Broken BX turnbuckle

Singlecoil · May 24, 2007

I noticed that my box scraper had a little too much play side to side and was too slow getting around to tightening the turnbuckles I guess. I was working it pretty hard. Upon inspection, the original welds didn't seem to be very beefy, but then I'm not a welder.
The good news is I took it to a welding shop and they put 4 new welds on it with an arc-welder for no charge.
Made my day.

mjarrels · May 24, 2007

Hated those turnbuckles from the get go... mine have been hanging on the garage wall for years... just keep a drawbar on the tractor in case I need to move a trailer... BUT, I never 3 point anything on the orange tractor. I use the Ford for rear implements.

mark

KeithInSpace · May 24, 2007

Were you making turns with the box blade engaged to the ground? Just curious as to how it could get broken like that.

Jimbrown · May 24, 2007

I broke both of mine the same way and welded them both back. It seems to happen if you have too much slack in them. I keep them snugged up now and have not broke one since.

Singlecoil · May 24, 2007

KeithInSpace said:
Were you making turns with the box blade engaged to the ground? Just curious as to how it could get broken like that.

Come to think of it, I was. I've been carving out a walking trail and using the scarifier teeth to pull up some pretty good sized roots as well.
I think it was mainly a too much slack issue.

dennisgw · May 24, 2007

I broke my recently while pulling my XB Rototiller. Thought I had the turnbuckles fairly tight at the time. Maybe doing curves with the tiller was the issue. The manual says straight line only but............ curves are nicer than a ragged edge. Mine cost $10 at local weld shop. Their minimum charge. Not as friendly as mentioned in some of the replies. Took all of 1 minute to repair.

rdsaustintx · May 24, 2007

Get used to it. I have broken a half dozen in 450 hours, always while blading. Spares are actually pretty cheap at TractorSmart.

Russell in Texas

PaulZ · May 25, 2007

I had the same problem and replaced the turnbuckles with solid bars. Here's a link describing how to do the modifications. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-point-hitch-mod.html?highlight=BX+lower+link

Hootie · May 25, 2007

PaulZ said:
I had the same problem and replaced the turnbuckles with solid bars. Here's a link describing how to do the modifications. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/93618-bx-3-point-hitch-mod.html?highlight=BX+lower+link

No doubt, this is the way to go!!

AceDeuce · May 25, 2007

I'll second PaulZ's suggestion. I did it on my BX and it's SOOOOO much better! No tools. I also replaced my solid lifting rod with an adjustable one so that I can get more lift height. Another useful mod for older-style BX's.