side to side would be worse
If It’s not a finish mower I wouldn’t worry about it
The horseshoe is your floating link

 

[HamishMacCheap]

I'm pretty far removed from a mechanical engineer or an expert implement repairman but I speculate the damage you pictured will not adversely affect the implement's operation to any noticeable degree. I would attach it to your tractor and if it operates to your expectations, I would be glad I got a heck of a deal.

As far as quick hitches, I can't comment. I have never used one so I have no practical experience.

 

[ning]

I think to use it with a quick-hitch or any other short direct connection you'll need to replace these diagonal links with chain

otherwise the entire thing (tractor + mower) is a solid unit and won't follow contours (and will put unnecessary stress on everything if the tractor's rear wheels go into a dip or you suddenly start going uphill).

The bend shouldn't affect anything; worst case make a cut where you think everything should be level, then adjust to where it actually is level, and make a note of the heights so you can duplicate that next time you hook up. Look at it on the bright side - it's pre-distressed so you don't have to worry about inflicting the first damage to it

Once you do replace the links with chain, check to see how far up or down you can let the mower flex before it runs out of extension or collapse in the PTO shaft (IMO a good reason to keep the links solid and to use the flex connection with a hydraulic top link instead, if you can)

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I think to use it with a quick-hitch or any other short direct connection you'll need to replace these diagonal links with chain

After years of running a very similar mower with the steel straps in place and using a link much like the one pictured, no problems.

I don't even see how the mower would know the difference between a quick hitch and using the 3-point as usual. Okay, the PTO shaft gets extended a bit more, but other than that???

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

To be certain, lift it with the 3pt. With the tractor off and pto not locked in or anything. Try and spin it, look to see if its hitting anywhere. If not, run baby run... If its hitting, you can try using a maul to make adjustments as needed. OR... You might could use a hydraulic bottle jack in some cases.

 

[repete]

Compared to both of mine it looks brand new. Follow part-time-Farmer's advice.

 

[fourbrads]

The blade is parallel to the gearbox and as long as that is parallel to the ground a slight bend in the deck front to rear is negligible
Bent side to side would be worse
If It’s not a finish mower I wouldn’t worry about it
The horseshoe is your floating link

Sadly, I think it is bent side-to-side, but it looks like the consensus is to run it and see how it cuts, then adjust with a hammer as needed.

As for the link, while I was working on it today and lifting with the tractor, I noticed that when the bar in the horseshoe is sitting in the quick hitch top hook, there is no flex anywhere at the top link. Looks like I need to invest in a floating top link if I am going to use the quick hitch with this thing.

I appreciate the response!

Jim

 

[ning]

As for the link, while I was working on it today and lifting with the tractor, I noticed that when the bar in the horseshoe is sitting in the quick hitch top hook, there is no flex anywhere at the top link. Looks like I need to invest in a floating top link if I am going to use the quick hitch with this thing.

That's where using chains as the diagonal links comes in.

 

[ning]

I don't even see how the mower would know the difference between a quick hitch and using the 3-point as usual. Okay, the PTO shaft gets extended a bit more, but other than that???

The difference is in the allowed angles through the attachment point. With it connected on the quick hitch how he's got it, there's no flexibility between the attachment and the top hitch point, give (the mower can't tilt up) or take (the mower can't tilt down).

If the connection was back to the tractor top link attachment point, it would allow either the mower to come up, go down, or some of both, depending on the length of the attachment. Here he's basically got a zero-length top link.