3-Point Hitch L3540 3-pt Lever Disconnected ???

caspar3259 · Jul 6, 2012

I swapped the back hoe for the 3-pt and box blade a couple days ago and was smoothing part of the driveway when the lever that controls the 3-pt height went slack and almost dropped through the slot in the cover had it not been for the rubber "knob" on the end. By pulling the lever back up and toward the rear I was able to raise the BB and return to the parking spot.

This evening I took off the cover to see if I could tell what went wrong... and I can't. I can see the lever best from behind the tractor and can see how it is still connected to the hydraulics, but I cannot see any way it would be held in place and allowed to pivot. I see what looks like an empty hole on a bracket but it faces the rear of the tractor and I see nothing on the lever that would attach at or near the hole.

I'm afraid I'll have to call the dealer on Monday.

Does anyone know how it attaches? Anyone have a drawing or photo that shows how it works?

crazyal · Jul 6, 2012

I can't take a picture but if you look from the rear you should see a nut with a spring behind it. Behind that is an arm (that I think is for draft control) with a notch in the rear. Behind that is a round tube about 1 1/2" wide that the 3 pt hitch lever is welded to. Behind that is another rear facing lever that has a pin welded to it that fits into the notch on the lever on the other side of the 3pt arm. The spring is there to set how much resistance is felt when moving the arm. In front of everything is a short shaft that controls the 3pt. The bottom of the shaft is held in place with a cotter pin.

If you can still move the 3pt hitch by lifting and pushing down on the lever then it sounds like the weld broke on the round tube. If it's under warranty I would let the dealer replace the arm. My guess is the knob needs to be pulled off the arm (I didn't look to see if the slot for the lever can be removed to allow the arm to pass through with the knob). If it's not under warranty then you could remove the arm and tube and reweld it.

If you can post a picture from the rear it would be helpful.

caspar3259 · Jul 7, 2012

Thanks crazyal. I took these two photos that turned out better than I expected. From your description I think it's missing a few parts... but strange that I never saw any shrapnel on the ground... oh well... I'll be sending an email to the dealer shortly telling him to come pick it up again.

-Jeff

crazyal · Jul 7, 2012

I highlighted a few spots on your image. In the top circle is the "round tube" the arm is welded to. It looks like the weld (square box) on the arm (the lower circle) broke off. I don't see anything really missing.

DDM84 · Jul 8, 2012

If your tractor is out of warranty I would recommend that you have that lever welded back together versus ordering a new lever assembly. If you saw the new replacement you would know exactly why it broke where it did. It's just held together by some large tack welds. If you still have warranty have the shop add some weld before they install it.

caspar3259 · Jul 17, 2012

Just to wrap this up - the dealer replaced the 3pt lever under warranty. I did not get a chance to see the old parts, but I'm hoping the new one will last a long time.

thanks for the help,

-Jeff