Hitch Stabilizer Arm Geometry

[jenkinsph]

Forty years ago I had an International 460 tractor with the same bar/strap arrangement as on the 3005. I absolutely hated that design, too much to screw with and you have to be careful not to drop these to the ground while backing up= bent bars. If I saw that set up on a tractor I was considering it would be a deal breaker for me.

Using an IMatch hitch should help alleviate the swearing and cursing though. I would make sure all the implements were IMatch compatible too.

 

[MillWeld]

My tractor had fixed length stabilizer bars that worked well until I installed a stronger 3 pt hitch. Something wasn't quite right then: upon lifting I would get binding of which I never could determine the cause. So, with advice from TBN, I replaced the fixed length bars with turnbuckles and chains so I could compensate with some adjustability. It is only a minor hassle but no binding.

 

[Argonne]

Ok guys, sorry, I got busy for a couple of days, sick horse.

Anyway, a closer look at what I was assuming was a stabilizer arm bracket apparently isn't. It constitutes the tail end of the loader frame. This is an industrial tractor, and I believe that it is an intended anchor point for the backhoe that was an option on this model. See the pics for views of it.

My current plan is to use those brackets as an anchor point for new ones. I bought a fixed stabilizer arm at TSC for $13 which should supply enough metal to allow me to build new brackets. I'll connect them to the existing brackets with 7/8" grade 8 bolts, and 3/8" grade 8 bolts to keep the brackets from swinging under load.

I'm not sure when this will get to the top of the project list, but I'll post pics and report how well it worked when I do.

 

[Argonne]

OK! We all know how important "closure" is from watching TV, so here's some closure. The stabilizer arms finally got to the top of the project list, and it ended up being a pretty simple fix. I used just the ends of the fixed stabilizer arm I got from TSC and drilled a 7/8 inch hole in each one so I could bolt them to the tractor backhoe frame and supply a place to mount a couple of stabilizer pins at the proper axis point of the lift arms. I planned to add a 3/8" bolt through the arm and bracket to keep the angle right, but it showed no sign of movement when spotting a big gooseneck trailer, so I don't think it's necessary. Anyway, here are a couple of pics.