Farmline 5' DX Cutter Shear bolt?

[marcoot]

Hi folks,

I have a 5' Farmline DX rotary mower that I am needing some parts for. After 23 hours of heavy mowing I broke the shear pin. Easy enough fix, or so I thought, but here is my problem. I can find no reference to this cutter on line to reference for OEM parts. When I asked my dealer who sold it to me they say its should be replaced with a grade 2 shear bolt as thats what they built it with. Only grade I can find here in KC is grade 5. I am mowing some really dense stuff and really do not want to put a higher grade on it....I would rather fix the bolt every 20 hours or so as opposed to an expensive tractor fix. Does anyone have any experience with the 5' Farmline DX that could give some advice? Using it with a LS G3038H.

Thanks a bunch!

Gregg

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I have no experience with that cutter, but I think most cutters with shear pins use a Grade 2 bolt. Doesn't your dealer stock replacement shear pins for it?

Good call on NOT using a Grade 5 as it defeats the purpose of having a shear pin the first place.

 

[marcoot]

Yes the dealer does have them but I live in Kansas City, the dealer is in Farmington ( south of St Louis ) and the equipment is at the farm in Bunker,Mo. I was hoping to pick up some bolts here in KC and take them to the farm instead of driving two extra hours. I bet I will find some at TSC or something similar I was just hoping to know the exact length and hardness and prefer to get my parts from sources familiar with what I am using them on in case I have questions, which I usually do. Dealer offered to sell some parts via UPS but since I have a schedule of when I can and cannot be at the property I cannot always wait for some parts to arrive. I should have listened to the dealer's recommendation and gotten some BEFORE I broke the first one. Again, I am learning.

Thanks for the reply.

Gregg

 

[dclynch]

I carry 4 spares in the toolbox. have not had to use any yet but I am sure if I didn't have them I would of sheared one by now.

 

[JRobyn]

Recently bought a new Bushhog RD5 5ft cutter. Asked the dealer what shear bolt grade to use and to supply a few spares. He insisted that it used (and he supplied) grade 5. After reviewing the manual, it calls for grade 2. Called Bushhog tech/service. They actually recommended grade 5 on the theory that they would snap cleanly rather than bend and smear. I was astonished. Now not really sure which to use. Maybe it really doesn't make all that much difference?

- Jay

 

[smstonypoint]

Recently bought a new Bushhog RD5 5ft cutter. Asked the dealer what shear bolt grade to use and to supply a few spares. He insisted that it used (and he supplied) grade 5. After reviewing the manual, it calls for grade 2. Called Bushhog tech/service. They actually recommended grade 5 on the theory that they would snap cleanly rather than bend and smear. I was astonished. Now not really sure which to use. Maybe it really doesn't make all that much difference?

- Jay

I had a similar experience. I just bought a Bush Hog BH14. As part of the deal, I asked that spare shear bolts be thrown in. Although the manual says to use grade 2, the dealer supplied grade 5 bolts, saying that they didn't even stock grade 2s.

Steve

 

[Duwop]

Lowes has grade 2 the grades are marked on the head, no marks on the head would be grade two, three hash markes denotes grade 5 . Plenty of reading online about bolt grading. 23 years with one bolt that great, I have gone thru 6 in two months. Best to ya!

 

[MESSMAKER]

I use a 4" grade 2, 1/2" bolt.

 

[WM75Guy]

I just bought shear bolts for my Bush Hog SQ172 6' cutter. I rarely shear a bolt, it's usually from hitting a mound of dirt rather than brush, but I had used my last one. The manual calls for 8mm X 50mm Class 8.8. Local dealer did not have any and Lowes wanted $2.50 each plus $.50 for a locknut. Local hardware store had them for 50 cents each and 25 cents for the nut. It pays to shop around, the big box stores are not always cheaper.

 

[Texasmark]

I too thought using #2 was the way to go. However I was reading my owners manual for my JD baler and it said use grade 8 and the reason being is that it will snap clean and not smear. By snapping clean, you can find what's left of it in the gearbox input shaft so that you can knock it out and locate the hole after reassy to install the new bolt. The #2 the instructions said will smear and you can't find it. Well what do you know about that I said to myself! I have been plagued with that problem all my farming life but no more. As stated the higher strength bolt is much easier for me to locate and doesn't jam up the joint making it hard to separate.

As far as shear rating for the higher strength bolts, their specs are in tensile strength....aka stretch resistance. Have seen no ratings for shear. So I use the grade 5 and get on with life.....grade 8 bolts are usually not in my bolt trays.

HTH,
Mark