Looked Back and the rotary cutter was hanging at an angle.....

[dmccarty]

Sunday I was finally able to get some tractor work done. I have been working 10-15 hour days plus weekends. But that is over and I can finally start catching up on my chores. Way behind I am.

I had figured I had about 8 hours of mowing to do and I almost took a half a day from work to start but that did not work out. So there was Saturday. Well it rained real hard Saturday morning so that left Sunday afternoon.

The log book said the last time I started the tractor was the end of July. Added five gallons of fuel, PS, and off I went mowing. I mowed the edge of the driveway and then got into a cleared area on our house front. Just grass about 3-4 feet tall. There is one area that goes back into the woods that I want to keep open so I went back down that way and it was pretty clean. I had already mowed this back in July and it had not grown up. There is a mess of blackberry bushes and saplings I wanted to clean up so I backed into the mess a few times and clean it right up. Then I mowed back to the driveway. This is about 400 feet.

I get back to the driveway, cross it, and started mowing a bit of grass on the other side. There is quite a bit of up and down crossing the driveway so I looked back to see how the rotary cutter was cutting. And the MX 6 was at a sharp angle instead of parallel to the ground!

I quickly realized that this was not good. From the seat I could see that the upper pin on the 3PH had slipped off! At this point I'm in the middle of the driveway. I can't stop the tractor at this spot since it would completely block our way out. So killed the PTO and I pulled forward 100 feet and stopped. There is a ball that holds the upper arm of the 3PH and it along with the linchpin is missing. I have plenty of pin but without the ball I wont be able to move the tractor.

Best I can tell is that when I backed into the heavy brush a sapling unclipped and then pulled out the linchpin. Somewhere along the line the shaft pulled out of the ball and the ball fell out of the 3PH. So I retraced my steps several times. Course the ball is brown. its heavy. In heavy grass. With leaves. Chance of finding the ball are slim and none.

I really don't want to be walking were I'm walking. We have had some freezes but there can still be ticks and chiggers and I had not dressed/sprayed my clothes to keep off the biting bugs.

So I look. See nothing. Figured I would drive into down and see if the farm store had the part which was going to be doubtful. Reality was that I would have to send a note to JD and have them ship me the part.

Walking up the driveway I find the ball. The pin had slipped out of the ball cutting the grass along the driveway. When I pulled forward to unblock the driveway the ball had vibrated out of the 3PH.

WHEW!

Put it all back together lickity split and it was back to mowing. I mowed about 1/3 of and acre of heavy brush and saplings with no problems. I have done this numerous times and never had a linchpin yanked off like that.

In the future I'll keep an eye on those pins.

The tractor still amazes me. The stuff I cut down would have taken days to do with a chainsaw and brush cutter. Took maybe 30-45 minutes. The front field had "grass" with lots of white fluffy seeds. They coverered the front panels over the engine. They were about 1/2 thick in places. Engine never got warm at all. Cleaned it off when I finished mowing. Good design. Heck of a machine.

Later,
Dan

 

[kthompson]

Tractor Supply Company - Reese Towpower Clips, 3-Pack

I have always called them hair pins or clip pins but use the above style over the lynch pins and that should solve the problem. Get the right size and push them all the way on and you will be safe. May need a tool to remove them such as pliers or hammer but they will be there IF YOU PUSH THEM ALL THE WAY ON to where they are loose.

 

[dmccarty]

Tractor Supply Company - Reese Towpower Clips, 3-Pack

The right idea but I need something heavier. This is close to what I had that got unclipped.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_10551_10001_33780_-1______14345|14346|14347|14351|33780?listingPage=true&Special=false

This looks like it might work. Though I'm surprised that the linchpin I used got removed.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_10551_10001_33794_-1______14345|14346|14347|14351|33794?listingPage=true&Special=false

Later,
Dan

 

[kthompson]

That make the clip pin in sizes every bit as large as the pins you are using. Guess I did not make it that plain. I did not pay attention to the diameter I linked you to, only trying to show the design.

The pin you said may work to me will last no better if as well as the one you lost as the latch is so large it catches more limbs and such.

Of course you can use a bolt with locking nut but have never had one of the clip styles to pull out if your push it all the way on and not stop in the first notch (where most people like to).

 

[kthompson]

How about this one? It probably is the size you need.

Tractor Supply Company - SpeeCo Hairpin 3/16x1 1/4 in 3 Point Clip


But they do make larger ones. I used some that must be about 4 or 5 inches long on boom pins. This style pin if pushed on fully is next to impossible to be pushed off. But you don't want the pin so large the loop will catch such as limbs and pull the pin. If you don't go wild on the size you should be safe with these. I don't think I have ever lost one push on fully. Bent them but not lost them.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Are talking about the swivel ball in the end of the TPH arm? If you are it shouldn't be able to come out.

 

[greggh]

Are talking about the swivel ball in the end of the TPH arm? If you are it shouldn't be able to come out.

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on the need, they can be removed.

 

[SPYDERLK]

On the impliment end of the link I have replaced the ordinary large pin that fixes the ball to the implement link with another of like size but having a much smaller keeper pin hole. I use a standard cotter pin that fits snuggly in this hole. After insertion I bend both legs of the cotter in the same direction, by hand, in a gradual curve. The cotter cannot escape the hole and will swivel around if brush hits it. When removing I unbend the gradual curve by hand just enuf to get it out. The cotter lasts for 100s of implement changes. This method has been immune to loss in use - theres nothing for brush to catch.
larry

 

[Bill Barrett]

Thats why the old timers use bailing wire LOL. I hate that, but I have a rotary mower that is the only thing that works.
Cotter key would also.

 

[GinNB]

We mow commercially here and have found that most (all?) kinds of spring clips are useless when mowing brush, especially when backing up into brush. The hairpins that were mentioned previously are pretty good when pushed on as far as the last loop. We tend to use either flailmower clevis pins with a cotter key or a double-nutted bolt on our bush hogs here. One of the fellows took our new Woods Brushbull 7200 (heavy duty 6 footer) out with just standard lynchpins (he knew better and usually uses bolts) last year and had it unhook and bent the frame where the lower lift arm pin mounts on.

I'd love to know how much damage is caused to mowers and tractors each year by those convenient little 7/16" lynchpins. I use them a lot when doing anything OTHER than mowing brush. Been there, broke stuff, learned that.