MMM Mounting trouble - Help

Nuru · May 4, 2002

Just got a used 54" MMM for my 4100. I deinstalled my plow, the front hitch , and the angling kit.

The Deck;

I failed to get the deck on because of two things:

1) Could not get the pivot shaft to fit on the tractor, it just would not go in. I could not tell if it was slightly bent or not. I will try again tomorrow. I think it must be something i am doing quite not right. It almost goes in, then it does not.

2) I have to figure out where the other attachment goes into the tractor frame. There are two holes in the back that look like the pins will fit in it, if that it is that case then I will at least get that part installed tomorrow.

Looking over the various manulals, it does look like I should not have taken the hitch mounting bracket off with the plow and the angling kit. One of the later diagrams in
the manuals shows the hitch mounting kit should remain on the tractor.

Hey TerryinMD, if you happen to read this message, can you post some pics of your installed mower deck please?

That would really help!

TerryinMD · May 5, 2002

Nuru,

When I saw the subject - I just said to myself, oh-oh.... and chuckled. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I am laughing with you, not at you. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Okay... let's see if we can work this out.

1. Did you get all of the parts? Sorry, I have to ask this question. Look at the Operators Manual for the 54" and 60" MMM deck - Page 50. They have pictures of all of the parts you need. Make sure you have them.

2. I belive that the front mount is universal for all front-end attachments. So you probably should reattach the front mounting brackets. Look at the manual to be sure.

3. There are three mounting points for the MMM. The front mount, middle count points for the linkage to the 3pt hitch, and the brackets that work in conjunction with the lower draft arms. Again the Assembly instructions illustrate these very well.

4. You mention pivot shaft - I do not understand what that term means and could not find it in the manual.

5. The two more difficult parts of the installation would be the rear brackets on the lower draft arms and setting up the linkage to suspend the deck. The adjustments are a little arcane and need some attention. Not hard, just a PITA.

6. Another important issue is to ensure that you torque the bolts and nuts properly for the permanent mounts.

Hope this helps. Since it we are in the prime planting season, I sporadically check TBN on the weekends. I check this message later on today to see how you are progressing.

Terry

Woody1 · May 5, 2002

I had 3 mounting points(well 4 depending how you count it) one each side under tractor for hookup to raise/lower the unit(raise lower your 3ph arms and see waht moves up/down under the machine.Should be 2 arms). front of deck mounted a "quick-hitch" to front bracket on tractor. and 3rd was the PTO. that was always a pain to get arm into to get hooked into properly.
Got rid of midmount mowing deck....bought a 26 hp 0 turn mower to do my mowing

Nuru · May 5, 2002

Terry, hello and thanks for responding, It sure helped:

1. Did you get all of the parts? Sorry, I have to ask this question. Look at the Operators Manual for the 54" and 60" MMM deck - Page 50. They have pictures of all of the parts you need. Make sure you have them.

Well, it looks like the Mounting hitch for my Front Blade is not the one required to mount my Mower Deck. i will check with my dealer as I am suppossed to have the one that mounts the blades/broom/mower deck. The one in the picture sure is different from the one that I have for my deck. Also i will talk to the decks former owner and get him to pull some additional brackets are I think i am missing the following:

Welded Left Draft Pivot Bracket
Welded Right Draft Bracket support
Mower Mounting Bracket
Welded right lift arm bracket
welded left Lift arm bracket

2. I belive that the front mount is universal for all front-end attachments. So you probably should reattach the front mounting brackets. Look at the manual to be sure.

The front mount is okay, but the blades attachment is not correct for the mower attachment even though m dealer said it was. Al little confusion there, oh well.

3. There are three mounting points for the MMM. The front mount, middle count points for the linkage to the 3pt hitch, and the brackets that work in conjunction with the lower draft arms. Again the Assembly instructions illustrate these very well.

got it and i need to get the parts so I can get the deck mounted.

4. You mention pivot shaft - I do not understand what that term means and could not find it in the manual.

The pivot shaft is the piece that goes on the front of the tractor in the mower mounting kit.

Nuru · May 5, 2002

Thanks; Woody, the former owner of the deck did the same thing. That is not an option for me as I could not possible justify that cost.

TerryinMD · May 5, 2002

Nuru,

Hmmm.... looks like the previous owner didn't know what to pull off of his 4100. An honest mistake I would think.

I hope that you do not have a difficult time in getting those parts. If he is like me, I bought my MMM with the tractor and everything was installed and ready to go. He may have difficulty in removing those parts and getting the tractor back to original working order. Especially, the rear brackets which operate in conjunction with the lower draft arms. I think that some spacers are involved and he most likely does not have the originals.

I might suggest that you check out the cost of the replacement part from your dealer and work out a deal with the original owner to have some of your money refunded due to the missing parts.

Doh!! Just thought of something. You should be able to remove the lower draft arm spacers from your unit and ship them to him in exchange for the other parts. In any case, I can imagine that you'll not be able to use your mower for a few more days.

Sorry to hear about all of your troubles. But, this soon shall pass... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Terry

Nuru · May 5, 2002

Terry, you are right. The owner did have the deck installed at rhe dealer. So when he took off the deck, he followed the manual and that was it. He just did not look at the installation side of the manual where it shows the other parts. Yes I will definitely ask my local dealers for the parts too, to see how much they cost, if they are cheap, then I just might pick them up.

Nuru · May 5, 2002

Here are some of the pics before I did a slight refurb.

Nuru · May 5, 2002

Here it is after the mulch kit has been installed and the new belt has been installed.

Nuru · May 5, 2002

Terry, I have a torque wrench so the torquing of the bolts should be fine. I had to slightly rearrrange the mulch kit so it would not make contact with the blade, that worked and so everything is ready for the other parts.

Nuru · May 10, 2002

Re: MMM Mounting trouble - Help - More Help!

Hey everyone, i got the missing parts and of course I found that there are a few additional missing parts that I need but I think I got that handled. I need to get 4 M12x1.45x40 bolts and accompanying locking nuts, and I need to get the loader arms to take the place of the spacer that JD ships with the MMM. The manual says that if you have the loader arms installed you do not ned to have these spacers, so I guess the easiest way to replace the spacers is to buy the loader arms, as Jd does not have part numbers for the spacers. I hope that one of the dealers happens to have the loader arms locally, so I can finally cut my grass. I hope that the lift arm brackets that mount on the rear of the tractor do not require any bolts as I do not see any mention of that being required in the manual.

TerryinMD · May 10, 2002

Re: MMM Mounting trouble - Help - More Help!

Nuru,

The rear brackets are attached by long pins. I believe there are some exploded diagrams of all of the parts for the MMM lift mechanism. I have hard time not believing that you can get the parts. That's how Deere makes additional money for R&D and profit (a simple fact - all companies do it; no soapboxes please. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif).

My suggestion is that you get your manual, sit down next to the tractor, lay all of the parts out, note which one's you have or do not have, take the diagram and missing parts list to your Deere dealer, and then have them get the parts for you. Bolts and pins are the easy stuff. Typically, they can get the parts for you within a day.

Good luck.

Terry

joecdeere · May 10, 2002

Re: MMM Mounting trouble - Help - More Help!

NURU,
give me an e-mail address, and I'll send you the pages of the partsbook you need

Joe

Nuru · May 11, 2002

Re: MMM Mounting trouble - Help - More Help!

Terry, thanks, i wennt to a Dealer in MASS, and he had the diagrams and all the parts and the MMM is on the Tractor. I was a littel tired last night after getting it lounted and so I left off the driveshat for putting on this morning. Well I must of been in too much of an hurry as when I was backing the tractor on the trailer, I for got forgot the drive shaft was dragging and so the trailer rampes took the plastic dust hood offf of the driveshaft. I plan to try and put it back on this morning. The spring for hood is still attached, but the hood is not. wish me luck!

Nuru · May 11, 2002

Re: MMM Mounting trouble - Help - More Help!

joecdeere; thanks and I actually do have the views in the manual that show the parts. I just had to fine a dealer around here that has access to or has the correct database. One of the in another state had the correct information and so I went took a trip over there and got the spacers and bolts! Much better than buying the loader mount frames! ($180 total for the frames, $11.00 for the spacers).

BTW, I popped off the spring-loaded dustcap on the end of the driveshaft, can I just pop it back on or do I just leave it off?

Thanks anyway!

forestcreature · May 11, 2002

Re: MMM Mounting trouble - Help - More Help!

which driveshaft?

if you are referring to the midmount pto splined shaft - i leave mine off. just keep it greased.

[i frequently swap the mower on and off]

Nuru · May 11, 2002

Re: MMM Mounting trouble - Help - More Help!

Actually what it was, was the driveline collar, It took me about 2 hours to get it back and working correctly, banged it repeatedly to get it working and positioned correct. it worked and I finally got to cut my lawn. Here is a picture.

MikePA · May 11, 2002

Re: MMM Mounting trouble - Help - More Help!

Congrats, Nuru!! Great job and great persistance, from finding, buying and instaling!!! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

TerryinMD · May 12, 2002

Re: MMM Mounting trouble - Help - More Help!

Nuru,

Hey... that looks like mine!! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

The MMM PTO shaft is a bit a pain to attach and is easy to forget about. I have done the same as you. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

Persistance has paid off, now to get down to serious work - like mowing the lawn. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

As far as the mid-mount cover, I always return mine when I,m not using the MMM. It only take a few seconds to pop it back on and keeps a lot of junk from building up on it. I bush hog and drive through a lot of high grass and weeds from time to time so I figure that the cover is necessary to prevent any possible problems.

Terry

Nuru · May 12, 2002

Re: MMM Mounting trouble - Help - More Help!

Thanks; I even stopped and called several dealers to see if they had the Replacement kit Part#AM124741, nobody had it but I eventually did not need it for this weekend. I will order the kit on Monday, and see if I can get one of the dealers to send it to my house.