Don't use brush mower with trailer hitch kit installed on 3032e!

[idahofarmboy]

Today I was out doing some spring bush hogging with my 3032e and a king kutter 5ft bush hog/brush mower, when suddenly it sounded like there were three gunshots and a looked back to see ALL my hydraulic fluid pouring from the back of the tractor. I cut the engine immediately and jumped off to see what happened.
I found the trailer hitch bar behind the tractor with 3 large gouges in the ball and the bottom of the tractor under the transmission was torn off. What I think happened was the pin used to adjust how far back you want the ball must have been knocked out and then the bar slowly started to vibrate back until it was hit by the blades. Once the blades hit the hitch bar it just ripped the bottom of the tractor right off. I think the three gunshot sounds were from the blades hitting the ball, which is why there are three gouges in the ball.

So a word of caution. If you have the hitch kit, COMPLETELY remove the hitch bar from the tractor if brush cutting. If the pin gets knocked out, it is a ticking time bomb.

 

[idahofarmboy]

Does anybody know what the deductible is on the John Deere Financial damage insurance? I think this is going to be a VERY expensive repair.

 

[TCJatko]

Does anybody know what the deductible is on the John Deere Financial damage insurance? I think this is going to be a VERY expensive repair.

Yikes! I agree with the expensive part.

 

[Scooby074]

Ouch.. Gonna be a wallet hurter for sure.

 

[engine29]

Have seen it happen before on an 870. Need to always remove drawbar if bush hogging. Yes, it will be a VERY expensive
repair.

 

[Mechanos]

I think I would even consider welding that chunk back onto the case.

 

[oldpilgrim]

is it aluminum? It looks like it. Some JD models have aluminum rear ends.

 

[Ed of all trades]

You just need some JD weld, I mean JB Weld.

 

[s219]

Holy moly!!!

Yeah, I wonder, can you grind off the paint and then maybe get the piece welded back into place? Nothing to lose by trying, really. We once fixed an outboard motor that had been rear ended by a car, and was cracked badly in several places. Had the chunks welded back in and it worked well.

 

[4570Man]

I might try tig welding it back on. Only problem would be the heat buildup in the case. Even worse a fire from the oil in the case.